Page 70 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2023 Edition

70 Ancestors of Coffee and Potatoes

Ancestors of Coffee and

Potatoes Survived
Cataclysm That Killed the

Dinosaurs Discovery
extends the record of

nearly 40,000 species of
flowering plants to the

Cretaceous period

Continued from Page 69

To confirm his thinking about the fossil,
Atkinson needed to take a closer look. He
studied the fossil fruit’s structures using

light microscopy, which allowed him to
generate beautiful photographs of the
specimen. By scrutinizing its
deep time to better reconcile how modern wine-like drink (yum!?).
arrangement of ridges, pits, rows, and
biodiversity came to be—and potentially
tubercles, the KU investigator could
how it will fare in the future with climate - There are two main types: Arabica
make comparisons to previously
change,” said Atkinson. “I’ve been trying and Robusta.
described fossils to place it correctly to characterize these evolutionary events Growers predominantly plant the
within its family tree. The work
of flowering plants in the Cretaceous Arabica species. Although less popular,
challenged Atkinson because he’d never
period, when the diversity of these plants Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and
described a “compression fossil” of its
just exploded. The Cretaceous record of contains more caffeine.
kind. lamiids has been hard to establish, but I

knew these fossils had to be around. The - Brazil grows the most coffee in the
“I'm used to working on fossils that
West Coast of North America is under- world.
preserve in a different mode called
sampled for Cretaceous plants compared Today, Brazil produces about third
‘permineralization,’” Atkinson said.
to the Western Interior and East Coast of of the world's supply, according to the
“This is my first paper on a compression North America. By broadening our International Coffee Organization, about
fossil, and it was a little bit nerve- sampling geographically, we'll come twice as much as the second place holder,
wracking, working in a different
across more and more plants to help us Vietnam.
preservation type than you're used to.
understand Cretaceous diversification
Imaging it is a whole different process—
that led to modern biodiversity.” - Only two U.S. states produce coffee.
I'm glad this turned out so well.” Kona coffee is the United States'
SOME COFFEE TRIVIA gift to the coffee world. Because coffee
After placing the fossil plant within the
traditionally grows best in climates along
genus Palaeophytocrene, Atkinson
- The drink dates back to 800 A.D. the equator, Hawaii's weather is optimal
named the species chicoensis after the
Legend has it that 9th-century goat for harvesting beans. California also
Chico Formation where it was found.
herders noticed the effect caffeine had on recently got into the coffee game with
their goats, who appeared to "dance" after dozens of farms now churning out pricey
“I just named it after the formation it was
eating the fruit of the Coffea plant. A premium bags.
recovered from,” he said. “Part of my job
local monk then made a drink with the
is coming up with scientific names for
produce and found that it kept him awake - Multiple people have tried to ban
new species that I describe, but I’m not
at night, thus the original cup of coffee coffee.
that creative about it—usually I look up
was born. Back in 1511, leaders in Mecca
the location where it was discovered. Has
believed it stimulated radical thinking
that name been taken already?”
- Coffee beans are technically seeds. and outlawed the drink. Some 16th-
They're the pits of the cherry-like century Italian clergymen also tried to
If the fossil fruit’s name is humdrum, it’s
berries found on the flowering shrubs, ban coffee because they believed it to be
significance isn’t. The KU researcher
but we call them "beans" because of the "satanic." However, Pope Clement VII
said the findings help establish that one
resemblance to legumes. loved coffee so much that he lifted the
of the most diverse flowering plant
ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
groups survived the cataclysm that killed
- And you can eat coffee cherries as a Even as recently as the 18th
the dinosaurs to evolve into thousands of
food. century, the Swedish government made
familiar modern species, including vital
Early on, people mixed coffee both coffee and coffee paraphernalia
food crops for humanity.
berries with fat to create an energy-rich (including cups and dishes) illegal for its
snack ball, according to PBS. They supposed ties to rebellious sentiment. []
“My research involves understanding
would also ferment the pulp to make a