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Roses are one of the most commonly sold flowers in the floral community. Their popularity has caused a large increase in the varieties of roses available. Which best explains how roses could have varying traits when they initially did not? natural selection selective cloning natural evolution selective breeding

User Swihart
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The best explanation for how roses could have varying traits when they initially did not is selective breeding. Selective breeding is the process of intentionally choosing certain plants or animals with desirable traits to reproduce, in order to pass those traits onto the next generation.

In the case of roses, humans have been selectively breeding them for centuries to create new varieties with different colors, sizes, fragrances, and disease resistance. This involves carefully selecting parent plants with the desired traits and cross-pollinating them to produce offspring with a combination of those traits. Over time, this process has led to the development of countless rose varieties, each with its own unique traits.

For example, if a breeder wants to create a rose with larger flowers, they would select parent plants that already have relatively large flowers. By cross-pollinating these plants and selectively breeding the resulting offspring with the largest flowers, they can gradually increase the average flower size in each successive generation.

Selective breeding allows us to shape the traits of plants and animals to better suit our preferences and needs. It is a form of artificial selection that mimics the process of natural evolution, but with human guidance and control. Through selective breeding, we can create roses with a wide range of traits that would not have existed in nature otherwise.

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User Ateszki
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