When Birches Become Wasps
Birches may have developed white bark to warn herbivores that they’re not good to eat.
Alun Salt
Alun (he/him) is the Producer for Botany One. It's his job to keep the server running. He's not a botanist, but started running into them on a regular basis while working on writing modules for an Interdisciplinary Science course and, later, helping teach mathematics to Biologists. His degrees are in archaeology and ancient history.
Pollinators and Herbivores Influence the Evolution of Chemicals Emitted by Fig Plants in Different Ways
Fragrances produced by plants are excellent for attracting pollinators, but how do they prevent unwanted guests from arriving?
New Modelling Reveals Opportunities to Blunt Plant Invasions Before They Reach a Tipping Point
An examination of herbarium records has helped track the dynamics of plant invasions.
A rare shrub needs to burn to avoid extinction
Camera traps show that it’s not missing pollinators that leave an Australian shrub critically endangered.
Less Is More When Plants Call for Aid
Scientists find that reducing fertilizer input to a field can help plants call for assistance when fighting off herbivores.
Botanists find nectar can be a source of antimicrobial compounds
Plants regularly have unprotected sex. How do they avoid unwanted infections?
Plant Remains in Coffin Pillows Betray Burial Beliefs
A top-quality pillow is essential for a good night’s sleep, but what pillow do you need for the longest sleep? A study of pillows in Polish graves shows that Catholics and Protestants had different ideas.
Drought damages a plant’s perfume
Bees may be using their sense of smell to detect and avoid stressed plants.
Fungi prepare the soil for plant invasions
Chinese researchers find that similar plants can gain a big competitive advantage by partnering with the right fungi.
Pansies undergo high-speed evolution when pollinators disappear
French researchers used ‘resurrection ecology’ to compare 2012 pansies with plants from twenty years earlier to see the evolutionary changes in the flowers over time.
Winter is coming, and that’s bad news for food security
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.
It’s not too late to save the carnivorous plants of Janggun wetland
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.
Ecologists discover a place for the dead in graveyards
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.
Bromeliads offer ants a summer residence in Costa Rica
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.