The largest fossilized flower in the world belongs to a species apart, reveals a studyThe discovery of the day is to the credit of scientists. In a study published on January 12, 2023 in the journal Scientific Reportsrelayed by LiveScience, they highlighted the largest fossilized flower ever recorded. Known for c years, however, it has only now been identified as a species in its own right. This revelation gives new clues regarding past climates and ecosystems.
⋙ 164 million year old plant fossil is the oldest example of a bud ever discovered
A fossil dating from the end of the Eocene
Well preserved, this flower is 28 millimeters wide. Its fossil dates from the late Eocene, regarding 38 to 33.9 million years ago. When discovered, this flower had been classified as the Stewart Kowalewski by naturalists. This ancient evergreen plant is now extinct. Kept in Berlin since it was revealed, the fossil was shrouded in mystery. Indeed, doubt persisted as to the true identity of the flower.
⋙ Amber Fragment Reveals Rare Flower and Parasitic Wasp Trapped for 30 Million Years
The Kowalewski Symplocos
To finally be fixed, scientists decided to examine grains of pollen of this flower, using microscopes. They concluded that it was not a Stewart Kowalewski. The authors of the study decided to propose a new name for this fossilized plant: the Kowalewski Symplocos.
According to Regan Dunn, paleobotanist and assistant curator at the museum La Brea Tar Pits questioned by the New York Times, “the tiny grains [de cette fleur] are natural recorders of past climates and ecosystems that can help us measure how much our planet has changed in the past due to natural causes [non humaines]”. And to conclude: “It allows us to better understand how our species impacts the planet”.
