1. Phylogenetic trees show the evolutionary relationships among species or other taxonomic groups based on similarities and differences in physical or genetic characteristics.
2. Early representations of phylogenetic trees date back to 1840, but Charles Darwin popularized the concept of an evolutionary "tree" in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species.
3. There are two main types of phylogenetic trees - rooted trees which make assumptions about a common ancestor, and unrooted trees which do not.