On Sat, 25 Oct 2003 00:32:34 +0000 (UTC), lilyth{at}umich.edu (Lilith)
wrote:

>Anyone know if there is fossil/other evidence of starchy/sugary pulp
>fruits any time before the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary (150 MYA)?
>
>I have David Dilcher's 2000 PNAS paper
>(http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/97/13/7030.pdf)
>which seems to peg "early angiosperms" sometime in the  Cretaceous and
>only waves at mentioning Jurassic.
>
>I'm checking in on other papers, but I was hoping someone else might
>already have this knowledge handy while I search.
>
>
>Thanks much...
>Deanne Taylor PhD
>(Post here, or reply to lilyth{at}umich.edu)

150 MYA is pushing it a bit.  Even Archaefructus, the chinese "oldest
angiosperm" is dated to 125-142 million years.

Why the focus on fleshy fruits?  The Dilcher paper you cite says that
the enclosed carpel is the key trait and that large, fleshy fruits
were the last angiosperm characteristic to develop.  Then wouldn't
sarching for these fruits in the oldest angiosperms likely be a
fruitless endeavor??!!
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