<P> Seeds offered further advantages to their bearers: they increased the success rate of fertilised gametophytes, and because a nutrient store could be "packaged" in with the embryo, the seeds could germinate rapidly in inhospitable environments, reaching a size where it could fend for itself more quickly . For example, without an endosperm, seedlings growing in arid environments would not have the reserves to grow roots deep enough to reach the water table before they expired from dehydration . Likewise, seeds germinating in a gloomy understory require an additional reserve of energy to quickly grow high enough to capture sufficient light for self - sustenance . A combination of these advantages gave seed plants the ecological edge over the previously dominant genus Archaeopteris, thus increasing the biodiversity of early forests . </P> <P> Despite these advantages, it is common for fertilized ovules to fail to mature as seeds . Also during seed dormancy (often associated with unpredictable and stressful conditions) DNA damage accumulates . Thus DNA damage appears to be a basic problem for survival of seed plants, just as DNA damage is a major problem for life in general . </P> <P> Flowers are modified leaves possessed only by the angiosperms, which are relatively late to appear in the fossil record . The group originated and diversified during the Early Cretaceous and became ecologically significant thereafter . Flower - like structures first appear in the fossil records some ~ 130 mya, in the Cretaceous . </P> <P> Colorful and / or pungent structures surround the cones of plants such as cycads and Gnetales, making a strict definition of the term "flower" elusive . </P>

When did flowers first appear in the fossil record