Polyphyletic groups

The earliest known moss fossil is from the early Carboniferous period, about 320 million years ago. Mosses are not well-represented in the fossil record because their soft tissue is not well preserved. An examination of extant species indicates that bryophytes are a polyphyletic group. They appear to have evolved from more than one ancestral line. 

For sake of expediency, a polyphyletic group will be lumped for discussion here, including the sponges (Poriferans), fimgi, protozoans, archeans, and bacteria. 

This approach helps to identify compounds or biosynthesis pathways, which constitute apomorphies (characters derived from a common ancestor and present in all members of a monophyletic clade) or homoplasies (evolutionary convergence developed independently in different taxonomic groups or non-inherited characters of a common ancestor, defining a polyphyletic group). 

---