Paleontologists from Berlin and Vienna have discovered the largest fossilized flower in the history of science in an amber ingot. The flower turned into stone about 40 million years ago, its size is 28 mm.

The piece of amber was found no later than 1872 and has long been stored in the collection of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Berlin. Until last year, it did not arouse much interest among scientists until Eva-Maria Sadowski learned about the flower from a colleague.

Paleontologists examined and described the find in detail and found that this flower is three times larger than similar fossils. Scientists also examined the pollen from the amber, establishing the species origin of the plant.

The fossilized flower was closely related to a genus of modern plants found in Asia, known as Symplocos, which are shrubs or trees with white or yellow flowers.