Ornamental plants are those grown for decoration and beatification of indoor and outdoor environments. It is estimated that about 2,500 plant species have been domesticated worldwide. Among them 200-250 species were domesticated for food, a few species were produced for fibers, timber, firewood, and for paper industry, and the rest are largely cultivated as ornamental plants, suggesting that cultivated ornamental plant species are far more than all other agricultural and horticultural plants combined. There are many reports and books concerning the history and processes of food plant domestication, but limited information is available about ornamental plants. This special issue is intended to fill this gap focusing on the evolution and domestication of ornamental plants. We welcome scientists to share their cutting-edge research in all aspects of the evolution and domestication of ornamental plants, including, but not limited to:

1. The evolution and domestication history and path of ornamental plants;

2. Phylogeny and biogeography of ornamental germplasms;

3. Ornamental plant population genetics;

4. Key events contributing to the evolution of ornamental plant species;

5. Variation and evolution of important ornamental traits, such as color, scent, architecture, dormancy, and underlying regulatory mechanisms and their controlling genes and networks.

Guest Editor

Zhiqiang Wu, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China

Submission Deadline

December 31, 2023. All papers will be published online after acceptance.

Submission Instructions

Please submit the full manuscript to Ornamental Plant Research via our online submission system. Please choose the topic of this Special Issue when submitting and specify it in your cover letter. For further inquiries, please contact guest editor: 

Zhiqiang Wu (wuzhiqiang@caas.cn)