Plants
Plants packed close enough to touch are more resilient to stress
Signals transmitted via leaves can warn neighboring plants of stressful events, making the group collectively more resilient than plants in isolation.
Plants
More Stories in Plants
- Climate
Hidden tree bark microbes munch on important climate gases
Trees are known for absorbing CO2. But microbes in their bark also absorb other climate-active gases, methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide.
- Plants
Moss spores survived in space for 9 months
The moss species Physcomitrium patens is the latest organism to survive an extended stay in the vacuum and radiation of space.
- Plants
A special shape shift helps a shrub thrive in blistering heat
A microscope reveals an algae-like adaptation that might future-proof crop photosynthesis in extreme heat.
- Plants
This flower smells like injured ants — and flies can’t resist it
A type of Japanese dogsbane releases a scent identical to wounded ants’ distress signal, drawing in scavenging flies that unwittingly pollinate it.
- Life
A rice weevil frozen in flight won the 2025 Nikon Small World photo contest
From fluorescent ferns to sprawling neurons, this year’s winning photos reveal the structures and artistry of life seen through a microscope.
- Paleontology
These ancient bumblebees were found with their pollen source
Insects have long pollinated plants, but evidence of ancient pairing is rare. Fossils now show bees and linden trees goes back 24 million years.
- Plants
How dandelions rig the odds for catching upward gusts
New images reveal microstructures that, depending on how the wind blows, help give a dandelion seed lift-off or the grip needed to wait for a better breeze.
- Agriculture
A grapevine bacteria may help douse wildfire-tainted wine’s ashy aftertaste
Grape plant bacteria might help mitigate smoke taint in wine by breaking down chemicals that evoke an ashy taste.
- Plants
A newly discovered gene helped this moss defy gravity
A gene called IBSH1 helped spreading earthmoss thrive at high gravity, hinting at how plants adapted to photosynthesize on land.
