Data Archived: Dryad doi: 10.5061/dryad.vb850 With increases in both the size and scope of phylogenetic trees, we are afforded a renewed opportunity to address long-standing comparative questions, such as whether particular fruit characters account for much of the variation in diversity among flowering plant clades. Studies to date have reported conflicting results, largely as a consequence of taxonomic scale and a reliance on potentially conservative statistical measures. Here we examine a larger and older angiosperm clade, the Campanulidae, and infer the rates of character transitions among the major fruit types, emphasizing the evolution of the achene fruits that are most frequently observed within the group. Our analyses imply that campanulids likely originated bearing capsules, and that all subsequent fruit diversity was derived from various modifications of this dry fruit type. We also found that the preponderance of lineages bearing achenes is a consequence of not only being a fruit type that is somewhat irreversible once it evolves, but one that also seems to have a positive association with diversification rates. Although these results imply the achene fruit type is a significant correlate of diversity patterns observed across campanulids, we conclude that it remains difficult to confidently and directly view this character state as the actual cause of increased diversification rates. Fruits are among the most characteristic and diverse structural features of angiosperms and are critical for the dispersal and establishment of seeds. The ability to disperse longer distances can facilitate speciation through geographic isolation, which has long suggested a possible relationship between different fruit types and diversification patterns (e.g., Herrera 1989; Eriksson and Bremer 1991; Tiffany and Mazer 1995;Dodd et al. 1999;Smith 2001). For instance, fleshy fruits promote seed dispersal by birds and mammals, which can increase the chances of establishing isolated populations, and hence higher rates of speciation. In fact, the repeated evolution of fleshy fruits is considered to have been an important driver of angiosperm diversity during the Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic. By contrast, angiosperms with dry fruits tend to broadcast their seeds, mostly through mechanical means, over relatively short distances. However, the elaboration of various structures (e.g., specializations of the calyx) can promote more efficient dispersal of dry fruits by wind and water, thereby increasing the probability of isolation and speciation.Despite a general interest in the impact of fruit type on angiosperm diversity, conflicting results are common among studies and no clear consensus has emerged. For example, fleshy fruits have been considered a major contributing factor to woody angiosperm diversity in the tropics only (e.g., Eriksson and