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In this view,
the most primitve angiosperm resembled a Magnolia in that
it had large, showy, unspecialized, spirally arranged flowers. There
was no fusion of parts and there was little differeniation of parts.
The stamens would be very laminar and the carpels would be conduplicate
(Click here for a diagram of the evolution
of the stamen and carpel). |
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One
flower--note the numerous stamens (green arrow) and the many carpels
on an elongate receptacle (yellow arrow). This is white bark magnolia
(Magnolia hypoleuca).
Photo by K. R. Robertson at the Hillier Arboretum, Hampshire, England. |
| This
idea has been championed by A. Cronquist and others. Cronquist is
the author of the classic taxnomic work that most US taxonomy classes
follow. In contrast to the above, Stebbins published in the Flowering Plants above the Species Level (1974) that the most primitive angiosperms were shrubs in semi-arid pioneer habitats. The flowers were of moderate size on a shortened floral axis with whorled parts. |