If two flowers share a flower-shaped character due to a common ancestor, what term describes that character?

If two flowers share a flower-shaped character due to a common ancestor, what term describes that character?

• A. This character is said to be analogous
• B. This character is said to be discontinuous
• C. This character is said to be homologous
• D. This character is said to be homoplasious

Answer: (C)

Shared traits that come from a common ancestor are homologous. When two flowers keep a flower-shaped character because they inherited that shape from their ancestor, that trait reflects their shared evolutionary origin, even if the flowers today differ in degree or function. This is different from analogous traits, which look similar due to similar roles or selective pressures but arise independently, and from homoplasy, where similar features appear again by convergence or reversal without a common ancestral basis. So, the flower-shaped character described here is homologous.

Shared traits that come from a common ancestor are homologous. When two flowers keep a flower-shaped character because they inherited that shape from their ancestor, that trait reflects their shared evolutionary origin, even if the flowers today differ in degree or function. This is different from analogous traits, which look similar due to similar roles or selective pressures but arise independently, and from homoplasy, where similar features appear again by convergence or reversal without a common ancestral basis. So, the flower-shaped character described here is homologous.