Contrasting evolutionary hypotheses between two mediterranean‐climate floristic hotspots: the Cape of southern Africa and the Mediterranean Basin

Aim The Cape of southern Africa and the Mediterranean Basin, two of the world's five mediterranean‐climate biodiversity hotspots, are exceptionally species‐rich and constitute a well‐described example of ecological convergence. However, the area‐adjusted plant species diversity of the Cape is on average more than double that of the Mediterranean Basin. Here, we investigate the causes of this diversity asymmetry by drawing on phylogenetic...