Wang Xin
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China.
Life (Basel). 2023 Oct 9;13(10):2029. doi: 10.3390/life13102029.
Angiosperms are frequently assumed to constitute a monophyletic group. Therefore, the origin of angiosperms is a key question in systematic botany since the answer to this question is hinged with many questions concerned with angiosperm evolution. Previously, the lack of fossil evidence undermines the robustness of related hypotheses, and explains the instability of the systematics of angiosperms in the past century. With increasing evidence of early angiosperms, the origin and early evolution of angiosperms become approachable targets. However, reaching a strict consensus is still a mission impossible now: there are too many issues open to debate. A good sign in research is that palaeobotanists started addressing the issue of criterion identifying angiosperms, this would bring order in studies of early angiosperms. Several flaws in fundamental concepts inflicting botany require efforts to elucidate and remedy. The author here opens a discussion on these problems, hoping that more botanists will join to discuss and clarify previously blurry concepts and place a solid foundation for future development in botany.
被子植物通常被认为构成一个单系类群。因此，被子植物的起源是系统植物学中的一个关键问题，因为这个问题的答案与许多有关被子植物进化的问题相关联。以前，化石证据的缺乏削弱了相关假说的稳健性，并解释了过去一个世纪被子植物系统学的不稳定性。随着早期被子植物证据的不断增加，被子植物的起源和早期进化成为了可研究的目标。然而，现在要达成严格的共识仍然是不可能完成的任务：有太多问题有待辩论。研究中的一个好迹象是古植物学家开始着手解决鉴定被子植物的标准问题，这将为早期被子植物的研究带来秩序。植物学基础概念中的几个缺陷需要努力去阐明和纠正。作者在此开启对这些问题的讨论，希望更多植物学家能加入进来，讨论并澄清之前模糊的概念，为植物学的未来发展奠定坚实基础。
