My research is on plant evolution and systematics, particularly in the grasses and the Acanthaceae family (Barleria, Blepharis, Dyschoriste). Students in my lab use next-generation sequencing data to estimate phylogenies. These evolutionary trees are used to understand how plants are related to one another and how their different forms and characteristics evolved. Recent research in my lab has focused on the pollination of certain Justicia species and the potential effects on their flower morphology.

I am also very interested in Southern California native plants and I have worked on floras in the Santa Ana Mountains, Palos Verdes Peninsula, and San Gorgonio Pass.

My publications can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amanda_Fisher4