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Category: Close Encounters

Close Encounters

Flowers play a key role in flight control for bumblebees

A bee can approach a flower from any direction, but markings on the flower help guide bees in the most effective way, like a natural air traffic control.

by Alun SaltJanuary 16, 2023January 16, 2023
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Close Encounters

A parasitic plant can cause an invasive plant’s allies to switch sides

Scaldweed, Cuscuta grovonii, can prevent an invasive plant from using soil microbes to help invade territory – and the parasite can even become more vicious by using those same microbes against its invasive host.

by Alun SaltJanuary 13, 2023January 13, 2023
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Close Encounters

Herbivores munch the most helpful trees in tropical forests

Herbivory is a key factor in controlling nitrogen limitation and carbon sequestration by tropical forests affected by climate change.

by Eurekalert, Dale MayleaDecember 8, 2022December 8, 2022
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Close Encounters

In Madagascar, the lemurs need the trees, and the trees need the lemurs

Hikori Sato explains why a living forest isn’t just a collection of trees.

by Alun SaltNovember 22, 2022November 30, 2022
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Close Encounters

Bats protect young trees from insect damage, with three times fewer bugs

Not only did the bats reduce the number of caterpillars, they also reduced defoliation by a factor of five.

by Eurekalert, Dale MayleaNovember 2, 2022November 2, 2022
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Close Encounters

Want to save the bees? Pay attention to pathogens and flowers

Researchers at UMass Amherst deploy fluorescent paint, pipettes, tents, tweezers and scissors to trace three-way connection between plants, pathogens and bees

by Dale Maylea, EurekalertNovember 1, 2022November 1, 2022
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Close Encounters

Vampire plant reduces fungi’s ability to decompose leaf litter

Parasitic plants draw life from their hosts, but now it seems that even after death, some plants have a baleful influence.

by Alun SaltOctober 7, 2022October 7, 2022
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Close Encounters

How can you encourage ladybugs to your garden?

Ladybugs, or Ladybirds, are popular insects with gardeners with a taste for pests like aphids, but it’s not just prey that’s important. Entomologists have examined plants to see what else a ladybug looks for in a home.

by Alun SaltOctober 5, 2022November 30, 2022
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Close Encounters

Seed distribution by birds can be too much of a good thing

Ecologists find that while birds can scatter seeds, sometimes they take their treasures too far to aid a plant.

by Alun SaltSeptember 29, 2022September 29, 2022
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Close Encounters

Warming wasps pollinate poorly

As temperatures rise, the life span of a crucial pollinator diminishes to the extent it may not be able to do its job.

by Dale MayleaSeptember 28, 2022September 28, 2022
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Close Encounters

Native plants in urban settings can improve bird diversity

In urban areas, gardens and parks can provide green oases among the concrete, and birds are adapted to fly in and settle in these areas. But not all green spaces are the same.

by Alun SaltSeptember 16, 2022September 15, 2022
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Close Encounters

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?

by Alun SaltSeptember 12, 2022September 12, 2022
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Close Encounters

Drought damages a plant’s perfume

Bees may be using their sense of smell to detect and avoid stressed plants.

by Alun SaltAugust 26, 2022August 26, 2022
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Close Encounters

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.

by Alun SaltAugust 22, 2022August 22, 2022
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  1. Nigel Chaffey on The geek’s guide to weird and wonderful plantsJanuary 18, 2023

    Good afternoon, Patrick, Aha, one now begins to wonder if the spelling Catherine in the cited source should really have…

  2. Patrick Collins on The geek’s guide to weird and wonderful plantsJanuary 17, 2023

    The bisindole alkaloid catharine is said to have been published and the molecular structure can be found scattered about, though…

  3. Nigel Chaffey on The geek’s guide to weird and wonderful plantsJanuary 17, 2023

    Hello Patrick, Thank you for taking th etim eto comment on this item. The source for 'catherine' that's stated in…

  4. Patrick Collins on The geek’s guide to weird and wonderful plantsJanuary 15, 2023

    Catherine? I know there are many variants of the basic skeleton with related names but surely the most well-known is…

  5. Nigel Chaffey on Plants named for the great, the good, and the bad..?January 5, 2023

    ICYMI, Dr Sandra Knapp has been awarded an OBE in the UK's New Year's Honours list, for the important contributions…

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About Us

Botany One is a blog run by the Annals of Botany Company, a non-profit educational charity.

In addition to Botany One, the company currently publishes three journals, the Annals of Botany, AoB PLANTS, and in silico Plants.

Botany One

Plant Science from Cell Biology to Ecosystems

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