Plants
Invasive grasses are taking over the American West’s sea of sagebrush
Cheatgrass and other invasive plants are expanding rapidly in the western United States, putting more places at risk for wildfires.
Plants
More Stories in Plants
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PlantsA well-known wildflower turns out to be a secret carnivore
A species of false asphodel wildflower snags prey with gluey, enzyme-secreting hairs, leaving a trail of insect corpses on its flowering stem.
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ClimateThe first step in using trees to slow climate change: Protect the trees we have
In all the fuss over planting trillions of trees, we need to protect the forests that already exist.
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PlantsHow Romanesco cauliflower forms its spiraling fractals
By tweaking just three genes in a common lab plant, scientists have discovered the mechanism responsible for one of nature’s most impressive fractals.
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PlantsA widely studied lab plant has revealed a previously unknown organ
A cantilever-like plant part long evaded researchers’ notice in widely studied Arabidopsis thaliana, grown in hundreds of labs worldwide.
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PlantsThese ferns may be the first plants known to share work like ants
Staghorn ferns grow in massive colonies where individual plants contribute different jobs. This may make them “eusocial,” like ants or termites.
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Climate‘Tree farts’ contribute about a fifth of greenhouse gases from ghost forests
Greenhouse gases from dead trees play an important role in the overall environmental impact of ghost forests, a new study suggests.
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EcosystemsSimple hand-built structures can help streams survive wildfires and drought
Building simple structures with sticks and stones — and inviting in dam-building beavers — can keep water where it’s needed to fight drought and wildfires.
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NeuroscienceCatnip repels insects. Scientists may have finally found out how
The plant deters mosquitoes and fruit flies by triggering a chemical receptor that, in other animals, senses pain and itch.
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PlantsModified genes can distort wild cotton’s interactions with insects
In a Yucatan nature park, engineered genes influence nectar production, affecting ants’ and maybe pollinators’ attraction to the wild cotton plants.