Origin and Evolution of the East Asian Flora (EAF)—2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Systematics, Taxonomy, Nomenclature and Classification".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 677

Special Issue Editors

Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Life Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210018, China
Interests: plant phylogeny and taxonomy; reticulate evolution; lycophytes and ferns; flora
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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: plant phylogeny and taxonomy; plant speciation; floristic phytogeography; phylogeography; palaeoflora
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The East Asian flora (EAF) represents a key biodiversity hotspot in understanding the origin and evolution of Northern Hemisphere floras. Two main floras, the Sino-Himalayan flora (mainly the Rhododendron flora) and the Sino-Japanese flora (mainly the Metasequoia flora), have been recognized as being part of the EAF. The EAF has high plant species diversity and contains many Cenozoic relict seed plants, and, therefore, the assembly of the EAF over time is of great concern among both botanists and biogeographers.

In recent years, due to the application of new technologies and theories, such as molecular phylogeny, molecular ecology, and phylogeography, significant achievements have been made in further understanding a flora’s evolutionary history in relation to space and time.

For this Special Issue, papers on regional flora, plant speciation, plant phylogeny and classification, endemism, relict elements, discontinuous distribution, and palaeoflora associated with EAF will be considered. Research that combines multiple pieces of evidence will be especially welcome.

Dr. Kewang Xu
Prof. Dr. Wenbo Liao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • flora of East Asia
  • phylogeography
  • molecular phylogeny
  • plant diversity
  • plant taxonomy
  • palaeoflora

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 3587 KiB  
Article
Phylogeography and Population Demography of Parrotia subaequalis, a Hamamelidaceous Tertiary Relict ‘Living Fossil’ Tree Endemic to East Asia Refugia: Implications from Molecular Data and Ecological Niche Modeling
by Yunyan Zhang, Zhiyuan Li, Qixun Chen, Yahong Wang, Shuang Wang, Guozheng Wang, Pan Li, Hong Liu, Pengfu Li, Chi Xu and Zhongsheng Wang
Plants 2025, 14(12), 1754; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14121754 - 7 Jun 2025
Viewed by 540
Abstract
The diverse topography and mild monsoon climate in East Asia are considered to be important drivers for the long-term ecological success of the Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ plants during the glacial/interglacial cycles. Here we investigated the phylogeographic pattern and demographic history of a [...] Read more.
The diverse topography and mild monsoon climate in East Asia are considered to be important drivers for the long-term ecological success of the Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ plants during the glacial/interglacial cycles. Here we investigated the phylogeographic pattern and demographic history of a hamamelidaceous Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ tree (Parrotia subaequalis) endemic to the subtropical forests of eastern China, employing molecular data and ecological niche modeling. In the long evolutionary history, P. subaequalis has accumulated a high haplotype diversity. Weak gene flow by seeds, geographical isolation, and heterogeneous habitats have led to a relatively high level of genetic differentiation in this species. The divergence time of two cpDNA lineages of P. subaequalis was dated to the late Miocene of the Tertiary period, and the diversification of haplotypes occurred in the Quaternary period. Paleo-distribution modeling suggested that P. subaequalis followed the pattern of ‘glacial expansion-interglacial compression’. The Dabie Mountain and Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province and the Tianmu Mountain and Simin Mountain in Zhejiang Province were inferred to be multiple glacial refugia of P. subaequalis in East Asia and have been proposed to be protected as ‘Management Units’. Collectively, our study offers insights into the plant evolution and adaptation of P. subaequalis and other Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ trees endemic to East Asia refugia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Origin and Evolution of the East Asian Flora (EAF)—2nd Edition)
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