Skip to content
Donate

Dr Hervé Sauquet

Head of Plant Discovery and Evolution Research
Email
herve.sauquet@botanicgardens.nsw.gov.au
Follow me

I am an evolutionary biologist and botanist with a broad interest in macroevolution. My research interests concentrate on questions of floral evolution and macroevolution of angiosperms (flowering plants).

Research Interests

Some of my projects address these questions at large in angiosperms as a whole, while others focus on specific clades such as Magnoliidae and Proteaceae. I use a broad range of approaches including systematics, comparative methods, phylogenetic reconstruction, molecular dating, diversification rates, next-generation sequencing, evo-devo, floral and pollen morphology, and paleobotany. A key focus of my current and future research is to unravel and better understand large-scale patterns in the evolution of flowers (eFLOWER project).

Keywords: evolution; biodiversity; angiosperms; flowers; phylogenetic trees; macroevolution; trait evolution; diversification rates; molecular dating; fossils; floral morphology; databases; Evo-Devo; high-throughput sequencing; Magnoliidae; Proteaceae.

Personal website: http://www.sauquetlab.org/

Current Projects

Publication Highlights

For a complete publication list, see my Google Scholar or ResearchGate profiles.
(Underlined are students and postdocs I have supervised)

  1. Asar Y, Ho SYW, Sauquet H. 2022. Early diversifications of angiosperms and their insect pollinators: Were they unlinked? Trends in Plant Science 27: 858–869. link
  2. Sauquet H, Ramírez-Barahona S, Magallón S. 2022. What is the age of flowering plants? Journal of Experimental Botany 73: 3840–3853. link
  3. Stephens RE, Sauquet H, Guerin GR, Jiang M, Falster D, Gallagher RV. 2022. Climate shapes community flowering periods across biomes. Journal of Biogeography 49: 1205–1218. link
  4. Benton MJ, Wilf P, Sauquet H. 2022. The Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution and the origins of modern biodiversity. New Phytologist 233: 2017–2035. link
  5. Chartier M, von Balthazar M, Sontag S, Löfstrand S, Palme T, Jabbour F, Sauquet H, Schönenberger J. 2021. Global patterns and a latitudinal gradient of flower disparity: perspectives from the angiosperm order Ericales. New Phytologist 230: 821–831. link
  6. Schönenberger J, von Balthazar M, López Martínez A, Albert B, Prieu C, Magallón S, Sauquet H. 2020. Phylogenetic analysis of fossil flowers using an angiosperm‐wide data set: proof‐of‐concept and challenges ahead. American Journal of Botany 107: 1–16. link
  7. Ramírez-Barahona S, Sauquet H, Magallón S. 2020. The delayed and geographically heterogeneous diversification of flowering plant families. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4: 1232–1238. link
  8. Sauquet H, Magallón S. 2018. Key questions and challenges in angiosperm macroevolution. New Phytologist 219: 1170–1187. link
  9. Sauquet H, von Balthazar M, Magallón S, Doyle JA, Endress PK, Bailes EJ, Barroso de Morais E, Bull-Hereñu K, Carrive L, Chartier M, Chomicki G, Coiro M, Cornette R, El Ottra JHL, Epicoco C, Foster CSP, Jabbour F, Haevermans A, Haevermans T, Hernández R, Little SA, Löfstrand S, Luna JA, Massoni J, Nadot S, Pamperl S, Prieu C, Reyes E, dos Santos P, Schoonderwoerd KM, Sontag S, Soulebeau A, Staedler Y, Tschan GF, Wing-Sze Leung A, Schönenberger J. 2017. The ancestral flower of angiosperms and its early diversification. Nature Communications 8: 16047. link
  10. Sauquet H, Ho SYW, Gandolfo MA, Jordan GJ, Wilf P, Cantrill DJ, Bayly MJ, Bromham L, Brown GK, Carpenter RJ, Lee DM, Murphy DJ, Sniderman JMK, Udovicic F. 2012. Testing the impact of calibration on molecular divergence times using a fossil-rich group: the case of Nothofagus (Fagales). Systematic Biology 61: 289-313. link

Current Students and Lab Members

For a complete list of current and past students and lab members, see http://www.sauquetlab.org/people.html

  • 2022-2024, Julian Herting, postdoc (Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust), The floral evolution of Ericales
  • 2022-2025, Thomas Mesaglio, PhD candidate (University of New South Wales, Australia), Fantastic species and where to find them: understanding the taxonomic and spatial distribution of undescribed Australian plants, Co-supervisor with Will Cornwell
  • 2021-2024, Yasmin Asar, PhD candidate (University of Sydney, Australia), Testing the link between morphological and molecular rates of evolutionary change, Co-supervisor with Simon Ho
  • 2021-2024, Ruby Stephens, PhD candidate (Macquarie University, Australia), Functional biogeography of floral traits in Australian plant communities, Co-supervisor with Rachael Gallagher
  • 2019-2023, Andrea López Martínez, PhD candidate (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico), Phylogenetic placement of fossil flowers and their relevance in floral evolution, Co-supervisor with Susana Magallón

Affiliations and Committees

Honorary academic affiliations

Editorial service

Other responsibilities

In the Media