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.
Author - Alun Salt
Alun Salt
Photosynthesis on the far side of the rainbow
Light you cannot see, in the infrared part of the spectrum, is surprisingly important for plant photosynthesis.
Which ornamental plants perform best for pollinators?
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?
Unexpected responses to wildfire by seedlings in the Yukon
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.
Dutch Scientists Learn How to Get Better Botanical Data from the Public
Instead of complaining about the limits of volunteer work, some Dutch botanists have found how to improve their understanding of data from citizen scientists.
When invasive plants move in, where do native pollinators go?
Invasive plants change the opportunities for pollinators, helping some but harming others.
Where does a hemiparasite’s food come from?
A parasitic plant's ability to steal carbon rests in their haustoria, specialised organs they use to tap into a host plant.
Every day is like Christmas for some declining farmland birds
Novel agriculture provides a refuge for some birds driven out of traditional farmland.
Why do cats act so strangely around catnip?
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.
Eurekalert
Botanists have discovered the world’s largest plant in what should be one of the world’s least plant-friendly environments
Botanists have discovered the world's largest plant in Shark Bay, but Shark Bay is unusually salty - so how could a plant thrive there?
Research from Germany discovers why your pollen allergies might be getting worse
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.
Toxomerus basalis: The fly that uses a killer as a babysitter
Sundews are carnivorous plants that feed on small naive insects. So why does a fly deliberately lay its eggs on the plant?
Why don’t plants need sunscreen?
Plants have no opportunity to get out of the sun into the shade, so how do they avoid damage by UV-B light? The answer lies in the cuticle, the outermost layer of a plant.
Spring is coming a week earlier to European forests
Botanists found evidence for the effects of climate change stored in herbaria.
