According to many scientists the “first flower” is technically a myth, similar to the “first human,” (Scientific American, 2015). How can we determine what the first flowering plant on Earth was? A well-preserved fossil is the answer. More than 100 years ago in central Spain and near the border of France one of the greatest fossils was found, and it was formed by limestone deposits over millions of years (Scientific American, 2015). For years it was believed the first flowering plant on earth was Amborella, until a couple months ago (Scientific American, 2015). David Dilcher, a paleobotanist worked with a team lead by Bernard Gomez where they presented evidence that a fossil uncovered more than 100 years ago may be the first flowering plant…show more content… By looking at the fossil record we are gaining insight about the unknown whether it be ancient environments or extinct organisms (Biologos, 2012). Montsechia vidalii has two types of leaf morphology: one that had a long-leaf form (Figure 2) and another had short-leafs with mature fruit (Figure 3) (The Conversation, 2015). Many previous misinterpretations identified the plant as a moss, which could have been due to the characteristics in the found fossils (Scientific American, 2015). In figure 2 the long-leaf form rarely had mature seeds attached, which would have led scientists to a misinterpretation. On the other hand, by looking at phylogenetic tree representing the evolution of plant diversity it illustrates common traits shared between descendants (Zimmer and Emlin, 2013). According to the fossil in figure 3, Montsechia contains the characteristic of a seed narrowing down the classification to either a gymnosperms or flowering plant (angiosperms) in regards to figure 1 (The Conversation, 2015). Gymnosperms have seeds that are not enclosed whereas an angiosperm plant surrounds the mature seed with an ovule similar to Montsechia vidalii where it has seeds enclosed in a fruit (Scientific American, 2015; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015 – Gymnosperm; Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015 -…show more content… Subsequently, examining the fossil record gives us substantial evidence of evolution by preserving forms and features of past specimens. The analysis of leaf and stem structures, and the examination of specimens under various microscopes were crucial in interpreting fossil remains (Indiana University Bloomington Newsroom, 2015). For instance, the rock fossil was manipulated to remove stems and leaf structures of Montsechia using a drop-by-drop basis of hydrochloric acid, and the plants cuticles were bleached using a mixture of nitric acid and potassium chlorate (Indiana University Bloomington Newsroom, 2015). By analyzing and comparing the fossils with others in the area it was determined that Montsechia existed during the Barremian age of the early Cretaceous period (Indiana University Bloomington Newsroom, 2015). Dilcher’s careful examination and identification of Montsechia’s anatomy, morphology and reproduction suggested that it is sister to Certophyllum (Gomez et al., 2015). A sister group is a term that comes from cladists denoting they derived from a common ancestral node sharing similar derived characters called synapomorphies (Zimmer and Emlin, 2013). Furthermore, a plants life is focused around getting new genetic material into the breeding line through pollination (Scientific
