The «Abominable Mystery of Darwin»: A Review of the Origins and Evolution of Angiosperms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56152/StevianaFacenV17N1A3_2025Keywords:
Flower evolution, Fossil record, Phylogeny, Reproductive tissuesAbstract
Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms constitute the main component of most terrestrial
ecosystems, currently representing more than 95% of vascular plants. Their morphological, functional,
and ecological diversity has made them the dominant living plant group, with more than 290.000 species described. The origin of angiosperms was considered an enigma that Charles Darwin called an“abominable mystery.” In recent decades, the study of flower evolution has experienced advances and changes in perspective resulting from phylogenetic research and the analysis of molecular data. In this work, a review was carried out of the latest advances on the Jurassic gap and the fossil record, the modern flower, its components, and its relationship with the ancestral flower of angiosperms, as well as the latest hypotheses on the origin of the reproductive tissues’ characteristics of flowers.
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