Hydrangea aspera Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don (Hydrangeaceae) is a shrub indigenous to the mesic areas in Asia. In their study, Schenk et al. determined that Hydrangeaceae underwent three significant shifts toward increased diversification rates, although H. aspera was not part of the radiations. A similar pattern of three significant shifts toward increased diversification rates were also identified in Loasaceae. Although an ecological transition accompanied by a speciation rate increase was noted in a clade of Philadelphus (Hydrangeaceae), and a biogeographic transition occurred with an increased speciation shift in a clade of Deutzia (Hydrangeaceae), the only clade that exhibits a phylogenetic pattern consistent with ecological opportunity was Mentzelia section Bartonia (Loasaceae), which diversified in Mesoamerica where the two families originated. Photo by J. Schenk.

Comparative diversification analyses of #Hydrangeaceae & #Loasaceae reveal complex evolutionary history as species disperse out of Mesoamerica

New #AJBN research by @johnjschenk.bsky.social, Sarah Jacobs & Larry Hufford

doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #Botany #plantscience #hydrangea #evolution