A “Big Bang” of plant evolution

[Michaelangelica]

r. . .e*search*ers re*port that the two larg*est groups of flow*er*ing plants are more closely re*lat*ed to each oth*er than any of the oth*er ma*jor lin*eages are. These are the mono*cots, which in*clude grasses and their rel*a*tives, and the eu*di*cots, which in*clude sunflow*ers and toma*toes.


The sci*en*tists al*so found that a stun*ning di*ver*sifica*t*ion of flow*er*ing plants they call the “Big Bang” hap*pened in the rel*a*tively short span of un*der five mil*lion years—and led to all five ma*jor lin*eages of flow*er*ing plants alive.

“Flow*er*ing plants to*day com*prise around 400,000 spe*cies,” said Pam Soltis. . .

A "Big Bang" of plant evolution