Its now long extinct, but when it thrived in remote parts of the Miocene subpolar rainforest, the Hokus vitriflorus, or Giant Vitrifruit Tree, bore remarkable globelike pods made of hardened clear resin and filled with the sweetest nectar. The pods could be plucked and carried away by early hominids for convenient portable refreshment. Or so amateur paleobotanist Allison Kyzmyrik likes to tell people.
