'Alien plant' fossil discovered near Utah ghost town doesn't belong to any known plant families,...

Scientists have discovered that an "alien plant" first found near a Utah ghost town 55 years ago doesn't appear to be related to any currently living family or genus.

Paleontologists first found fossilized leaf specimens of the plant in 1969 and named it Othniophyton elongatum, which translates to "alien plant." At the time, they believed the extinct species could be related to ginseng.

A more recent analysis, however, has challenged that hypothesis. Steven Manchester, curator of paleobotany at the Florida Museum of Natural History and Utah fossil expert, came across an unidentified plant fossil while visiting the University of California, Berkeley paleobotany collection. This plant fossil was well preserved, and had come from the same area as the alien plant leaves