A new portrait of the world’s first flower is unveiled

Reconstruction of sex organs and petallike parts gives clues to ancient flowers’ origin

First flower reconstruction

FLOWER POWER  This 3-D reconstruction reveals what the first flowers may have looked like. Female reproductive organs (green), male reproductive organs (yellow), and petallike structures (white) are shown.

H. Sauquet and Jürg Schönenberger

Our view of the earliest flowers just bloomed.