Amber is usually associated with dinosaurs, prehistoric insects and forests that flourished long after life had become well established on land. The oldest confirmed pieces of fossilised tree resin, until now, came from rocks dating to roughly 320 million years ago. That picture has changed with a discovery from north-west China.Scientists have identified tiny fragments of amber preserved in rocks around 385 million years old, pushing the confirmed fossil record of amber back by about 65 million years. According to the new study published in Science Advances, titled “The earliest amber from the Middle Devonian of China”, it does more than add another ancient specimen to museum collections. It suggests that some of Earth’s earliest vascular plants had already developed sophisticated resin-producing systems far earlier than previously confirmed, offering a different perspective on how plants adapted to life on land. The amber represents the oldest chemically verified example ever discovered.
Where the world’s oldest amber was discovered in China
The newly identified amber comes from the Middle Devonian Hujiersite Formation in Xinjiang, China, where researchers extracted hundreds of microscopic amber pieces from coal deposits. Most fragments measured only between 0.1 and 0.5 millimetres across, with the largest reaching about 1.5 millimetres, making them far smaller than the amber commonly found in younger geological formations.For decades, the oldest widely accepted amber had been dated to the Late Carboniferous period, around 320 million years ago. The Chinese specimens extend that record by approximately 65 million years. According to the authors, earlier reports from Devonian rocks had hinted at resin-like material, but those examples lacked the chemical evidence needed to confirm that they were genuine fossil amber. This discovery provides that missing confirmation through detailed laboratory analysis.
How ancient plants evolved resin production 385 million years ago
The age of the amber matters because resin is not simply sticky sap. It is produced through specialised biological pathways that help plants seal wounds and defend themselves from environmental damage and disease.Chemical testing showed that the fossil amber shares important characteristics with resin produced by modern conifer relatives. That does not mean conifers themselves existed at the time. Instead, it indicates that some Middle Devonian vascular plants had already evolved the biochemical machinery needed to produce complex terpenoid resins. The team suggests likely candidates include progymnosperms or tree-like lycopsids, both groups known from the fossil flora preserved alongside the amber, although the exact source plant cannot yet be identified with confidence.This pushes back the confirmed appearance of sophisticated resin production in plants and provides an important benchmark for understanding when these defensive systems first emerged during plant evolution.
Why early plants evolved resin production in the Devonian period
Modern plants rely on resin to protect damaged tissue, block invading microbes and respond to physical injury. The Devonian world was very different from today’s forests, yet plants still faced environmental pressures.Repeated wildfires had already become part of terrestrial ecosystems by that time, while fossil evidence also points to fungal pathogens infecting early land plants. Those hazards may have created strong evolutionary pressure for plants capable of sealing wounds quickly and limiting infection. Evidence for widespread insect feeding on vascular plants appears much later, making fire damage and disease more likely drivers behind the earliest development of resin production.The researchers also suggest that ancient amber may have been overlooked more often than assumed because these early resin deposits were extremely small and localised, unlike the larger amber pieces found in younger geological periods.
Why the world’s oldest amber is a landmark discovery for plant evolution
Amber is valued because it can preserve chemical signatures for hundreds of millions of years, sometimes alongside traces of the environment in which it formed. Even though these newly discovered fragments are tiny and contain no trapped insects or other spectacular inclusions, they still offer rare evidence of biological innovation during a key stage in the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems.The discovery suggests that the ability to produce resin should now be considered alongside other major Devonian plant innovations, such as deeper rooting systems, woody growth and increasingly complex vascular tissues. Rather than appearing later in Earth’s history, resin production may already have been helping some early plants survive injury and environmental stress nearly 385 million years ago.
