NSF finds rosids evolve faster in temperate climates

The National Science Foundation found that a certain large group of flowering plants called rosids have been evolving at twice the rate in temperate zones versus in the tropics, according to a press release from the National Science Foundation. 

This finding doesn't coincide with the long-held belief that tropical regions usually outpace temperate zones when it comes to producing new species, the foundation reported.

"This research shows the potential of large-scale studies of the evolutionary relationships among plant species to yield important insights about how Earth's biodiversity arose," Amanda Ingram, a program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology, said in the press release.

The study's co-author, Ryan Folk, with Mississippi State University, said that rosids have been diversifying in the southeastern U.S. more than in rain forests lately.

"Everyone knows about the diversity of tropical rainforests," Folk said in the press release. "You would assume all the action in evolution is happening in them. But we found out that it is the temperate regions of the Earth — really our own backyards — where a lot of the recent action is taking place."