The origin of angiosperms has been a long-standing botanical debate. The great diversity of angiosperms in the Early Cretaceous makes the Jurassic a promising period in which to anticipate the origins of the angiosperms. Here, based on observations of 264 specimens of 198 individual flowers preserved on 34 slabs in various states and orientations, from the South Xiangshan Formation (Early Jurassic) of China, we describe a fossil flower, Nanjinganthus dendrostyla gen. et sp. nov.. The large number of specimens and various preservations allow for an evidence-based reconstruction of the flower. From the evidence of the combination of an invaginated receptacle and ovarian roof, we infer that the seeds of Nanjinganthus were completely enclosed. Evidence of an actinomorphic flower with a dendroid style, cup-form receptacle, and angiospermy, is consistent with Nanjinganthus being a bona fide angiosperm from the Jurassic, an inference that we hope will re-invigorate research into angiosperm origins.

The Early Jurassic angiosperm Nanjinganthus has triggered a heated debate among botanists, partially due to the fact that the enclosed ovules were visible to naked eyes only when the ovary is broken but not visible when the closed ovary is intact. Although traditional technologies cannot confirm the existence of ovules in a closed ovary, newly available Micro-CT can non-destructively reveal internal features of fossil plants. Here, we performed Micro-CT observations on three dimensionally preserved coalified compressions of Nanjinganthus. Our outcomes corroborate the conclusion given by Fu et al., namely, that Nanjinganthus is an Early Jurassic angiosperm.

With the hot topic in the field of "Reform and Innovation of Education under the New Situation of the Belt and Road", the public awareness of STEM education has increased remarkably. STEM is the organic unification of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and the purpose is to train high-level innovative talents. A comparison with the development of STEM in the U.S shows that we should incorporate Chinese characteristics into STEM and increase the cultivation of innovative talents in China. The study focuses on the shortage of STEM education in China at the current stage. To solve these problems, there are five solutions needed.

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