Daring tree climbers and researchers have challenged a major assumption in tree drought biology. In rainforests on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, water transport systems of a colossal, dominating…
Category: Plants
Chinese money plant leaves hide a mathematical pattern
A common houseplant hides a pattern that may reveal how some leaf veins form. The leaves of the Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides) display a geometric pattern called a Voronoi…
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at a new state flower exhibit
America is turning the big 250 this year. To celebrate, the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., has a new exhibit of state flowers. Through October 12, visitors can go…
Some plants can feed on dust that lands on their leaves
Instead of relying on the soil for nutrients, plants may grab some of those essentials from airborne particles. Feeding through leaves is already well-established in agriculture — farmers spray liquid…
Treetop toilets may act as communication hubs across mammal species
When a human has a sudden need to take a number two, they might seek out a public bathroom. When mammals in the cloud forests of Costa Rica need to…
Check out 6 ways orchids use tricks to reproduce
Orchids don’t always reward their pollinators — sometimes they mislead them. From flowers that mimic insect mates to blooms that smell like rotting fish, orchids have evolved remarkable strategies to…
Tree tops sparkle with electricity during thunderstorms
Thunderstorms may bring more than rain and gloom. The same forces that cause thunder and lightning also make treetops sparkle in ultraviolet light, like a Christmas tree topper invisible to…
‘In Botanical Time’ explores the ways Earth’s oldest plants cheat death
In Botanical TimeChristopher WoodsChelsea Green, $40.00 On a talus-strewn slope in eastern California’s mountains, a gnarled tree twists toward the sky. It is Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus…
