Wildflowers' rapid genetics save California’s scarlet monkeyflower from drought
During California’s 2012–2015 megadrought, scarlet monkeyflowers (Mimulus cardinalis) declined dramatically, but a multi-site genomic study found rapid, genome-wide genetic changes that helped some populations recover, a phenomenon called evolutionary rescue. The research, spanning 55 wild populations over eight years, shows drought-driven selection and suggests that genetic diversity and habitat connectivity are crucial for resilience as climate change intensifies, while also highlighting that some populations avoided extinction by evolving fast enough to persist.