Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40105725›Full record

ArticleAnnals of botany2026

Lifespan outperforms climate as a predictor of wood functional traits, but secondary woodiness shows no clear climatic pattern in Heliophila, a diverse clade from the Cape Floristic Region.

J Baczyński, A A Oskolski, P J D Winter, R Manuel, T Lyner, A R Magee, A M Muasya, K E Frankiewicz

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Article in Annals of botany, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

J BaczyńskiInstitute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 101, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland.ORCID 0000-0001-5272-9053
A A OskolskiDepartment of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Aukland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa.
P J D WinterCompton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa.
R ManuelCompton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa.
T LynerCompton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa.
A R MageeDepartment of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Aukland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa.
A M MuasyaBolus Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa.
K E FrankiewiczCompton Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Private Bag X7, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-2638-7007

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsAnnuals produce little wood due to their short life cycle, while perennials can accumulate more, though not all do. Consequently, lifespan extension is a prerequisite for - but not synonymous with - secondary woodiness. Even if a shift to perenniality does not substantially increase wood production, it may still affect wood anatomy, as annuals prioritize rapid growth, whereas perennials invest in structural resilience. Heliophila, a genus of the Brassicaceae from the Cape Floristic Region, provides an excellent system to investigate drivers of secondary woodiness and the impact of lifespan shifts on wood traits due to its multiple independent lifespan transitions and occurrence of secondary woodiness.

methodsWe reconstructed evolutionary transitions between annual and perennial lifespans and between herbaceous and secondarily woody habits. Using phylogenetically informed statistics, we analysed the relationship between climate, lifespan and nine wood anatomical traits. Lifespan-specific evolutionary optima for these traits were estimated and compared. We also tested whether secondary woodiness in Heliophila is associated with specific climatic niches. KEY

resultsLifespan shifts in Heliophila are driven primarily by water availability and seasonality, with perennials evolving in wetter and less seasonal environments. Secondary woodiness may be more frequent in warmer niches, though this trend was not statistically supported, probably due to the limited number of secondarily woody species. Lifespan, not climate, better predicted wood traits: annuals had longer, thinner-walled cells, while perennials had shorter cells with thicker walls.

conclusionsIn Heliophila, a shift in climatic niche prompts a change in lifespan, followed by slower adaptations in wood anatomy. Possibly, this pattern arises because alterations in lifespan affect stem architecture, establishing a developmental framework that governs subsequent anatomical adjustments. Furthermore, although not statistically robust, increased wood production may be linked to warmer niches, potentially associated with a temperature-driven enhancement in lignin biosynthesis that reinforces stem structure.

Indexed as

BrassicaceaeClimateWoodBiological EvolutionPhylogenySouth AfricaAnnualBrassicaceaeCape Floristic Regionclimate responsefunctional traitsHeliophilalifespan shiftsperennialphylogenetic inertiasecondary woodinesswood anatomywood evolution

Identifiers

PMID40105725
PMCPMC13487432

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