Urs Eggli

TL;DR: Using a hybrid phylogenomic approach, it is estimated that the cactus lineage diverged from its closest relatives ≈35 million years ago (Ma), however, major diversification events in cacti were more recent, with most species-rich clades originating in the late Miocene.

TL;DR: A taxonomic backbone at the genus level is provided that reflects the current state of knowledge and accepts 749 genera for the Caryophyllales, a major lineage of flowering plants with approximately 12500 species in 39 families.

TL;DR: A revised familial classification of the suborder Portulacineae is proposed with an identification key mainly based on habit and fruit characters, and family diagnoses with information on distribution, taxonomic diversity, and a brief discussion on phylogenetics and classification.

TL;DR: Stem succulence and the “cactus life form” are used to illustrate the parallel evolution of functional adaptations in morphology, and to contrast the obvious external similarities with the widely variable internal architecture.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that phylogenomic data can provide unparalleled insight into the evolutionary history of Caryophyllales and a method for overcoming computational challenges associated with homolog clustering in large data sets is discussed.