The 115 million-year fossil of the world's oldest lilies

The researchers discovered intact fossils to every cell of the world's oldest lilies in Brazil.

The oldest hornloss fossil in the world was excavated from a quarry in Brazil and dates back to 115 million years ago. This fossil remains intact with roots, a flower and even stores cells. Researchers speculate that a flower growing along the bank of a lake in what is today Crato city in northeastern Brazil.

Fossils retain intact parts of flowers.(Photo: SWNS).

The group of flowering plants (angiosperm) , which first appeared 140 million years ago and grows throughout the world, became more popular than many other plants. Today, there are more than 350,000 different species of flowering plants, and fossils called Cratolirion bognerianum are among the first flower plants to evolve. They also survived the extinction event that erased most of the flora and fauna on Earth, including dinosaurs, 66 million years ago.

Botanist Clement Coiffard discovered fossils in the collection of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin, Germany."The fossil record we describe here comes from the limestone of Crato plattenkalk sediments . It originates from an open-cast quarry in Santana region by Cariri in the state of Ceará, Brazil, where the rock is mined for construction. " Coiffard said.

Cratolirion bognerianum is located in a single-leaf plant layer, along with orchids, orchids and sweet grass. According to Coiffard, from this flower and other species of Crato flora, it can be deduced that tropical plants in primitive times are diverse.

The researchers used tomography to look inside the stone sample and examine the leaves, petals and pistils without damaging the fossil. With a length of nearly 40cm, the specimen is not only large but also shows many characteristics of this species such as parallel veins, sheathed leaf slabs, fibrous root systems and flowers divided into three branches. Contrary to other flower plants of the same period in Argentina, China, Portugal and the United States, the flowers of the Crato system are much more diverse, probably because Lake Crato is located at a lower latitude.

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