How did plants first evolve into all different shapes and sizes? We mapped a billion years of plant history to find out

Plants range from simple seaweeds and single-celled pond scum, through to mosses, ferns and huge trees. Paleontologists like us have long debated exactly how this diverse range of shapes and sizes emerged, and whether plants emerged from algae into multicellular and three-dimensional forms in a gradual flowering or one big bang.