| Abstract Detail
Macroevolution Liu, Zhong-Jian [1], Wang, Xin [2]. A Perfect Flower from the Jurassic of China. Flower, enclosed ovule, and tetrasporangiate anther are three major characters distinguishing angiosperms from other seed plants. Typical flowers are characterized by an organization with gynoecium and androecium surrounded by corolla and calyx. Theoretically, flowers are derived from their counterparts in ancient ancestral gymnosperms. However, as for when, how and from which groups, there is no consensus among botanists yet. Although angiosperm-like pollen and angiosperms have been claimed in the Triassic and Jurassic previously, typical flowers with above three key characters are still missing in pre-Cretaceous fossil plants, making many interpretations of flower evolution tentative. Thus searching for flower in the pre-Cretaceous becomes one of the top problems in botany that refuses a solution. Here we report a typical flower, Euanthus panii, from the Middle-Late Jurassic of Liaoning, China. Euanthus has sepals, petals, androecium with tetrasporangiate dithecate anthers, and gynoecium with enclosed ovules. These flower parts are organized just like in perfect flowers of extant angiosperms. The discovery of Euanthus implies that typical angiosperm flowers have already been in place in the Jurassic, and provides a new insight unavailable otherwise for the evolution of flowers.
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Full paper about Euanthus panii
1 - National Orchid Conservation Center of China, Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Orchid Conservation and Utilization, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518114, PR China
2 - Nanjing Institute Of Geology And Palaeontology, 39 Beijing Dong Road, Nanjing, N/A, 210008, China
Keywords:
flower
angiosperm
Jurassic
China
Liaoning.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 3
Location: Salon 3/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: 3001
Abstract ID:102
Candidate for Awards:None |
