The pineapple crystal split off from the crystal seawead. The small branching crystal growths now evolve into many scales that consist exclusively of photosynthetic cuticle, thus improving photosynthesis. They are thick for protection from the crystal seaweed beakworm. The "stem" can photosynthesize as well, and the cuticle has thickened as well.
Despite being more successful, it did not replace its ancestor, the crystal seaweed.
Living Relatives (click to show/hide)
These are randomly selected, and organized from lowest to highest shared taxon. (This may correspond to similarity more than actual relation)
