Pablo Guerrero has been visiting cacti in the Atacama Desert his whole life, first on family trips to the Chilean coast and later as a researcher studying the impacts of…
Category: Plants
Carnivorous plants eat faster with a fungal friend
Insects have plenty to beware when it comes to carnivorous plants. Add an acid-loving fungus to that list of dangers. Sundew plants have tentacle-like leaves that curl around and entrap…
Bird nests made with a toxic fungus seem to fend off attacking ants
When building a bird nest in ant territory, the best defense could be an offensive fungus. Swollen-thorn acacia trees are aggressively defended by multiple species of ants. And yet, several…
Projectile pollen helps this flower edge out reproductive competition
Extreme Climate Survey Science News is collecting reader questions about how to navigate our planet’s changing climate. What do you want to know about extreme heat and how it can…
This tentacled, parasitic ‘fairy lantern’ plant is new to science
In the weird world of chlorophyll-free “fairy lantern” plants, there’s a new species to admire. Fairy lanterns (Thismia) are a type of mysterious, parasitic herb that look like something from…
The largest known genome belongs to a tiny fern
Big things can sometimes come in small packages. A small fern has broken the record for the largest genome yet known, researchers report May 31 in iScience. The plant’s full…
Plant ‘time bombs’ highlight how sneaky invasive species can be
A stealthy, destructive weed — the sycamore maple — began its “don’t worry, just love me” phase of invading Great Britain so long ago that the tree didn’t have what…
On hot summer days, this thistle is somehow cool to the touch
In the mountains of southern Spain, one type of thistle plant seems to have built-in air conditioning. The flowers of the thistle Carlina corymbosa are, on average, about 3 degrees…
Ancient trees’ gnarled, twisted shapes provide irreplaceable habitats
Earth’s oldest, knotted and scarred pine trees are a boon for forest life. These old mountain pines (Pinus uncinata) offer food and shelter for lichens and insects not just because…
Here’s why blueberries are blue
The secret to a blueberry’s hue is in the structure of its wax coat. Waxy coverings on blue-colored fruits such as blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum), grapes (Vitis vinifera) and some plums…
