The first tree may have been Wattieza (a close relative of modern ferns and horsetails), whose Middle Devonian (about 385 million years ago) fossils were found in New York State in 2007. Prior to this discovery, the earliest known tree was Archaeopteris (its leaves resembled a fern).
Both specimens reproduced by spores, not seeds. They are thought to be the link between ferns and the gymnosperms that evolved in the Triassic. Gymnosperm spores include conifers, sagebrush, and ginkgo trees.
