Some plants have pairs of chromosomes, they’re diploid organisms like us. Other plants have more than two copies of chromosomes, they’re polyploid. Strawberries can even be octoploid. Mosses can be polyploid too, but a...
Author - Fi Gennu
Fi Gennu
A close-up view of Cardmine hirsuta’s flight jacket
Being rooted, plants have very little opportunity to travel. They can as pollen to find a mate, and also as seeds. In the case of Cardamine hirsuta, that travel is explosive. The plant stores energy in the pericarp of...
Mitochondria and stress signalling
How does a plant sense stress and pass those signals around its body? Corentin Dourmap and colleagues have reviewed the role of mitochondria in the plant cell and how they interact with stress signalling. Image: Canva...
Honeybees much less effective than native pollinators for Lepechinia floribunda
It's not just a matter of number of visits, a pollinator has to arrive at the right time too.
Iberian saxifrage side-steps the grim reaper to extend its lifespan
Saxifrage can grow multiple heads in stressed conditions, allowing more attempts at flowering.
Dimorphism in cleistogamous flowers in Portulaca oleracea
A trade-off between outcrossing and self-pollination is due to an interplay between genes and environment.
The Chemical Tools of Carnivorous Plants
Carnivorous plants need to manufacture a variety of specialised chemicals to lure, trap and digest prey.
Excessive Nibbling May Interfere With Reproduction for the Noble Rhubarb
Nobile rhubarb reproduces in one final burst at the end of it's life, but yaks might be bring that life to an end early.
Botanists find out who’s the daddy
Growing a fruit is only one way of passing your genes on to the next generation if you’re a plant. You could also send pollen to another plant. But what factors influence siring success? Dorothy Christopher and...
Evolutionary history of Pseudotaxus: old lineage, young populations
In southeast China there is a puzzle. Pseudotaxus chienii lives as a relict, a plant that used to have a much wider geographic range. Now it’s limited to comparatively few locations. This is common for many plants that...
Auxin redistribution modifies maize root proliferation
We know that maize roots chase after phosphorus, but how? Xin Wang and colleagues have been investigating what purpose the hormone auxin has in controlling root proliferation. Their work could help better understand how...
Mutualistic relationship between mangrove plants and diazotrophs
Trees need nitrogen. When they shed leaves with all the nitrogen in them it would be a big loss, were it not for the army of creepy-crawlies that recycle the leaves back into the soil. Life is tougher for mangroves. At...
Plant economics spectrum theory holds true within ferns
Plants usually have limited resources in one way or another. There is only so much nutrient in the soil. How best to use it? The plant economics spectrum theory integrates the coordination of plant functional traits...
Scaly Tree Ferns Have Slow and Steady Diversification
Did the Cyatheaceae become such a diverse family slowly over time, or in spurts? The largest molecular sampling yet points to gradual accumulation of species.
