Archaefructaceae, a New Basal Angiosperm Family

2002/05/03 by Ge Sun, Qiang Ji, David L. Dilcher +3 · 4 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Plant Diversity and Evolution #Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions #Plant Ecology and Taxonomy Studies #Sepal #Petal #Gynoecium #Biology #Herbaceous plant #Yixian Formation #Botany #Stamen #Basal (medicine) #Sister group #Clade #Pollen #Phylogenetic tree #Mesozoic #Gene #Paleontology #Genetics

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1069439

openalex publication_date 2002/05/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Archaefructaceae is proposed as a new basal angiosperm family of herbaceous aquatic plants. This family consists of the fossils Archaefructus liaoningensis and A. sinensis sp. nov. Complete plants from roots to fertile shoots are known. Their age is a minimum of 124.6 million years from the Yixian Formation, Liaoning, China. They are a sister clade to all angiosperms when their characters are included in a combined three-gene molecular and morphological analysis. Their reproductive axes lack petals and sepals and bear stamens in pairs below conduplicate carpels.

Citations

• The Yorkshire Jurassic flora
• Seed plant phylogeny and the origin of angiosperms: An experimental cladistic approach
• CLADISTICS OF THE MAGNOLIIDAE
• Morphological Phylogenetic Analysis of Basal Angiosperms: Comparison and Combination with Molecular Data

Cited by

• Fossils and plant phylogeny
• The Jehol Biota, an Early Cretaceous terrestrial Lagerstätte: new discoveries and implications
• Palaeobotanical redux: revisiting the age of the angiosperms
• Early Cretaceous [wikipedia]