# Early Plant Life > The modern theory of evolution supports the idea that **all plants** are **monophyletic**, or that they all **descended from a common ancestor**. > [!info] Is Green Algae a Plant? > Many scientists still debate whether algae should be considered a true plant. --- ### Surviving on Land Water is much scarcer on land, plants had to evolve to improve their water absorption as well as their ability to **retain** water --- There are four major adaptations that gave plants the advantage when colonizing new and dry environments: 1. All land plants exhibit an [[Alternation of Generations]] in their life cycle. 2. The ![[Early Plant Evolutions.excalidraw]] - [[Gymnosperms]] - [[Angiosperms]]