Leafy Friends

Fossil evidence shows that Magnolias existed at least as far back as the Cretaceous period, the same time period that bees/wasps first came into the scene, and at a time where floral pollination was mostly ruled by other insects like beetles (research has shown that older plant clads like Cycads may have been using beetles for their pollination, and to a degree still depend on beetles depending on the species).

Ginkgos first appeared in the Triassic period- when their seed dispersers disappeared from the scene is not known as we don’t even know what they were to begin with. It could’ve been any time from then to the Ice Age for all we know (I’m leaning towards Ice Age cause if it’s the former… holy fuck they been holding on this world w/o help for a long time). While their wild range today is only a vague lil valley in China, the Ginkgos used to be a worldwide tree species.

To give a perspective for those who don’t know what those time periods mean;

Magnolias evolved near the start of the time period that’s called the final period for the dinosaurs (that makes it sound like they came into the world when the dinos kicked the bucket- but in reality it was still a good couple of million years).

A young fruiting body of the fungus Pseudoinonotus dryadeus. This fungi is commonly associated with oak (Quercus) species of tree and is sometimes called the Eiffel tower fungus. It gets this common name from its habit of degrading the wood at the base of the tree, between the buttresses, in advanced stages leaving only the buttresses of the tree remaining, kinda looking like the Eiffel tower!

“Oh come on it can;t be that b-”