29 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Largest-Known Flower Preserved in Amber Is Nearly 40 Million Years Old

The largest-known fossilized flower encased in amber, dating back nearly 40 million years, was again discovered in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.

Researchers have reexamined the rare amber fossil, which was first identified as the property of a pharmacist by the name of Kowalewski in what is now the Russian city of Kaliningrad in 1872.

According to Eva-Maria Sadowski, a postdoctoral researcher at Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde and author of the new study, the striking fossil had been languishing largely forgotten in the collection of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).

This tawny blossom, which looks like it was just plucked out of a bouquet, is the largest flower ever found in amber, the team reported on Thursday in a new study published in Scientific Reports. The blossom is so well preserved that the researchers were able to identify its floral descendants now residing a continent away.

The sticky resin from a conifer tree near the Baltic Sea preserved the bloom for millions of years. Photo: Carola Radke / Museum für Naturkunde Berlin
The sticky resin from a conifer tree near the Baltic Sea preserved the bloom for millions of years. Photo: Carola Radke / Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

In 1872, scientists identified the flower fossil as an extinct evergreen plant named Stewartia Kowalewskii. Researchers have now reexamined the specimen and determined that it was a case of mistaken identity. They discovered that the flower came from a different genus entirely: Symplocos, a flowering species that grows in southeast China and Japan today. As such, they proposed a new name for the fossil—Symplocos Kowalewskii. The first record of an ancient Symplocos plant preserved in Baltic amber.

At 28 millimeters (1.1 inches) across, the fossilized flower may not sound particularly large. But it is about three times the size of most other amber-preserved flowers and larger than nearly half of all other Baltic amber pieces.

The specimen, which is kept at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Berlin, was found in an amber deposit in what is Kaliningrad, Russia, and was first described in the late 19th century. According to Dr. Sadowski, earlier research revealed that amber from this region dates to the late Eocene epoch, between approximately 33.9 million and 38 million years ago, which suggests that this specimen also comes from the late Eocene.

Fossils like the one described in the new study are key to reconstructing what ancient ecosystems were like, Dr. Sadowski said.

Related Articles

Significant Archaeological Discovery on Failaka Island: Hellenistic Courtyard and Building Unearthed

17 February 2025

17 February 2025

The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has announced a remarkable archaeological find on Failaka Island, revealing a...

Ancient Well Dating Back to 7th Century AD Discovered on Failaka Island

18 March 2025

18 March 2025

An ancient well, dating back to the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, has been discovered on Failaka Island, providing valuable...

Seven Roman altars multicolored in the Great Northern Museum

12 November 2021

12 November 2021

We know that the ancient world is now very colorful. But these colors weren’t just limited to robes and other...

A Circular Building with Six Towers of the Achaemenid Period discovered in Khorasan

3 April 2024

3 April 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered an almost circular adobe building with six towers, built in the 6th century BC, near Birjand in...

Unique Two-Faced Gold Ring Unearthed in Poland

10 February 2024

10 February 2024

A gold ring with an unusual two-faced design, likely to be from the 11th or 12th century, has been discovered...

Rare 2,800-year-old Assyrian Scarab Seal-Amulet Found in Tabor Nature Reserve

12 February 2024

12 February 2024

A hiker in northern Israel found a rare scarab seal-amulet from the First Temple period on the ground in the...

500-year-old board game discovered carved into a stone slab in a Polish castle

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

A board game carved into stone was discovered by archaeologists investigating the castle at Ćmielów in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in...

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone chest containing the ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines

1 September 2023

1 September 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a stone chest containing the ritual deposit of 15 anthropomorphic figurines that were placed as votive offerings...

Poseidon’s Trident Discovered in Lake İznik

4 May 2025

4 May 2025

The depths of Lake İznik have yielded a discovery of profound significance, instantly captivating historians and archaeologists. The recent recovery...

Elamite clay tablet discovered 4500 years old, in southwest Iran

4 December 2021

4 December 2021

A clay tablet, estimated to be from the Elam period, about 4500 years old, was recently discovered in southwestern Iran....

Archaeologists discovered medieval Bury St Edmunds Abbey ‘Bishop Boy’ token in Norfolk

19 December 2023

19 December 2023

Archaeologists have discovered token in Norfolk in the East of England, dating from between 1470 and 1560, given to the...

Recent excavations reveal the complete water conservancy system of the nearly 5000-year-old Liangzhu Ruins

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

In recent excavations around the Liangzhu Ruins in east China’s Zhejiang Province, researchers have discovered about 20 ancient dams. Seven...

A Roman sarcophagus containing two skeletons was found in Bath, England

29 June 2021

29 June 2021

Stone walls, a Roman sarcophagus, and a cremation burial have been unearthed in a renovation project at the Bathwick Roman...

Surprising Discovery: In Guatemala, archaeologists uncover hidden neighborhood in the ancient Maya city

28 September 2021

28 September 2021

A recent lidar analysis revealed, the region surrounding Central Tikal’s Lost World Complex, which was long thought to be a...

Alexander the Great’s Bathroom Discovered at Greece’s Aigai Palace

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists say to have unearthed Alexander the Great’s bathroom at the Aigai Palace in northern Greece. The vast Aigai palace,...