Chinese researchers reveal earliest ever flower bud in Jurassic plant fossil

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A 164-million-year-old plant bud fossil uncovered by Chinese researchers could be seen on display at the Museum of Palaeontology in Nanjing on Saturday.

The finding places the emergence of flowering plants on Earth between 145 million and 201 million years ago.

It is the world’s oldest fossil record of flower buds to date, according to Wang Xin, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology. “Research shows that the layer was formed 164 million years ago, which is mid or late Jurassic Period,” he said.

Wang added that the uniqueness of the fossil comes because the plant and fruit are connected. “If they were separated, the paleobotanists usually would have thought there were from different plants. Fortunately, the bud and fruit in the fossil grow in the same branch, through the research on the bud and fruit, we can confirm they belong to the angiosperm from Jurassic Period,” the researcher said.

The fossil, which was discovered in Daohugou village in Inner Mongolia, shows a stem, a leafy branch, a bulbous fruit, and a tiny flower bud. It is 4.2 centimetres long and 2 cm wide.

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SOT, Wang Xin, Researcher of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in The Chinese Academy of Sciences, (Mandarin): “The flower bud we found this time is unique, is a connected fruit. If they were separated, the palaeobotanists usually will have thought there were from different plants. Fortunately, the bud and fruit in the fossil grow in the same branch. Through the research on the bud and fruit, we can confirm they belong to the angiosperm from Jurassic Period. But the result is opposite to the common sense from the international academic community that said there was no angiosperm from Jurassic Period. The latest research shows that more angiosperm fruits from North America exist.”

SOT Wang Xin, Researcher of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in The Chinese Academy of Sciences, (Mandarin): “The fossils were found in the Daohugou Village, Ningcheng City, Inner Mongolia. Paleobotanists and geologists have done a lot of research there. The research shows that the layer was formed 164 million years ago, which is mid or late Jurassic Period.”

SOT Wang Xin, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology in The Chinese Academy of Sciences, (Mandarin): “Angiosperm is one of the most important plants in the world. But it has been questioned where angiosperm came from and how old it is. The conventional view in the international academic community suggests that there are no angiosperms in the Jurassic period, mainly because there is no fossil evidence. The angiosperm flower fossil is the best evidence. But the flower is weak and difficult to preserve, and the flower bud is even more difficult to preserve. It is rare to see a bud fossil. The bud fossil is from the Jurassic period, which is a unique example in the world.”

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