1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Algae/Phylogeny

It has been well said that the attempt to classify plants according to their natural affinities is an attempt to construct for them the genealogical tree by which their relationships can be traced. Algae are, however, so heterogeneous a class, of which the constituent groups are so Phylogeny.inadequately known, that it is at present futile to endeavour thus to exhibit their pedigree. A synoptical representation of the present state of knowledge would be expressed by a network rather than by a tree. The following table is an adaptation of a scheme devised by Klebs, and indicates the inter-relationships of the various constituent groups. The area included in the thick boundary line represents algae in the widest sense in which the term is used, and the four included areas the four main subdivisions. A continuous line indicates a close affinity, and a dotted line a doubtful relationship.