Archaefructus : not the oldest angiosperm anymore

In 2015, an ancient plant fossil named Montsechia vidalii has claimed the throne of the oldest angiosperm. Before its discovery, Archaefructus liaoningensis was believed to be the oldest angiosperm in the world.

Archaefructus liaoningensis Source: wikipedia

The flowers for both of them do not have petal nor sepal. For Archaeofructus, the scientists found its fruit and female flowers. There was no male flower to be found. Both of them seem to produce unisexual flowers.

The word Archaefructus is also a combination of prefix and suffix. Try to figure it out before you see the rest of this article.

The prefix, archae(o)-, is the same as arche(o)-. We have learned it from Lesson 16-2. Both of them are originated from Greek word archaios, meaning ancient, old.

The other part of Archaefructus, -fructus, is also having a Greek origin. It is originated from fructus, meaning fruit.

Putting them together, Archaefructus, meaning "ancient fruit".

Archaeofructus was dated back 125 million years and Montsechia was dated back 130 million years. Therefore, Archaeofructus is no longer the oldest angiosperm anymore.

However, both of them are water-borne plants. The research team for Montsechia also suggested that its pollens are probably carried by water.

Although only 5% of angiosperm live in water, the discovery of Montsechia suggested a possibility that the primitive angiosperms could be all water-borne.

As a final note, the second part of Archaefructus' name, liaoningensis, is a memoir of the place it was discovered. It was found in the Province of Liaoning, China.

中文課程請點：Archaefructus 遼寧古果