The Pentapetalae have diversified very rapidly, leading to two major successful clades, the superrosidae and superasteridae. Although it is still uncertain how the Pentapetalae diverged from ancestral flowers, their regular floral pentacyclic and pentamerous Bauplan is almost unversal and firmly established in all evolutionary lines. The possibility is presented that intermediates such as Berberidopsis regulate the transition from a spiral to a pentamerous pentacyclic flower. The diversity and unique evolutionary trends of early diverging orders with unclear affinity, Dilleniales and Santalales, are presented.