Thesiss

The history of life is often viewed as a evenly branching tree; however, in reality it is more like a tangled hedgerow. Many groups of organisms are known to have such a net-like or reticulate evolutionary history, but it is particularly common in ferns and lycophytes (also know…

Diversification is primarily a function of two processes—speciation and adaptation—that shape the history and trajectory of evolutionary lineages. These processes are often interdependent and are shaped by biotic and abiotic factors including existing and evolvable genetic varia…