The anthophytes were thought to be a clade comprising plants bearing flower-like structures. The group contained the angiosperms - the extant flowering plants - as well as the Gnetales and the extinct Bennettitales.

Detailed morphological and molecular studies have shown that the group is not actually monophyletic.^[1] This makes it easier to reconcile molecular clock data that suggests that the angiosperms diverged from the gymnosperms around 300 million years ago.^[2]

Phylogeny of anthophytes and gymnosperms, from ^[1]

References