Evolution and origins of the American oaks

What is it about?

Oaks dominate the forests of North America, including Mexico, in both biomass and species number, yet we know very little about why they have been so successful. We use genomic DNA data to study how oaks have evolved in the America. Our work shows that the red and white oaks originated in northern North America, diversified in parallel, then each radiated independently and simultaneously in Mexico from an eastern North American ancestor. The high diversity of oaks in Mexico is due to high rates of speciation in a topographically diverse environment. Thus convergence, ecological diversification, and simultaneous parallel diversification histories are key to the diversity of North American oaks.

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