R. A. Folk

Phylogenetic diversity and regionalization in the temperate arid zone

This study maps phylogenetic diversity and endemism in Astragalus across temperate arid regions, identifying climate factors driving diversity patterns and biogeographic gateways.

Phylogenetic diversity and regionalization of root nodule symbiosis

The paper identifies SR hotspots and analyzes the distribution of non-RNS mimosoid legumes, finding they correlate with high RPD and specific environmental conditions.

Rapid in-situ diversification rates in Rhamnaceae explain the parallel evolution of high diversity in temperate biomes from global to local scales

Climatic and biogeographic processes underlying the diversification of the pantropical and early divergent angiosperm family Annonaceae

This study investigates how climate and biogeographic events influence diversification in Annonaceae, finding global temperature significantly impacts diversification rates and suggesting a shift from museum to recent cradle models.

Anatomy of a mega-radiation: Biogeography and niche evolution in Astragalus

This study investigates the biogeography and niche evolution of Astragalus, finding that chromosome number correlates with diversification, central Asia as the origin, and soil and temperature divergence between hemispheres.

FloraTraiter: Automated parsing of traits from descriptive biodiversity literature

FloraTraiter automates extraction of plant trait data from biodiversity literature with high accuracy, enabling large-scale open-source trait dataset creation.

Phylogenetic and spatial determinants of leaf endophyte microbiomes in the flowering plant genus Heuchera (Saxifragaceae)

This study examines leaf endophyte microbiomes in Heuchera, finding host phylogeny influences bacteria while geographic distance and climate factors affect fungi.

Phylogenomic Analyses Reveal Widespread Gene Flow During the Early Radiation of Oaks and Relatives (Fagaceae: Quercoideae)

This study uses phylogenomic data to show widespread gene flow and reticulation during the early radiation of oaks and related genera.

Spatial phylogenetics of Fagales: Investigating the history of temperate forests

This study quantifies phylogenetic diversity and distribution patterns of Fagales to understand drivers of temperate forest biomes.

Fagalean phylogeny in a nutshell: Chronicling the diversification history of Fagales

This study reconstructs the diversification history of Fagales using a fossil-aware phylogenetic approach, finding older divergence times and highlighting the impact of fossil inclusion on biogeographic and diversification estimates.

Testing the evolutionary drivers of nitrogen-fixing symbioses in challenging soil environments

The paper tests environmental determinants of nitrogen-fixing symbioses using phylogenetic analysis and finds RNS is linked to warm, arid, and nitrogen-poor habitats but not directly responsible for diversification.

Identifying climatic drivers of hybridization in Heuchereae (Saxifragaceae)

This study identifies climatic factors driving hybridization in Heuchereae by analyzing phylogenetic data and paleoclimatic records.

Two shifts in evolutionary lability underlie independent gains and losses of root-nodule symbiosis in a single clade of plants

The paper reconstructs the evolutionary history of root-nodule symbiosis in the nitrogen-fixing clade, identifying a two-step process involving shifts in evolutionary lability that explain multiple independent gains and losses of the trait.

Functional and comparative genomics reveals conserved noncoding sequences in the nitrogen-fixing clade

The paper identifies conserved noncoding sequences in nitrogen-fixing plants and shows their role in regulating genes involved in root nodule symbiosis.

Transcriptome-based phylogeny and whole-genome duplication in Theaceae

This study uses transcriptomes and genome data to resolve phylogenetic relationships and detect whole-genome duplication in Theaceae, finding a WGD event and introgression events.

Degradation of key photosynthetic genes in the critically endangered semi-aquatic flowering plant Saniculiphyllum guangxiense (Saxifragaceae)

The paper reports the plastid genome of Saniculiphyllum guangxiense, revealing extensive pseudogenization of photosynthesis-related genes despite its fully photosynthetic lifestyle.

Methods for broad-scale plant phenology assessments using citizen scientists’ photographs

The paper develops best practices for using iNaturalist citizen science data to assess plant flowering phenology, demonstrating its utility for studying unusual flowering events and integrating data into a global knowledge store.

Exploring the phylogeny of rosids with a five-locus supermatrix from GenBank

The paper constructs a five-locus supermatrix from GenBank data to explore rosid phylogeny, finding improved resolution but also highlighting sampling biases and limitations in current data.

Geographic range dynamics drove ancient hybridization in a lineage of angiosperms

The paper develops novel methods to reconstruct ancient hybridization in Heuchera by integrating dispersal-based biogeography and habitat suitability shifts.