View source for Flowering plant

{{Short description|Clade of seed plants that produce flowers}}
{{Redirect|Flowering Plants|the book by G. Ledyard Stebbins|Flowering Plants: Evolution Above the Species Level{{!}}''Flowering Plants: Evolution Above the Species Level''}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = 
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Valanginian|Recent|earliest=132|latest=0|Early Cretaceous ([[Valanginian]])-Recent}}
| image = {{Multiple image
|perrow          = 2
|total_width     = 270
|image1          = Ranunculus repens 1 (cropped).JPG
|caption1        = Terrestrial: [[Ranunculaceae|buttercup]]
|image2          = Nymphaea alba flower-and-leaves-DSC 3326w.jpg
|caption2        = Aquatic: [[Nymphaeaceae|water lily]]
|image3          = Meadow Foxtail head.jpg
|caption3        = Wind-pollinated: [[Poaceae|grass]]
|image4          = Apple blossom. Eastern Siberia.jpg
|caption4        = Insect-pollinated: [[Rosaceae|apple]]
|image5          = Quercus robur 4 RF (cropped).jpg
|caption5        = Tree: [[Quercus|oak]]
|image6          = Orchis simia Saarland 01.jpg 
|caption6        = Forb: [[orchid]]
|border          = infobox
|footer          = Diversity of angiosperms
}}
| taxon = Angiosperms
| authority = 
| subdivision_ranks = Groups (APG IV)
| subdivision_ref = {{sfn|APG|2016}}
| subdivision = [[Basal angiosperms]]
* [[Amborellales]]
* [[Nymphaeales]]
* [[Austrobaileyales]]
[[Core angiosperms]]
*Clades
** [[Magnoliids]]
** [[Monocots]]
** [[Eudicots]]
*Orders
** [[Chloranthales]]
** [[Ceratophyllales]]
| synonyms = *Anthophyta <small>Cronquist</small>{{sfn|Cronquist|1960}}
* Angiospermae  <small>[[John Lindley|Lindl.]]</small>
* Magnoliophyta <small>[[Arthur J. Cronquist|Cronquist]], [[Takht.]] & [[W.Zimm.]]</small><ref>{{Cite web |last= Reveal |first=James L.  |date=2011 |orig-date=or later |title=Indices Nominum Supragenericorum Plantarum Vascularium – M |url=https://www.plantsystematics.org/reveal/pbio/fam/allspgfileM.html |access-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827073817/https://www.plantsystematics.org/reveal/pbio/fam/allspgfileM.html |archive-date=27 August 2013 }}</ref>
* Magnolicae <small>Takht.</small>{{sfn|Takhtajan|1964}}
}}

'''Flowering plants''' are [[plant]]s that bear [[flowers]] and [[fruit]]s, and form the [[clade]] '''Angiospermae''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|n|dʒ|i|ə|ˈ|s|p|ɜːr|m|i:}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Lindley |first=J. |year=1830 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31944#page/21/mode/1up |title=Introduction to the Natural System of Botany |location=London |publisher=Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green |page=xxxvi |no-pp=true |access-date=29 January 2018 |archive-date=27 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827171755/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31944#page/21/mode/1up |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cantino |first1=Philip D. |last2=Doyle |first2=James A. |last3=Graham |first3=Sean W. |last4=Judd |first4=Walter S. |last5=Olmstead |first5=Richard G. |last6=Soltis |first6=Douglas E. |author-link6=Douglas E. Soltis |last7=Soltis |first7=Pamela S. |author-link7=Pamela S. Soltis |last8=Donoghue |first8=Michael J. |display-authors=3 |year=2007 |title= Towards a phylogenetic nomenclature of ''Tracheophyta'' |journal=Taxon |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=E1–E44 |doi=10.2307/25065865|jstor=25065865 }}</ref> The term '''angiosperm''' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] words {{lang|grc|ἀγγεῖον}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|angeion}}; 'container, vessel') and {{lang|grc|σπέρμα}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|sperma}}; 'seed'), meaning that the [[seed]]s are enclosed within a fruit. The group was formerly called '''Magnoliophyta'''.{{sfn|Takhtajan|1980}}

Angiosperms are by far the most diverse group of [[Embryophyte|land plants]] with 64 [[Order (biology)|orders]], 416 [[Family (biology)|families]], approximately 13,000 known [[Genus|genera]] and 300,000 known [[species]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Christenhusz |first1=M. J. M. |last2=Byng |first2=J. W. |year=2016 |title=The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=261 |pages=201–217 |url=https://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 |issue=3 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016Phytx.261..201C |access-date=21 February 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406045346/http://biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598 |url-status=live }}</ref> They include all [[forb]]s (flowering plants without a [[wood]]y [[Plant stem|stem]]), [[grass]]es and grass-like plants, a vast majority of [[broad-leaved tree]]s, [[shrub]]s and [[vine]]s, and most [[aquatic plant]]s. Angiosperms are distinguished from the other major [[seed plant]] clade, the [[gymnosperm]]s, by having [[flower]]s, [[xylem]] consisting of [[vessel element]]s instead of [[tracheids]], [[endosperm]] within their seeds, and fruits that completely envelop the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from the common ancestor of all living gymnosperms before the end of the [[Carboniferous]], over 300 million years ago. In the [[Cretaceous]], angiosperms [[Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution|diversified explosively]], becoming the dominant group of plants across the planet.

[[Agriculture]] is almost entirely dependent on angiosperms, and a small number of flowering plant families supply nearly all plant-based [[food]] and [[livestock]] feed. [[Rice]], [[maize]] and [[wheat]] provide half of the world's [[staple food|staple]] [[calorie]] intake, and all three plants are [[cereal]]s from the [[Poaceae]] family (colloquially known as grasses). Other families provide important industrial [[plant product]]s such as [[wood]], [[paper]] and [[cotton]], and supply numerous ingredients for [[drink]]s, [[sugar production]], [[traditional medicine]] and modern [[pharmaceutical]]s. Flowering plants are also commonly grown for [[ornamental plant|decorative purposes]], with certain flowers playing significant cultural roles in many societies.

Out of the "Big Five" [[extinction event]]s in Earth's history, only the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]] occurred while angiosperms dominated plant life on the planet. Today, the [[Holocene extinction]] affects all [[kingdoms of life|kingdoms]] of [[complex life]] on Earth, and conservation measures are necessary to protect plants in their habitats in the wild (''[[in situ]]''), or failing that, ''[[Ex situ conservation|ex situ]]'' in [[seed bank]]s or artificial habitats like [[botanic garden]]s. Otherwise, around 40% of plant species may become [[extinction|extinct]] due to human actions such as [[habitat destruction]], introduction of [[invasive species]], unsustainable [[logging]], [[land clearing]] and [[overharvesting]] of [[medicinal plants|medicinal]] or [[ornamental plant]]s. Further, [[climate change]] is [[Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity|starting to impact plants]] and is likely to cause many species to become extinct by 2100.<!--we don't normally cite the lead, as it summarizes already-cited materials in the article body-->

== Distinguishing features ==

Angiosperms are terrestrial vascular plants; like the gymnosperms, they have [[root]]s, [[plant stem|stems]], [[leaves]], and [[seed]]s. They differ from other [[Spermatophyte|seed plants]] in several ways.

{|class="wikitable"
! Feature !! Description !! Image
|-
|[[Flower]]s ||The [[reproductive organ]]s of flowering plants, not found in any other [[seed plants]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Angiosperms {{!}} OpenStax Biology 2e |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-osbiology2e/chapter/angiosperms/ |access-date=19 July 2021 |website=courses.lumenlearning.com |archive-date=19 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719225359/https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-osbiology2e/chapter/angiosperms/ |url-status=live}}</ref> || [[File:Daffodil flower in section, labelled.svg|thumb|none|A ''[[Narcissus (plant)|Narcissus]]'' flower in section. [[Petal]]s and [[sepal]]s are replaced here by a fused tube, the corona, and tepals.]]
|-
|Reduced [[Gametophyte#Seed plants|gametophytes]], three [[cell (biology)|cells]] in male, seven cells with eight nuclei in female (except for basal angiosperms)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=William E. |last2=Ryerson |first2=Kirsten C. |title=Reconstructing the ancestral female gametophyte of angiosperms: Insights from Amborella and other ancient lineages of flowering plants |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=96 |issue=1 |date=2009 |doi=10.3732/ajb.0800311 |pages=129–143|pmid=21628180 |bibcode=2009AmJB...96..129F }}</ref> ||The gametophytes are smaller than those of gymnosperms.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Raven, Peter H. |author2=Evert, Ray F. |author3=Eichhorn, Susan E. |title=Biology of Plants |url=https://archive.org/details/biologyofplants00rave_0 |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=W. H. Freeman |isbn=978-0-7167-1007-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/biologyofplants00rave_0/page/376 376]–}}</ref> The smaller size of the [[pollen]] reduces the time between pollination and [[fertilization]], which in gymnosperms is up to a year.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Williams |first=Joseph H. |title=The evolution of pollen germination timing in flowering plants: Austrobaileya scandens (Austrobaileyaceae) |journal=AoB Plants |volume=2012 |article-number=pls010 |date=2012 |pmid=22567221 |pmc=3345124 |doi=10.1093/aobpla/pls010 }}</ref>  
|rowspan=2 | [[File:Angiosperm embryo sac with female gametophyte.JPG|thumb|none|[[Embryo sac]] is a reduced female [[gametophyte]].]]
|-
|[[Endosperm]] ||Endosperm forms after fertilization but before the [[zygote]] divides. It provides food for the developing [[embryo]], the [[cotyledon]]s, and sometimes the [[seedling]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baroux |first1=C. |last2=Spillane |first2=C. |last3=Grossniklaus |first3=U. |title=Evolutionary origins of the endosperm in flowering plants |journal=Genome Biology |volume=3 |article-number=reviews1026.1 |year=2002 |issue=9 |pages=reviews1026.1 |doi=10.1186/gb-2002-3-9-reviews1026 |pmid=12225592 |pmc=139410 |doi-access=free }}</ref> <!--cell/image shared with row above-->
|-
|Closed [[carpel]] enclosing the [[ovule]]s. ||Once the ovules are fertilised, the carpels, often with surrounding tissues, develop into fruits. Gymnosperms have unenclosed seeds.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gonçalves |first=Beatriz |title=Case not closed: the mystery of the origin of the carpel |journal=EvoDevo |volume=12 |issue=1 |date=2021-12-15 |article-number=14 |issn=2041-9139 |doi=10.1186/s13227-021-00184-z |pmid=34911578 |pmc=8672599 |doi-access=free }}</ref> || [[File:Alternating peas in peapod (cropped).jpg|thumb|none|Peas (seeds, from ovules) inside pod (fruit, from fertilised carpel).]]
|-
| [[Xylem]] made of [[vessel element]]s || Open vessel elements are stacked end to end to form continuous tubes, whereas gymnosperm xylem is made of tapered [[tracheids]] connected by small [[Pit (botany)|pits]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Baas | first=Pieter | title=New Perspectives in Wood Anatomy | chapter=Systematic, phylogenetic, and ecological wood anatomy — History and perspectives | series=Forestry Sciences | publisher=Springer Netherlands | publication-place=Dordrecht | year=1982 | volume=1 | isbn=978-90-481-8269-5 | issn=0924-5480 | doi=10.1007/978-94-017-2418-0_2 | pages=23–58}}</ref> || [[File:Herbaceous Dicot Stem Xylem Vessels Cucurbita (35463815631).jpg|thumb|none| [[Xylem]] vessels (long tubes).]]
|}

== Diversity ==

=== Ecological diversity ===

{{further|Plant ecology}}

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=225px heights=225px caption="Largest and smallest">
File:MountainAshWithCars.jpg|''[[Eucalyptus regnans]]'',<br/>a tree almost 100 m tall
File:WolffiaArrhiza2.jpg|''[[Wolffia arrhiza]]'', a rootless floating freshwater plant under 2&nbsp;mm across
</gallery>

The largest angiosperms are ''[[Eucalyptus]]'' gum trees of Australia, and ''[[Shorea faguetiana]]'', dipterocarp rainforest trees of Southeast Asia, both of which can reach almost {{convert|100|m|ft}} in height.<ref>{{cite web |title=Menara, yellow meranti, Shorea |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/572236-tallest-flowering-plant-angiosperm |website=Guinness World Records |date=6 January 2019 |access-date=8 May 2023 |quote=yellow meranti (''Shorea faguetiana'') ...  98.53 m (323 ft 3.1 in) tall ... swamp gum (''Eucalyptus regnans'') ... In 2014, it had a tape-drop height of 99.82 m (327 ft 5.9 in)}}</ref> The smallest are ''[[Wolffia]]'' duckweeds which float on freshwater, each plant less than {{convert|2|mm|in|2}} across.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-11-25 |title=The Charms of Duckweed |url=http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/duckweed.htm |access-date=2022-07-05 |publisher=[[Missouri Botanical Garden]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125213317/http://www.mobot.org/jwcross/duckweed/duckweed.htm |archive-date=25 November 2009 }}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=225px heights=225px caption="Photosynthetic and parasitic">
File:Sunlight on a gunnera leaf, 'Quarry Garden', Belsay estate - geograph.org.uk - 1384733.jpg|''[[Gunnera]]'' captures sunlight for [[photosynthesis]] over the large surfaces of its leaves, which are supported by strong veins.
File:Orobanche purpurea.jpg|''[[Orobanche|Orobanche purpurea]]'', a [[Parasitism|parasitic]] broomrape with no leaves, obtains all its food from other plants.
</gallery>

Considering their method of obtaining energy, some 99% of flowering plants are [[photosynthetic]] [[autotroph]]s, deriving their energy from sunlight and using it to create molecules such as [[sugar]]s. The remainder are [[parasitic]], whether [[myco-heterotrophy|on fungi]] (myco-heterotrophic, formerly thought to be [[saprophytic]]) like the [[orchids]] for part or all of their life-cycle,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Leake |first=J.R. |year=1994 |title=The biology of myco-heterotrophic ('saprophytic') plants |journal=New Phytologist |volume=127 |issue=2 |pages=171–216 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.1994.tb04272.x |pmid=33874520 |bibcode=1994NewPh.127..171L |s2cid=85142620 }}</ref> or [[Parasitic plant|on other plants]], either wholly like the broomrapes, ''[[Orobanche]]'', or partially like the witchweeds, ''[[Striga]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Westwood |first1=James H. |last2=Yoder |first2=John I. |last3=Timko |first3=Michael P. |last4=dePamphilis |first4=Claude W. |title=The evolution of parasitism in plants |journal=Trends in Plant Science |volume=15 |issue=4 |year=2010 |issn=1360-1385 |doi=10.1016/j.tplants.2010.01.004 |pages=227–235|pmid=20153240 |bibcode=2010TPS....15..227W }}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=225px heights=225px caption="Hot, cold, wet, dry, fresh, salt">
File:Carnegiea gigantea Saguaro cactus plant (cropped).jpg|''[[Carnegiea gigantea]]'', the saguaro cactus, grows in hot dry [[desert]]s in Mexico and the southern United States.
File:Dryas octopetala (Colorado, USA).jpg|''[[Dryas octopetala]]'', the mountain avens, lives in cold arctic and montane habitats in the far north of America and Eurasia.
File:Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. (47502598342).jpg|''[[Nelumbo nucifera]]'', the sacred lotus, grows in warm freshwater across tropical and subtropical Asia.
File:Zostera.jpg|''[[Zostera]]'' seagrass grows on the seabed in sheltered coastal waters.
</gallery>

In terms of their environment, flowering plants are cosmopolitan, occupying a wide range of [[habitat]]s on land, in fresh water and in the sea. On land, they are the dominant plant group in every habitat except for frigid moss-lichen [[tundra]] and [[coniferous forest]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Angiosperms |url=http://landau.faculty.unlv.edu//angiosperms.htm |publisher=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |access-date=6 May 2023}}</ref> The [[seagrass]]es in the [[Alismatales]] grow in marine environments, spreading with [[rhizome]]s that grow through the mud in sheltered coastal waters.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kendrick |first1=Gary A. |last2=Orth |first2=Robert J. |last3=Sinclair |first3=Elizabeth A. |last4=Statton |first4=John |title=Plant Regeneration from Seeds |chapter=Effect of climate change on regeneration of seagrasses from seeds |year=2022 |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-823731-1.00011-1 |pages=275–283 |isbn=978-0-1282-3731-1 }}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=225px heights=225px caption="Acid, alkaline">
File:Drosera anglica ne2.jpg|''[[Drosera anglica]]'', a sundew, lives in nutrient-poor acid [[bog]]s, [[Carnivorous plant|deriving nutrients from trapped insects]].<ref name="Karlsson-1992"/>
File:Gentiana verna.jpg|''[[Gentiana verna]]'', the spring gentian, flourishes in dry limestone habitats.<ref name="Pardoe-1995"/>
</gallery>

Some specialised angiosperms are able to flourish in extremely acid or alkaline habitats. The [[sundew]]s, many of which live in nutrient-poor acid [[bog]]s, are [[carnivorous plant]]s, able to derive nutrients such as [[nitrate]] from the bodies of trapped insects.<ref name="Karlsson-1992">{{cite journal |last1=Karlsson |first1=P. S. |last2=Pate |first2=J. S. |title=Contrasting effects of supplementary feeding of insects or mineral nutrients on the growth and nitrogen and phosphorous economy of pygmy species of Drosera. |journal=Oecologia |date=1992 |volume=92 |issue=1 |pages=8–13 |doi=10.1007/BF00317256 |pmid=28311806 |bibcode=1992Oecol..92....8K |s2cid=13038192 }}</ref> Other flowers such as ''[[Gentiana verna]]'', the spring gentian, are adapted to the alkaline conditions found on [[calcium]]-rich [[chalk]] and [[limestone]], which give rise to often dry [[Topography|topographies]] such as [[limestone pavement]].<ref name="Pardoe-1995">{{cite book |last=Pardoe |first=H. S. |title=Mountain Plants of the British Isles |year=1995 |publisher=[[Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales|National Museum of Wales]] |page=24 |isbn=978-0-7200-0423-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRHwm1F15S0C&pg=PA24}}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=225px heights=225px caption="Herbaceous, woody, climbing">
File:GT Herb Robert.jpg|''[[Geranium robertianum]]'', herb-Robert, is an annual or [[Biennial plant|biennial]] herb of Europe and North America.
File:Betula_pendula_001.jpg|''[[Betula pendula]]'', the silver birch, is a perennial [[deciduous]] tree of Eurasia.
File:Lianas.jpg|[[Liana]]s ''[[Austrosteenisia]]'', ''[[Parsonsia]]'', and ''[[Sarcopetalum]]'' climbing trees in Australia
</gallery>

As for their [[growth habit]], the flowering plants range from small, soft [[herbaceous plant]]s, often living as [[annual plant|annuals]] or [[biennials]] that set seed and die after one or two growing seasons,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hart |first1=Robin |title=Why are Biennials so Few? |journal=[[The American Naturalist]] |date=1977 |volume=111 |issue=980 |pages=792–799 |doi=10.1086/283209 |jstor=2460334 |bibcode=1977ANat..111..792H |s2cid=85343835 }}</ref> to large [[Perennial plant|perennial]] woody [[tree]]s that may live for many centuries and grow to many metres in height. Some species grow tall without being self-supporting like trees by [[climbing plant|climbing]] on other plants in the manner of [[vine]]s or [[liana]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rowe |first1=Nick |last2=Speck |first2=Thomas |title=Plant growth forms: an ecological and evolutionary perspective |journal=New Phytologist |volume=166 |issue=1 |date=2005-01-12 |issn=0028-646X |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01309.x |pages=61–72 |pmid=15760351 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2005NewPh.166...61R }}</ref>

=== Taxonomic diversity ===

The number of species of flowering plants is estimated to be in the range of 250,000 to 400,000.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thorne |first=R.F. |title=How many species of seed plants are there?|journal=Taxon|volume=51 |pages=511–522 |year=2002|doi=10.2307/1554864 |issue=3 |jstor=1554864|bibcode=2002Taxon..51..511T }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scotland |first1=R. W. |last2=Wortley |first2=A. H. |title=How many species of seed plants are there? |journal=Taxon |volume=52 |pages=101–104|year=2003 |doi=10.2307/3647306 |issue=1 |jstor=3647306|bibcode=2003Taxon..52..101S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Govaerts |first=R. |title=How many species of seed plants are there? – a response |journal=Taxon |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=583–584 |year=2003 |doi=10.2307/3647457 |jstor=3647457|doi-access=free |bibcode=2003Taxon..52..583G }}</ref> This compares to around 12,000 species of [[moss]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goffinet |first1=Bernard |last2=Buck |first2=William R. |year=2004 |title=Systematics of the Bryophyta (Mosses): From molecules to a revised classification |journal=Monographs in Systematic Botany |volume=98 |pages=205–239 }}</ref> and 11,000 species of [[Pteridophyta|pteridophytes]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raven |first1=Peter H. |last2=Evert |first2=Ray F. |last3=Eichhorn |first3=Susan E. |date=2005 |title=Biology of Plants |edition=7th |location=New York |publisher=[[W. H. Freeman and Company]] |isbn=0-7167-1007-2 }}</ref> The [[APG system]] seeks to determine the number of [[family (biology)|families]], mostly by [[molecular phylogenetics]]. In the 2009 [[APG III]] there were 415 families.{{sfn|APG|2009}} The 2016 [[APG IV]] added five new orders (Boraginales, Dilleniales, Icacinales, Metteniusales and Vahliales), along with some new families, for a total of 64 angiosperm orders and 416 families.{{sfn|APG|2016}}

The diversity of flowering plants is not evenly distributed. Nearly all species belong to the eudicot (75%), monocot (23%), and magnoliid (2%) clades. The remaining five clades contain a little over 250 species in total; i.e. less than 0.1% of flowering plant diversity, divided among nine families. The 25 most species-rich of 443 families,<ref name="Stevens 2011">{{cite web |last=Stevens |first=P. F. |year=2011 |url=https://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/welcome.html |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (at Missouri Botanical Garden) |access-date=21 February 2022 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120065914/http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/welcome.html |url-status=live}}</ref> containing over 166,000 species between them in their APG circumscriptions, are:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ The 25 largest angiosperm families<ref name="Stevens 2011"/>
|-
! <!--Rank, by size--> !! Group !! [[Family (biology)|Family]] !! English name !! No. of [[species|spp.]] 
|-
| 1 || Eudicot ||  [[Asteraceae]] or Compositae  || [[Bellis perennis|daisy]] ||  22,750 
|-
| 2 || Monocot ||  [[Orchidaceae]]  || [[orchid]] ||  21,950 
|-
| 3 || Eudicot ||  [[Fabaceae]] or Leguminosae  || [[pea]], [[legume]] ||  19,400 
|-
| 4 || Eudicot ||  [[Rubiaceae]]  || [[Rubia|madder]] ||  13,150<ref>{{cite web|title=Kew Scientist 30|date=October 2006|url=https://www.kew.org/kewscientist/ks_30.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005410/https://www.kew.org/kewscientist/ks_30.pdf|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref>
|-
| 5 || Monocot ||  [[Poaceae]] or Gramineae  || [[grass]] ||  10,035 
|-
| 6 || Eudicot ||  [[Lamiaceae]] or Labiatae  || [[mentha|mint]] ||  7,175 
|-
| 7 || Eudicot ||  [[Euphorbiaceae]]  || [[spurge]] ||  5,735 
|-
| 8 || Eudicot ||  [[Melastomataceae]]  || [[Melastoma|melastome]] ||  5,005 
|-
| 9 || Eudicot ||  [[Myrtaceae]]  || [[Myrtus|myrtle]] ||  4,625 
|-
| 10 || Eudicot ||  [[Apocynaceae]]  || [[dogbane]] ||  4,555 
|-
| 11 || Monocot ||  [[Cyperaceae]]  || [[sedge]] ||  4,350 
|-
| 12 || Eudicot ||  [[Malvaceae]]  || [[Malva|mallow]] ||  4,225 
|-
| 13 || Monocot ||  [[Araceae]]  || [[arum]] ||  4,025 
|-
| 14 || Eudicot ||  [[Ericaceae]]  || [[Erica (plant)|heath]] ||  3,995 
|-
| 15 || Eudicot ||  [[Gesneriaceae]]  || [[gesneria]]d ||  3,870 
|-
| 16 || Eudicot ||  [[Apiaceae]] or Umbelliferae  || [[parsley]] ||  3,780 
|-
| 17 || Eudicot ||  [[Brassicaceae]] or Cruciferae  || [[cabbage]] ||  3,710
|-
| 18 || Magnoliid dicot ||  [[Piperaceae]]  || [[Piper (genus)|pepper]] ||  3,600 
|-
| 19 || Monocot ||  [[Bromeliaceae]]  || [[bromelia]]d ||  3,540 
|-
| 20 || Eudicot ||  [[Acanthaceae]]  || [[Acanthus (plant)|acanthus]] ||  3,500 
|-
| 21 || Eudicot ||  [[Rosaceae]]  || [[rose]] ||  2,830 
|-
| 22 || Eudicot ||  [[Boraginaceae]]  || [[borage]] ||  2,740 
|-
| 23 || Eudicot ||  [[Urticaceae]]  || [[Urtica dioica|nettle]] ||  2,625 
|-
| 24 || Eudicot ||  [[Ranunculaceae]]  || [[buttercup]] ||  2,525 
|-
| 25 || Magnoliid dicot ||  [[Lauraceae]]  || [[Laurus|laurel]] ||  2,500 
|}

== Evolution ==

=== History of classification ===
{{main|Plant taxonomy}}

[[File:Ehret-Methodus Plantarum Sexualis.jpg|thumb|upright|From 1736, an illustration of Linnaean classification]]

The botanical term "angiosperm", from Greek words {{lang|grc-Latn|angeíon}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ἀγγεῖον}} 'bottle, vessel') and {{lang|grc-Latn|spérma}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|σπέρμα}} 'seed'), was coined in the form "Angiospermae" by [[Paul Hermann (botanist)|Paul Hermann]] in 1690, including only flowering plants whose seeds were enclosed in capsules.{{sfn|Balfour|Rendle|1911|p=9}} The term angiosperm fundamentally changed in meaning in 1827 with [[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Montrose)|Robert Brown]], when angiosperm came to mean a seed plant with enclosed ovules.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Robert |chapter=Character and description of ''Kingia'', a new genus of plants found on the southwest coast of New Holland: with observations on the structure of its unimpregnated ovulum; and on the female flower of Cycadeae and Coniferae |pages=534–565 |chapter-url={{Google books|RjdCAAAAIAAJ|page=534|plainurl=yes}} |editor=King, Philip Parker |title=Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia: Performed Between the Years 1818 and 1822 |date=1827 |publisher=J. Murray |oclc=185517977 }}</ref><ref name="Buggs-2021">{{Cite journal |last=Buggs |first=Richard J.A. |date=January 2021 |title=The origin of Darwin's "abominable mystery" |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=108 |issue=1 |pages=22–36 |doi=10.1002/ajb2.1592 |pmid=33482683 |s2cid=231689158 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1851, with [[Wilhelm Friedrich Benedikt Hofmeister|Wilhelm Hofmeister]]'s work on embryo-sacs, Angiosperm came to have its modern meaning of all the flowering plants including Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons.<ref name="Buggs-2021"/>{{sfn|Balfour|Rendle|1911|p=10}} The [[APG system]]{{sfn|APG|2009}} treats the flowering plants as an unranked clade without a formal Latin name (angiosperms). A formal classification was published alongside the 2009 revision in which the flowering plants rank as the subclass Magnoliidae.{{sfn|Chase|Reveal|2009}} From 1998, the [[Angiosperm Phylogeny Group]] (APG) has reclassified the angiosperms, with updates in the [[APG II system]] in 2003,{{sfn|APG|2003}} the [[APG III system]] in 2009,{{sfn|APG|2009}}<ref>{{cite press release |title=As easy as APG III – Scientists revise the system of classifying flowering plants |publisher=The Linnean Society of London |url=https://www.linnean.org/index.php?id=448 |access-date=2 October 2009 |date=8 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126092206/https://www.linnean.org/index.php?id=448 |archive-date=26 November 2010}}</ref> and the [[APG IV system]] in 2016.{{sfn|APG|2016}}

=== Phylogeny ===

==== External ====

In 2019, a [[Molecular phylogenetics|molecular phylogeny]] of [[plant]]s placed the flowering plants in their evolutionary context:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leebens-Mack |first1=M. |last2=Barker |first2=M. |last3=Carpenter |first3=E. |author4-link=Michael Deyholos |last4=Deyholos |first4=M. K. |last5=Gitzendammer |first5=M. A. |last6=Graham |first6=S.W. |last7=Grosse |first7=I. |last8=Li |first8=Zheng |display-authors=3 |title=One thousand plant transcriptomes and the phylogenomics of green plants |journal=Nature |volume=574 |issue=7780 |year=2019 |pages=679–685 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1693-2 |pmid=31645766 |pmc=6872490 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

{{clade
|label1= [[Embryophyte]]s 
|sublabel1= land plants 
|1={{clade
   |1={{clade
      |1= [[Bryophyte]]s  [[File:WWB-0265-127-Polytrichum formosum.png|20px]]
      |label2= [[Tracheophyte]]s
      |sublabel2= vascular plants 
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Lycophyte]]s [[File:Lycopodium clavatum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-219 (extracted).jpg|50px]]
         |2={{clade
            |1=[[Fern]]s [[File:The ferns of Great Britain, and their allies the club-mosses, pepperworts, and horsetails (Pl. 12) (8516512808).jpg|40px]]
            |label2= [[Spermatophyte]]s 
            |sublabel2= seed plants 
            |2={{clade
               |label1= [[Gymnosperm]]s  
               |sublabel1= conifers and allies 
               |1= [[File:Pinus montesumae tab22 2.jpg|50px]]
               |label2= '''Angiosperms''' 
               |sublabel2= '''flowering plants''' 
               |2= [[File:160 Ranunculus repens.jpg|50px]]
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}

==== Internal ====

The main groups of living angiosperms are:<ref>{{cite journal |last=Guo |first=Xing |title=Chloranthus genome provides insights into the early diversification of angiosperms |journal=Nature Communications |date=26 November 2021 |volume=12 |issue=1 |article-number=6930 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-26922-4 |pmid=34836973 |pmc=8626473 |bibcode=2021NatCo..12.6930G |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{sfn|APG|2016}}

{{barlabel |size=20
|at1=4  |label1=[[Basal angiosperms]] 
|at2=14 |label2=[[Core angiosperms]]
|cladogram={{clade|style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%
|label1=''' Angiosperms '''
|1={{clade
   |1=[[Amborellales]] [[File:Amborella trichopoda.jpg|70px]] 1 sp. [[New Caledonia]] shrub |barbegin1=red
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Nymphaeales]] [[File:2007 nymphaea lotus.jpg|70px]] c. 80 spp.<ref name="Palmer-2004">{{cite journal |last1=Palmer |first1=Jeffrey D.  |last2=Soltis |first2=Douglas E. |last3=Chase |first3=Mark W. |title=The plant tree of life: an overview and some points of view |journal=[[American Journal of Botany]] |volume=91 |issue=10 |pages=1437–45 |date=October 2004 |pmid=21652302 |doi=10.3732/ajb.91.10.1437 |doi-access=free }}, [https://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/91/10/1437/F2 Figure 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202073937/http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/91/10/1437/F2 |date=2 February 2011 }}</ref> [[Nymphaeaceae|water lilies]] & allies  |bar1=red
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Austrobaileyales]] [[File:Schisandra rubriflora.jpg|70px]] c. 100 spp.<ref name="Palmer-2004"/> woody plants  |barend1=red
         |2={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=[[Magnoliids]] [[File:Magnolia obovata 02.jpg|70px]] c. 10,000 spp.<ref name="Palmer-2004"/> [[merosity|3-part]] flowers, 1-pore pollen, usu. branch-veined leaves |barbegin1=green
               |2=[[Chloranthales]] [[File:Sarcandra_glabra2.jpg|70px]] 77 spp.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Christenhusz |first1=Maarten J. M. |last2=Fay |first2=Michael F. |last3=Chase |first3=Mark W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLo7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA114 |title=Plants of the World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Vascular Plants |isbn=978-0-226-52292-0 |page=114 |date=2017 |publisher=University of Chicago Press }}</ref> Woody, apetalous |bar2=green
               }}
            |2={{clade
               |1=[[Monocots]] [[File:White orchid in Clara bog. 03.jpg|45px]] c. 70,000 spp.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Massoni |first1=Julien |last2=Couvreur |first2=Thomas L.P. |last3=Sauquet |first3=Hervé |date=2015-03-18 |title=Five major shifts of diversification through the long evolutionary history of Magnoliidae (angiosperms) |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=15 |issue=1 |page=49 |doi=10.1186/s12862-015-0320-6 |pmc=4377182 |pmid=25887386 |bibcode=2015BMCEE..15...49M |doi-access=free }}</ref> 3-part flowers, 1 [[cotyledon]], 1-pore pollen, usu. parallel-veined leaves  &nbsp; |bar1=green
               |2={{clade
                  |1=[[Ceratophyllales]] [[File:CeratophyllumSubmersum.jpg|70px]] c. 6 spp.<ref name="Palmer-2004"/> [[aquatic plant]]s  |bar1=green
                  |2=[[Eudicots]] [[File:Senecio_angulatus_003.jpg|70px]] c. 175,000 spp.<ref name="Palmer-2004"/> 4- or 5-part flowers, 3-pore pollen, usu. branch-veined leaves |barend2=green
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}
}}

<!------------------- collapsible element containing large cladogram of APG IV phylogeny --------------->
{|class="collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; border:solid 1px #aaa"
|-
! style="background:#F0F2F5" |Detailed [[cladogram]] of the 2016 [[Angiosperm Phylogeny Group]] (APG) IV classification.{{sfn|APG|2016}}
|-
|
{{clade|style=font-size:80%;line-height:80%
|label1='''Angiosperms'''
|1={{clade
   |1=[[Amborellales]] <small>Melikyan, Bobrov & Zaytzeva 1999</small>
   |2={{clade
      |1=[[Nymphaeales]] <small>Salisbury ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
      |2={{clade
         |1=[[Austrobaileyales]] <small>Takhtajan ex Reveal 1992</small>
         |label2=[[Mesangiosperms]]
         |2={{clade
            |1=[[Chloranthales]] <small>Mart. 1835</small>
            |2={{clade
               |label1=[[Magnoliids]] <!--insert dummy clade for spacing-->
               |1={{clade
                  |1={{clade
                     |1=[[Canellales]] <small>Cronquist 1957</small>
                     |2=[[Piperales]] <small>von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                     }}
                  |2={{clade
                     |1=[[Magnoliales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                     |2=[[Laurales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                     }}
                  }}
               }}
            |3={{clade
               |1={{clade 
                  |label1=[[Monocots]] <!--insert dummy clade-->
                  |1={{clade
                     |1=[[Acorales]] <small>Link 1835</small>
                     |2={{clade
                        |1=[[Alismatales]] <small>Brown ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                        |2={{clade
                           |1=[[Petrosaviales]] <small>Takhtajan 1997</small>
                           |2={{clade
                              |1={{clade
                                 |1=[[Dioscoreales]] <small>Brown 1835</small>
                                 |2=[[Pandanales]] <small>Brown ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                 }}
                              |2={{clade
                                 |1=[[Liliales]] <small>Perleb 1826</small>
                                 |2={{clade
                                    |1=[[Asparagales]] <small>Link 1829</small>
                                    |label2=[[Commelinids]]
                                    |2={{clade
                                       |1=[[Arecales]] <small>Bromhead 1840</small>
                                       |2={{clade
                                          |1=[[Poales]] <small>Small 1903</small>
                                          |2={{clade
                                             |1=[[Zingiberales]] <small>Grisebach 1854</small>
                                             |2=[[Commelinales]] <small>de Mirbel ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                             }}
                                          }}
                                       }}
                                    }}
                                 }}
                              }}
                           }}
                        }}
                     }}
                  }}
               |2={{clade
                  |1=[[Ceratophyllales]] <small>Link 1829</small>
                  |label2=[[Eudicots]]
                  |2=EUDICOTS <!--target keyword that will be substituted by Eudicot subtree (see below)-->
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}

|targetA=EUDICOTS
|subcladeA=   {{clade
              |1=[[Ranunculales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
              |2={{clade
                 |1=[[Proteales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                 |2={{clade
                    |1=[[Trochodendrales]] <small>Takhtajan ex Cronquist 1981</small>
                    |2={{clade
                       |1=[[Buxales]] <small>Takhtajan ex Reveal 1996</small>
                       |label2=[[Core eudicots]]
                       |2={{clade
                          |1=[[Gunnerales]] <small>Takhtajan ex Reveal 1992</small>
                          |2={{clade
                             |1=[[Dilleniales]] <small>de Candolle ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                             |label2=[[Superrosids]]
                             |2=SUPERROSIDS
                             |label3=[[Superasterids]]
                             |3=SUPERASTERIDS
                             }}
                          }}
                       }}
                    }}
                 }}
              }}

|targetB=SUPERROSIDS
|subcladeB=   {{clade
              |1=[[Saxifragales]] <small>von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
              |label2=[[Rosids]]
              |2={{clade
                 |1=[[Vitales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                 |2={{clade
                    |label1=Fabids |sublabel1=(eurosids I)
                    |1={{clade
                       |1=[[Zygophyllales]] <small>Link 1829</small>
                       |2={{clade
                          |1={{clade
                             |1=[[Celastrales]] <small>Link 1829</small>
                             |2={{clade
                                |1=[[Oxalidales]] <small>von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                |2=[[Malpighiales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                }}
                             }}
                          |2={{clade
                             |1=[[Fabales]] <small>Bromhead 1838</small>
                             |2={{clade
                                |1=[[Rosales]] <small>von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                |2={{clade
                                   |1=[[Cucurbitales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                   |2=[[Fagales]] <small>Engler 1892</small>
                                   }}
                                }}
                             }}
                          }}
                       }}
                    |label2=Malvids |sublabel2=(eurosids II)
                    |2={{clade
                       |1={{clade
                          |1=[[Geraniales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                          |2=[[Myrtales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                          }}
                       |2={{clade
                          |1=[[Crossosomatales]] <small>Takhtajan ex Reveal 1993</small>
                          |2={{clade
                             |1=[[Picramniales]] <small>Doweld 2001</small>
                             |2={{clade
                                |1=[[Sapindales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                |2={{clade
                                   |1=[[Huerteales]] <small>Doweld 2001</small>
                                   |2={{clade
                                      |1=[[Malvales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                      |2=[[Brassicales]] <small>Bromhead 1838</small>
                                      }}
                                   }}
                                }}
                             }}
                          }}
                       }}
                    }}
                 }}
              }}

|targetC=SUPERASTERIDS
|subcladeC=   {{clade
              |1=[[Berberidopsidales]] <small>Doweld 2001</small>
              |2={{clade
                 |1=[[Santalales]] <small>Brown ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                 |2={{clade
                    |1=[[Caryophyllales]]
                    |label2=[[Asterids]]
                    |2={{clade
                       |1=[[Cornales]] <small>Link 1829</small>
                       |2={{clade
                          |1=[[Ericales]] <small>von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                          |2={{clade
                             |label1=Lamiids |sublabel1=(euasterids I)
                             |1={{clade
                                |1=[[Icacinales]] <small>Van Tieghem 1900</small>
                                |2={{clade
                                   |1=[[Metteniusales]] <small>Takhtajan 1997</small>
                                   |2={{clade
                                      |1=[[Garryales]] <small>Mart. 1835</small>
                                      |2={{clade
                                         |1=[[Gentianales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                         |2=[[Solanales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                         |3=[[Boraginales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                         |4=[[Vahliales]] <small>Doweld 2001</small>
                                         |5=[[Lamiales]] <small>Bromhead 1838</small>
                                         }}
                                      }}
                                   }}
                                }}
                             |label2=Campanulids |sublabel2=(euasterids II)
                             |2={{clade
                                |1=[[Aquifoliales]] <small>Senft 1856</small>
                                |2={{clade
                                   |1=[[Escalloniales]] <small>Mart. 1835</small>
                                   |2=[[Asterales]] <small>Link 1829</small>
                                   |3={{clade
                                      |1=[[Bruniales]] <small>Dumortier 1829</small>
                                      |2={{clade
                                         |1=[[Apiales]] <small>Nakai 1930</small>
                                         |2={{clade
                                            |1=[[Paracryphiales]] <small>Takhtajan ex Reveal 1992</small>
                                            |2=[[Dipsacales]] <small>de Jussieu ex von Berchtold & Presl 1820</small>
                                            }}
                                         }}
                                      }}
                                   }}
                                }}
                             }}
                          }}
                       }}
                    }}
                 }}
              }}
}}
|}

In 2024, Alexandre R. Zuntini and colleagues constructed a tree of some 6,000 flowering plant genera, representing some 60% of the existing genera, on the basis of analysis of 353 nuclear genes in each specimen. Much of the existing phylogeny is confirmed; the [[Rosidae|rosid]] phylogeny is revised.<ref name="Zuntini-2024">{{cite journal |last1=Zuntini |first1=Alexandre R. |last2=Carruthers |first2=Tom |last3=Maurin |first3=Olivier |last4=Bailey |first4=Paul C. |last5=Leempoel |first5=Kevin |last6=Brewer |first6=Grace E. |display-authors=etal <!-- 279 authors--> |title=Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date=24 April 2024 |volume=629 |issue=8013 |pages=843–850 |issn=0028-0836 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-07324-0|pmid=38658746 |pmc=11111409 |bibcode=2024Natur.629..843Z }}<!--images are CC-by-SA--></ref>

[[File:Tree of Angiosperm Phylogeny 2024.jpg|thumb|center|upright=3|Tree of Angiosperm phylogeny 2024]]

=== Fossil history ===
{{main|Fossil history of flowering plants}}

[[File:Sagaria cilentana (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Adaptive radiation]] in the [[Cretaceous]] created many flowering plants, such as ''[[Sagaria]]'' in the [[Ranunculaceae]].]]

Fossilised [[spore]]s suggest that land plants ([[embryophyte]]s) have existed for at least 475&nbsp;million years.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Edwards |first=D. |title=The role of mid-palaeozoic mesofossils in the detection of early bryophytes |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences |volume=355 |issue=1398 |pages=733–54; discussion 754–5 |date=June 2000 |pmid=10905607 |pmc=1692787 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2000.0613 }}</ref> However, angiosperms [[abominable mystery|appear suddenly]] and in great diversity in the fossil record in the [[Early Cretaceous]] (~130 mya).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Herendeen |first1=Patrick S. |last2=Friis |first2=Else Marie |last3=Pedersen |first3=Kaj Raunsgaard |last4=Crane |first4=Peter R. |date=2017-03-03 |title=Palaeobotanical redux: revisiting the age of the angiosperms |url=https://rdcu.be/c0Zhm |journal=Nature Plants |volume=3 |issue=3 |page=17015 |doi=10.1038/nplants.2017.15 |pmid=28260783 |bibcode=2017NatPl...317015H |s2cid=205458714 |issn=2055-0278}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Friedman |first=William E. |date=January 2009 |title=The meaning of Darwin's "abominable mystery" |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.0800150 |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=96 |issue=1 |pages=5–21 |doi=10.3732/ajb.0800150 |pmid=21628174|bibcode=2009AmJB...96....5F |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Claimed records of flowering plants prior to this are not widely accepted,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bateman |first=Richard M |date=2020-01-01 |editor-last=Ort |editor-first=Donald |title=Hunting the Snark: the flawed search for mythical Jurassic angiosperms |url=https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/71/1/22/5571867 |journal=Journal of Experimental Botany |language=en |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=22–35 |doi=10.1093/jxb/erz411 |pmid=31538196 |issn=0022-0957|url-access=subscription }}</ref> as all supposed pre-Cretaceous "flowers" can be explained through being misidentifications of other seed plants. Furthermore, almost all of these controversial fossils are described in papers co-authored by the researcher Xin Wang, such as the particularly debated ''[[Nanjinganthus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sokoloff |first1=Dmitry D. |last2=Remizowa |first2=Margarita V. |last3=El |first3=Elena S. |last4=Rudall |first4=Paula J. |last5=Bateman |first5=Richard M. |title=Supposed Jurassic angiosperms lack pentamery, an important angiosperm-specific feature |journal=New Phytologist |date=October 2020 |volume=228 |issue=2 |pages=420–426 |doi=10.1111/nph.15974|pmid=31418869 |bibcode=2020NewPh.228..420S }}</ref> Molecular evidence suggests that the ancestors of angiosperms diverged from the [[gymnosperms]] during the late [[Devonian]], about 365 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |last2=Qu |first2=Xiao-Jian |last3=Parins-Fukuchi |first3=Caroline |last4=Yang |first4=Ying-Ying |last5=Yang |first5=Jun-Bo |last6=Yang |first6=Zhi-Yun |last7=Hu |first7=Yi |last8=Ma |first8=Hong |last9=Soltis |first9=Pamela S. |last10=Soltis |first10=Douglas E. |last11=Li |first11=De-Zhu |display-authors=3 |date=19 July 2021 |title=Gene duplications and phylogenomic conflict underlie major pulses of phenotypic evolution in gymnosperms |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-00964-4 |journal=Nature Plants |volume=7|issue=8 |pages=1015–1025 |doi=10.1038/s41477-021-00964-4 |pmid=34282286 |bibcode=2021NatPl...7.1015S |s2cid=236141481 |access-date=10 January 2022 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110174725/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-00964-4/ |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The origin time of the [[crown group]] of flowering plants remains contentious.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sauquet |first1=Hervé |last2=Ramírez-Barahona |first2=Santiago |last3=Magallón |first3=Susana |date=2022-06-24 |editor-last=Melzer |editor-first=Rainer |title=What is the age of flowering plants? |url=https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/73/12/3840/6570702 |journal=Journal of Experimental Botany |language=en |volume=73 |issue=12 |pages=3840–3853 |doi=10.1093/jxb/erac130 |pmid=35438718 |issn=0022-0957|url-access=subscription }}</ref> By the Late Cretaceous, angiosperms appear to have dominated environments formerly occupied by [[fern]]s and gymnosperms. Large [[Canopy (biology)|canopy]]-forming trees replaced [[conifer]]s as the dominant trees close to the end of the Cretaceous, 66 million years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sadava |first1=David |last2=Heller |first2=H. Craig |last3=Orians |first3=Gordon H. |last4=Purves |first4=William K. |last5=Hillis |first5=David M. |display-authors=3 |title=Life: the science of biology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1m0_FLEjd-cC&pg=PA477 |access-date=4 August 2010 |date=December 2006 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-7167-7674-1 |pages=477– |archive-date=23 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223082952/http://books.google.com/books?id=1m0_FLEjd-cC&pg=PA477|url-status=live}}</ref> The radiation of herbaceous angiosperms occurred much later.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stewart |first1=Wilson Nichols |last2=Rothwell |first2=Gar W. |title=Paleobotany and the evolution of plants |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1993 |page=498 |isbn=978-0-521-23315-6 }}</ref>

== Reproduction ==

=== Flowers ===

{{main|Flower|Plant reproductive morphology}}

[[File:Angiosperm life cycle diagram-en.svg|thumb|upright=2|Angiosperm [[flower]] showing [[Plant reproductive morphology|reproductive parts]] and life cycle]]

The characteristic feature of angiosperms is the flower. Its function is to ensure [[Fertilisation|fertilization]] of the [[ovule]] and development of [[fruit]] containing [[seed]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Willson |first=Mary F. |date=1 June 1979 |title=Sexual Selection in Plants |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/283437 |journal=[[The American Naturalist]] |volume=113 |issue=6 |pages=777–790 |doi=10.1086/283437 |bibcode=1979ANat..113..777W |s2cid=84970789 |access-date=9 November 2021 |archive-date=9 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109164204/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/283437|url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It may arise terminally on a shoot or from the [[axil]] of a leaf.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bredmose |first=N. |title=Encyclopedia of Rose Science |chapter=Growth Regulation: Axillary Bud Growth |publisher=Elsevier |year=2003 |doi=10.1016/b0-12-227620-5/00017-3 |pages=374–381|isbn=978-0-12-227620-0 }}</ref> The flower-bearing part of the plant is usually sharply distinguished from the leaf-bearing part, and forms a branch-system called an [[inflorescence]].{{sfn|Balfour|Rendle|1911|p=10}}

Flowers produce two kinds of reproductive cells. [[Microspore]]s, which divide to become [[pollen|pollen grains]], are the male cells; they are borne in the [[stamen]]s.<ref name="Salisbury-1970">{{cite book |last1=Salisbury |first1=Frank B. |chapter=Sexual Reproduction |date=1970 |title=Vascular Plants: Form and Function |pages=185–195 |editor-last=Salisbury |editor-first=Frank B. |series=Fundamentals of Botany Series |location=London |publisher=Macmillan Education |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-00364-8_13 |isbn=978-1-349-00364-8 |last2=Parke |first2=Robert V. |doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |editor2-last=Parke |editor2-first=Robert V.}}</ref> The female cells, [[megaspore]]s, [[megagametogenesis|divide to become the egg cell]]. They are contained in the [[ovule]] and enclosed in the [[carpel]]; one or more carpels form the [[pistil]].<ref name="Salisbury-1970" />

The flower may consist only of these parts, as in [[Anemophily|wind-pollinated]] plants like the [[willow]], where each flower comprises only a few [[stamen]]s or two carpels.{{sfn|Balfour|Rendle|1911|p=10}} In [[Entomophily|insect-]] or [[Ornithophily|bird-pollinated]] plants, other structures protect the [[sporophyll]]s and attract pollinators. The individual members of these surrounding structures are known as [[sepal]]s and [[petal]]s (or [[tepal]]s in flowers such as ''[[Magnolia]]'' where sepals and petals are not distinguishable from each other). The outer series (calyx of sepals) is usually green and leaf-like, and functions to protect the rest of the flower, especially the bud.{{Sfn|De Craene|P.|2010|p=7}}{{Sfn|D. Mauseth|2016|p=225}} The inner series (corolla of petals) is, in general, white or brightly colored, is more delicate in structure, and attracts pollinators by colour, [[Floral scent|scent]], and [[nectar]].{{Sfn|De Craene|P.|2010|p=8}}{{Sfn|D. Mauseth|2016|p=226}}

Most flowers are [[Hermaphrodite#Plants|hermaphroditic]], producing both pollen and ovules in the same flower, but some use other devices to reduce self-fertilization. Heteromorphic flowers have carpels and stamens of differing lengths, so animal [[pollinator]]s cannot easily transfer pollen between them. Homomorphic flowers may use a biochemical [[Self-incompatibility in plants|self-incompatibility]] to discriminate between self and non-self pollen grains. [[Dioecious]] plants such as [[holly]] have male and female flowers on separate plants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ainsworth |first=C. |date=August 2000 |title=Boys and Girls Come Out to Play: The Molecular Biology of Dioecious Plants |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=86 |issue=2 |pages=211–221 |doi=10.1006/anbo.2000.1201 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2000AnBot..86..211A }}</ref> [[Monoecious]] plants have separate male and female flowers on the same plant; these are often wind-pollinated,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Batygina |first=T.B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VOWDwAAQBAJ&q=monoecy&pg=PA43 |title=Embryology of Flowering Plants: Terminology and Concepts, Vol. 3: Reproductive Systems |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4398-4436-6 |page=43}}</ref> as in [[maize]],<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bortiri | first1=E. | last2=Hake | first2=S. | title=Flowering and determinacy in maize | journal=Journal of Experimental Botany | publisher=Oxford University Press (OUP) | volume=58 | issue=5 | date=2007-01-13 | issn=0022-0957 | doi=10.1093/jxb/erm015 | pages=909–916| pmid=17337752 }}</ref> but include some insect-pollinated plants such as ''[[Cucurbita]]'' squashes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mabberley |first=D. J. |year=2008 |title=The Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-82071-4 |page=235}}</ref><ref>{{efloras|2|108644 |access-date=21 February 2015}}</ref>

=== Fertilisation and embryogenesis ===

{{main|Fertilization|Plant embryogenesis}}

[[Double fertilization]] requires two sperm cells to fertilise cells in the ovule. A [[pollen]] grain sticks to the stigma at the top of the pistil, germinates, and grows a long [[pollen tube]]. A haploid generative cell travels down the tube behind the tube nucleus. The generative cell divides by mitosis to produce two haploid (''n'') sperm cells. The pollen tube grows from the stigma, down the style and into the ovary. When it reaches the micropyle of the ovule, it digests its way into one of the synergids, releasing its contents including the sperm cells. The synergid that the cells were released into degenerates; one sperm makes its way to fertilise the egg cell, producing a diploid (2''n'') zygote. The second sperm cell fuses with both central cell nuclei, producing a triploid (3''n'') cell. The zygote develops into an embryo; the triploid cell develops into the endosperm, the embryo's food supply. The ovary develops into a fruit and each ovule into a seed.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Berger |first=F. |date=January 2008 |title=Double-fertilization, from myths to reality |journal=Sexual Plant Reproduction |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=3–5 |doi=10.1007/s00497-007-0066-4 |s2cid=8928640 }}</ref>

=== Fruit and seed ===

[[File:Aesculus hippocastanum fruit.jpg|thumb|The fruit of the [[Aesculus hippocastanum|horse chestnut]] tree, showing the large seed inside the fruit, which is [[Dehiscence (botany)|dehiscing or splitting open]]. ]]

{{main|Fruit|Seed}}

As the embryo and endosperm develop, the wall of the embryo sac enlarges and combines with the [[nucellus]] and [[integument]] to form the ''seed coat''. The ovary wall develops to form the fruit or [[pericarp]], whose form is closely associated with type of seed dispersal system.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Eriksson |first=O. |title=Evolution of Seed Size and Biotic Seed Dispersal in Angiosperms: Paleoecological and Neoecological Evidence |journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |volume=169 |issue=7 |pages=863–870 |year=2008 |doi=10.1086/589888 |bibcode=2008IJPlS.169..863E |s2cid=52905335 }}</ref>

Other parts of the flower often contribute to forming the fruit. For example, in the [[apple]], the [[hypanthium]] forms the edible flesh, surrounding the ovaries which form the tough cases around the seeds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fruit Anatomy |url=https://ucanr.edu/sites/btfnp/generaltopics/AnatomyPollination/Fruit_Anatomy/ |publisher=University of California |work=Fruit & Nut Research & Information Center |url-status = live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502175636/https://ucanr.edu/sites/btfnp/generaltopics/AnatomyPollination/Fruit_Anatomy/ |archive-date=2 May 2023}}</ref>

[[Apomixis]], setting seed without fertilization, is found naturally in about 2.2% of angiosperm genera.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hojsgaard |first1=D. |last2=Klatt |first2=S. |last3=Baier |first3=R. |last4=Carman |first4=J.G. |last5=Hörandl |first5=E. |display-authors=3 |title=Taxonomy and Biogeography of Apomixis in Angiosperms and Associated Biodiversity Characteristics |journal=Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences |volume=33 |issue=5 |pages=414–427 |date=September 2014 |pmid=27019547 |pmc=4786830 |doi=10.1080/07352689.2014.898488 |bibcode=2014CRvPS..33..414H }}</ref> Some angiosperms, including many [[citrus]] varieties, are able to produce fruits through a type of apomixis called [[nucellar embryony]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gentile |first=Alessandra |title=The Citrus Genome |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsPXDwAAQBAJ |date=18 March 2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-15308-3 |page=171 |access-date=13 December 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414224058/https://books.google.com/books?id=hsPXDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sexual selection ===

{{Excerpt|Sexual selection in flowering plants}}

===Adaptive function of flowers===

Charles Darwin in his 1878 book The Effects of Cross and Self-Fertilization in the Vegetable Kingdom<ref>{{cite book |last=Darwin |first=Charles R. |author-link=Charles Darwin |year=1878 |title=The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom |location=London |publisher=John Murray |url=https://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/pdf/1878_Fertilisation_F1251.pdf}}</ref> in the initial paragraph of chapter XII noted "The first and most important of the conclusions which may be drawn from the observations given in this volume, is that generally cross-fertilisation is beneficial and self-fertilisation often injurious, at least with the plants on which I experimented." [[Flower]]s emerged in plant evolution as an adaptation for the promotion of cross-[[fertilisation]] ([[outcrossing]]), a process that allows the masking of deleterious [[mutation]]s in the [[genome]] of progeny. The masking effect is known as [[complementation (genetics)|genetic complementation]].<ref name="Bernstein 1985">{{cite journal |last1=Bernstein |first1=Harris |last2=Byerly |first2=Henry C. |last3=Hopf |first3=Frederic A. |last4=Michod |first4=Richard E. |title=Genetic Damage, Mutation, and the Evolution of Sex |journal=Science |volume=229 |issue=4719 |date=20 September 1985 |doi=10.1126/science.3898363 |pages=1277–1281|pmid=3898363 |bibcode=1985Sci...229.1277B }}</ref> [[Meiosis]] in flowering plants provides a direct mechanism for [[DNA repair|repairing DNA]] through genetic recombination in reproductive tissues.<ref name="Hörandl 2024">{{cite journal |last=Hörandl |first=Elvira |title=Apomixis and the paradox of sex in plants |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=134 |issue=1 |date=7 June 2024 |pmid=38497809 |pmc=11161571 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcae044 |doi-access=free |pages=1–18 |url=https://academic.oup.com/aob/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/aob/mcae044/57132588/mcae044.pdf |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref> [[Sexual reproduction]] appears to be required for maintaining long-term [[genome|genomic]] integrity and only infrequent combinations of extrinsic and intrinsic factors permit shifts to asexuality.<ref name="Hörandl 2024"/> Thus the two fundamental aspects of sexual reproduction in flowering plants, cross-fertilization (outcrossing) and meiosis appear to be maintained respectively by the advantages of genetic complementation and recombinational repair.<ref name="Bernstein 1985"/>

== Human uses ==

{{main|Human uses of plants}}

=== Practical uses ===

[[File:Rice Harvest 2020 - 50248478521.jpg|thumb|Harvesting [[rice]] in Arkansas, 2020]]

[[File:Daal_after_Tadka_Pulse_Soup_India.jpg|thumb|Food from plants: a dish of ''[[Dal tadka]]'', Indian lentil soup]]

[[Agriculture]] is almost entirely dependent on angiosperms, which provide virtually all plant-based food and [[fodder]] for [[livestock]]. Much of this food derives from a small number of flowering plant families.<ref name="Dilcher-2016">{{cite web |last1=Dilcher |first1=David L. |last2=Cronquist |first2=Arthur |last3=Zimmermann |first3=Martin Huldrych |last4=Stevens |first4=Peter |last5=Stevenson |first5=Dennis William |last6=Berry |first6=Paul E. |author-link2=Arthur Cronquist |author-link4=Peter F. Stevens |title=Angiosperm: Significance to Humans |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/angiosperm/Significance-to-humans |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |date=8 March 2016}}</ref> For instance, half of the world's [[calorie]] intake is supplied by just three plants – [[wheat]], [[rice]] and [[maize]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=McKie |first=Robin |date=16 July 2017 |title=Maize, rice, wheat: alarm at rising climate risk to vital crops |newspaper=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/15/climate-change-food-famine-study |access-date=30 July 2023 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Major food-providing families<ref name="Dilcher-2016"/>
|-
! Family !! English !! Example foods from that family
|-
| [[Poaceae]] || Grasses, cereals || Most feedstocks, inc. [[rice]], [[maize]], [[wheat]], [[barley]], [[rye]], [[oat]]s, [[pearl millet]], [[sugar cane]], [[sorghum]]
|-
| [[Fabaceae]] || Legumes, pea family || [[Pea]]s, [[bean]]s, [[lentils]]; for animal feed, [[clover]], [[alfalfa]]
|-
| [[Solanaceae]] || Nightshade family || [[Potato]]es, [[tomato]]es, [[capsicum|peppers]], [[aubergine]]s
|-
| [[Cucurbitaceae]] || Gourd family || [[Cucurbita|Squashes]], [[cucumber]]s, [[pumpkin]]s, [[melon]]s
|-
| [[Brassicaceae]] || Cabbage family || [[Cabbage]] and its varieties, e.g. [[Brussels sprout]], [[broccoli]]; [[mustard plant|mustard]]; [[rapeseed|oilseed rape]]
|-
| [[Apiaceae]] || Parsley family || [[Parsnip]], [[carrot]], [[parsley]], [[coriander]], [[fennel]], [[cumin]], [[caraway]]
|-
| [[Rutaceae]] || Rue family<ref>{{cite web |title=Rutaceae |url=https://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/RUTA.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719224511/https://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/RUTA.html |archive-date=19 July 2019 |website=Botanical Dermatology Database}}</ref> || [[Orange (fruit)|Oranges]], [[lemon]]s, [[grapefruit]]s
|-
| [[Rosaceae]] || Rose family<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Shu-Dong |last2=Jin |first2=Jian-Jun |last3=Chen |first3=Si-Yun |last4=Chase |first4=Mark W. |last5=Soltis |first5=Douglas E. |last6=Li |first6=Hong-Tao |last7=Yang |first7=Jun-Bo |last8=Li |first8=De-Zhu |last9=Yi |first9=Ting-Shuang |display-authors=3 |date=2017 |title=Diversification of Rosaceae since the Late Cretaceous based on plastid phylogenomics |journal=New Phytologist |volume=214 |issue=3 |pages=1355–1367 |doi=10.1111/nph.14461 |pmid=28186635 |issn=1469-8137|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017NewPh.214.1355Z }}</ref> || [[Apple]]s, [[pear]]s, [[cherry|cherries]], [[apricot]]s, [[plum]]s, [[peach]]es
|}

Flowering plants provide a diverse range of materials in the form of [[wood]], [[paper]], fibers such as [[cotton]], [[flax]], and [[hemp]], [[medicinal plants|medicines]] such as [[digoxin]] and [[opioid]]s, and decorative and landscaping plants. [[Coffee]] and [[hot chocolate]] are beverages from flowering plants (in the [[Rubiaceae]] and [[Malvaceae]] respectively).<ref name="Dilcher-2016"/>

=== Cultural uses ===

[[File:Kingfisher-iris.jpg|thumb|upright| [[Bird-and-flower painting]]: ''Kingfisher and iris'' ''kachō-e'' woodblock print by Ohara Koson (late 19th century)]]

Both real and [[Fictional plants|fictitious plants]] play a wide variety of [[List of fictional plants|roles in literature and film]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Literary Plants |journal=Nature Plants |date=2015 |volume=1 |issue=11 |article-number=15181 |doi=10.1038/nplants.2015.181 |pmid=27251545 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015NatPl...115181. }}</ref> Flowers are the subjects of many poems by poets such as [[William Blake]], [[Robert Frost]], and [[Rabindranath Tagore]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Flower Poems |url=http://www.poemhunter.com/poems/flower/ |website=Poem Hunter |access-date=21 June 2016}}</ref> [[Bird-and-flower painting]] ({{Transliteration|zh|Huaniaohua}}) is a kind of [[Chinese painting]] that celebrates the beauty of flowering plants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nature's Song: Chinese Bird and Flower Paintings |url=https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/9245/Natures-Song-Traditional-Chinese-Bird-and-Flower-Paintings-/ |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=Museum Wales |language=en |archive-date=4 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804231344/https://museum.wales/cardiff/whatson/9245/Natures-Song-Traditional-Chinese-Bird-and-Flower-Paintings-/ }}</ref> Flowers have been [[language of flowers|used in literature to convey meaning]] by authors including [[William Shakespeare]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Language of Flowers |url=http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=3192 |publisher=Folger Shakespeare Library |access-date=2013-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919185926/http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=3192 |archive-date=2014-09-19 }}</ref> 
Flowers are used in a variety of art forms which arrange cut or living plants, such as [[bonsai]], [[ikebana]], and flower arranging. [[Ornamental plant]]s have sometimes changed the course of history, as in [[tulip mania|tulipomania]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lambert |first=Tim |title=A Brief History of Gardening |url=http://www.localhistories.org/gardening.html |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=21 June 2016 |date=2014}}</ref> Many countries and regions have [[floral emblem]]s; a survey of 70 of these found that the most popular flowering plant family<!--Figure 9 in the source--> for such emblems is Orchidaceae at 15.7% (11 emblems), followed by Fabaceae at 10% (7 emblems), and Asparagaceae, Asteraceae, and Rosaceae all at 5.7% (4 emblems each).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lim |first1=Reuben |last2=Tan |first2=Heok |last3=Tan |first3=Hugh |year=2013 |title=Official Biological Emblems of the World <!--online--> |publisher=[[Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research]] |location=Singapore |isbn=978-9-8107-4147-1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283008038}}</ref>

=== Conservation ===

{{further|Conservation biology|Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity}}

[[File:Viola_calcarata20052002fleur2.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.9|''[[Viola calcarata]]'', a species highly vulnerable to climate change.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Block |first1=Sebastián |last2=Maechler |first2=Marc-Jacques |last3=Levine |first3=Jacob I. |last4=Alexander |first4=Jake M. |last5=Pellissier |first5=Loïc |last6=Levine |first6=Jonathan M. |date=26 August 2022 |title=Ecological lags govern the pace and outcome of plant community responses to 21st-century climate change |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=25 |issue=10 |pages=2156–2166 |doi=10.1111/ele.14087 |pmid=36028464 |pmc=9804264 |bibcode=2022EcolL..25.2156B }}</ref>]]

[[Human impact on the environment]] has driven a range of species extinct and [[Holocene extinction|is threatening even more today]]. Multiple organizations such as [[IUCN]] and [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] suggest that around 40% of plant species are threatened with extinction.<ref name="Lughadha-2020">{{Cite journal |last1=Lughadha |first1=Eimear Nic|last2=Bachman |first2=Steven P. |last3=Leão |first3=Tarciso C. C. |last4=Forest |first4=Félix |last5=Halley |first5=John M. |last6=Moat |first6=Justin |last7=Acedo|first7=Carmen |last8=Bacon |first8=Karen L. |last9=Brewer |first9=Ryan F. A. |last10=Gâteblé |first10=Gildas |last11=Gonçalves |first11=Susana C.|last12=Govaerts |first12=Rafaël |last13=Hollingsworth |first13=Peter M. |last14=Krisai-Greilhuber |first14=Irmgard |last15=de Lirio |first15=Elton J. |last16=Moore |first16=Paloma G. P. |last17=Negrão |first17=Raquel |last18=Onana |first18=Jean Michel |last19=Rajaovelona |first19=Landy R. |last20=Razanajatovo |first20=Henintsoa |last21=Reich |first21=Peter B. |last22=Richards |first22=Sophie L. |last23=Rivers |first23=Malin C. |last24=Cooper |first24=Amanda |last25=Iganci |first25=João |last26=Lewis |first26=Gwilym P. |last27=Smidt |first27=Eric C. |last28=Antonelli |first28=Alexandre |last29=Mueller |first29=Gregory M. |last30=Walker |first30=Barnaby E. |date=29 September 2020 |title=Extinction risk and threats to plants and fungi |journal=Plants People Planet |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=389–408 |doi=10.1002/ppp3.10146 |s2cid=225274409 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020PlPP....2..389N |hdl=10316/101227 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The majority are threatened by [[Habitat destruction|habitat loss]], but activities such as logging of wild timber trees and collection of medicinal plants, or the introduction of non-native [[invasive species]], also play a role.<ref name="BGCI-2023"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiens |first1=John J. |title=Climate-Related Local Extinctions Are Already Widespread among Plant and Animal Species |journal=PLOS Biology |date=2016 |volume=14 |issue=12 |article-number=e2001104 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.2001104 |doi-access=free |pmid=27930674 |pmc=5147797 |hdl=10150/622757 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shivanna |first=K. R. |title=Biodiversity and Chemotaxonomy |chapter=The 'Sixth Mass Extinction Crisis' and Its Impact on Flowering Plants |series=Sustainable Development and Biodiversity |publisher=Springer International Publishing |publication-place=Cham |volume=24 |date=2019 |pages=15–42 |isbn=978-3-030-30745-5 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-30746-2_2}}</ref>


Relatively few plant diversity assessments currently consider [[climate change]],<ref name="Lughadha-2020" /> yet it is [[Effects of climate change on plant biodiversity|starting to impact plants]] as well. About 3% of flowering plants are very likely to be driven extinct within a century at {{convert|2|C-change|F-change}} of global warming, and 10% at {{convert|3.2|C-change|F-change}}.<ref>Parmesan, C., M.D. Morecroft, Y. Trisurat et al. (2022) [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_Chapter02.pdf Chapter 2: Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems and Their Services] in {{cite book | title=Climate Change 2022 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability | chapter=Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems and Their Services | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2023 | isbn=978-1-009-32584-4 | doi=10.1017/9781009325844.004 | pages=197–378 |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/}}</ref> In worst-case scenarios, half of all tree species may be driven extinct by climate change over that timeframe.<ref name="Lughadha-2020" />

Conservation in this context is the attempt to prevent extinction, whether ''[[in situ]]'' by protecting plants and their habitats in the wild, or ''[[Ex situ conservation|ex situ]]'' in [[seed bank]]s or as living plants.<ref name="BGCI-2023">{{cite web |title=Botanic Gardens and Plant Conservation |url=https://www.bgci.org/about/botanic-gardens-and-plant-conservation/ |website=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=19 July 2023}}</ref> Some 3000 [[botanic gardens]] around the world maintain living plants, including over 40% of the species known to be threatened, as an "insurance policy against extinction in the wild."<ref>{{cite web |title=Plant Conservation Around the World |url=https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/festival-of-plants-2020/fop-day3-conservation/plant-conservation-around-the-world/ |website=Cambridge University Botanic Garden |access-date=19 July 2023 |date=2020 |archive-date=18 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418081054/https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/festival-of-plants-2020/fop-day3-conservation/plant-conservation-around-the-world/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[United Nations]]' [[Global Strategy for Plant Conservation]] asserts that "without plants, there is no life".<ref name="CBD-2023"/> It aims to "halt the continuing loss of plant diversity" throughout the world.<ref name="CBD-2023">{{cite web |title=Updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011–2020 |url=https://www.cbd.int/gspc/ |website=Convention on Biological Diversity |access-date=19 July 2023 |date=3 July 2023}}</ref>{{Clear}}

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==

=== Articles, books and chapters ===

{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Angiosperms |volume=2 |pages=9–14 |first1=Isaac Bayley |last1=Balfour |author-link1=Isaac Bayley Balfour |first2=Alfred Barton |last2=Rendle |author-link2=Alfred Barton Rendle}}
* {{cite journal |last=APG |author-link=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |journal=[[Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society]] |volume=141 |pages=399–436 |year=2003 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II |doi=10.1046/j.1095-8339.2003.t01-1-00158.x |issue=4 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal |last=APG |author-link=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2009 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III |journal=[[Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society]] |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=105–121 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x |doi-access=free|hdl=10654/18083 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal |last=APG |author-link=Angiosperm Phylogeny Group |year=2016 |title=An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV |journal=[[Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society]] |volume=181 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |doi= 10.1111/boj.12385 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Becker |first1=Kenneth M. |title=A Comparison of Angiosperm Classification Systems |journal=[[Taxon (journal)|Taxon]] |date=February 1973 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=19–50 |doi=10.2307/1218032 |jstor=1218032 |bibcode=1973Taxon..22...19B |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bell |first1=Adrian D. |title=Plant Form. An Illustrated Guide to Flowering Plant Morphology |date=2008 |orig-date=1991 |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, Oregon |isbn=978-0-88192-850-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SM3khPHXhKEC |ref=none}}
** [https://archive.org/details/plantform00adri 1st edition published by Oxford University Press in 1991] {{ISBN |978-0-19854-219-3}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=C.D. |last2=Soltis |first2=D.E. |last3=Soltis |first3=P.S. |author-link3=Pamela S. Soltis |author-link2=Douglas Soltis |year=2010 |title=The Age and Diversification of the Angiosperms Revisited |journal=[[American Journal of Botany]] |volume=97 |issue=8 |pages=1296–1303 |doi=10.3732/ajb.0900346 |pmid=21616882 |bibcode=2010AmJB...97.1296B |s2cid=207613985 |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Chase |first1=Mark W. |last2=Reveal |first2=James L. |year=2009 |title=A phylogenetic classification of the land plants to accompany APG III |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=161 |issue=2 |pages=122–127 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.01002.x |doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite book |last1=De Craene |first1=Ronse |last2=P.|first2=Louis|title=Floral Diagrams |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-80671-1 |location=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511806711 }}
* Cromie, William J. (16 December 1999). [https://web.archive.org/web/20030714120417/http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/12.16/angiosperms.html "Oldest Known Flowering Plants Identified By Genes"]. Harvard University Gazette.
* {{cite journal |last1=Cronquist |first1=Arthur |author-link=Arthur Cronquist |title=The divisions and classes of plants |journal=The Botanical Review |date=October 1960 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=425–482 |doi=10.1007/BF02940572 |bibcode=1960BotRv..26..425C |s2cid=43144314}}
* {{cite book |last=Cronquist |first= Arthur |author-link=Arthur Cronquist |year=1981 |title=An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants |url=https://archive.org/details/integratedsystem0000cron |url-access=registration |publisher=Columbia Univ. Press |location= New York |isbn= 978-0-231-03880-5 |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Dahlgren |first1=R. M. T. |author-link=Rolf Dahlgren |title=A revised system of classification of the angiosperms |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |date=February 1980 |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=91–124 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1980.tb01661.x |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Dahlgren |first1=Rolf |author-link=Rolf Dahlgren |title=General aspects of angiosperm evolution and macrosystematics |journal=Nordic Journal of Botany |date=February 1983 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=119–149 |doi=10.1111/j.1756-1051.1983.tb01448.x |bibcode=1983NorJB...3..119D |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Dilcher |first1=D. |doi=10.1073/pnas.97.13.7030 |pmid=10860967 |title=Toward a new synthesis: Major evolutionary trends in the angiosperm fossil record |year=2000 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=97 |issue=13 |pages=7030–7036 |pmc=34380 |bibcode=2000PNAS...97.7030D |doi-access=free |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Heywood |first1=V. H. |author2=Brummitt, R. K. |author3=Culham, A. |author4=Seberg, O. |title=Flowering Plant Families of the World |publisher=Firefly Books |year=2007 |location=Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada |isbn=978-1-55407-206-4 |ref=none}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Hill |first1=Christopher |last2=Crane |first2=Peter |editor-last1=Joysey |editor-first1=Kenneth Alan |editor-last2=Friday |editor-first2=A.E. |encyclopedia=Problems of Phylogenetic Reconstruction |title=Evolutionary Cladistics and the origin of Angiosperms |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275374707 |date=January 1982 |publisher=Systematics Association |series=Special Volumes |volume=21 |location=London |isbn=978-0-12-391250-3 |pages=269–361 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lersten |first1=Nels R. |title=Flowering plant embryology with emphasis on economic species |date=2004 |publisher=Blackwell Pub. |location=Ames, Iowa |isbn=978-0-470-75267-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YbwF7tH6dUC |ref=none}}
*{{cite book|last=D. Mauseth|first=James|title=Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2016|isbn=978-1-284-07753-7|edition=6th }}
* {{cite book |last1=Pooja |first1=<!--Not stated, the printed book just says "Dr. Pooja"--> |title=Angiosperms |date=2004 |publisher=Discovery |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-81-7141-788-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pZxuyUllJIC  |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Raven |first1=P.H. |last2=Evert |first2=R.F. |last3=Eichhorn |first3=S.E. |title=Biology of Plants |edition=7th |publisher=W.H. Freeman |year=2004 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Sattler |first=R. |year=1973 |title=Organogenesis of Flowers. A Photographic Text-Atlas |publisher=University of Toronto Press |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Simpson |first=Michael G. |title=Plant Systematics |year=2010 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |isbn=978-0-08-092208-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dj8KRImgyf4C |edition=2nd |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Soltis |first1=Pamela S |last2=Soltis |first2=Douglas E |author-link1=Pamela Soltis |author-link2=Douglas Soltis |title=Ancient WGD events as drivers of key innovations in angiosperms |journal=[[Current Opinion in Plant Biology]] |date=April 2016 |volume=30 |pages=159–165 |doi=10.1016/j.pbi.2016.03.015 |pmid=27064530 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016COPB...30..159S |ref=none}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Takhtajan |first1=A. |author-link=Takhtajan |title=The Taxa of the Higher Plants above the Rank of Order |journal=[[Taxon (journal)|Taxon]] |date=June 1964 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=160–164 |doi=10.2307/1216134 |jstor=1216134|bibcode=1964Taxon..13..160T }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Takhtajan |first1=A. |author-link=Takhtajan |title=Outline of the Classification of Flowering Plants (Magnoliophyta) |journal=Botanical Review |date=July–September 1980 |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=225–359 |jstor=4353970 |doi=10.1007/bf02861558 |bibcode=1980BotRv..46..225T |s2cid=30764910}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Zeng |first1=Liping |last2=Zhang |first2=Qiang |last3=Sun |first3=Renran |last4=Kong |first4=Hongzhi |last5=Zhang |first5=Ning |last6=Ma |first6=Hong |title=Resolution of deep angiosperm phylogeny using conserved nuclear genes and estimates of early divergence times |journal=[[Nature Communications]] |date=24 September 2014 |volume=5 |issue=4956 |page=4956 |doi=10.1038/ncomms5956 |pmid=25249442 |pmc=4200517 |bibcode=2014NatCo...5.4956Z |ref=none}}
{{Refend}}

=== Websites ===

{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Theodor C.H. |last2=Hilger |first2=Harmut H. |first3=Peter F. |last3=Stevens |date=2017 |url=http://www.biologie.fu-berlin.de/sysbot/poster/poster1.pdf |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Poster{{spaced ndash}} Flowering Plant Systematics |ref=none}}
* {{cite web |last1=Watson |first1=L. |last2=Dallwitz |first2=M.J. |date=1992 |url=http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/delta/angio |title=The Families of Flowering Plants: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval |version=14 December 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802080838/http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/delta/angio |archive-date=2014-08-02 |ref=none}}
* {{EOL|282}}
{{Refend}}

{{Plant classification}}
{{Botany}}
{{Angiosperm orders}}
{{Lists of angiosperm families}}
{{Life on Earth}}
{{Subject bar|Plants|c=Angiosperms|commonscat=y|species=Magnoliophyta|b=Magnoliophyta|auto=1}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q25314}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flowering Plant}}
[[Category:Angiosperms|Angiosperms]]
[[Category:Plant sexuality]]
[[Category:Plants]]
[[Category:Pollination]]