Reevaluating the evolution of epigyny: Data from phylogenetics and floral ontogeny

A long‐standing perspective of many botanists has been that there is a unidirectional trend in the evolution of ovary position from superior to inferior and that reversals are rare if at all possible. Recent studies that formally investigate the problem of gynoecial diversification in a rigorous phylogenetic context demonstrate that the evolution of ovary position is more complex and dynamic than this traditional view suggested. It is well known that a hypogynous ground plan characterizes a vast majority of angiosperms having superior ovaries and that within a hypogynous ground plan, flowers with inferior ovaries can be produced by a developmental plan termed receptacular epigyny. However, most angiosperms with inferior ovaries have an appendicular‐epigynous ground plan in which a distinctive concavity appears in the center of the floral apex during perianth initiation. Recent investigations have shown that a diverse array of ovary positions ranging from completely inferior to what superficially appear to...