Reclassification of the figwort family
There more than 400 families of angiosperms, also known as flowering plants. The 8th biggest family is the Figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. This family was proposed by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu based on morphology and it included 16 genera. However, taxonomists recently used cladistics to investigate the evolutionary origins of the figwort family and one of the things they compared was the base sequence of three chloroplast genes found in a large number of organisms commonly associated with Scrophulariaceae. It was found that the figwort family was actually not a clade but consisted of 5 different clades. Thus a major reclassification took place.
The foxglove, genus digitalis, is an example of the reclassification. It is now part of the Plantaginaceae family. Below is digitalis laevigata and digitalis purpurea
The foxglove, genus digitalis, is an example of the reclassification. It is now part of the Plantaginaceae family. Below is digitalis laevigata and digitalis purpurea