Background

Summer Flowers:

1. Chrysanthemum

• Family- Asteraceae
• Tropical Flower
• Originally from Asia and Europe
• There are many different types

     2. Sunflower

• Large inflorescence
• Family- Asteraceae
• Many different kinds
• Originally from the United States

Winter Flower:

1. Christmas Cactus

• Thrives in cooler temperatures
• Needs light to bloom
• Originally from South American jungles 

Pollen:

• In general, pollen is light yellow/orange or white
• Extremely varied in shape, texture and size

Sources: http://www.networx.com/article/10-facts-about-christmas-cacti, http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowersandseasons/summer-flowers, http://www.vcbio.science.ru.nl/en/virtuallessons/pollenmorphology/

  

Sources for images:
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/chrysanthemum.htm
http://tipnut.com/christmas-cactus/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helianthus

Our Hypothesis

The summer blooming flowers, chrysanthemum and sunflowers, will be more similar to each other than to the winter flower, christmas cacti, because they have evolved in a similar way to adapt to the same climate.

Evolutionary Tree

Our Question

Are all flowers that bloom in the same season closely related?