Data from: Evolutionary history of the angiosperm flora of China

High species diversity may result from recent rapid speciation in a
‘cradle’ and/or the gradual accumulation and preservation of species over
time in a ‘museum’1,2. China harbours nearly 10% of angiosperm species
worldwide and has long been considered as both a museum, owing to the
presence of many species with hypothesized ancient origins3,4, and a
cradle, as many lineages have originated as recent topographic changes and
climatic shifts—such as the formation of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and
the development of the monsoon—provided new habitats that promoted
remarkable radiation5. However, no detailed phylogenetic study has
addressed when and how the major components of the Chinese angiosperm
flora assembled to form the present-day vegetation. Here we investigate
the spatio-temporal divergence patterns of the Chinese flora using a dated
phylogeny of 92% of the angiosperm genera for the region, a nearly
complete species-level tree comprising 26,978 species and detailed spatial
distribution data. We found that 66% of the angiosperm genera in China did
not originate until early in the Miocene epoch (23 million years ago
(Mya)). The flora of eastern China bears a signature of older divergence
(mean divergence times of 22.04–25.39 Mya), phylogenetic overdispersion
(spatial co-occurrence of distant relatives) and higher phylogenetic
diversity. In western China, the flora shows more recent divergence (mean
divergence times of 15.29–18.86 Mya), pronounced phylogenetic clustering
(co-occurrence of close relatives) and lower phylogenetic diversity.
Analyses of species-level phylogenetic diversity using simulated branch
lengths yielded results similar to genus-level patterns. Our analyses
indicate that eastern China represents a floristic museum, and western
China an evolutionary cradle, for herbaceous genera; eastern China has
served as both a museum and a cradle for woody genera. These results
identify areas of high species richness and phylogenetic diversity, and
provide a foundation on which to build conservation efforts in China.