APG V published: a nuclear phylogenomic update to angiosperm classification

APG V, the fifth community-based classification of flowering plants, has been published as an open-access review in Journal of Systematics and Evolution 64(5): 845–874 (2026) and is available at https://www.jse.ac.cn/EN/10.1111/jse.70096. Compiled by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, this phylogeny integrates hundreds of nuclear and plastid genes and marks a shift from mainly plastid-based classification to nuclear-genome-informed systematics.

The APG system began with APG I in 1998 and was updated in 2003, 2009, and 2016. Earlier versions relied largely on plastid markers such as rbcL and atpB, which were later supplemented with nuclear ribosomal and mitochondrial data. Although broadly congruent, these data often obscured hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting. APG V uses transcriptomes, target capture, and genome-scale datasets; when nuclear and plastid topologies conflict, well-supported nuclear results are favored, and uncertain nodes are shown as polytomies.

Most APG IV families and orders are confirmed. Major changes include limiting fabids to four nitrogen-fixing orders (Cucurbitales, Fabales, Fagales, Rosales); expanding malvids to include the former COM clade; recognizing Oncothecales and Cardiopteridales; narrowing Aquifoliales and Bruniales; and treating the Huaceae and Columelliaceae as unplaced. Family-level expansions include Tecophilaeaceae, Frankeniaceae, Phytolaccaceae, Helwingiaceae, Gesneriaceae, Pentaphylacaceae, and Orobanchaceae. Santalales are revised, and APG IV Dioscoreales are retained pending further study.

APG V provides a stable, reproducible framework for research, teaching, conservation, and biodiversity communication. It also highlights outstanding challenges, including deep reticulation, parasitic and mycoheterotrophic lineages, and the need for subfamilial and subordinal classifications. This open-access paper includes a classification appendix, a linear sequence and a teaching poster, making the results accessible to specialists and general users.

We welcome you to read the APG V paper at https://www.jse.ac.cn/EN/10.1111/jse.70096

Title:Large‐scale nuclear and plastid phylogenomic analyses inform an updated Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification: APG V

Journal Name: Journal of Systematics and Evolution

DOI: doi: 10.1111/jse.70096

URL: https://scholarcast.cast.org.cn/news/2108383103091978240