Daily news
1 August 2017
What the first flower on Earth might have looked like
Did the first flower look like this?
By James O’Donoghue
Three was the magic number for the very first flowering plant. The largest study into their early evolution has concluded that its flowers probably had petal-like tepals and pollen-bearing stamens arranged in layered whorls of three. It bore similarities with magnolias, buttercups and laurels – but was unlike any living flower.
The origin of flowering plants and their rapid conquest of the world’s habitats has been a puzzle for nearly a century and a half. In 1879, Charles Darwin described it as an “abominable mystery” that flowers had evolved so late in the history of life yet were still able to take over from the more ancient seed-bearing pines and cycads.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2142372-what-the-first-flower-on-earth-might-have-looked-like/
