  ASTRAL is a method for reconstructing species trees after inferring a set of
gene trees and is increasingly used in phylogenomic analyses. It is
statistically consistent under the multi-species coalescent model, is scalable,
and has shown high accuracy in simulated and empirical studies. This chapter
discusses practical considerations in using ASTRAL, starting with a review of
published results and pointing to the strengths and weaknesses of species tree
estimation using ASTRAL. It then continues to detail the best ways to prepare
input gene trees, interpret ASTRAL outputs, and perform follow-up analyses.
