Climate change is altering plant environments, prompting phenotypic plasticity as a key response mechanism. Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a genotype to express different phenotypes in response to environmental conditions, is crucial for predicting and managing the impacts of climate change on plant species and crops. This review provides a conceptual framework for understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity relevant to climate change, integrating ecological, evolutionary, physiological, and molecular perspectives. It highlights the importance of phenotypic plasticity in enabling plants to adapt to changing conditions, including shifts in phenology, leaf lifespan, and temperature responses. The review also discusses the role of genetic variation in enabling plants to sense and respond to environmental changes, and the potential for epigenetic mechanisms to influence plasticity. Key functional traits, such as leaf phenology, flowering time, and seed traits, are identified as important for assessing plastic responses to climate change. The review emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research to understand the evolution and mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity, and its implications for species distribution, vegetation types, and crop breeding. It also addresses the importance of phenotypic plasticity in ensuring plant persistence under climate change, and its potential to contribute to adaptive evolution. The review concludes that phenotypic plasticity is a critical factor in plant responses to climate change, and that further research is needed to fully understand its role in shaping plant communities and ecosystems.Climate change is altering plant environments, prompting phenotypic plasticity as a key response mechanism. Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a genotype to express different phenotypes in response to environmental conditions, is crucial for predicting and managing the impacts of climate change on plant species and crops. This review provides a conceptual framework for understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity relevant to climate change, integrating ecological, evolutionary, physiological, and molecular perspectives. It highlights the importance of phenotypic plasticity in enabling plants to adapt to changing conditions, including shifts in phenology, leaf lifespan, and temperature responses. The review also discusses the role of genetic variation in enabling plants to sense and respond to environmental changes, and the potential for epigenetic mechanisms to influence plasticity. Key functional traits, such as leaf phenology, flowering time, and seed traits, are identified as important for assessing plastic responses to climate change. The review emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research to understand the evolution and mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity, and its implications for species distribution, vegetation types, and crop breeding. It also addresses the importance of phenotypic plasticity in ensuring plant persistence under climate change, and its potential to contribute to adaptive evolution. The review concludes that phenotypic plasticity is a critical factor in plant responses to climate change, and that further research is needed to fully understand its role in shaping plant communities and ecosystems.