theconversation.

com

Revealed: the first ever

flower, 140m years ago,

looked like a magnolia

Mario Vallejo-Martin, University of Stirling

Princess Zsamagne P. de Quiroz

EVOL222.N1Ar
INTRODUCTION

FLOWERS
reproductive structures of angiosperms
represent approx. 90% of all living land plants
FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

FLOWER DIAGRAM
FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

PLANT CONDITION

Synoecious
flowers that possess
Liriodendron tulipifera
both male and

female organs in the

same flower; perfect

FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

PLANT CONDITION

Monoecious
flowers that possess

both male and

female organs in the

same plant

Squash male & female flower

FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

PLANT CONDITION

Dioecious
flowers that possess

both male and

female organs in a

separate plant
Holly male & female flower
FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

FLORAL SYMMETRY

Actinomorphic
(Radial)
divisible in equal

halves by two or

more planes
FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

FLORAL SYMMETRY

Zygomorphic

(Bilateral)
divisible into equal

halves in one plane

only
FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

OVARY POSITION (SUPERIOR)

Hypogynous
a flower w/ perianth & androecium

arising from below the ovary

(gynoecium)
Perigynous
a flower w/ perianth & androecium

arising from a hypanthium that is

not adnate to the ovary

FLORAL TERMINOLOGIES

OVARY POSITION (INFERIOR)

Epigynous
a flower w/ perianth and androecium arising

upon the ovary rather than the receptacle

FEATURED

STUDY
A major recent study by an

international team of

botanists which has achieved

the best reconstruction to

date of this ancestral flower.

 key question:

ORIGIN OF THE ANGIOSPERMS

AND THE FLOWER

1 2 3

EVOLUTIONARY

FOSSIL RECORD DEVELOPMENTAL

USING ANALYTICAL

STUDIES METHODS
study the fossil record
seek answers in the studies
to infer the structure of

and attempt to
on the reproductive
ancestral flowers using

identify the closest

structures of living
the distribution of floral

extinct relatives of
angiosperms and
traits among extant

angiosperms gymnosperms angiosperms

FOSSIL RECORD
The oldest confirmed fossil
flowers are no older than 130
Ma, whereas estimates for the
most recent common ancestor
of all living angiosperms
existed 250- 140 Ma.

The oldest flowering fossil, Montsechia

vidaliia, 130m-year-old aquatic plant found

in modern day Spain.

By comparing the similarities and differences among

related flowering plants, it is possible to infer the

characteristics of their recent ancestors.

all orchid species

flowers have

bilateral symmetry
R
E
S
U
L
T
samples:

S
63 orders
372 families
792 species
R
E
S
U
L
T
samples:

S
63 orders
372 families
792 species
 WHAT DID THE

ANCESTRAL FLOWER

LOOK LIKE?
the reconstructed ancestral flower
reconstructed ancestral flower
multiple undifferentiated petals
arranged in concentric rings
multiple rows of sexual organs

magnolia flower
CONTROVERSIAL
SEX LIFE
Amborella
one of the earliest

diverging lineages of

flowering plants
has flowers that are

either male or female

(dioecious)
R
E
S
U
L
T
S
Maximum likelihood ancestral state reconstruction of

functional sex of flowers in angiosperms

Reconstructed
Ancestral

Flower
hermaphrodite -

could reproduce both

as male and female

advantageous when

colonising new

environments
helped early

flowering plants to

outcompete their

rivals
 had more numerous whorls,
however, suggesting flowers

have become simpler over time

simpler architecture may

have given modern plants

a more stable base

we still know little about how

that flower came to be

steps leading to its evolution

are still unknown

 REFERENCES
Vallejo-Martin M. (2017, August 1). Revealed: the first ever flower, 140m years ago, looked like a

magnolia. (2017). Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/revealed-the-first-ever-flower-140m-

years-ago-looked-like-a-magnolia-81861
Sauquet, H., von Balthazar, M., Magallón, S., Doyle, J., Endress, P., & Bailes, E. et al. (2017). The

ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification. Nature Communications, 8(1). doi:

10.1038/ncomms16047
Sauquet, H., von Balthazar, M., Magallón, S., Doyle, J., Endress, P., & Bailes, E. et al. (2017). Short video

of the 3D model of the reconstructed ancestral flower. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghFiD33_AQ4

Thank You