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...
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...
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...
Genomic insights into alpine plant adaptation
May 2026
Alpine plants persist in some of the harshest terrestrial environments, where low temperatures, high ultraviolet radiation, and short growing seasons impose strong selective pressures. Recent advances...
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....
From monotypic to multispecies: Integrative data redefine Rheum nobile complex (Polygonaceae) in Sky Island-Alpine habitats
Available online 14 May 2026
•Overturns the long-held view of Rheum nobile as a single species, revealing it to be a complex of four distinct species.•Each species is geographically restricted: Central Himalayas, Eastern Himalayas,...
A global phylogeny of Phlomoides (Lamiaceae, Lamioideae) based on chloroplast genomes: Insights into infrageneric classification, character evolution, biogeography, and diversification
Available online 21 May 2026
Being the second largest genus in the subfamily Lamioideae (Lamiaceae), Phlomoides comprises approximately 180 species distributed mainly across Eurasia, with diversity centers in Central Asia, the...
ddRAD sequencing of 1076 Camellia accessions reveals the genetic diversity and population introgression of the tea plant in China
May 2026
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a widely cultivated and economically significant crop that originated from southwestern China. Owing to its high heterozygosity and complex genetic diversity, 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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
Resequencing of 284 genomes reveals evolutionary history and hotspot of genetic diversity of the giant bamboos
May 2026
The Dendrocalamus giganteus complex comprises D. giganteus, D. calostachyus and D. sinicus, being the largest known, iconic bamboo species and is economically, ecologically and culturally significant...
Disentangling intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of herbivory across forests: Leaf functional traits, insect richness, and climatic factors
Available online 24 April 2026
Leaf herbivory substantially affects plant physiology and performance, and may intensify under ongoing climate change. Nevertheless, how leaf functional traits, insect richness and climate jointly drive...
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,...
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...
Phylogenomic conflict in Moraceae: Evidence for pervasive introgression and incomplete lineage sorting
July 2026
Although the phylogenetic backbone of Moraceae, an ecologically important angiosperm family in tropical rainforests, has been significantly improved, phylogenetic discordance among nuclear genes and...
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....
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...
Multifaceted plant diversity patterns across the Himalaya: Status and outlook
July 2025
Mountains serve as exceptional natural laboratories for studying biodiversity due to their heterogeneous landforms and climatic zones. The Himalaya, a global biodiversity hotspot, hosts rich endemic...
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...