Plants
Plants under attack leave behind a surprising call for backup
Bacteria may build a memory of herbivore attack in the soil and coax new plants to attract wasps to rein in destructive pests.
Plants
More Stories in Plants
- Paleontology
Ancient flowering plants may have used dinosaurs to spread their seeds
Scientists thought angiosperms didn’t use animals to spread seeds until after the Age of Dinosaurs. Fossilized fruits from these plants challenge this idea.
- Plants
Chinese money plant leaves hide a mathematical pattern
Tiny water-secreting pores appear to organize the major veins of the plant leaves into an arrangement known as a Voronoi diagram.
- Plants
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday at a new state flower exhibit
Stop and smell America’s state flowers at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., open now through October 12, 2026.
- Plants
Some plants can feed on dust that lands on their leaves
A new study offers evidence from natural shrubland that leaves, not just roots, can take up nutrients from deposited dust.
- Animals
This tree is number one for cloud forest mammals going number two
The strangler fig is a keystone species in the tropics, providing food and shelter, and a place to poop for 17 different mammal species.
- Plants
Check out 6 ways orchids use tricks to reproduce
This spring, these six orchids will lure pollinators with mimicry, scent or other unusual strategies.
- Plants
Tree tops sparkle with electricity during thunderstorms
Ultraviolet cameras captured faint electrical flashes from leaves and branches as storm charges built up in the atmosphere.
- Plants
Chickpeas can grow in moon dirt and make seeds
Chickpeas produced seeds in simulated lunar soil, offering clues for future space farming.
- Plants
'In Botanical Time' explores the ways Earth’s oldest plants cheat death
Author Christopher Woods unpacks the science behind ancient plants’ longevity in a new book.
