Plants
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PlantsTeam corners culprit in sudden oak death
After 5 years of mystery, California pathologists announced they may have identified the cause of a new tree disease called sudden oak death.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsX-rayed Flowers
For new insights into the delicate architecture of flowers, take an X-ray view. Albert G. Richards, who taught dental radiography at the University of Michigan, presents a gallery of unfamiliar views of familiar flowers, from the hidden archways of an iris to the complex plumbing of columbine spurs. Go to: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~agrxray/gallery.html
By Science News -
PlantsWhy Turn Red?
Why leaves turn red is a stranger question than why they turn yellow.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsNew gene-altering strategy tested on corn
Scientists have created herbicide-resistant corn with a new kind of genetic engineering that involves subtly altering one of the plant's own genes rather than adding a new gene.
By John Travis -
PlantsDrought-tolerant plant mined for survival genes
A drought-resistant South African plant is revealing its genetic secrets.
By John Travis -
PlantsUnderground Hijinks: Thieving plants hack into biggest fungal network
For the first time, plants have been caught tapping into the most widespread of soil fungi networks and using it to steal food from green plants.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsFungus of the Month
Wisconsin botanist Tom Volk’s smorgasbord of a mycology Web site offers a variety of enticing distractions. You can find morel mushrooms dressed in their holiday best, fungi that ought to be avoided at a Thanksgiving feast, and much more. Be sure to check out the fungus of the month, then browse the archive of fungal […]
By Science News -
PlantsThe Wood Detective
Alex Wiedenhoeft belongs to the elite profession of wood identifier, the person to call when a crime investigator, museum curator, archaeologist, or patent attorney with an unusual client really needs to know what that splinter really is.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsTime Capsules: Seeds sprout 120 years after going underground
An experiment designed by a botany professor to last longer than his own life has demonstrated that seeds of two common flowers still sprout and blossom despite more than a century in a bottle.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsSunflower genes don’t fit pattern
Comparison between crop and wild sunflower genes suggests that the plant followed an easy route to domestication.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsWhy tulips can’t dance
An elliptical stem gives daffodils an unusual liveliness in the wind compared with tulips.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsRecent tree scourge poses garden threat
Lab tests suggest that a lethal disease of oak trees in California and Oregon could strike some popular garden shrubs in the rhododendron family.
By Susan Milius