Evolutionary history of plants seed model is shared by basically all gymnosperms (literally: "naked seeds"), most of which encase their seeds in a woody cone or fleshy aril (the yew, for example), but none of which fully enclose their seeds. The angiosperms ("vessel seeds") are the only group to fully enclose the seed, in a carpel. Fully enclosed seeds opened up a new pathway for plants to follow: that of seed dormancy. The embryo, completely isolated from the external atmosphere and hence protected from desiccation, could survive some years of drought before germinating. Gymnosperm seeds from the Late Carboniferous have been found to contain
Lapeirousia lobes may be subequal and spreading, or unequal with upper largest petals erect, the lower three forming a lip. The stamens are symmetrically arranged. The fruit is a membranous capsule containing many small seeds, either globose or angled by pressure. Some forty species have been described from sub-Saharan Africa, of which about a third are endemic to fynbos. Common names are various and regional, including "painted petals", "cabong", "chabi", "" (Afrikaans for "wheat flower"). The flowers are commonly scented, though possibly only at certain times of day. The plants are of considerable biological and evolutionary interest because of their adaptions