News Ecosystems

Flowering plants welcome other life

Burst of evolution 100 million years ago opened new niches

By Rachel Ehrenberg

- More than 2 years ago

A burst of flowering plant evolution some hundred million years ago may have served as an ecological stimulus package, spurring the radiation of ants, salamanders and other life. 

The evolution of members of the rosid clade (including roses, citrus, apples, figs, cotton and peaches, shown clockwise above) dramatically changed the forests around 100 million years ago.