Living gymnosperms comprise four major groups: cycads, Ginkgo, conifers, and gnetophytes. Relationships among/within these lineages have not been fully resolved. Next generation sequencing has made available a large number of sequences, including both plastomes and single-copy nuclear genes, for reconstruction of solid phylogenetic trees. Recent advances in gymnosperm phylogenomic studies have updated our knowledge of gymnosperm systematics. Here, we review major advances of gymnosperm phylogeny over the past 10 years and propose an updated classification of extant gymnosperms. This new classification includes three classes (Cycadopsida, Ginkgoopsida, and Pinopsida), five subclasses (Cycadidae, Ginkgoidae, Cupressidae, Pinidae, and Gnetidae), eight orders (Cycadales, Ginkgoales, Araucariales, Cupressales, Pinales, Ephedrales, Gnetales, and Welwitschiales), 13 families, and 86 genera. We also described six new tribes including Acmopyleae Y. Yang, Austrocedreae Y. Yang, Chamaecyparideae Y. Yang, Microcachrydeae Y. Yang, Papuacedreae Y. Yang, and Prumnopityeae Y. Yang, and made 27 new combinations in the genus Sabina.

The origin of angiosperms has been under debate since the time of Darwin. While there has been much speculation in past decades about pre-Cretaceous angiosperms, including Archaefructus, these reports are controversial. The earliest reliable fossil record of angiosperms remains restricted to the Cretaceous, even though recent molecular phylogenetic studies suggest an origin for angiosperms much earlier than the current fossil record. In this paper, after careful SEM and light microscopic work, we report fossils with angiospermous traits of the Jurassic age. The fossils were collected from the Haifanggou Formation (middle Jurassic) in western Liaoning, northeast China. They include two female structures and an associated leaf on the same slab. One of the female structures is physically connected to the apex of a short shoot. The female organs are borne in pairs on short peduncles that are arranged along the axis of the female structure. Each of the female organs has a central unit that is surrounded by an envelope with characteristic longitudinal ribs. Each central unit has two locules completely separated by a vertical septum. The apex of the central unit is completely closed. The general morphology places these fossils into the scope of Schmeissneria, an early Jurassic genus that was previously attributed to Ginkgoales. Because the closed carpel is a character only found in angiosperms, the closed apex of the central unit suggests the presence of angiospermy in Schmeissneria. This angiospermous trait implies either a Jurassic angiosperm or a new seed plant group parallel to angiosperms and other known seed plants. As an angiosperm, the Liassic age (earliest Jurassic) of Schmeissneria microstachys would suggest an origin of angiosperms during the Triassic. Although still uncertain, this could have a great impact on our perspective of the history, diversity and systematics of seed plants and angiosperms.

• The first reported mitochondrial genome (Cinnamomum chekiangense) of the Lauraceae family. • The mitogenome of C. chekiangense retains almost all of the ancestral protein-coding genes and has the highest RNA editing number in angiosperms. • Both of the plastid and mitochondrial phylogenetic trees support the magnoliids as a sister group of monocots and eudicots.

Genus Michelia has various functions and is valuable in medicine, food, and agriculture. Many plastid genomes (plastomes) of Michelia have been released, but no mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) have been reported. In this study, using third-generation HIFI sequencing techniques, Michelia figo (M. figo) mitogenome was de novo assembled into a circular chromosome spanning 773,377 bp with a total GC content of 46.83%. Sixty six genes in total were annotated, including 41 protein-coding genes, 21 tRNA genes, and three rRNA genes. The mitogenome contains 1,514 dispersed repeats (> 30 bp), 39 tandem repeats, and 262 simple sequence repeats. Eighty one fragments originating from the M. figo plastome were detected in its mitogenome and three tRNA genes (trnD-GUC, trnW-CCA, and trnV-GAC) completely transferred from the plastome to the mitogenome. Repeats and collinearity analyses of four Magnoliaceae mitogenomes reveal substantial structural variations, a relatively low degree of collinearity, and significant genetic diversity of this genus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that two phylogenetic trees constructed separately based on mitogenomes and plastomes accurately depict the phylogenetic relationship of M. figo. This study offers the first comprehensive comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis of the M. figo mitogenome, facilitating the development of genetic markers, taxonomic classification, and resource exploration within the Michelia genus.

Temperate understory plant species are at risk from climate change and anthropogenic threats that include increased deer herbivory, habitat loss, pollinator declines and mismatch, and nutrient pollution. Recent work suggests that spring ephemeral wildflowers may be at additional risk due to phenological mismatch with deciduous canopy trees. The study of this dynamic, commonly referred to as “phenological escape”, and its sensitivity to spring temperature is limited to eastern North America. Here, we use herbarium specimens to show that phenological sensitivity to spring temperature is remarkably conserved for understory wildflowers across North America, Europe, and Asia, but that canopy trees in North America are significantly more sensitive to spring temperature compared to in Asia and Europe. We predict that advancing tree phenology will lead to decreasing spring light windows in North America while spring light windows will be maintained or even increase in Asia and Europe in response to projected climate warming.

Taxonomy ofCinnamomumSchaeff. of Lauraceae remains problematic because recent phylogenetic studies have suggested that this genus is not monophyletic. In this study, we assembled three sequence matrices including plastomes (datamatrix I), nrITS sequences alone (datamatrix II), and nrITS plus plastidpsbA‐trnH sequences (datamatrix III) of theCinnamomum‐Ocoteacomplex of Lauraceae and conducted a new phylogenetic study with thusfar the most extensive species sampling of theCinnamomum‐Ocoteagroup. We determined that the Old WorldCinnamomumis diphyletic: sect.CamphoraMeisn. is sister toSassafrasJ.Presl and sect.Cinnamomumis sister to the AfricanKuloaTrofimov & Rohwer. A recent study indicated that characters of leaf micromorphological anatomy can define the two clades: one possessing reticulate periclinal and the other having non‐reticulate periclinal walls. As result, we divided the genusCinnamomumof Lauraceae into two genera, i.e.,CinnamomumandCamphoraFabr. The generic nameCinnamomumis retained for those species mainly having reticulate periclinal epidermal cell walls, inconspicuous non‐perulate terminal buds and usually tripliveined leaves; the oldest generic name,Camphora, is applied to the second group which contains those species mainly possessing non‐reticulate periclinal epidermal cell walls, prominent perulate terminal buds and pinnately‐veined leaves. A census of the species and their type specimens listed underCinnamomumin Asia resulted in the transfer of 18 species toCamphora, including 15 new combinations.