Cladistics tests whether traditional taxa match evolutionary relationships. The figwort family was reclassified using conserved chloroplast gene sequences, showing that some morphological similarities resulted from convergence.
The figwort family is a large one consisting of many flowering plants that look similar. For what reason have some members of the family been reclassified into a new family?
Cladistic analysis shows the differences in flower structure to be fewer than the shared similarities.
DNA analysis shows the similarities in flower shape to be a product of convergent evolution.
DNA analysis shows some of the families to have suffered recent mutations in only one gene.
DNA analysis shows the similarities between the seed dispersal strategies to be a product of divergent evolution.
B