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This analytical review builds on previous descriptions of the recalcitrant seed trait's taxonomic and phylogenetic coverage and provides new insights into the recalcitrant seed trait's apomorphic or plesiomorphic character state, transition rates and residence time in relation to Earth's geological history. A comprehensive global list of recalcitrant-seeded species (RSS) was compiled to assess taxonomic and phylogenetic coverage. Plesiomorphic character state (orthodox or recalcitrant) was established via a comparison of the species stem ages of RSS and orthodox-seeded species (OSS) within specific lineages. Using a previously published tree, frequency by which transitions between OSS and RSS occur and the average time spent in each state was calculated. The recalcitrant seed trait occurred in 721 species, 297 genera and 84 families, with 92% of RSS being tropical phanerophytes. The recalcitrant seed trait was apomorphic in numerous extant lineages, with the earliest representative species appearing in the late Cretaceous. The ratio of RSS to OSS divergence changes from favouring recalcitrance in the late Cretaceous, to the Eocene, when it favoured orthodoxy, reaching the highest difference in the Pleistocene and abating in the Holocene. Transition rates from the orthodox to the recalcitrant state were lower than vice versa. The average time RSS spent in the recalcitrant state is considerably shorter than that spent by OSS in the orthodox state. Recalcitrance is more likely a consequence of gradual adaptation and taxa appear to be more likely to transition from recalcitrant to orthodox than the reverse. By occurring in relatively warm and wet environments, RSS need not invest in desiccation tolerance mechanisms, constituting a metabolic 'saving'. However, some RSS persist in arid and temperate regions, and have arisen during and survived periods associated with major climatic changes. This, together with their representation in numerous ancient lineages, suggests that RSS are 'evolutionary survivors'.