Leefructus (lat.) Is an extinct genus of dicotyledonous plants , close to members of the family Ranunculaceae , represented by a single (?) Species † Leefructus mirus [2] [3] . Selected and described by a group of American and Chinese scientists in 2011 [4] .
| † Leefructus |
| Scientific classification |
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| The kingdom : | Green plants |
| Over Order : | Ranunculanae Takht. ex Reveal , 1993 |
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| International Scientific Name |
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Leefructus G. Sun et al. , 2011 |
| Single species |
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† Leefructus mirus |
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The genus Leefructus is one of the earliest known representatives of the basal eudicot group at present [2] . The find is considered important for studying the evolution of flowering (angiosperms) plants [3] [4] .
The taxonomic name is given in honor of the plant collector Shimin Lee, who transferred the fossilized plant sample to researchers [4] .
Content
A sample (escape) of a single species of Leefructus mirus was found in the Yixian Formation ( Liaoning Province) [2] . Its age is estimated at 125 million years: by this time flowering plants were already growing on Earth, but this species is one of the oldest representatives of the largest group of flowering plants - eudicots [3] . Although Leefructus mirus dates from the Cretaceous period , it is possible that eudicotes could appear on our planet earlier, in the Jurassic period [4] .
The plant was attributed to the buttercups - the ancient family of eudicotes, preserved to our days [4] .
The above-ground part of the plant is about 16 cm long. The stalk carried five leafy leaves. The flowers were developed, their bracts had five small leaves each; they were probably attractive to insects (flies, beetles, moths, scorpions), who participated in the pollination of Leefructus . Based on the fact that the specimen was found in volcanic ash in the area of an ancient lake, the fossil plant, apparently, preferred wet and swampy areas [4] .