Evolution of land plants, illustration. Land plants evolved from green algae that started to colonise land 500 million years ago. Early plants were similar to bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) today, without true roots or vascular systems to move water and nutrients through the plant. Vascular plants first evolved in the Silurian (443-419 million years ago) and by the late Devonian (382-372 million years ago) plants had developed true roots and leaves and some had woody tissue. Some plants such as ferns were still spore-bearing, but early gymnosperms had evolved seeds.