ArticleNature communications2017
The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification.
Article in Nature communications, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 113 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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113 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Machine learning enables prediction of metabolic system evolution in bacteria.Science advances · 2023Pooled it
- Mechanisms of Phenotypic Evolution from Molecules to Organisms: Integrating Evolutionary Biochemistry and Evolutionary Developmental Biology.Annual review of ecology, evolution, and systematics · 2026Article
- Loss, persistence and reversal of phenotypic traits.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Floral morphoanatomy in Gymnocalycium (Cactaceae): Phylogenetic insights from structural analysis.Protoplasma · 2026Article
- Floral symmetry is associated with contrasting hydraulic strategies and trait coordination in angiosperm flowers.Plant diversity · 2026Article
- Biogeographical variation of angiosperm taxonomic traits exhibits a globally consistent structure.Nature plants · 2026Article
- The evolution of leaf traces in eupolypod ferns.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Trimerous magnoliid flowers with a unique set of floral and pollen traits from the Late Cretaceous of Southern Bohemia (Czech Republic).The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Summarizing Evolutionary Trajectories from Phylogenetic Character Maps of Discrete Traits.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Evolution, Systematics and Classification of Commelinales (Commelinids, Monocots) Based on a Giant Morphological Taxon-Character Matrix.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Modular control of orchid beauty: co-expression networks orchestrate organ development and evolution in Phalaenopsis flower.Plant molecular biology · 2026Article
- Sugar-mediated physical constraints drive the evolution of pollination drops into nectar.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Two independent origins of XY sex chromosomes in Asparagus.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Meristems clarify fuzzy floral boundaries: a commentary on 'Are capitula inflorescences? A reassessment based on flower-like meristem identity and ray flower development'.Annals of botany · 2026Article
- Beyond pollination syndromes? Reflections on the classifications of Federico Delpino.Annals of botany · 2026Article
- Convergent evolution of sex chromosomes in two palm species, Phoenix dactylifera and Kerriodoxa elegans.Annals of botany · 2025Article
- Reversibility of sex changes in the plant kingdom: more important than we thought?Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- General laws of biodiversity: Climatic niches predict plant range size and ecological dominance globally.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Construction of Ancestral Chromosomes in Gymnosperms and the Application in Comparative Genomic Analysis.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Application of the Montgomery Equation in Morphometric Analysis of Tepals: A Case Study ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
53 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Abstract
Recent advances in molecular phylogenetics and a series of important palaeobotanical discoveries have revolutionized our understanding of angiosperm diversification. Yet, the origin and early evolution of their most characteristic feature, the flower, remains poorly understood. In particular, the structure of the ancestral flower of all living angiosperms is still uncertain. Here we report model-based reconstructions for ancestral flowers at the deepest nodes in the phylogeny of angiosperms, using the largest data set of floral traits ever assembled. We reconstruct the ancestral angiosperm flower as bisexual and radially symmetric, with more than two whorls of three separate perianth organs each (undifferentiated tepals), more than two whorls of three separate stamens each, and more than five spirally arranged separate carpels. Although uncertainty remains for some of the characters, our reconstruction allows us to propose a new plausible scenario for the early diversification of flowers, leading to new testable hypotheses for future research on angiosperms.
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