Tangentially related, but grasses are, in fact, a very recent evolutionary turn. We live in a very grass heavy epoch to the extent that it is hard for me to ima

Tangentially related, but grasses are, in fact, a very recent evolutionary turn. We live in a very grass heavy epoch to the extent that it is hard for me to imagine a world with out grasslands. In some sense grasses seem primitive and foundational to us compared to a flowering tree like the magnolia, but no - grasses are actually really complicated and impressive organisms that filled an unexpectedly large niche.