Editing Convergent evolution (section)

=== Fruits ===

[[Fruit]]s with a wide variety of structural origins have converged to become edible. [[Apple]]s are [[pome]]s with five [[carpel]]s; their accessory tissues form the apple's core, surrounded by structures from outside the botanical fruit, the [[receptacle (botany)|receptacle]] or [[hypanthium]]. Other edible fruits include other plant tissues;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ireland |first1=Hilary, S. |display-authors=etal |title=Apple SEPALLATA1/2 -like genes control fruit flesh development and ripening|journal=The Plant Journal |date=2013 |volume=73 |issue=6 |pages=1044–1056 |doi=10.1111/tpj.12094 |pmid=23236986 |doi-access=free }}</ref> the fleshy part of a [[tomato]] is the walls of the [[pericarp]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Heuvelink |first=Ep |title=Tomatoes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwMnnepN3uIC&pg=PA72 |year=2005 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-1-84593-149-0 |page=72 |access-date=2016-12-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401051807/https://books.google.com/books?id=qwMnnepN3uIC&pg=PA72 |archive-date=2019-04-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> This implies convergent evolution under selective pressure, in this case the competition for [[seed dispersal]] by animals through consumption of fleshy fruits.<ref name="evolution_seed">{{cite journal |last1=Lorts |first1=C. |author2=Briggeman, T. |author3=Sang, T.  |title=Evolution of fruit types and seed dispersal: A phylogenetic and ecological snapshot <!--http://www.sciencemeta.com/index.php/JSE/article/view/1580606--> |journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=396–404 |year=2008 |doi=10.3724/SP.J.1002.2008.08039 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |url=http://www.plantsystematics.com/qikan/manage/wenzhang/jse08039.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718025713/http://www.plantsystematics.com/qikan/manage/wenzhang/jse08039.pdf |archive-date=2013-07-18}}</ref>

Seed dispersal by ants ([[myrmecochory]]) has evolved independently more than 100 times, and is present in more than 11,000 plant species. It is one of the most dramatic examples of convergent evolution in biology.<ref name="myrmecochory">{{cite journal |last1=Lengyel |first1=S. |author2=Gove, A. D. |author3=Latimer, A. M. |author4=Majer, J. D. |author5=Dunn, R. R. |title=Convergent evolution of seed dispersal by ants, and phylogeny and biogeography in flowering plants: a global survey |journal=Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics |volume=12 |pages=43–55 |year=2010 |issue=1 |doi=10.1016/j.ppees.2009.08.001|bibcode=2010PPEES..12...43L }}</ref>