Orchids are not a young plant family at all

Orchidaceae
In a paper published in the latest edition of the Journal Europaeischer Orchideen (vol 44, 2/2012, p. 421-426), Wolfgang Wucherpfennig reviews the recent publications about the phylogenetic tree of the Monocotyledonae. He points out that the Orchidaeceae are between 104 and 120 million years old (A in the phylogenetic tree) and that the first orchids have been grazed by dinosaurs. So, orchids are in fact older than their relatives in the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae) or the Asparagus family (Asparagaceae). Only the differentiation of the genera of orchids (B in the phylogenetic tree) has a more recent age and happened between 76 and 84 million years ago. Wucherpfennig concludes: “So, orchids are not a young plant family at all, they have a dignified age. But very old families also have small children which are enterprising and adventurous such as Ophrys and Dactylorhiza.”

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