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A PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF EXTANT SEED PLANTS: THE NEED TO UTILIZE HOMOLOGOUS CHARACTERS
Author(s) -
Young David A.,
Richardson P. Mick
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
taxon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1996-8175
pISSN - 0040-0262
DOI - 10.2307/1219988
Subject(s) - cladistics , phylogenetic tree , extant taxon , biology , homologous chromosome , ancestor , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , phylogenetic relationship , botany , geography , genetics , gene , archaeology
Summary The characters used in a recent phylogenetic analysis of land plants to derive the “Gneticae” and flowering plants from a common ancestor are critically evaluated. In our opinion, these characters are not homologous in the two groups and cannot be used in such a fashion. A cladistic analysis of seed plants (or land plants) is a worthwhile endeavor, but requires careful consideration of the homologous nature of the characters that are utilized in such an analysis.