(ECNS) -- More than 80 precious plant fossils were exhibited in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, recently.
The fossils span from 400 million to 18 million years ago.
"The Archaefructus liaoningensis in my hand is a representative of the earliest flowers. It's about 125 million years old," said Li Guoxiang, Curator of Nanjing Museum of Paleontology.
Li said Archaefructus liaoningensis once grew in water.
Thanks to volcanic ash and other reasons, it slowly evolved into fossils and was preserved forever.
In the late Jurassic period, the climate was warm and humid, perfect for these plants' growth.Volcanic ashes preserved the fossils, Li said.
The fossils were collected by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology under Chinese Academy of Sciences.
