Fern Phloem Evolution Shows Decreasing Conductivity Over Geological Time

This study extends understanding of phloem evolution by analyzing sieve elements in 26 fern species across 21 families, revealing high diversity and strong phylogenetic signals. The research identifies scaling relationships between sieve element size and leaf and vascular traits, and integrates fossil data to show a trend of decreasing sieve element radius and conducting area through geological time.

Originally published by gnews