Ancient flower may have been toxic
By Will Dunham in Washington | China Daily | Updated: 2016-02-20 08:21
Do not let its beauty fool you. A newly identified and exquisitely preserved flower found entombed in amber - fossilized tree sap - may have packed quite a punch.
Scientists announced on Monday the discovery of the flower that lived 20 million to 30 million years ago, named Strychnos electri, inside amber dug out of the side of a mountain in the Dominican Republic.
It was a member of a group of flowers that are today the source of the poisons strychnine and curare. According to the researchers, it also likely boasted toxic compounds.
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