An Extinct Dinosaur-Era Plant Has Been Rediscovered

A plant thought to have gone extinct for more than 66 million years,during the age of the dinosaurs has recently been found growing on modern Earth, in what has been heralded as a pretty striking discovery.

Known as Lychnothamnus barbatus, this large green algae  was discovered by a team of scientists led by Drexel University in Philadelphia. Although native to other parts of the world, it was thought to have died out in North America long ago.

Its rediscovery, however, suggests one of two things. Either it has been brought here accidentally by incoming ships. Or, more interestingly, it may never have gone extinct in North America at all. The findings are described in the American Journal of Botany.