by the Understanding Evolution team

Confused by a tree diagram in a textbook, webpage, or museum exhibit? Need a quick review of tree-reading before delving into a more difficult topic? This short primer is the place to start. It provides the basic facts you need to know to interpret trees. You can explore the following topics:

• What is an evolutionary tree?
• How to read trees
• Understanding evolutionary relationships
• Clades within clades
• Trees are hypotheses
• The anatomy of an evolutionary tree
• Tips for tree reading

Or click “next” to get started!