Distributional shifts, plasticity, and adaptation are often studied in isolation, but these processes will likely interact under climate change. Moreover, much research has focused on plant responses to changes in mean environmental conditions (e.g., warming or drought), yet, less is known about plant responses to increasing climatic variability. We explore the interaction between adaptation and plasticity in populations facing novel environments and examine the conditions that favor the evolution of traits or trait plasticity across species ranges. (back)