Plants

More Stories in Plants

  1. Plants

    This tentacled, parasitic ‘fairy lantern’ plant is new to science

    The bizarre new plant from Malaysia parasitizes subterranean fungi and only briefly erupts from the soil to flower.

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  2. Life

    The largest known genome belongs to a tiny fern

    Though 'Tmesipteris oblanceolata' is just 15 centimeters long, its genome dwarfs humans’ by more than 50 times.

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  3. Plants

    Plant ‘time bombs’ highlight how sneaky invasive species can be

    Sycamore maples and some other plant invaders lurked for centuries before starting to choke out native ecosystems and species.

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  4. Ecosystems

    Flowers may be big antennas for bees’ electrical signals

    The finding suggests a way for plants to share information about nearby pollinators and communicate when to trigger nectar production.

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  5. Animals

    Big monarch caterpillars don’t avoid toxic milkweed goo. They binge on it

    Instead of nipping milkweed to drain the plants’ defensive sap, older monarch caterpillars may seek the toxic sap. Lab larvae guzzled it from a pipette.

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  6. Environment

    How air pollution may make it harder for pollinators to find flowers

    Certain air pollutants that build up at night can break down the same fragrance molecules that attract pollinators like hawk moths to primroses.

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  7. Animals

    Giant tortoise migration in the Galápagos may be stymied by invasive trees

    An invasion of Spanish cedar trees on Santa Cruz Island may block the seasonal migration routes of the island's giant tortoise population.

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  8. Plants

    On hot summer days, this thistle is somehow cool to the touch

    In hot Spanish summers, the thistle Carlina corymbosa is somehow able to cool itself substantially below air temperature.

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  9. Plants

    Ancient trees’ gnarled, twisted shapes provide irreplaceable habitats

    Traits that help trees live for hundreds of years also foster forest life, one reason why old growth forest conservation is crucial.

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