Abstract: Some critical comments are made on the “Eight-Classs System” of the classification of angiosperms recently proposed by Wu et al., which the aut hors claimed to be a “polyphyletic-polytopic” system. This system is established based on the hypothesis that there have existed eight principal lineages of angiosperms by the end of the Early Cretaceous. However, this hypothesis has not been supported by any neobotanical and paleobotanical evidence. There lationship among the eight lineages and their relationship with the common ances tor of angiosperms are not clearly clarified in the system. Having failed to follow the principle of common ancestry in the reconstruction of angiosperm phylogeny and having misinterpreted the concepts of monophyly and polyphyly, the “Eight-Class System” of the classification of angiosperms is considered to be an artificial one.

Key words: monophyly, polyphyly, angiosperm, classif ication system.