Evolutionary History of Life - Flowering Plants

Flowering Plants

Gymnosperms




Gnetales
(gymnosperm)



Welwitschia
(gymnosperm)




Ephedra
(gymnosperm)




Bennettitales



Angiosperms
(flowering plants)




One possible family tree of flowering plants.
Gymnosperms

Angiosperms
(flowering plants)






Cycads
(gymnosperm)



Bennettitales




Gingko





Gnetales
(gymnosperm)



Conifers
(gymnosperm)





Another possible family tree.

The 250,000 to 400,000 species of flowering plants outnumber all other ground plants combined, and are the dominant vegetation in most terrestrial ecosystems. There is fossil evidence that flowering plants diversified rapidly in the Early Cretaceous, from 130 to 90 Ma, and that their rise was associated with that of pollinating insects. Among modern flowering plants Magnolias are thought to be close to the common ancestor of the group. However paleontologists have not succeeded in identifying the earliest stages in the evolution of flowering plants.

Read more about this topic:  Evolutionary History Of Life

Famous quotes containing the words flowering and/or plants:

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    Philip Larkin (1922–1986)

    So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
    Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 3:7-9.