Artist’s depiction of several important crop plants in the grass family (IMAGE)
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Artist’s depiction of several important crop plants in the grass family—the fifth largest family of plants with about 11,000 species, including wheat, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, sugarcane and bamboo. A massive new study clarifies the evolutionary relationships in the grass family tree and provides insight into the evolution of a type of photosynthesis—known as “C4 photosynthesis”—in grasses that allows the plants to harness the sun’s energy in hot, dry climates while conserving water.
Credit
Yiyong Zhao
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