The Himalaya-Hengduan Mountain region is vital for biodiversity research, influenced by the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Quaternary glaciation, yet species responses to climate changes are not fully understood.
Research focused on Duthie ex Burk, an alpine species, revealed high chloroplast haplotype diversity at the plateau's edge, with two main nuclear ribosomal DNA haplotypes identified across populations.
Molecular dating indicated that diversification occurred before the Last Glacial Maximum, and ecological niche models showed that the species has shifted its distribution from the plateau's edge to the southern edge during glacial periods and then back to the plateau.