The Plant Genome Evolution Conference is a biennial event and the 2019 meeting, which marked the fifth meeting, was held in Sitges (Barcelona), Spain. It is a relatively small conference with ~100 attendees, ranging from renowned plant researchers to graduate students. The 2019 meeting took place from 29 September – 1 October and the program focused on the evolution and evolutionary aspects of natural variation, domestication, epigenetics, polyploidy and systems biology of green algae and land plants. Two FMG members, Prof. Eshchar Mizrachi and Dr Danielle Roodt, attended the meeting this year, with Dr Roodt giving a presentation on her work on wood development and evolution in the seed plant lineages. Dr Roodt’s attendance was made possible by the FABIan of the Year Award which she won in 2018, which covers air travel to a conference of their choice. The meeting offered unique opportunities to meet and discuss the most recent advances in plant evolutionary biology, get updated on the newest developments and insights in the field, and form relationships with potential global collaborators. The plenary speaker at this year’s meeting was Prof. Ilia Leitch from Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom, who gave a talk on the diversity and ecological impact of genome size in the flowering plants. The gala dinner, held at the Can Laury Restaurant overlooking the Sitges harbour, and the many high-class keynote speakers were more conference highlights.