Morning Glories Struggle as Evolution Fails to Keep Pace with Climate Change

September 4, 2026

Research reveals that morning glories are adapting at a drastically reduced rate, down by 96% over nine years, despite having ample genetic diversity. This suggests an evolutionary conflict between climate survival and attracting pollinators.

The plants' rapid environmental changes have outpaced their ability to evolve necessary traits for survival in a warming world. The scarcity of pollinators further complicates their adaptation process.

This trend could signal broader issues within plant species, indicating that many may be evolving the wrong traits as climate change accelerates, potentially leading to significant biodiversity loss.

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Plants may be evolving the wrong traits for a warming world

Morning glories may be getting caught in an evolutionary tug-of-war between surviving climate change and attracting increasingly scarce pollinators. Over just nine years, researchers found that the plants’ rate of adaptation plunged by 96%, even though they still had plenty of genetic diversity to evolve.