Question

How a close relative of an African plant came to be living in the tropical Pacific? Hint: Pangaea.

Answer 1

There has been a constant tectonic movement that has kept the landmasses and continents in motion.

Earlier there was a single land mass of Pangaea and all of the plant species were distributed over this land mass. However, as the tectonic movements began, Pangaea was split into two continents of Gondwana and Laurasia. They underwent further separation to give rise to the present contients.

While this split occurred, the species that had inhabited Pangaea got split too. This resulted in a geographical isolation for millions of years that allowed the plants to evolve in the new settings. Hence, the African plant and the tropical plant are still close relatives owing to their common ancestry.