Eva-Maria Sadowski and Christa-Charlotte Hofmann reanalyzed the exceptionally large fossilized flower, which was originally described and named in 1872. The flower is dated to the Late Eocene, from between 38 million to 33.9 million years ago.

The authors extracted pollen from the sample and their analysis suggests that the flower is closely related to the Asian species of Symplocos. The authors propose a new name for the flower of Symplocos kowalewskii.

The authors propose that the rare size of S. kowalewskii is likely from a large resin outpouring that would have encased the flower. The properties of the resin would have helped to prevent organisms from growing on the flower and causing damage, they add.

Reference: “The largest amber-preserved flower revisited” by Eva-Maria Sadowski and Christa-Charlotte Hofmann, 12 January 2023, Scientific Reports.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24549-z