Carly Kay is the Fall 2025 science writing intern at Science News. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in science…
Category: Plants
These ancient bumblebees were found with their pollen source
A telltale hint was on the bee’s knees. An analysis of 127 fossil flowers, flower buds and bees from central Germany revealed pollen particles that precisely matched ancient flowers to…
How dandelions rig the odds for catching upward gusts
It’s surprisingly difficult — by puffing from any one direction — to send all of a dandelion’s delicate white seed tufts wafting away from their stem. A clump almost always…
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.
A newly discovered gene helped this moss defy gravity
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…
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…
