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Which Rosales family diverged earliest in the evolutionary history of the order?

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red garden rose — Rosales Red garden roses (*Rosa* hybrid). Whereas wild roses have only five petals, most hybrid varieties have been bred to produce numerous petals in a wide range of colours.

The Rosaceae family is the earliest diverging family within the order Rosales.1

While the order is characterized by a general evolutionary shift from showy, insect-pollinated flowers—typical of the rose family—toward inconspicuous, wind-pollinated flowers, Rosaceae remains the basal lineage in this evolutionary history.1