Amentiferae [ FRESH — 2027 ]

(or Amentaceae) is a historically significant but now largely obsolete botanical group of woody plants characterized by bearing catkins (aments). While once considered a natural evolutionary group, modern molecular phylogenetics has revealed it to be an artificial collection of unrelated families that independently evolved similar wind-pollination traits. Historical Classification and "Canonical" Families

: The group is "artificial" because catkin-bearing evolved convergently. For instance, Salicaceae is now known to be unrelated to the "core" amentiferous plants and is placed in the order Malpighiales. amentiferae

Contemporary research, such as the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) classification, has dismantled the Amentiferae as a formal taxon: (or Amentaceae) is a historically significant but now

Members were grouped together based on a specific suite of reproductive features suited for wind pollination (): For instance, Salicaceae is now known to be

: Almost exclusively woody plants, ranging from small shrubs to massive forest trees. Modern Scientific Status

: Fossil evidence indicates that recognizable members of this group emerged primarily in the Late Cretaceous period. Paleobotanical Significance Fossil forms of Amentiferae | Brittonia - Springer Nature