The Story of Land Plants🌱Part 2 As land plants became more diverse and populated, the plants needed to adapt to gain an advantage for light and water Plants evolved vascular systems in the late Ordovician period (420 million years ago) This allowed the plants to begin to grow up off the ground and to carry the water up to their cells to facilitate their functions including cellular respiration. To support the vertical growth and increased demand for water, plants began to develop roots A plant