Cretaceous Complexity

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Charles Darwin called the diversity of flowers in Cretaceous rocks an “abominable mystery.” He couldn’t understand how so much variety could arise so quickly.

Well, since Darwin, the problem with flowers has only grown worse. Researchers found flowers preserved in fossil tree resin, called amber. There’s no clue these supposed one-hundred-million-year-old flowers were any “less evolved” than today’s plants. They have the same features … and even reproduce the same way! One researcher said they look like they could’ve been blooming last week.

These flowers look like modern flowers because well evolution is just a fairytale.

Dig Deeper

• Fossil Flowers in Amber Don't Solve Darwin’s “Abominable Mystery”
• Evolution of Flowers