Paleobotanists have identified a 125 million- to 130 million-year-old freshwater plant Montsechia vidalii from
Spain as one of earliest flowering plants on Earth. "A 'first flower'
is technically a myth, like the 'first human,'" said Dilcher, an
internationally recognized expert on angiosperm anatomy and
morphology. The conclusions are based upon careful analyses of more than
1,000 fossilized remains of Montsechia, whose stems and leaf structures
were coaxed from stone by applying hydrochloric acid on a drop-by-drop
basis. The plant's cuticles the protective film covering the leaves that
reveals their shape were also carefully bleached using a mixture of
nitric acid and potassium chlorate. Examination of the specimens was
conducted under a stereomicroscope, light microscope and scanning
electron microscope.
Ref: David L. Dilcherd et al. 2015, PNAS.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509241112
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