share a number of similarities with the Rosales, particularly Rosaceae, including a hypanthium, five part flowers and free floral parts. As circumscribed, Saxifragales account for 1.3% of eudicot diversity. Biogeography and evolution Diversification among Saxifragales was rapid, with the extensive fossil record indicating that the order was more diverse and more widespread than an examination of the extant members suggests, with considerable phenotypic diversity occurring early. The earliest fossil evidence is found in the Turonian-Campanian (late Cretaceous), suggesting a minimum age of 89.5 Myr. However, molecular divergence time estimation suggest an earlier time of 102–108 Myr, into the early Cretaceous, for the crown and stem groups respectively. Within the order Saxifragales, the molecular data imply a very rapid initial diversification time of about 6–8 Myr, between 112 and 120 Myr, with major lineages appearing within 3–6 Myr. The ancestral state appears to be woody, as in Peridiscaceae and the woody clade, but is also ancestral to Grossulariaceae. A number of independent transitions to a herbaceous habit occurred in the ancestors of Crassulaceae, Saxifragaceae and the base of the Haloragaceae-Penthoraceae clade (the other two families in Haloragaceae s.l. remaining woody), while other taxa reverted to a woody habit, especially Crassulaceae. Most of Saxifragales have a superior ovary, but some families show frequent transition with inferior or subinferior position, particularly Saxifragaceae and to a lesser extent Hamamelidaceae. Almost all Grossulariaceae have an inferior ovary. The ancestral carpel number is two, with transition to higher numbers, such as four in Haloragaceae s.l. and Peridiscaceae with five in Penthoraceae. The ancestral carpel number for Crassulaceae is five, decreasing to four in Kalanchoe, where it is synapomorphic for the genus, though the most frequent transition in this family is 6–10, but only where stamen number is increased above five. Some Macaronesian taxa (Aeonieae) have 8–12, with up to 32 carpels for Aeonium. The ancestral petal number is five, with three major transitions; 5 to 0, 5 to 4, 5 to 6–10. Increased petal number is seen in Paeoniaceae and Crassulaceae, particularly where stamen number is also increased. Cercidiphyllum + Daphniphyllum, Chrysosplenium and Altingia are examples of the complete loss of petals. The ancestral stamen:petal ratio is 1, with transitions characterising several clades, e.g. Paeonicaceae+woody clade >2, Crassulaceae 2 (but Crassula 1). Overall there has been a decrease over evolution, but independent of a decrease in petal number, so that it is the stamen number that