Mosses may appear simple, but they’re far from fragile. They thrive in some of the harshest places on Earth — Antarctica, arid deserts, high mountain peaks and more. “We’ve long…
Category: Plants
These plants build ant condos that keep warring species apart
Call them nature’s own luxury high-rise condo rentals. Squamellaria plants, from the same family as coffee and quinine, are fat aerial tubers perched high in tropical trees. In Fiji, one…
Potatoes have their roots in ancient tomatoes
The potato came from a surprising mashup. Spuds are a basic, delicious food for millions worldwide, yet their origin and evolution have long been a scientific mystery. Not anymore, scientists…
Trees can’t get up and walk away, but forests can
An army of treelike creatures called Ents marches to war in the second The Lord of the Rings movie, The Two Towers, walking for miles through dark forests. Once they…
Climate change could separate vanilla plants and their pollinators
Vanilla plants could have a future that’s not so sweet. Wild relatives of the vanilla plant — which could be essential if the original cash crop disappears — may someday…
Trees ‘remember’ times of water abundance and scarcity
How trees fare under drought depends heavily on their past experiences. In some cases, adversity breeds resilience: Spruce trees that experience long-term droughts are more resistant to future droughts, owing…
Cryopreservation is not sci-fi. It may save plants from extinction
Early one morning in 1985, a pair of researchers trekked into a spit of Colombian rainforest surrounded by coffee plantations. Their task was to identify all the epiphytes — plants…
A leaf’s geometry determines whether it falls far from its tree
An apple may not fall far from the tree, but for a leaf, it depends on its shape. Elm or apple leaves — oval and symmetrical, with few protruding lobes…
Putrid plants can reek of hot rotting flesh with one evolutionary trick
Some plants stink of rotting meat or dung, which helps them attract flies for pollination. How plants make the carrion stench, which is usually produced by bacteria feasting on decaying…
Some tropical trees act as lightning rods to fend off rivals
Getting hit by lightning is not usually a good thing. But one tropical tree species seems to harness heaven’s wrath. Not only do the trees survive lightning strikes, but their…
