September 10, 2025New PhytologistOpen Access

Photosynthetic diversity in the genus Blepharis (Acanthaceae) and the evolutionary origins of C₄ photosynthesis

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Comprehensive phenotyping reveals diverse photosynthetic traits in Blepharis, highlighting C4 evolution pathways.

An unexpectedly high C4 trait diversity exists within the genus Blepharis, indicating complex evolutionary patterns.
Phylogenetic analysis reveals five independent C4 clades in Blepharis, the highest reported within a single genus.
Extensive phenotyping used multivariate statistics to categorize Blepharis species according to their photosynthetic physiology.
The genetic transformation potential in Blepharis suggests it could serve as a significant model for studying C4 evolution.

Bianconi et al. (2025) studied this question.

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