The leading scientists of this achievement, Professor Sun Ge from Jilin University and Researcher Ji Qiang from the China Geological Survey, and others published their papers in the prestigious journal Science on May 7, 2002, occupying an important position as the cover article.
The morphological characteristics of Archaefructus Sinensis are even more astonishing compared to its era.
According to the traditional theories of botany, angiosperms evolved from shrubs similar to modern magnolias. However, Archaefructus Sinensis is a small, delicate aquatic plant that resembles an herbaceous plant.
In August 2003, another international research team published an alternative interpretation of Archaefructus Sinensis in the journal Trends in Plant Science. They suggested that Archaefructus Sinensis likely grew completely submerged in water.
Furthermore, the phylogenetic position of Archaefructus Sinensis in the lineage became ambiguous when using different classification features. It was not as clear-cut as the first research team believed it to be in the lineage of flowering plants.
This led them to a question: “Is Archaefructus Sinensis the ancestor of flowering plants or just a specialized early flowering plant?”
According to a report in the Science and Technology Daily, Discovery magazine in the United States introduced this achievement with the title “The Earliest Floral Fragrance.”
It mentioned that Darwin was puzzled by angiosperms, also known as flowering plants, suddenly appearing in the Late Cretaceous period (approximately 100 to 65 million years ago) without finding any ancestral groups or early evolutionary clues, referring to it as the “abominable mystery.”
Now, it’s no longer just a fossil; there is a living Archaefructus Sinensis right in front of them. Everything has changed dramatically, and the “abominable mystery” may become unraveled with this.
The origin of humanity and species has always been a topic of research because it relates to the evolution of humans and species, and it impacts the future of humanity.
“This is great! With this living Archaefructus Sinensis, we don’t have to rely on speculations based on fossils anymore. Many unresolved mysteries may be solved with this,” Ye Bo exclaimed excitedly.
“This should also be of great help in Archaeology,” Zhou Xixian said.
“What do you mean? This is clearly an ancient lifeform, and it should be handed over to the research team studying ancient lifeforms. You shouldn’t meddle in this,” Ye Bo retorted with an angry expression on his face.
“This is related to the ancient environment from one hundred million years ago. Archaeology is closely connected to it. Of course, it’s relevant to me,” Zhou Xixian snapped back.
Inadvertently, the two started arguing again, leaving Su Jing and the assistants feeling helpless. However, they knew that despite their bickering, they wouldn’t escalate things here.
In fact, the assistants were also thrilled to witness a lifeform that existed over a hundred million years ago. It was truly a miraculous event.
Once this news spread, it would undoubtedly make waves nationwide and worldwide because it was a global breakthrough and a marvel.
In the end, Su Jing couldn’t stand watching them argue any longer, so he pulled out another Archaefructus Sinensis plant, one for each of them, and only then did their quarrel come to a halt.
In their previous dispute over the spider fossils, Su Jing had sold them to them through an auction. However, this time, he decided to give them the Archaefructus Sinensis for research purposes, as he no longer cared about the money.
His asking price was too high for them to afford it anyway. What mattered to Su Jing was the potential discoveries that could bring tremendous impact and attention to the world, and earn him the Recycle Degree.
“A’Jing, where do you get so many extinct animals and this Archaefructus Sinensis? Logically speaking, it shouldn’t still exist,” Ye Bo couldn’t help but ask.
“Hehe, nothing is impossible. The world is vast and full of wonders and there are many things that we haven’t discovered. You don’t have to believe me on this but the fact is right in front of you. Besides this plant, I have a few more. Would you like to see them?” Su Jing intentionally changed the topic.
“There’s more?” Both Ye Bo and Zhou Xixian widened their eyes.
“Yes,” Su Jing nodded.
“Of course, we want to see them. Show us quickly,” The two elderly men and the assistants were all excited.
Su Jing went inside again and brought out several plants, all of them were small plants planted in pots and their shapes were quite unique.
“Oh, isn’t this…” A young man pointed to one of the plants, seemingly remembering something but he was unable to recall its name.
“Liparis Hensoaensis!” Another young man exclaimed softly.
“Hmm?” Ye Bo showed a surprised expression on his face as he stared at it for a moment before nodding. “Xiao Wu, you’re right. This is indeed Liparis Hensoaensis.”
The plant they called Liparis Hensoaensis had an ovoid pseudobulb, with linear or lanceolate leaves measuring 16-30 centimeters in length and only 1-1.5 centimeters wide.
The inflorescence was terminal, with linear sepals and petals measuring about nine millimeters in length, and the labellum was ovate-elliptic.
“What is Liparis Hensoaensis?” Zhou Xixian asked, confused.
“Hehe, you don’t know this one, do you?” Ye Bo smiled with a smug expression on his face and explained, “It is a species unique to Taiwan, found only on Lalu Island in the Sun Moon Lake area of Nantou. It grows at an altitude of approximately 750 meters. After the construction of the Mingtan Reservoir, its habitat suffered severe destruction. There have been no records of its discovery for over 70 years, so it is likely completely extinct.”
“So, it’s another extinct species. It’s surprising how casually you talk about it now, it feels as if it’s something ordinary,” Zhou Xixian remarked.
Both Ye Bo and the young man who had just recognized the plant were momentarily stunned by Zhou Xixian’s words. That’s right, it was an extinct species, even though it had only been extinct for seventy years.
It was still a rare and precious find, yet they seemed surprisingly calm and it was as if they were not amazed by it. It seemed that they had seen too many extinct species today, and they had become somewhat numb to it. They could only blame Su Jing for that.
Without dwelling on it too much, they carefully observed the other plants. On closer inspection, they couldn’t recognize any of them at first glance.
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