After a brief introduction to the symposium, I will show my finding in patterns of flowering phenologies in forest communities as an example of phylogenetic approaches to community ecology. In temperate forests, some trees flower in spring and others in summer. In subtropical forests, trees flower in spring, summer, autumn and even in winter. Thus, there are more opportunities　(“niches”) for flowering in forests in the lower latitude/altitude. This gradient may explain why tree species diversity is higher in the lower latitude/altitude. Then, how often closely related species differ in flowering phenology? To answer this question, we need to know phylogeny of co-occurring tree species.　By using a phylogenetic comparative method, I will show that closely related trees are more frequently diverged in flowering phenology than in spatial distribution.