LONDON: A plant that had no petals and lived underwater more than 125 million years ago could be the oldest known “flower”, scientists believe.
The aquatic Montsechia vidalii was once abundant in freshwater lakes in what are now mountainous regions of central and northern Spain.
Although discovered more than 100 years ago, the true significance of the fossils has only now become apparent after painstaking analysis by scientists.
Experts dated the weed at between 125 million and 130 million years old and showed that despite appearances it was an angiosperm, or flowering plant.
Another aquatic plant called Archaefructus sinensis, from China, has also been proposed as the earliest flower – but M.vidalii may be older.
Lead scientist Professor David Dilcher, from Indiana University in the US, said: “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 plant and animal life.
