Holarctic Plants in Tropical Asia: Oligocene Metasequoia fossils in Laos and adjacent Yunnan, China
Available online 23 October 2026
The genus Metasequoia is a typical Holarctic element composed of the most iconic “living fossil”, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, which currently survives naturally only in central China. It occurs widely...
Global trends in vascular plant discovery and taxonomy, 2016–2025
Available online 23 October 2026
•Newly published vascular plant taxa from 2016 to 2025 were analyzed;•Largely increased annual number of new taxa comparing previous two decades;•New species were concentrated in Southern America and...
A quantitative classification of distribution types for global seed plant genera: Spatial patterns and macroecological implications
Available online 23 October 2026
Distribution types reflect the modern geographic patterns of biological lineages and serve as spatial proxies for their evolutionary and biogeographic histories. Here we present a comprehensive quantitative...
East Asian endemic seed-plant genera revisited: Fossils and biogeographic assembly
Available online 23 October 2026
East Asia harbors exceptional genus-level endemism, but present distributions alone cannot distinguish regional diversification from survival following range contraction. Fossil evidence is critical...
Macroevolutionary patterns in the origin and diversification of the Chinese seed flora
Available online 23 October 2026
Understanding the origin and diversification of regional floras is fundamental for explaining large-scale biodiversity patterns. China harbors one of the Northern Hemisphere’s richest floras, yet the...
Origin, differentiation and conservation of the alpine subnival flora of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau
Available online 22 October 2026
The alpine subnival flora of the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau (QXP) is an important component of global temperate alpine plant diversity. This synthesis combines a checklist-based floristic analysis with...
Leaf hydraulic traits are decoupled from stem hydraulics but linked to gas exchange and structural traits in desert shrubs
Available online 21 October 2026
Clarifying the coordination of water transport across different organs is essential for understanding plant drought adaptation. While previous studies have suggested that leaves may sometimes function...
Root functional trait associations vary across phylogenetic scales: A comparative study on Picea and Pinaceae species
Available online 21 October 2026
The genus Picea and the family Pinaceae are the most widely distributed gymnosperms on the earth. However, we lack understanding of the mechanisms underlying their evolution and global diversification...
Cenozoic evolution of East Asian palynofloristic regions: Links to Tibetan Plateau uplift and Asian monsoon-aridification
Available online 21 October 2026
Cenozoic phytogeographic evolution in East Asia provides a framework for understanding Tibetan Plateau (TP) uplift, Asian monsoon-aridification trend, and ecological responses. Reconstructing this evolution...
Divergent plant extinction rate estimates across approaches and their implications for conservation
Available online 20 October 2026
Estimates of plant extinction rates underpin conservation priorities and global biodiversity narratives, yet widely used assessment approaches often yield divergent results. Here, we synthesized 158...
Genomic and morphological data help resolve phylogenetic conflicts and establish revised, stable classifications: A synthetic insight into Carex sect. Mitratae s.l. (Cyperaceae)
Available online 17 October 2026
Phylogenetic incongruences and taxonomic discrepancies often go hand in hand, confounding taxonomic classifications due to the conflicting signals between molecular and morphological data. The internal...
Darwin’s Naturalization Conundrum Depends on Soil Nutrient Concentration
Available online 17 October 2026
Darwin’s naturalization conundrum is composed of two opposite hypotheses—the preadaptation hypothesis (PAH) and Darwin’s naturalization hypothesis (DNH), although whether they are driven by environmental...
Late-Miocene vicariance, adaptive divergence and genomic vulnerability across the eastern North America–Mesoamerica disjunction in the Tertiary relict Liquidambar styraciflua
Available online 17 October 2026
The temperate floristic disjunction between eastern North America (ENA) and the montane cloud forests of Mesoamerica (MAM) represents a major yet understudied biogeographic pattern. Using whole-genome...
Mitogenome structural evolution and cytonuclear coordination in Astragalus sinicus revealed by graphical pan-mitogenomics
Available online 13 October 2026
Plant mitochondrial genomes exhibit a striking “structure-sequence paradox,” characterized by extreme sequence conservation alongside rapid and extensive structural reorganization. Resolving these complex...
Patterns, drivers, and consequences of narrow-ranged species loss for angiosperm functional diversity across East Eurasia
Available online 5 October 2026
Functional diversity links species traits to ecosystem functioning, yet its large-scale patterns and vulnerability to species loss remain poorly understood. Here, we assembled a comprehensive distribution...
In memory of Professor Yan-Cheng Tang (1926–2016): A pioneer of modern plant taxonomy in China
Available online 5 October 2026
Functional trait divergence and climate-associated genomic variation in two Southeast Asian pines and their contact zone
Available online 3 October 2026
Climate gradients are associated with functional and genomic differentiation in forest trees, but the coupling between trait variation and genomic differentiation remains poorly understood in tropical...
Network characteristics and driving factors of leaf trait networks along a gradient of rocky desertification
September 2026
Rocky desertification severely constrains ecosystem functioning and vegetation in karst landscapes. Understanding how soil environmental changes influence plant functional coordination is therefore...
Advances in single-cell and spatial multi-omics for plant development and stress responses
September 2026
Recent advances in single-cell and spatial multi-omics have enabled high-resolution profiling of plant cellular heterogeneity and tissue organization. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) captures...
Chromosome-level genome assembly of Nekemias grossedentata provides new insights into genome evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis
September 2026
•A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Nmpelopsis grossedentata provides a foundational genomic resource.•Karyotype analysis positions N. grossedentata as having a karyotype most closely resembling...
Latitudinal diversity gradients of soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation in China
September 2026
The latitudinal diversity gradient is one of the most general biogeographical patterns. However, current latitudinal diversity gradients have been mostly focused on aboveground vegetation, while such...
Invasive plant richness and abundance synergistically amplify co-invasion success: Experimental evidence for invasional meltdown
September 2026
Co-invasion by multiple invasive species is becoming increasingly prevalent, yet the role of interactions among invasive species in shaping invasion success remains poorly understood. While invader...
Heterogeneity in leaf tannin inducibility across woody and non-woody plants: A meta-analysis
September 2026
Tannins are widespread secondary metabolites that can be induced by herbivory or mechanical damage and contribute to defense against herbivores. Reported tannin inducibility varies across taxa and study...
Leaf nutrients regulate phyllosphere microbial dynamics in rubber trees
September 2026
Mechanisms underlying the assembly and succession of phyllosphere microbiota in rubber plantations are crucial for understanding ecosystem health and functionality, yet poorly understood. In this study,...