Oldest carnivorous plant fossil

Based on indisputable evidence, the most ancient remains of a carnivorous plant found to date are leaf fragments containing trapping organs akin to today's flycatcher bush (genus Roridula) endemic to South Africa. These leaves were found preserved in Baltic amber extracted from the Jantarny mine near Kaliningrad, Russia, which has been dated to 35–47 million years old in the Eocene period. The findings were published in the PNAS journal on 6 January 2015.

The fossil record of carnivorous plants is very scant and unequivocal macrofossil evidence has been restricted to seeds of the extant aquatic genus Aldrovanda (aka the waterwheel plant); the oldest of these, Aldrovanda intermedia and A. ovata, have been dated at 34+ MYA. Other ancient specimens include A. clavate, A. sibirica and A. sobolevii, estimated to date back 24+ MYA. Older contenders exist but remain disputed. For instance, what were thought to be seeds of Palaeoaldrovanda splendens have been dated to 75–85 MYA, but recent research indicates these fossils may, in fact, be misinterpreted insect eggs.

Even older still are a group of pitcher plant-like fossils that have been named Archaeamphora, found in north-east China. To date, one species – A. longicervia – has been described, dated to approximately 124.6 MYA, and others may follow. There are some morphological similarities between this genus and some modern carnivorous plants (especially Sarracenia or Heliamphora) indicating that it could be a progenitor. However, most palaeobotanists currently think that these fossils have been misidentified as galls (plant growths triggered by another organism); its age does not fit into the well-supported understanding of how its purported allied carnivorous plants developed, both in terms of timeline and global distribution.

The study into the Roridulaceae remains preserved in amber was led by Drs. Eva-Maria Sadowski, Leyla Seyfullah and Alexander Schmidt of the University of Göttingen in Germany.