Convolvulaceae Network

06/08/2026

Next in the Convolvulaceae Seminar Series! ✨🌿

Join us on Friday, June 12 at 2:00 pm gmt +1 (London time) for a talk by Sreetama Bhadra (Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences) on:

Genome size and trait evolution drives angiosperm speciation

Sreetama investigates the causal mechanisms shaping the evolution and distribution of plant biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales. Her research focuses on bridging the gap between microevolutionary processes, small-scale evolutionary changes and their causal drivers, and macroevolutionary and macroecological patterns that explain large-scale biodiversity dynamics. She combines empirical data with statistical modelling to examine how polyploidy and genome size shape trait evolution, diversification, and geographic range size. By linking genomic factors with functional trait variation, her work aims to assess adaptive capacity and extinction risk under climate change, improving predictions of vulnerability in plant lineages and informing more robust conservation strategies.

In this seminar, she will present recent research investigating how genome size and trait flexibility interact to influence speciation in palms (Arecaceae). Using phylogenetic, functional trait, and genome size data, combined with Bayesian and structural equation modelling, her study reveals a complex interplay between genomic factors, trait evolution, and diversification.

🔬 Whether you’re interested in evolution, plant diversity, genomics, macroecology, or conservation biology, this talk offers a fascinating perspective on the drivers of angiosperm diversification.

🔗 Sign up via the link in our bio

🌸 See you there!

05/02/2026

Next in the Convolvulaceae Seminar Series! ✨🌱

✨️Join us on Friday, May 8 @ 14:00 GMT+1 for a talk by Pablo Muñoz-Rodríguez (Complutense University of Madrid) on Integrating global taxonomy and ethnobotany in the genus Acalypha🌿

Pablo's research focuses on the megadiverse genera Ipomoea and Acalypha, and integrates taxonomy and phylogenomics, supported by herbarium material, field observations, and historical sources, to shed light on evolutionary relationships and long-standing questions about the origin of crops, biodiversity, and plant use.

He will present the results of a recent study in which we synthesised global Acalypha medicinal data and revealed high rates of error in published literature, ranging from already-outdated synonyms at the time of publication to impossible geographic ranges. By applying taxonomic rigor to this "noise", we were able to produce a global, taxonomically curated review of Acalypha uses worldwide, identifying dozens of species with high pharmacological potential that remain largely unstudied in the lab. He will share some thoughts on how these lessons may apply to Convolvulaceae research, illustrating how global systematic revisions are not just an academic exercise, but essential tools for identifying, for example, the medicines of tomorrow.

🔗 Sign up form in bio

See you on Friday 🌸

05/02/2026

Next in the Convolvulaceae Seminar Series! ✨🌱

✨️Join us on Friday, May 8 @ 14:00 GMT for a talk by Pablo Muñoz-Rodríguez (Complutense University of Madrid) on Integrating global taxonomy and ethnobotany in the genus Acalypha🌿

Pablo's research focuses on the megadiverse genera Ipomoea and Acalypha, and integrates taxonomy and phylogenomics, supported by herbarium material, field observations, and historical sources, to shed light on evolutionary relationships and long-standing questions about the origin of crops, biodiversity, and plant use.

He will present the results of a recent study in which we synthesised global Acalypha medicinal data and revealed high rates of error in published literature, ranging from already-outdated synonyms at the time of publication to impossible geographic ranges. By applying taxonomic rigor to this "noise", we were able to produce a global, taxonomically curated review of Acalypha uses worldwide, identifying dozens of species with high pharmacological potential that remain largely unstudied in the lab. He will share some thoughts on how these lessons may apply to Convolvulaceae research, illustrating how global systematic revisions are not just an academic exercise, but essential tools for identifying, for example, the medicines of tomorrow.

🔗 Sign up form in bio

See you on Friday 🌸

04/20/2026

🌸 Join us for our next Convolvulaceae Network seminar!

On Friday, the 24th of April, we are excited to welcome N. Ivalú Cacho (Instituto de Biología, UNAM) for a fascinating talk:

Searching for rings (and other treasures) in morning glories: assessing models to study incipient speciation 🌿

N. Ivalú Cacho studies aspects of evolutionary ecology and systematics of plants, and processes of evolutionary divergence leading to speciation. In her group field work and observations are combined with experimentation and phylogeny to describe the diversity and the processes through which they originate and are maintained. The presentation will touch on evolutionary divergence, and approaches to identify potential biological models to study incipient speciation in morning glories.

⏰ Time to be announced later!
🔗 Join via the link in our bio

Feel free to share with anyone interested in plant evolution, systematics, or Convolvulaceae 💫

See you there 🌸

02/26/2026

✨️Save the Date!! ✨️
Convolvulaceae Meeting🌸
📍Mexico City October 25-29, 2027

The 1st Standalone Meeting on Convolvulaceae will take place in vibrant Mexico City in October 2027, bringing together researchers, students, and enthusiasts of the morning glory family from around the world. This unique gathering will be a space to learn, teach, exchange ideas, and strengthen collaborations, while reconnecting with old friends and welcoming new ones into our growing network. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the National Herbarium of Mexico (MEXU)—the largest in Latin America, housing over 1.6 million specimens—and experience firsthand one of the most important botanical collections in the world. And as a special cultural highlight, the meeting will be held just before Mexico’s most iconic celebration, Día de Mu***os, offering an unforgettable blend of science, tradition, and community.

02/26/2026

✨️ Save the Date!! ✨️
Convolvulaceae Meeting🌸
📍Mexico City October 25-29, 2027

The 1st Standalone Meeting on Convolvulaceae will take place in vibrant Mexico City in October 2027, bringing together researchers, students, and enthusiasts of the morning glory family from around the world. This unique gathering will be a space to learn, teach, exchange ideas, and strengthen collaborations, while reconnecting with old friends and welcoming new ones into our growing network. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the National Herbarium of Mexico (MEXU)—the largest in Latin America, housing over 1.6 million specimens—and experience firsthand one of the most important botanical collections in the world. And as a special cultural highlight, the meeting will be held just before Mexico’s most iconic celebration, Día de Mu***os, offering an unforgettable blend of science, tradition, and community.

02/26/2026

Join us on Friday, March 6 @ 14:00 GMT for a talk by Dr. Agnes Dellinger (University of Vienna, Austria) on Flower and fruit colors evolve indepently and show strong ecogeographic structuring 🌸🌎

Dra. Agnes investigates how biotic and abiotic processes shape plant diversification, with a particular focus on how plant-pollinator interactions drive trait evolution and change across varying environmental contexts.

Flowers and fruits form the two major phases of angiosperm reproduction and represent a developmental continuum. Yet, we understand very little about their evolutionary and ecological correlates. Using flower color as a model, Dra. Agnes investigated how flower and fruit colors evolve (i.e., in a correlated or random manner) and how they are distributed across large-scale ecogeographic gradients. In her talk, she will touch upon the evolutionary linkage between fowers and fruits and how color may serve as a protectant from abiotic climatic stressors, taking a look beyond the commonly studied function of color as signal to animal mutualists.
🌎🌺

🔗 Sign up form in bio

See you on Friday 🌸

02/15/2026

Next in the Convolvulaceae Seminar Series! ✨🌱

Join us on Friday, Feb 20 @ 17:00 GMT for a talk by Sierra Jaeger (University of South Carolina) on floral color variation in Abronia fragrans. 🌸🌿

Sierra is a PhD candidate studying the evolutionary ecology of flower color. Her work explores how floral pigmentation mediates interactions with pollinators, herbivores, and the environment in North American sand verbenas (Abronia and Tripterocalyx).

In this talk, she’ll share how ecological and climatic factors shape the striking white-pink flower color variation in this prairie wildflower, integrating field and greenhouse experiments with climatic analyses. 🌎🌺

🔗 Sign up form in bio

See you on Friday 🌸

01/18/2026

We are delighted to share our latest article, “From zero to TEN: Building a community of Taxonomic Experts”, now published in TAXON. In this paper, we present our collaborative journey, from the Convolvulaceae Network to the formal establishment of the Convolvulaceae Taxonomic Expert Network (TEN), and reflect on how collective effort, inclusivity, and international cooperation can strengthen taxonomy at a global scale. We hope our experience inspires further collaboration across regions, disciplines, and communities within the scientific field.

Click on the article title to read more.

09/08/2025

Next in the Convolvulaceae Seminar Series! ✨🌱

Join us on Friday, Sept 12 @ 14:00 GMT for a talk by Jacob Dixon (Tulane University) on Ipomoea-beetle-fungi interactions. 🪲🍄🌿

Jacob studies how above- and below-ground fungal communities shape ecological dynamics in Ipomoea.

🔗 Sign up form in bio

See you on Friday 🌸