Angiosperms and their flowers have greatly diversified into an overwhelming array of forms
in the past 135 million years. Diversification was shaped by changes in climate and the …

Contributions from paleobotany, phylogenetics, genomics, developmental biology, and
developmental genetics have yielded tremendous insight into Darwin's “abominable …

Recent advances in molecular phylogenetics and a series of important palaeobotanical
discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of angiosperm diversification. Yet, the …

Floral morphology is key for understanding floral evolution and plant identification. Floral
diagrams are two-dimensional representations of flowers that replace extensive descriptions …

Increasingly robust understanding of angiosperm phylogeny allows more secure
reconstruction of the flower in the most recent common ancestor of extant angiosperms and …

The angiosperms, one of five groups of extant seed plants, are the largest group of land
plants. Despite their relatively recent origin, this clade is extremely diverse morphologically …

Background Understanding the mode and mechanisms of the evolution of the angiosperm
flower is a long-standing and central problem of evolutionary biology and botany. It has …

The ABC model of floral organ identity is based on studies of Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum,
both of which are highly derived eudicots. Most of the genes required for the ABC functions …

This chapter brings together aspects of floral development and evolution in angiosperms
derived from the diversity of structures of extant plants. It provides a framework especially …

Flower morphology results from the interaction of an established genetic program, the
influence of external forces induced by pollination systems, and physical forces acting …