learning that most trees do not derive from a single lineage but actually only look and function superficially similarly due to convergent evolution is one of the most fucked up things i’ve ever learned and i will never be the same person as i was before i learned that
Oak trees are quite a bit more closely related to roses than they are to pine trees.
So are apple and cherry and pear trees! But palm trees are basically grass
Like many animal lines have gotten Huge and Lumpy in the ocean, so have plants gotten Tall and Woody in the sunlight.
THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING. TREES ARE A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT.
in a similar vein, Cactus are more closely related to plants like Dianthus and Amaranth than to other common succulents like members of the Crassulaceae family that contains Echeveria, Jade Plants, Sedum, Kalanchoe, etc
Phylogeny is wild and categorization is made up
