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Plant Family Collection: Elms, Oaks, and Walnuts
When the simplest flower bloomed during the dinosaur era about 150 million years ago, it may already have been insect-pollinated because insect pollination had almost certainly occurred among the more advanced gymnosperms, such as the cycads. This was a great advance over most gymnosperms, which were pollinated passively by the wind.
When Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Plant Family Collection was established early in this century, the elms, oaks, and walnuts were grouped together near the gymnosperms. It was then the prevailing view among many botanists that the inconspicuous, odorless, and often petal-less flowers of these plants were a primitive feature.
In fact, these plants have reverted to the wind-pollination characteristic of the early seed plants. More recent scientific research has shown that simple does not necessarily mean primitive, and that oaks, elms, and walnuts are more highly evolved than once presumed.
Map of the Garden
The Plant Family Collection is indicated by the orange box. Click on the map to visit other locations in the Garden, or click here to view a larger map.
