Do plant species really exist?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2006 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Notoriously “promiscuous” plants like oaks and dandelions have led some biologists to conclude plants cannot be divided into species the same way animals are. That perception is wrong, say Indiana University Bloomington scientists in this week’s Nature. Their analysis of 882 plant and animal species and 1,347 inter-species crossings — the first large-scale comparison of species barriers in plants and animals — showed that plant species are just as easily categorized as animal species. The study also yielded a surprise. The hybrid offspring of different animal species are more likely to be fertile than the hybrid offspring of plant species.
