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The African Austro-temperate Flora stands out by its important species richness. A distinctive element of this flora is  Monsonia  (Geraniaceae), mostly found in the Namib-Karoo but also in the Natal-Drakensberg, the Somalian Zambezian and the Saharo-Arabian regions. Here, we reconstruct the evolution and biogeographic history of  Monsonia  based on nuclear and plastid markers, and examine the role of morphological and niche evolution in its diversification using species distribution modeling and macroevolutionary models. Our results indicate that  Monsonia  first diversified in the Early Miocene c.21 Ma, coinciding with the start of desertification in southwestern Africa. An important diversification occurred c. 4–6 Ma, after a general cooling trend in western South Africa and the rising of the Eastern African Mountains. The resulting two main lineages of  Monsonia  are constituted by: (1) Namib-Karoo succulents, and (2) herbs of the Natal-Drakensberg plus three species that further colonised steppes in north and eastern Africa. The highest diversity of  Monsonia  is found in the Namib-Karoo coastal belt, within a mosaic-like habitat structure. Diversification was likely driven by biome shifts and key innovations such as water-storing succulent stems and anemochorous fruits. In contrast, and unlike other arid-adapted taxa, all species of  Monsonia  share a C 3  metabolism.

Opposite trends in the genus Monsonia (Geraniaceae): specialization in the African deserts and range expansions throughout eastern Africa