Leaf venation network evolution across clades and scales
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(Embargo ends September 2026)
Date
2025
Authors
Matos, I.S.
Vu, B.
Mann, J.
Xie, E.
Madhavan, S.
Sharma, S.
Niewiadomski, I.
Echevarria, A.
Tomaka, C.
Carlos, S.
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Journal article
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Nature Plants, 2025; 11(6):1127-1141
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Ilaine Silveira Matos, Bradley Vu, Joseph Mann, Emily Xie, Srinivasan Madhavan, Satvik Sharma, Izzi Niewiadomski, Andrea Echevarria, Connor Tomaka, Sonoma Carlos, Monica Antonio, Ashley Chu, Meg Scudder, Nicole Yokota, Hailey J. Park, Natalie Vuong, Mickey Boakye, Miguel A. Duarte, Caroline Pechuzal, Luiza Maria T. Aparecido, Mia B. Franco, Ryan Jen Wong, Jocelyn Liu, Emily Guevara Heredia, Brad Boyle, Martha Ryan, Rafael E. Cárdenas, Brian J. Enquist, Diane M. Erwin, Holly Forbes, Kyle Dexter, Mark Fricker and Benjamin W. Blonder
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Abstract
Leaf venation architecture varies greatly among living and fossil plants. However, we still have a limited understanding of when, why and in which clades new architectures arose and how they impacted leaf functioning. Using data from 1,000 extant and extinct (fossil) plants, we reconstructed approximately 400 million years of venation evolution across clades and vein sizes. Overall, venation networks evolved from having fewer veins and less smooth loops to having more veins and smoother loops, but these changes only occurred in small and medium vein sizes. The diversity of architectural designs increased biphasically, first peaking in the Paleozoic, then decreasing during the Cretaceous, then increasing again in the Cenozoic, when recent angiosperm lineages initiated a second and ongoing phase of diversification. Vein evolution was not associated with temperature and CO2 fluctuations but was associated with insect diversification. Our results highlight the complexity of the evolutionary trajectory and potential drivers of venation network architecture.
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Corrected by: Author Correction: Leaf venation network evolution across clades and scales, in Nature Plants (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02070-1, In the version of the article initially published, in the Fig. 2d legend, the text “…if loops are more (low CR) or less (high CR) smooth” should have read “…if loops are more (high CR) or less (low CR) smooth” and has now been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2025, corrected publication 2025