Zuntini, A.R., Carruthers, T., Maurin, O. et al. Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07324-0 – “Flowering plants (angiosperms) represent about 90% of all terrestrial plant species but, despite their remarkable diversity and ecological importance underpinning almost all main terrestrial ecosystems, their evolutionary history remains incompletely known. Since their Mesozoic origins, angiosperms have had a pervasive influence on the biosphere of Earth, shaping climatic changes at global and local scales, supporting the structure and assembly of biomes and influencing the diversification of other organisms, such as insects, fungi and birds. The evolution of terrestrial biodiversity is thus inextricably linked with the macroevolution of angiosperms, which can only be shown using a robust and comprehensive tree of life. Reconstructing such a tree, however, is challenging because of the sheer diversity of angiosperms and the complex phylogenetic signal in their genomes.”