Early Permian fossil fruit reshapes angiosperm history

Abstract Angiosperms are the most important plant group for humans in the current earth ecosystem¹. However, the origin and early history of angiosperms remain elusive and controversial ²–⁹. According to the over60-year-old stereotype in botany, angiosperms cannot be older than the Cretaceous¹⁰,¹¹. However, this thinking is now facing increasing challenges in terms of fossil evidence⁶,¹²–¹⁷ and molecular estimates⁷–⁹. Apparently, serious and independent studies on new early fossil angiosperms are urgently needed to resolve this academic confrontation. In recent years, a renewed wave of interest in Permian fossil plants in Henan’s Cathaysian flora has been rekindled by the latest palaeobotanical progress¹⁵,¹⁶. During a recent field excursion in May 2025, we collected a new fossil organ from the Lower Shihezi (formerly Shihhotse)Formation (Lower Permian) of Dengfeng, Henan, China. This new fossil organ is interpreted as a large fruit and named Dengfengfructus maxima gen. et sp. nov. The seed enclosed in the fruit has a peripheral three-layered seed coat, which distinguishes the seed itself from an otherwise possible nucellus in a seed. The good preservation allows the cellular details in the seed coat and seed content to be revealed. Unlike contemporary Taiyuanostachya¹⁶ and Yuzhoua¹⁵, Dengfengfructus has a large size and a thick pericarp. This new fossil organ apparently updates and enhances the current understanding of angiosperms and their diversity in the Permian. The history of angiosperms can be dated back to the Early Permian (Palaeozoic). The former stereotype that angiosperms are restricted to the Cretaceous and later ages falls apart in front of the currently available palaeobotanical progress and molecular estimates. Obviously, we are facing a wave of botanical theories in the near future.