Floral Evolution: Dramatic Size Change Was Recent and Rapid in the World's Largest Flowers

Abstract

Recent studies clarifying the closest relatives of the world's largest flowers, Rafflesiaceae, whose floral diameters range from ∼11 to ∼100 cm, indicated that they evolved from tiny-flowered ancestors in a burst of floral gigantism. New data now suggest that floral size evolution within Rafflesiaceae may be more dynamic than expected, with both recent and rapid changes in flower size. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.