Transfer cells in Horneophyton lignieri illuminate the origin of vascular tissues in land plants

Kenrick and Long verified Horneophyton lignieri in a 24-section museum sample and selected three named NHMUK slides for detailed imaging; the profile does not turn the study's evolutionary interpretation into direct ancestry.

The profiled Horneophyton lignieri slides contain Rhynie-chert material from Aberdeenshire, Scotland; this museum sample does not establish a complete geographic distribution or origin centre.

The study context associates Horneophyton lignieri with Rhynie sinter surfaces and reconstructs a sessile rhizoid-bearing plant, but the selected thin sections do not measure ecological breadth, carbon acquisition or a population-wide guild.

Confocal imaging of Horneophyton lignieri shows papillate or labyrinthine wall ingrowths in conducting cells and does not recover distinct xylem and phloem; resemblance to transfer cells and transport function remain interpretations.

The displayed 412.8–410.2 Ma interval is the 411.5 ± 1.3 Ma U–Pb uncertainty window used for the represented Rhynie-chert Horneophyton material; it is not a global first appearance, last appearance or lineage duration.