Joyce Gloria Onyenedum

With respect to my recent research, my focus has been to elucidate the evolution of development of complex vascular patterns found in the stems of wood vines, which are hypothesized to facilitate their unique abilities to twist and turn throughout the forest canopy without breaking. Most recently, I have been investigating how secondary cell wall modifications which lead to the production of tension wood and gelatinous fibers contributes to the ability of a woody vine to bend. You can read about my research in the NYTimes: How Woody Vines Do the Twist

Select Journal Articles

(Prior to 2021, published as J.G. Chery)

View profile and publications on Google Scholar.

• Pace MR, Gerolamo CS, Onyenedum JG, Terrazas T, Veronica MP, Cunha Neto IC, and V Angyalossy. 2022.The wood anatomy of Sapindales: diversity and evolution of wood characters. Brazilian Journal of Botany.
• Onyenedum JG and MR Pace. 2021. The role of ontogeny in wood diversity and evolution, American Journal of Botany 108: 2331-2355.
• Chery JG, Glos RAE, and CT Anderson. 2021. Do woody vines use gelatinous fibers to climb? New Phytologist 233: 126-133.
• Jud NA, Allen SE, Nelson CW, Bastos CL, and JG Chery 2021. Climbing since the early Miocene: The fossil record of Paullinieae (Sapindaceae). PLoS ONE 16: e0248369. 
• Chery JG*, Cunha Neto IC*, Pace MR, Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Specht, CD, and CJ Rothfels. 2020. Wood anatomy of the neotropical liana lineage, Paullinia L. (Sapindaceae). Journal of the International Association of Wood Anatomists. 41: 278-300.
• Chery JG, Pace MR, Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Specht CD, and CJ Rothfels. 2020. Modifications during Early Plant Development Promote the Evolution of Nature's Most Complex Woods. Current Biology 30: 237-44.
• Chery JG, Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Rothfels CJ, and CD Specht. 2019. Phylogeny of Paullinia L. (Paullinieae: Sapindaceae), a diverse genus of lianas with dynamic fruit evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 140: 106577