Abstract:

Background: Conservation activities in China have raised public awareness about plant diversity, but these efforts have not been sufficient to enhance a true understanding of plant evolution and the underlying principles and objectives of biodiversity conservation. A more effective communication and profound education of plant diversity from an evolutionary perspective is paramount for a comprehensive understanding of biodiversity and appreciation of the significance of biodiversity conservation. Most references to plant biodiversity focus on species identification and classification, with limited attention to evolutionary perspectives.

Summary: Here, we introduce the global “Plant Phylogeny Posters” project, a portfolio of educational tools developed by the German-American botanist Theodor C. H. Cole. This project is aimed to present clear overviews of plant diversity and relationships from a phylogenetic perspective from recent systematic and evolutionary studies in botany, providing the means for a better understanding of plant diversity and evolution. The posters display the phylogenetic trees of major plant taxa at different ranks alongside morphological characteristics, geographical distributions, and the number of plants at each rank.

Progress & Perspectives: Through the collaborative efforts of 45 Chinese researchers from various universities and research institutions, all 70 posters of this project have now been translated into Chinese and made freely available worldwide. This project promises to improve the understanding of plant biodiversity and conservation efforts in China.

Key words: plant diversity, evolution, phylogeny, educational resources