Seeds show important variation as plant regenerative units among species, but their evolutionary co-variations with other plant characteristics are still poorly understood. Whilst a positive association of seed mass with genome size (GS) and life forms has already been documented, a broad-scale quantification of their evolutionary correlation and adaptive selection has never been conducted. Here, we tested for correlated evolution of seed mass and GS towards distinct selective regimes related to life form in angiosperms. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that the selection toward lighter seeds and smaller genomes is stronger for annual plants, ensuring high regenerative potential. Using multivariate evolutionary models over a dataset containing 3242 species, we showed an overall positive correlated evolution of seed mass and GS deviating from a pure drift process. Instead, evolutionary changes in seed and genome sizes were driven by adaptive selection towards optimal values differing among life forms. Specifically, the evolutionary optima towards which the seed and genome sizes evolve show a covariation toward small values in annuals, intermediate values in perennial herbs and a trade-off between seed mass and GS in woody plants. Moreover, the evolutionary correlation between seed mass and GS is strongest in annuals as an adaption to complete their life cycle in a short time window, when environmental conditions are favourable for regeneration and development to maturity. The asymmetry in the correlated evolution acting on seed and genome sizes due to life form could explain how life-history traits interplay with functional traits and how plants have evolved diverse successful life-history strategies.

种子作为植物再生单位在物种间表现出重要的变异，但它们与其他植物特征的进化协同变异仍然知之甚少。虽然已经记录了种子质量与基因组大小 (GS) 和生命形式的正相关，但从未对它们的进化相关性和适应性选择进行大规模量化。在这里，我们测试了种子质量和 GS 向与被子植物生命形式相关的不同选择性机制的相关进化。特别是，我们检验了一年生植物对较轻种子和较小基因组的选择更强的假设，确保了高再生潜力。在包含 3242 个物种的数据集上使用多元进化模型，我们展示了种子质量和 GS 的总体正相关演化，偏离了纯漂移过程。相反，种子和基因组大小的进化变化是由适应性选择驱动的，朝着不同生命形式的最佳值方向发展。具体来说，种子和基因组大小进化的进化最优值显示出一年生植物的小值、多年生草本植物的中间值以及木本植物种子质量和 GS 之间的权衡。此外，种子质量和 GS 之间的进化相关性在一年生植物中最强，因为当环境条件有利于再生和发育成熟时，它们适应了在短时间内完成其生命周期。