Why woodiness repeatedly evolves--and disappears
- 1Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Abstract
Derived woodiness--the evolution of woody growth from herbaceous ancestors--has arisen hundreds of times across flowering plants, yet the environmental conditions associated with its repeated evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we analyse woodiness evolution in the mustard family (Brassicaceae; ~4,150 species) using a time-calibrated phylogeny of 2,927 species, including 374 of the 385 known woody species, together with global growth-form and climatic niche data. We infer 231 independent origins of woodiness alongside 176 reversals to herbaceousness, indicating that woodiness evolves repeatedly but remains evolutionarily unstable. Although woody species are enriched on islands, most occur on the mainland, where woodiness is consistently associated with drought and reduced frost. Correlated-evolution analyses reveal that drought is associated primarily with the persistence of woodiness, whereas reduced frost is associated with gains of woodiness and increased frost with its loss. These findings identify distinct climatic associations with the gain, persistence, and loss of woody growth forms.
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BibTeX
@misc{hendriks2026woodiness,
title = {{Why woodiness repeatedly evolves--and disappears}},
author = {K. P. Hendriks and I. A. Al-Shehbaz and D. A. German and M. A. Koch and L. van Slooten and C. Kusse and L. J. M. A. Dominicus and M. Kuijt and L. E. Trepp and S. van Zon and E. Castillo-Lorenzo and B. Ozudogru and A. Berger and M. D. Windham and L. Medina Domingo and N. Walden and C. Kiefer and D. S. Aukes and D. J. Schiavinato and E. Burns and C. D. Bailey and R. Negrao and S. _paniel and A. P. Seregin and H. Moazzeni and O. Toro-Nunez and V. R. Invernon and A. Eslami-Farouji and P. Heenan and T. Mandakova and H. Chen and M. A. Lysak and N. M. Shiyan and N. M. Hay and M. Thulin and R. Vogt and M. Chambouleyron and S. B. Janssens and M. Briggs and M. Schmull and Forrest},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.04.749323},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.04.749323v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Why woodiness repeatedly evolves--and disappears
AU - K. P. Hendriks
AU - I. A. Al-Shehbaz
AU - D. A. German
AU - M. A. Koch
AU - L. van Slooten
AU - C. Kusse
AU - L. J. M. A. Dominicus
AU - M. Kuijt
AU - L. E. Trepp
AU - S. van Zon
AU - E. Castillo-Lorenzo
AU - B. Ozudogru
AU - A. Berger
AU - M. D. Windham
AU - L. Medina Domingo
AU - N. Walden
AU - C. Kiefer
AU - D. S. Aukes
AU - D. J. Schiavinato
AU - E. Burns
AU - C. D. Bailey
AU - R. Negrao
AU - S. _paniel
AU - A. P. Seregin
AU - H. Moazzeni
AU - O. Toro-Nunez
AU - V. R. Invernon
AU - A. Eslami-Farouji
AU - P. Heenan
AU - T. Mandakova
AU - H. Chen
AU - M. A. Lysak
AU - N. M. Shiyan
AU - N. M. Hay
AU - M. Thulin
AU - R. Vogt
AU - M. Chambouleyron
AU - S. B. Janssens
AU - M. Briggs
AU - M. Schmull
AU - Forrest
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/04
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.04.749323
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.04.749323v1
AB - Derived woodiness--the evolution of woody growth from herbaceous ancestors--has arisen hundreds of times across flowering plants, yet the environmental conditions associated with its repeated evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we analyse woodiness evolution in the mustard family (Brassicaceae; ~4,150 species) using a time-calibrated phylogeny of 2,927 species, including 374 of the 385 known woody species, together with global growth-form and climatic niche data. We infer 231 independent origins of woodiness alongside 176 reversals to herbaceousness, indicating that woodiness evolves repeatedly but remains evolutionarily unstable. Although woody species are enriched on islands, most occur on the mainland, where woodiness is consistently associated with drought and reduced frost. Correlated-evolution analyses reveal that drought is associated primarily with the persistence of woodiness, whereas reduced frost is associated with gains of woodiness and increased frost with its loss. These findings identify distinct climatic associations with the gain, persistence, and loss of woody growth forms.
ER -