Pollinator diversity benefits natural and agricultural ecosystems, environmental health, and human welfare
September 2022
Biodiversity loss during the Anthropocene is a serious ecological challenge. Pollinators are important vectors that provide multiple essential ecosystem services but are declining rapidly in this changing...
Recent advances on phylogenomics of gymnosperms and a new classification
July 2022
Living gymnosperms comprise four major groups: cycads, Ginkgo, conifers, and gnetophytes. Relationships among/within these lineages have not been fully resolved. Next generation sequencing has made...
Physiological diversity of orchids
August 2018
The Orchidaceae is a diverse and wide spread family of flowering plants that are of great value in ornamental, medical, conservation, and evolutionary research. The broad diversity in morphology, growth...
A review of ethnobotanical studies reveals over 500 medicinal plants in Mindanao, Philippines
September 2024
Medicinal plants have long been used to treat various diseases in both indigenous and non-indigenous populations of Mindanao, Philippines. Here, we extracted data from ethnobotanical studies to compile...
Plant diversity in a changing world: Status, trends, and conservation needs
February 2016
The conservation of plants has not generated the sense of urgency—or the funding—that drives the conservation of animals, although plants are far more important for us. There are an estimated 500,000...
V.PhyloMaker2: An updated and enlarged R package that can generate very large phylogenies for vascular plants
July 2022
An earlier version of V.PhyloMaker has been broadly used to generate phylogenetic trees of vascular plants for botanical, biogeographical and ecological studies. Here, we update and enlarge this package,...
Evaluating the relative importance of predictors in Generalized Additive Models using the gam.hp R package
July 2024
Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) are widely employed in ecological research, serving as a powerful tool for ecologists to explore complex nonlinear relationships between a response variable and predictors....
Ethiopian vegetation types, climate and topography
August 2020
Ethiopia is land of geographical contrasts with elevations that range from 125 m below sea level in the Danakil Depression to 4533 m above sea level in the Semien Mountains, a world heritage site. The...
Global advances in phylogeny, taxonomy and biogeography of Lauraceae
May 2025
Over the past two decades, our understanding of Lauraceae, a large family of woody plants, has undergone significant advances in phylogeny, taxonomy, and biogeography. Molecular systematic studies have...
Worldwide phylogeny and integrative taxonomy of Clematis: Insights from phylogenomics
January 2026
The genus Clematis (Ranunculaceae) comprises over 300 species with remarkable morphological and ecological diversity worldwide. Despite its horticultural, medicinal, and ecological importance, a well-resolved...
The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science
August 2018
Plant diversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, resulting in an associated decrease in ecosystem services. About a third of the world's vascular plant species face the threat of extinction...
Progress in systematics and biogeography of Orchidaceae
July 2024
Orchidaceae are one of the largest families of angiosperms in terms of species richness. In the last decade, numerous studies have delved into reconstructing the phylogenetic framework of Orchidaceae,...
Spatio-temporal variation of water salinity in mangroves revealed by continuous monitoring and its relationship to floristic diversity
January 2024
Salinity is among the most critical factors limiting the growth and species distribution of coastal plants. Water salinity in estuarine ecosystems varies temporally and spatially, but the variation...
U.PhyloMaker: An R package that can generate large phylogenetic trees for plants and animals
May 2023
The previously released packages of the PhyloMaker series (i.e. S.PhyloMaker, V.PhyloMaker, and V.PhyloMaker2) have been broadly used to generate phylogenetic trees for ecological and biogeographical...
Chromosome-level genome and population resequencing reveal genetic diversity, demographic history, and climate risk in the East Asian relict tree Perkinsiodendron macgregorii
May 2026
Relict trees are key to understanding macroevolution, biogeography, and extinction risk under environmental change, yet genome-wide data on diversity and demography remain scarce. Perkinsiodendron macgregorii,...
Herbivore defense syndromes differ between native and invasive plant species
Available online 11 March 2026
In their non-native ranges, invasive plant species may escape specialist herbivores and thus experience exclusive pressure from generalists. This is predicted to shape the defense strategies of successful...
Speciation, endangerment and adaptation in limestone rocky environment of Urophysa (Ranunculaceae)
March 2026
Urophysa (Ranunculaceae) are plants endemic to the limestone regions of southern China, representing an attractive model for studying species differentiation, endangerment, and adaptive evolution in...
Local adaptation sustains genetic differentiation between two varieties of Chinese walnut (Juglans cathayensis) despite extensive hybridization in subtropical China
Available online 12 March 2026
Understanding how natural selection sustains genetic differentiation despite ongoing hybridization remains a central question in evolutionary biology. Here, we integrated range-wide whole-genome resequencing...
Insights into the phylogenetic, structural and functional evolution of LHC superfamily in photosynthetic organisms
May 2026
Photosynthesis is the fundamental process for the survival of photosynthetic organisms. The light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) play a crucial role in light energy capture and transfer. Despite their...
Phylogeny, character evolution, and classification of Selaginellaceae (lycophytes)
November 2023
Selaginella is the largest and most taxonomically complex genus in lycophytes. The fact that over 750 species are currently treated in a single genus makes Selaginellales/Selaginellaceae unique in pteridophytes....
Chromosome-level genome assembly and population genomics analysis of Camellia rubituberculata provide insights into adaptation to karst habitats
March 2026
Karst flora confined to isolated ‘habitat islands’ evolve specialized adaptations and unique traits, serving as ideal models for investigating adaptive evolution and species diversification mechanisms....
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Climate change, human activity, and plant diversity
November 2025
As the highest and largest plateau in the world, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) covers wide geological, topographical and climatic gradients and thus acts as a major center for biodiversity and houses...
Phylogenomics unravels the early divergence and diversification in Bignoniaceae
March 2026
Bignoniaceae, a pantropical family comprising 79 genera and 901 species, exhibits remarkable morphological and ecological diversity, including lianas, shrubs, trees, and high-elevation herbs. Reconstructing...
A robust phylogenomic framework supports a revised intrafamilial classification of Urticaceae
March 2026
Over the past decade, phylogenomics has significantly enhanced our understanding of relationships among numerous angiosperm lineages. However, comprehensive phylogenetic studies combining broad sampling...
High-quality genome of Oreocharis mileensis (Gesneriaceae) provides insights into the adaptation and conservation of highly threatened species in karst region
March 2026
Despite the ecological importance of karst ecosystems, genomic studies on the conservation and adaptation of karst plant species, particularly threatened wild species, remain scarce. Here, we investigate...
