Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods^1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome^3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins^5,6,7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes⁸. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies⁹ provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade.

被子植物是大多数陆地生态系统和人类生计的基石^1,2。需要对被子植物进化有深入的了解才能解释它们如何崛起为生态优势。到目前为止，被子植物的生命树主要是通过质体基因组分析来确定的^3,4。许多研究都借鉴了这项基础工作，例如自中生代起源以来被子植物多样化的分类和初步见解^5,6,7。然而，类群和基因组的有限且有偏见的采样破坏了人们对树及其含义的信心。在这里，我们使用一组标准化的 353 个核基因⁸构建了近 8,000 个（约 60%）被子植物属的生命树。相对于可比较的核研究⁹，属级采样增加了 15 倍，这为早期结果提供了关键测试，并为关键群体（尤其是蔷薇科植物）带来了显着变化，同时证实了许多先前预测的关系。使用 200 个化石对这棵树进行时间缩放，我们发现早期被子植物进化的特点是高度基因树冲突和爆炸性多样化，产生了超过 80% 的现存被子植物目。在剩下的中生代时期，稳定的多样化随之而来，直到新生代的比率回升，同时全球气温下降，并与基因树冲突密切相关。总而言之，我们的广泛采样与先进的系统发育学方法相结合，显示了一个巨大多样性分支进化的深厚历史和完全复杂性。