Since the publication in 2000 of the model Arabidopsis thaliana genome in the journal Nature, the number of genomes has steadily increased, peaking in 2012 with 13 publications (Fig. 1A). At this current trajectory there should be hundreds of plant genome publications over the next several years. Genome papers have been quite formulaic with a description of the assembly, gene numbers, repeats, WGDs, over and under-represented gene families, and finally, some aspect of novel biology, usually with a focus on transcription factors. Genomes have been published in 12 different journals with 38 of the 55 (69%) published genomes appearing in Nature journals (Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Biotech, and Nature Communications); Science is second with six published genomes. As we see from the most recent publication of the Capsella rubella genome paper, the genome paper is shifting from a formulaic approach to a focus on how the genome elucidates novel biological aspects, such as the evolution of selfing to an outcrossing mating system (Slotte et al., 2013). The trend toward biology is quite positive and necessitated by demands for publication in high impact journals. However, the plant community is just at the beginning of exploring the diversity of plant genomes, and the rigor of the genome paper model with the associated in-depth exploration of genome features provides an essential foundation for the plant research community.