Small Leaves and Fast Flowering Are Important Adaptations for Plants

Multiple Choice

Small leaves and fast flowering are important adaptations for plants that live in cold temperatures and water-logged/frozen soils. Plants exhibiting these traits are present in alpine biomes, but species are different, and found in different families, in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Andes. What is the MOST likely explanation for this observation?

A) common ancestry
B) convergent evolution
C) climate differences between South America and North America
D) rainfall differences between South America and North America