Correlates of hybridization in plants.

Hybridization is a biological phenomenon increasingly recognized as an important evolutionary process in both plants and animals, as it is linked to speciation, radiation, extinction, range expansion and invasion, and allows for increased trait diversity in agricultural and horticultural systems. Estimates of hybridization frequency vary across taxonomic groups, but causes of this variation are unknown. Here, we ask on a global scale whether hybridization is linked to any of 11 traits related to plant life history, reproduction, genetic predisposition, and environment or opportunity.