alt Hacker NewsThese aren't necessarily related to today's Ophiocordyceps fungus. Fungi that take control of arthropods and cause them to climb to disperse spores have convergently evolved more than once, including Arthrophaga myriapodina, which affects millipedes, and is in a different Division (the level above Class) from Ophiocordyceps.
Convergent evolution is more common than you might think. Trees, for example, have separately evolved at least 100 times.
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My favourite tree evolution thing is the forests in the Galapagos being evolved from dandelion seeds blown in on the wind from South America.
> Trees, for example, have separately evolved at least 100 times.
Can you explain more? Sounds interesting
Mullberry plants are weird. They're happy to exist as a small shrub or a 60ft tree, depending on how they're cultivated.
One of the largest trees I've ever personally seen was a mullberry on some long-abandoned land adjoining mine. But they're also a bush?
I recently visited the national history museum and finally got a sense of the _weirdness_ of prehistoric trees. No bark, a green trunk (utilizing photosynthesis), tall like a palm tree. I'd love to see something like that now.