For a plant growing on the forest floor, a beam of light from an opening canopy can be concerning. But new research suggests that plants growing together may be able…
Category: News
In a new kind of plant trickery, this yam fools birds with fake berries
Deception and intrigue are not limited to people or even animals. Plants, too, have evolved ways to fool their pollinators, their enemies and even the organisms that disperse their seeds.…
An all-female wasp is rapidly spreading across North America’s elms
She’s less than a centimeter long, produces only daughters and is conquering the continent without a single male. Meet the elm zigzag sawfly, named for the delicate zigzag patterns it…
Hidden tree bark microbes munch on important climate gases
Trees are known for capturing carbon dioxide as they grow. But they also soak up other gases implicated in climate change through microbes in their bark. The tree bark microbes…
Moss spores survived in space for 9 months
In an extraordinary display of biological resilience, moss spores survived for nine months outside the International Space Station. The spores were then returned to Earth, where 86 percent germinated and…
A special shape shift helps a shrub thrive in blistering heat
From growing smaller leaves to shape-shifting its insides, a desert flowering plant goes all in to flourish in the harshest of conditions. Summer temperatures in Death Valley National Park frequently…
This flower smells like injured ants — and flies can’t resist it
A Japanese flower lures in its pollinators with a morbid perfume — the scent of injured ants. The unusual scent belongs to Vincetoxicum nakaianum, a recently named species of Japanese…
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.
