Faculty - Dr. Hongqi Li - Biography

Research Interests

My research interests are mainly focused on the "origin of angiosperms" that has been an "abominable mystery" since Darwin. Currently, we still do not know when, where, and from which plants the flowering plants originated, while the confirmed, earliest angiosperm megafossils are 125 million years old Archaefructus, found from the Lower Cretaceous, Liaoning, northeastern China.

I have reported a species of the genus, Archaefructus eoflora (Ji et al., 2004). More excitingly, I also have found fossil pitcher plants from the same place and same fossil flora (Li, 2005). The fossil pitcher plants of Archaeamphora longicervia share many characteristics with modern sarraceniacean pitcher plants of America. Since Sarraceniaceae are placed within the crown group of angiosperms, the discovery of the sarraceniacean-like fossil pitcher plants suggests the basal angiosperms should have originated much earlier, possibly as 280 million years ago as recent molecular clock studies suggested.

To trace the possible PreCretaceous angiosperms, I am applying two approaches, studying the plant morphology and anatomy and analyzing fossil molecules from 1) angiosperms collected form the Yixian Formation of the Early Cretaceous, northeastern China; 2) possible angiosperm fossil plants collected form the Middle-Late Jurassic, northeastern China; 3) fossil plants that have some angiosperm characteristics, collected form the Late Triassic- Early Jurassic, northern and southern China; and 4) Permian gigantopterids (250-290 million years ago) from China and USA.

I have been studying Chinese gigantopterids since 1983 and found their morphology (e.g., broad leaves, complex reticulate venation) and anatomy (e.g., paracytic stomata, vessels. 1996 Science) make them resemble angiosperms the most among all living and fossil seed plants, and their Permian age well matches the origin time of angiosperms suggested by molecular clock studies (see my gigantopterid-related-papers published in 1990, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 1999). However, because the confirmed earliest angiosperms are only about 125 million years old, I have been hesitating to further correlate gigantopterids with angiosperms, unless I obtain some more convincing evidence.

Because there is no DNA or RNA preserved in PreCretaceous fossil plants, we have to use other stable fossil molecular to trace lineage of angiosperms. Oleanane appears to be an ideal angiosperm biomarker because it has been found in most angiosperm families, and its increase matches well with the diversification of flowering plants during Cretaceous. I have found oleanane from Archaeamphora from the Lower Cretaceous (Li, 2005) and the Chinese gigantopterids of Permian (Taylor et al., 2006 in press). Nature editor Dr. Henry Gee pointed out that, "If they (gigantopterids) are found to be closer to the flowering plants, the lineage leading to flowering plants will be put securely back into the Permian period" (http://www.nature.com/nsu/991209/991209-8.html).

My discovery of fossil pitcher plants also inspired my interests in study of modern carnivorous plants, including their origin, phytogeography, morphology, ecology, conservation, and molecular as well as medicinal studies. Currently, I have one graduate student working on a comprehensive project on local populations of Sarracenia purpurea. Beside these, I have organizing the 6th Conference of International Carnivorous Plant Society, hosted at Frostburg State University, June 1-5, 2006.

Therefore, I am not only studying fossil plants, but also modern plants. In particular, when I cannot find some morphology/anatomy of a modern plant from literature, I will dissect the plant and use my own observation to clarify some characteristics in related fossil plants. For example, when I study the earliest, anatomically preserved fossil cycad, I dissected living cycad material to obtain a comprehensive understanding of anatomy of cycads. These studies may lead to important discoveries to clarify some evolutionary problems.

Recent Grants:

• 2006 Undergraduate student research grant for advising undergraduate student research projects, $2,500 (total $4,000) awarded by FSU.
• 2004 Conference Presentation Grant for Presentation "Morphology and Biogeochemistry of Possible Fossil Pitcher Plants from the Early Cretaceous, China" at The Fifth Conference of International Carnivorous Plants Society, Lyon, France, $1,000 awarded by FSU.
• 2002, "Tracing the origin of angiosperms through investigating fossil molecule oleanane from fossil plants," $35,000, awarded by Petroleum Research Fund (PRF), American Chemical Society (ACS).
  
• 2002, Match-up grant for "Tracing the origin of angiosperms through investigating fossil molecule oleanane from fossil plants in China," ¥100,000 (˜$12,000), awarded by National Petroleum Corporation of China.
  
• 2001 Faculty Development Grant for project "Visiting China and follow up working on Campus for both research and teaching," $2,250, awarded by Frostburg State University.
  
• 2000 Research grant for cooperative projects on studies of Paleozoic fossil plants, ¥25,000 (˜$3,000), awarded by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology.
  

Selected Publications:

• 2006 Taylor, David Winship, Hongqi Li, Jeremy Dahl, Fred J. Fago, David Zinniker, and J. Michael Moldowan. Biogeochemical Evidence for Late Paleozoic origin and deep phylogenetic root of Angiosperms. Paleobiology 32(2): 179-190.
• 2005 Hongqi Li. Early Cretaceous Sarraceniacean-like Pitcher Plants from China. Acta Botanica Gallica 152 (2) 227-234.
  
• 2005 Yuejin Hua and Hongqi Li*. Food Web and Fluid in Pitchers of Nepenthes mirabilis in Zhuhai, China. Acta Botanica Gallica 152 (2) 165-176.
  
• 2004 Ji, Qiang, Hongqi Li, L. Michelle Bowe, Yusheng Liu, and David W. Taylor. Early Cretaceous Archaefructus eoflora sp. nov. with bisexual flowers from Beipiao, western Liaoning, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 78, 883-896.
• 1999, Li, Hongqi and David W. Taylor. Vessel-Bearing Stems, Vasovinea tianii gen. et sp. nov. (Gigantopteridales), from the Upper Permian of Guizhou Province, China. American Journal of Botany 86(11): 1563-1575.
• 1998, Li, Hongqi and David W. Taylor. Aculeovinea yunguiensis gen. et sp. nov. (Gigantopteridales), a new taxon of gigantopterid axis from the Upper Permian of Guizhou Province, China. International Journal of Plant Sciences 159: 1023-1033.
• 1996, Li, Hongqi, Edith. L. Taylor, and Thomas. N. Taylor: Permian vessel elements. Science 271: 188-189.
• 1994, Li, Hongqi, Baolin Tian, Edith L. Taylor, and Thomas N. Taylor: Foliar Anatomy of Gigantonoclea guizhouensis (Gigantopteridales) from the Upper Permian of Guizhou Province, China. American Journal of Botany 81(6): 678-689.

Learn more about Dr. Hongqi Li (Last updated on 8/24/2006).