Data from: Geographic range size is predicted by plant mating system

Species' geographic ranges vary enormously, and even closest
relatives may differ in range size by several orders of magnitude. With
data from hundreds of species spanning 20 genera in 15 families, we show
that plant species that autonomously reproduce via self-pollination
consistently have larger geographic ranges than their close relatives that
generally require two parents for reproduction. Further analyses strongly
implicate autonomous self-fertilisation in causing this relationship, as
it is not driven by traits such as polyploidy or annual life history whose
evolution is sometimes correlated with selfing. Furthermore, we find that
selfers occur at higher maximum latitudes and that disparity in range size
between selfers and outcrossers increases with time since their
evolutionary divergence. Together, these results show that autonomous
reproduction—a critical biological trait that eliminates mate limitation
and thus potentially increases the probability of establishment—increases
range size.