UCMP MYSTERY FOSSIL #28 is . . .
Magnolia
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Sometime around the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous, the first flowering plants (angiosperms) appeared. They quickly became the largest and most diverse group in the plant kingdom. The origin of the angiosperms is still unclear (Darwin called it “the abominable mystery of evolution”), though researchers suspect that angiosperm ancestors were woody plants resembling the Magnolia. Find out more about flowering plants here or see the entry for this particular leaf in our collections database. |
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