World's oldest 'first flower' discovered in Spain's mountainous regions

An ancient plant fossil, of what could be claimed as the world's oldest flowering plant, was unearthed in Spain. According to a new study in the online journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the plant, which is approximately 125 million to 130 million years old, reproduced and existed totally underwater.

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MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Professor David Dilcher, one of the researchers at Indiana University, stated in a news release, "This discovery raises significant questions about the early evolutionary history of flowering plants, as well as the role of these plants in the evolution of other planet and animal life."

Montsechia vidali, the scientific name of the aquatic plant lived in fresh lake waters, which are now known as Spain's mountainous regions.

Dilcher, along with his other colleagues at Indiana University, performed the analysis of the aquatic plant's anatomy, morphology and reproductive structures using more than 1,000 fossilized specimens and came to the conclusion that Montsechia vidali could be one of the world's first flowering plant.

"A 'first flower' is technically a myth, like the 'first human,'" explained Dilcher. "But based on this new analysis, we know now that Montsechia is contemporaneous, if not more ancient, than Archaefructus."

Archaefructus sinensis, discovered in China, was thought of as the oldest flowering plant before. Montsechia vidali, found in Spain, predates Archaefructus sinensis, the new analysis claims.

The aquatic plant's age is evidence that it would have existed with dinosaurs, like the brachiosaurus and iguanodon. Researchers believe the aquatic plant's lifestyle may have permitted the diversification of other known flowering plants.

"Lower Cretaceous aquatic angiosperms, such as Archaefructus and Montsechia, open the possibility that aquatic plants were locally common at a very early stage of angiosperm evolution and that aquatic habitats may have played a major role in the diversification of some early angiosperm lineages," stated the researchers.

Right now, scientists want to perform further studies involving species that can connect other aquatic plants to their ancient ancestors.

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