花，挑战不可能。虽然外表弱不禁风，但花是强悍的战士。它们的历史充满征服地球的战绩。目前，地球所有植物物种之中，有花植物占了九成。花在生命之树的哪个位置？何时在地球诞生？为何种类如此繁多？它们拥有什么战无不胜的超能力？
新一代科学家正努力回答这些问题，解决花的不解之谜。从非洲沙漠到阿尔卑斯山的山头，他们的发现正彻底改变我们对有花植物的起源和数量暴增的了解。
英国生物学家埃德维·莫瓦，以电子显微镜观察木槿花瓣，发现这种植物拥有一种奇妙的能力，可以操纵光线，是吸引授粉昆虫的无敌武器。以色列的进化理论家妮勒哈德尼，则利用最先进的技术研究花朵，揭示它们有着意想不到的超能力—感应声音。
在苏黎世植物园和白朗峰，生物学家科里亚.谢斯图和塞巴斯坦.拉凡尔努力研究花朵为何有着人种类繁多的缤纷色彩和形状。他们的研究显示，授粉者和地理分隔对开花植物的种类迅速增加起着重要作用。
在新喀里多尼亚和纳米比亚，遗传学家瓦莱丽.宝蒂和弗朗索瓦·帕西带领团队，搜索史前植物，希望破解这些植物的基因密码，揭开有花植物起源的秘密。
以上种种发现，令科学家可以追溯地球植物生命的奇妙历史，并解开自然界其中一个最棘手的谜团—花的不解之谜。

Flowers defy the impossible. Under their seemingly fragile appearance, they’re fierce fighters. Their  history is that of their dazzling conquest of the planet. Today, they represent 90% of plant species. This utter domination has intrigued scientists for centuries. According to Charles Darwin, “The rapid development of flowering plants is an abominable mystery.” What place do flowers hold in the tree of all living beings? When did they first appear on Earth? How can we explain their prodigious diversification? And what are the superpowers that make them invincible? To answer these question and solve the abominable mystery of flowers, a new generation of scientists is hard at work. From the African deserts to the summits of the Alps, their discoveries are revolutionizing the way we conceive the origin and expansion of flowering plants.
In the UK, biologist Edwige Moyroud is observing hibiscus petals under an electronic microscope. Her work has highlighted fascinating powers that allow the plant to manipulate light beams, an unstoppable weapon to attract pollinating insects. In Israel, evolution theoretician Lilach Hadany is studying flowers using state-of-the-art technology in order to reveal an unsuspected superpower: Their capacity to detect sounds.
At the Zurich Botanical Garden and in the Mont Blanc massif, biologists Florian Schiestl and Sébastien Lavergne are trying to understand the dizzying diversity of shapes and colors in the floral world. Their research shows the role of pollinators and of geographical isolation in the lightning-fast diversification of flowering plants.
In New Caledonia and Namibia, geneticists Valérie Burtet and François Parcy are leading expeditions in search of prehistoric plants. Their hope is that the deciphering of their genetic code will unlock the secret of the origin of flowering plants.
Thanks to these discoveries, scientists are now able to retrace the fascinating history of vegetable life on Earth and to solve the abominable mystery of flowers, one of nature’s most tenacious enigmas.