TV Program Description
Original PBS Broadcast Date: April 17, 2007
In a story blooming with beauty and scientific mystery, this
program explores the incredible truth that lies behind the
ravishing flowers we so love to behold: that humans could not
have existed or evolved without them. "First Flower" probes
the controversial discovery of Archaefructus, a Chinese
fossil scientists believe is the earliest evidence of a flower
yet found on Earth. Following the trail of clues to the
fossil's origins, a vivid journey takes NOVA's cameras deep
into the lush wilds of China, giving audiences a view into a
spectacular living safety deposit box, where some of the
world's most beloved flowers originated (see
Mother of Gardens).
Flowers have long been at the center of human life. They grace
our gardens, brighten our homes, express our gratitude, and
even reveal the secrets of our hearts. But they are also
essential to human survival. Flowering plants—which
include not just our favorite roses, daffodils, and orchids
but also wheat, rice, and corn—provide food and medicine
and drive national economies. Yet for all our love and need of
flowers, until recently, the basic questions about how flowers
evolved into the most important and prolific of plants have
confounded scientists. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin
himself called the dazzling variety of flowers "an abominable
mystery," and the puzzle of how flowers came to make up 95
percent of all plants on Earth continues today.
In "First Flower", an intrepid group of botanists and
paleobotanists reveal how that "abominable mystery" is
starting to move towards a solution. Flowers have always
ignited passion, and NOVA captures in glorious images how they
are continuing to inspire new scientific discoveries today. It
all begins in remote northern China, where amidst the
country's rich, volcanic conditions for fossil-finding,
Professor Sun Ge and his team first unearth the
Archaefructus fossil from an ancient lake in a region
where dinosaurs once roamed. Sun Ge brings his amazing find to
paleobotanist David Dilcher at the University of Florida, who
has been hunting for a fossil like this his entire life.
For Dilcher, the first step is to determine if
Archaefructus is actually a flower. But what makes a
flower a flower? As Dilcher explains, the power behind flowers
is that sex sells. With their tender petals, brilliant colors,
alluring fragrances, and tasty nectars, flowers were
essentially Earth's first advertisers, using their come-hither
looks as "billboards" to entice insects to visit them and
propagate their pollen. Archaefructus might not look or
smell like flowers as we know them today, but by analyzing the
leaves, vein patterns, pollen, and protective seed covering,
Dilcher confirms that this prehistoric plant is a prototype of
the magnificent flowers all around us (see
Flowers Modern & Ancient).
As Dilcher continues the challenging task of examining clues
to the fossil's origins and age, Archaefructus gains
fame, gracing the cover of Science and The
New York Times. The fossil also starts to garner
controversy. Among the most vocal critics of the find is
Stockholm-based paleobotanist Else Marie Friis. Friis has made
another remarkable discovery captured in the film: tiny, 120
million-year-old flower buds that long ago turned to charcoal.
Friis doesn't question that Archaefructus is an ancient
flowering plant, but believes earlier examples are yet to be
found.
The exploration continues in China's Hengduan Mountains, where
NOVA unveils tantalizing footage of the most biodiverse
temperate forest on Earth, containing tens of thousands of
plant species, including many so gorgeous and exotic they make
flower-lovers swoon. This environmentally endangered "safe
deposit box" for flowers has kept alive beloved varieties that
would have otherwise been wiped out forever when glaciers
covered most of North America and Europe.
Here, Chinese botanist Yin Kaipu and American plant explorer
Dan Hinkley (known as the "Indiana Jones" of the plant world)
are retracing the steps of British explorer Ernest H. Wilson,
who in the early 1900s braved arduous journeys and serious
injury to bring back flowers no one had ever seen before,
including the regal lily, now world-famous for its glistening
white petals and heady perfume. Yin and Hinkley are continuing
the vital work Wilson started, classifying and sorting
varieties to better understand and preserve them. (See our
interview and outtakes
with Dan Hinkley.)
That task is taking another leap forward at Kew Gardens, where
the film gives audiences a peek at flowers first collected by
Darwin himself on his Beagle voyage. Here, the plant
equivalent of the Human Genome Project is under way, forging a
new family tree of flowers—with many surprises, such as
the news that strawberries and marijuana are closely related.
Genetic studies have also uncovered the oldest known living
flower, amborella, which grows only on the Pacific
island of New Caledonia.
For all of these devoted botanists, the story told in "First
Flower" is just the beginning. As the study of ancient
fossils, rare living plants, and previously unexplored genetic
structures continues, there are certain to be new revelations
behind the secrets of flowers' overwhelming success.
Program Transcript
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