Tao Deng

Chinese Academy of Sciences | CAS · CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia

Background Endemic plants are key to understanding the evolutionary history and enhancing biodiversity within their unique regions, while also offering significant economic potential. The East Asian endemic genus Corchoropsis Siebold & Zucc., classified within the subfamily Dombeyoideae of Malvaceae s.l., comprises three species. Results This stud...

This study aims to clarify the long‐standing confusion between Ceropegia paohsingensis and C. driophila and to propose the reclassification of C. paohsingensis as a heterotypic synonym of C. driophila . Additionally, we reconsider the types for C. driophila and present a detailed description of the species.

Dasiphora fruticosa (Rosaceae), commonly known as shrubby cinquefoil, is a flowering shrub of high ornamental value yet underutilized in East Asian landscapes. Given its broad elevational distribution range, D. fruticosa serves as an ideal model for studying genetic adaptations and speciation along elevation gradients. Here, we present a high-quali...

Understanding the maintenance and shift in reproductive strategies is a fundamental question in evolutionary research. Although many efforts have been made to compare different reproductive strategies, the association between reproductive strategies and lineage divergence is largely unknown. To explore the impact of different reproductive strategie...

Although Iris sect. Oncocyclus has a long history of recognition as a separate taxon within the genus, its phylogeny and evolution are still poorly understood. In this study, we used plastid genomic data to reconstruct the phylogeny of Oncocyclus, to exam its relationships with other sections of the genus and to shed light on its infrageneric phylo...

Although Iris sect. Oncocyclus has a long history of recognition as a separate taxon within the genus, its phylogeny and evolution are still poorly understood. In this study, we used plastid genomic data to reconstruct the phylogeny of Oncocyclus, to exam its relationships with other sections of the genus and to shed light on its infrageneric phylo...

Youngia wulingensis, a new species of Asteraceae from Wuling Mountain, central China, is described and illustrated. This new species had been identified as Y. longipes for a long period of time. However, we rediscovered Y. longipes in its type locality, re-examined the type specimen of Y. longipes, and found out many differences between Y. longipes...

Global climate change is among the major anthropogenic factors impacting species distribution, with significant conservation implications. Yet, little is known about the effects of climate warming on the distributional shifts of East Asian species. In the current study, we used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to determine present and possible fu...

Aim Beta‐diversity quantifies the change in taxonomic and phylogenetic composition between areas, and is a scalar between local ( α ) and regional ( γ ) diversity. Geographic distance, which reflects dispersal limitation, and climatic distance, which reflects environmental filtering, are major drivers of β‐diversity. Here, we analyse a comprehensiv...

Background Accurate species delimitation is fundamental for testing evolutionary theory and provides essential implications for conservation management. The arctic-alpine genus Saxifraga L. (Saxifragaceae) is taxonomically complex and many species have not been critically assessed. The taxonomic and phylogenetic status of Saxifraga lancangensis Y.Y...

Background Dactylicapnos is a climbing herbaceous vine, distributed from the Himalayas to southwestern China, and some of the species have important medicinal values. However, the chloroplast genomes of Dactylicapnos have never been investigated. In this study, chloroplast genomes of seven Dactylicapnos species covering all three sections and one i...

The mountains of Southwest China comprise a significant large mountain range and biodiversity hotspot imperiled by global climate change. The high species diversity in this mountain system has long been attributed to a complex set of factors, and recent large‐scale macroevolutionary investigations have placed a broad timeline on plant diversificati...

A new species of Papaveraceae, Corydalis sunhangii , in the section Trachycarpae , is described and illustrated from Nyingchi City, Xizang, China. The new species has some resemblance to Corydalis kingdonis , but differs by radical leaves prominent, usually several, blade tripinnate (vs. insignificant, few, blade bi‐ to triternate); cauline leaf us...

Saxifraga cataphracta, a new species of Saxifragaceae from Southwest China, is described and illustrated. Morphological and molecular evidence (matK, psbA-trnH, psaJ-rpl33) indicate that S. cataphracta belongs to S. sect. Irregulares, and closely related to S. geifolia and S. mengtzeana. The new species can be diagnosed by its leaf blade abaxially...

Central Asia, especially the Tian-Shan and Pamir-Alay, is a biodiversity hotspot for Hedysarum (Fabaceae) with a high number of endemic species. However, to date, studies of the genus Hedysarum based on molecular data have included only a few species distributed in this region. To fill this gap, we analysed 110 Hedysarum species, 36 of which were f...

Eremurus was described at the beginning of the 19th century. However, due to limited sampling and the small number of gene markers to date, its phylogeny and evolution are largely unknown. In this study,we analyzed plastomes from 27 species belonging to 2 subgenera and 3 sections of Eremurus, which are found in Central Asia (its center of diversity...

Eremurus, a perennial rhizomatous mesophytic ornamental plant and one of the largest genera of the family Asphodelaceae, is distributed mainly in southwestern and central Asia. We sequenced the complete chloroplast genomes of ten species corresponding to all sections of the genus and analyzed their basic structure and evolutionary relationships. Th...

The expansive Himalayan-Hengduan Mountains (HM) and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) form a biodiversity hotspot imperiled by global change. The species diversity, resulting from myriad factors led to plant diversification from 10 million years ago till now. However, despite understanding speciation timing better, a lack of in-depth population-level stu...

Ceropegia sunhangiana P.R.Luo and T.Deng, a new species from Qiaojia, northeast Yunnan, southwest China, is described and illustrated herein based on its morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. This species is similar to C. christenseniana, and C. sinoerecta but can be distinguished easily by its stem, indumentum, leaf, and floral fea...

Oncocyclus is a large group of bearded irises with poorly known phylogeny and evolutionary history. In Israel, Iris sect. Oncocyclus comprises eight species belonging to three aggregates. We used a combination of approaches to resolve the phylogenetic relationships of these species and indicate the evolutionary forces responsible for their origin....

Glasshouse plants are species that trap warmth via specialized morphology and physiology, mimicking a human glasshouse. In the Himalayan alpine region, the highly specialized glasshouse morphology has independently evolved in distinct lineages to adapt to intensive UV radiation and low temperature. Here we demonstrate that the glasshouse structure...

Deep evolutionary histories can play an important role in assembling species into communities, but few studies have explored the effects of deep evolutionary histories on species assembly of angiosperms (flowering plants). Here we explore patterns of family divergence and diversification times (stem and crown ages, respectively) and phylogenetic fu...

The global cooling beginning in the Eocene has caused the coverage of tropical forests to contract from covering nearly all of Africa during the early Tertiary to about one tenth of Africa at the present time. Accompanying the climate cooling and drying was the evolution of traits tolerating cold and drought, particularly extreme drought in the Sah...

The genus Corydalis, with ca. 530 species, has long been considered taxonomically challenging because of its great variability. Previous molecular analyses, based on a few molecular markers and incomplete taxonomic sampling, were clearly inadequate to delimit sections and subgenera. We have performed phylogenetic analyses of Corydalis and related t...

Saxifraga cataphracta , a new species of Saxifragaceae from Southwest China, is described and illustrated. Morphological and molecular evidence ( matK , psbA‐trnH , psaJ‐rpl33 ) indicate that S. cataphracta belongs in S. sect. Irregulares , and is closely related to S. geifolia and S. mengtzeana . The new species can be diagnosed by its leaf blade...

Evolutionary convergence is one of the most striking examples of adaptation driven by natural selection. However, genomic evidence for convergent adaptation to extreme environments remains scarce. Here, we assembled reference genomes of two alpine plants, Saussurea obvallata (Asteraceae) and Rheum alexandrae (Polygonaceae), with 37,938 and 61,463 a...

In the Flora of China account of Saxifraga mengtzeana Engl. & Irmsch., eight synonyms were attributed to it and one variant, recognized as Saxifraga epiphylla Gornall & Ohba, was split from it. This study reevaluates the taxonomic status of some of the synonyms and of the segregated species in light of new evidence presented here. Morphological and...

Amsonia elliptica (Apocynaceae), endangered species in Korea, is a perennial herb that is economically important as traditional medicine and used as ornamentals. Natural populations of this species are facing extinction due to small population size and isolated distribution. Here, we report the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of A. elliptica using...

Aim How species respond to ongoing climate change has been a hot research topic, especially with the controversy in shifting range (movement) or persisting in local habitat (in situ) as the primary response. Assessing the relative roles of range shifts, phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation helps us predict the evolutionary fate of species....

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is the highest and one of the most extensive plateaus in the world. Investigating naturalized non-native plant species composition, phylogenetic relationships among naturalized plant species, and phylogenetic relationships between native and naturalized plant species on the plateau is of great importance. Here, we...

Given the current era of rapid biodiversity loss, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms driving the biodiversity dynamics in biodiversity hotspots because these results could guide make conservation actions to protect species under threat from rapid environmental changes and extensive human impacts. To achieve this goal, we have orga...

Uzbekistan is widely regarded as one of the most diversified sources of the species of Tulipa L. The present study provides the synopsis of the genus Tulipa in this area. According to literature reviews and field surveys, this genus includes 33 species (34 taxa) distributed in Uzbekistan. In this paper, more than 3,500 herbarium specimens deposited...

In the Flora of China account (Pan et al. 2001) of Saxifraga mengtzeana Engl. & Irmsch., eight synonyms were attributed to it and one variant, recognised as S. epiphylla Gornall & Ohba, was split from it. This study re-evaluates the taxonomic status of some of the synonyms and of the segregated species in the light of new evidence presented here. M...

Global climate change is among the major anthropogenic factors impacting species distribution, with significant conservation implications. Yet, little is known about the effects of climate warming on the distributional shifts of East Asian species. In the current study, we used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to determine present and possible fu...

Evolutionary convergence is one of the most striking examples of adaptation driven by natural selection. However, genomic evidence for convergent adaptation to extreme environments remains scarce. The Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains represent the world’s most species-rich temperate alpine biota, providing an ideal “natural laboratory” for studying conv...

Polygonaceae has a complex taxonomic history, although a few studies using plastid or nuclear DNA fragments have explored relationships within this family, intrafamilial relationships remain controversial. Here, we newly sequenced and annotated 17 plastomes representing 12 genera within Polygonaceae. Combined with previously published data, a total...

A new species Sinosenecio yangii D.G. Zhang & Q. Zhou (Asteraceae, Senecioneae) from Guizhou Province, China, is described and illustrated based on its morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. It closely resembles S. confervifer and S. guangxiensis , the former in the scapigerous habit and smooth and glabrous achene surface, the latter...

Ceropegia sunhangii P.R. Luo & T. Deng, a new species from Qiaojia, Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated herein. This species is similar to C. christenseniana Hand.-Mazz.and C. sinoerecta M. G. Gilbert & P. T. Li but can be distinguished easily by its stem, indumentum, leaf size, and floral features, especially the corolla shape and size, th...

A new species Sinosenecio yangii D.G. Zhang & Q. Zhou (Asteraceae, Senecioneae) from Guizhou Province, China, is described and illustrated based on its morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. It closely resembles S. confervifer and S. guangxiensis , the former in the scapigerous habit and smooth and glabrous achene surface, the latter...

In this study, 13 morphological characters in 32 species of Eremurus (Asphodelaceae) from Uzbekistan were examined and subjected to cladistic analysis. In the consensus tree, species from subgenus Eremurus clustered together, but did not form a distinct clade sister to Henningia. The subrotate flowers, tepals with one abaxial nerve, and short stame...

Background Sinosenecio B. Nordenstam (Asteraceae) currently comprises 44 species. To investigate the interspecific relationship, several chloroplast markers, including ndhC-trnV, rpl32-trnL, matK, and rbcL, are used to analyze the phylogeny of Sinosenecio. However, the chloroplast genomes of this genus have not been thoroughly investigated. We sequ...

Aim Biodiversity hotspots are regions with the highest species richness, and the most threatened species. Previous studies have shown that the extinction risk may be more related to evolutionary history than to species' traits. However, there is a knowledge gap on the relationship between evolutionary history and species extinction risk in biodiver...

Background and Aims Macro-and micro-morphology of seeds are diagnostic characteristics of importance in delimiting taxa in Allium (Amaryllidaceae). However, there is no consensus on phylogenetic significance of testa cell characteristics and whether they reflect different evolutionary levels recognized in Allium.  Methods The seeds of 95 species (...

Background and Aims Macro- and micro-morphology of seeds are diagnostic characteristics of importance in delimiting taxa in Allium (Amaryllidaceae). However, there is no consensus on phylogenetic significance of testa cell characteristics and whether they reflect different evolutionary levels recognized in Allium. Methods The seeds of 95 species (...

Background: Sinosenecio B. Nordenstam (Asteraceae) currently comprises 44 species. To investigate the interspecific relationship, several chloroplast markers, including ndhC-trnV, rpl32-trnL, matK, and rbcL, are used to analyze the phylogeny of Sinosenecio. However, the chloroplast genomes of this genus have not been thoroughly investigated. We seq...

The Haynei is one of seven species aggregates (clusters of species having similar flower morphology) recognized in section Oncocyclus of genus Iris. This aggregate, characterized by dark-colored flowers, is represented by six species in Israel and adjacent Jordan. There is, however, no knowledge of the genetic relationship of these species making v...

New data on the phylogeny of four rare and endemic species of Ranunculus L. (sect. Ranunculastrum DC.) of western Pamir-Alai, one of which is new to science, have been obtained. Ranunculus tojibaevii sp. nov., from the Baysuntau Mountains, Western Hissar Range of Uzbekistan, is described. The new species is closely related to R. botschantzevii Ovcz...

Aims The tropical niche conservatism (TNC) hypothesis and the out of the tropics (OTT) hypothesis propose mechanisms generating patterns of species diversity across warm‐to‐cold thermal gradients at large spatial scales. These two hypotheses both integrate ecological and biogeography‐related evolutionary factors, but they predict opposite patterns...

Saxifraga sunhangiana, a new species of the genus Saxifraga sect. Irregulares (Saxifragaceae) from Gansu, China, is described and illustrated. This species is distinguishable by its abaxial leaf surface with singularly long white villous hairs and rather long rhizomes. Morphological and molecular data indicate that S. sunhangiana belongs to S. sect...

Corydalis microflora and C. lidenii are recognised as separate species in "Flora of China" and the latest plant list. However, based on the examination of type specimens and field investigations, C. lidenii is shown to be conspecific with C. microflora. As a result, C. lidenii is synonymised with C. microflora in this study.

We aim to assess the influence of phylogenetic scale on the relationships of taxonomic and phylogenetic turnovers with environment for angiosperms in China. Specifically, we quantify the effects of contemporary climate on β‐diversity at different phylogenetic scales representing different evolutionary depths of angiosperms. We sampled a latitudinal...

Ligularia monocephala , a remarkable new species from Hubei, China, is described and illustrated. It is readily distinguishable in the whole genus by character combination of the reniform to cordate-reniform leaf blades which are palmately-pinnately veined and abaxially purplish red, the solitary and erect capitula, and the pappus which are as long...

Aim The Arctic is the coldest inhabited region on Earth, and it supports few terrestrial species. The tropical‐climate origin of many angiosperm clades, along with strong phylogenetic niche conservatism, likely constrained colonization of cold environments for many plants. However, invasion of the Arctic by many lineages might also have opened up a...

In this study, 13 morphological characters in 32 species of Eremurus (Asphodelaceae) from Uzbekistan were examined and subjected to cladistic analysis. In the consensus tree, species from subgenus Eremurus clustered together, but did not form a distinct clade sister to Henningia. The subrotate flowers, tepals with one abaxial nerve, and short stame...

Subgenus Allium is the largest group within the genus Allium (Amaryllidaceae) which detailedphylogenetic classification is still missing despite intensive phylogenetic research. Reconstruction ofthe subgenus phylogeny is impossible without proper coverage of the subgenus members representingCentral Asia, one of the centers of genus (and subgenus) d...

Understanding how species have adapted and responded to past climate provides insights into the present geographical distribution and may improve predictions of how biotic communities will respond to future climate change. Therefore, estimating the distribution and potentially suitable habitats is essential for conserving sensitive species such as...

A new species, Oreocharis xieyongii T. Deng, D.G. Zhang & H. Sun, from Hunan Province, central China, is described. The combination of purple zygomorphic corolla with longer adaxial lobes and exserted stamens defines the species and discriminates it from all other current Oreocharis species. Morphological traits of the new species were compared to...

Review history of Macroevolutionary pattern of Saussurea (Asteraceae) provides insights into the drivers of radiating diversification