Anthophyta

The anthophytes are a paraphyletic grouping of plant taxa bearing flower-like reproductive structures. The group, once thought to be a clade,^[1] contained the angiosperms – the extant flowering plants, such as roses and grasses – as well as the Gnetales and the extinct Bennettitales.^[1]

Detailed morphological and molecular studies have shown that the group is not actually monophyletic,^[2] with proposed floral homologies of the gnetophytes and the angiosperms having evolved in parallel.^[3] This makes it easier to reconcile molecular clock data that suggests that the angiosperms diverged from the gymnosperms around 320-300 mya.^[4]

Some more recent studies have used the word anthophyte to describe a hypothetical group which includes the angiosperms and a variety of extinct seed plant groups (with various suggestions including at least some of the following groups: glossopterids, corystosperms, Petriellales Pentoxylales, Bennettitales and Caytoniales), but not the Gnetales.^[5][6]

Traditional view
Cycads Ginkgo Conifers Anthophytes Bennettitales Gnetales Angiosperms

Modern view
Angiosperms Gymnosperms Cycads Bennettitales Ginkgo Conifers Gnetales

Phylogeny of anthophytes and gymnosperms based on Crepet et al. (2000)^[3]

References

1. Doyle, J. A.; Donoghue, M. J. (1986). "Seed plant phylogeny and the origin of angiosperms: An experimental cladistic approach". Botanical Review. 52 (4): 321–431. doi:10.1007/bf02861082. S2CID 44844947.
2. Coiro, Mario; Chomicki, Guillaume; Doyle, James A. (n.d.). "Experimental signal dissection and method sensitivity analyses reaffirm the potential of fossils and morphology in the resolution of the relationship of angiosperms and Gnetales". Paleobiology. 44 (3): 490–510. doi:10.1017/pab.2018.23. S2CID 91488394.
3. Crepet, W. L. (2000). "Progress in understanding angiosperm history, success, and relationships: Darwin's abominably "perplexing phenomenon"". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97 (24): 12939–41. Bibcode:2000PNAS...9712939C. doi:10.1073/pnas.97.24.12939. PMC 34068. PMID 11087846.
4. Nam J.; et al. (2003). "Antiquity and Evolution of the MADS-Box Gene Family Controlling Flower Development in Plants". Mol. Biol. Evol. 20 (9): 1435–1447. doi:10.1093/molbev/msg152. PMID 12777513.
5. Soltis, D. E.; Bell, CD; Kim, S; Soltis, PS (June 2008). "The Year in Evolutionary Biology 2008". Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1133 (1): 3–25. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.463.7533. doi:10.1196/annals.1438.005. PMID 18559813. S2CID 17688086. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009.
6. Shi, Gongle; Herrera, Fabiany; Herendeen, Patrick S.; Clark, Elizabeth G.; Crane, Peter R. (10 June 2021). "Mesozoic cupules and the origin of the angiosperm second integument". Nature. 594 (7862): 223–226. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03598-w. ISSN 0028-0836.