Species diversity is remarkably unevenly distributed among flowering plant lineages. Despite a growing toolbox of research methods, the reasons underlying this patchy pattern have continued to perplex plant biologists for the past two decades. In this review, we examine the present understanding of transitions in flowering plant evolution that have been proposed to influence speciation and extinction. In particular, ploidy changes, transitions between tropical and nontropical biomes, and shifts in floral form have received attention and have offered some surprises in terms of which factors influence speciation and extinction rates. Mating systems and dispersal characteristics once predominated as determining factors, yet recent evidence suggests that these changes are not as influential as previously thought or are important only when paired with range shifts. Although range extent is an important correlate of speciation, it also influences extinction and brings an applied focus to diversification research. Recent studies that find that past diversification can predict present-day extinction risk open an exciting avenue for future research to help guide conservation prioritization.

中文翻译：

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开花植物物种形成和灭绝的宏观进化模式

物种多样性在开花植物谱系中分布明显不均匀。尽管研究方法的工具箱越来越多，但在过去的二十年里，这种不规则模式背后的原因一直困扰着植物生物学家。在这篇综述中，我们研究了目前对开花植物进化转变的理解，这些转变已被提议影响物种形成和灭绝。特别是，倍性变化、热带和非热带生物群落之间的过渡以及花卉形态的变化受到了关注，并在影响物种形成和灭绝率的因素方面提供了一些惊喜。交配系统和分散特征曾经是决定性因素的主要因素，然而最近的证据表明，这些变化并不像以前认为的那样具有影响力，或者只有在与范围变化配对时才重要。虽然范围范围是物种形成的一个重要关联因素，但它也会影响灭绝并为多样化研究带来应用重点。最近的研究发现过去的多样化可以预测当今的灭绝风险，为未来的研究开辟了一条令人兴奋的途径，以帮助指导保护优先事项。