Distant species produce love child after 60 million year breakup

Distant species produce love child after 60 million year breakup

02/20/2015 01:03 PM EST

A delicate woodland fern discovered in the mountains of France is the love child of two distantly-related groups of plants that haven't interbred in 60 million years, genetic analyses show. Reproducing after such a long evolutionary breakup is akin to an elephant hybridizing with a manatee, or a human with a lemur, the researchers say.

Full story at http://today.duke.edu/2015/02/sexaftersixty

Source
Duke University

This is an NSF News From the Field item.