Plant Science from Cell Biology to Ecosystems
Two recent papers take different approaches to the potentially disastrous consequences of loading the stratosphere with ash but combined, they act as a warning for the fragility of food security.
Surveys of Janggun wetland in South Korea have found some parts have no carnivorous plants, but a study of the seed bank shows that they have the potential to return if the wetland is managed correctly.
It was thought that people preferred graveyards to be tidy. A new survey finds that visitors can accept the presence of some decaying matter – opening more possibilities for biodiversity.
Myrmecophobes might want to avoid studying bromeliads in the forests of Costa Rica during the summer. There are plenty of plants, but they seem to attract fire ants.
Light you cannot see, in the infrared part of the spectrum, is surprisingly important for plant photosynthesis.
Guides suggest some species are better than others for pollinators, but when you get to the plant nursery you’re confronted by half a dozen cultivars of the same species. How do you pick between them?
Fire-adapted trees should be able to take advantage of wildfires, but on the boundary between the boreal forest and the tundra, something odd is happening.
Instead of complaining about the limits of volunteer work, some Dutch botanists have found how to improve their understanding of data from citizen scientists.
Invasive plants change the opportunities for pollinators, helping some but harming others.
A parasitic plant’s ability to steal carbon rests in their haustoria, specialised organs they use to tap into a host plant.
Novel agriculture provides a refuge for some birds driven out of traditional farmland.
It’s not food, so why would cats chew on catnip and silver vine? Scientists have found cats are improving the plants’ mosquito repellent by damaging the leaves in a specific way.
Botanists have discovered the world’s largest plant in Shark Bay, but Shark Bay is unusually salty – so how could a plant thrive there?
It’s not just the quantity of pollen that’s a problem. It can also be the diversity – and that isn’t helped by invasive species.
