The first woody trees appeared around Middle Devonian times, about 375 million years ago. These trees
were progymnosperrns such as Archaeopteris. They shared many features with gymnosperms, such as
leaves, trunks and cones, but they shed their spores into the air, like ferns. In contrast, gymnosperms
such as the ginkgos retain their large female spores on the plant and these become seeds when fertilized