Well-written article and interesting read. What I didn't understand is in what sense that plant is considered "ancient"? Is it the lifespan of individual plants (300 years)? The article claims that "The plant is a relict, an ancient hanger-on from a time just after the death of the dinosaurs" -- I'd like to know what is meant by that sentence that isn't equally true for homo sapiens.
Good point. I'm assuming they mean ancient in genetic sense, i.e. kind of species that were typical back when dinosaurs were around and because of their somewhat isolated history, they evolved in a slightly different way from most plants in that geographical area.
