Plants

  1. Plants

    Meat-eating pitcher plants raise deathtraps to an art

    The carnivorous California pitcher plant ensnares its dinner using a medley of techniques.

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  2. Paleontology

    Tomatillo fossil is oldest nightshade plant

    Two 52-million-year-old tomatillo fossils in Patagonia push the origin of nightshade plants back millions of years, to the time when dinosaurs roamed.

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  3. Climate

    Year in review: Sea ice loss will shake up ecosystems

    Researchers are studying the complex biological consequences of polar melting and opening Arctic passageways.

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  4. Plants

    Bacteria help carnivorous plants drown their prey

    Pitcher plant drowning traps are more difficult for an insect to escape when bacteria colonize them.

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  5. Plants

    Tweaking how plants manage a crisis boosts photosynthesis

    Shortening plants’ recovery time after blasts of excessive light can boost crop growth.

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  6. Climate

    CO2-loving plants can counter human emissions

    Plants temporarily halted the acceleration of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, new research suggests.

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  7. Plants

    Flower lures pollinators with smell of honeybee fear

    When it comes to attracting pollinators, one flower species catches more flies with honeybees.

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  8. Plants

    Narrowed plumbing lets flower survive summer cold snaps

    Ice barriers help alpine plants save their flowers during summer cold snaps.

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  9. Plants

    ‘The Long, Long Life of Trees’ takes readers on a walk in the woods

    The Long, Long Life of Trees explores the scientific, historical and cultural significance of apple, birch, elm and 14 other kinds of trees.

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  10. Plants

    How a tomato plant foils a dreaded vampire vine

    Tomatoes can foil a dodder plant attack by getting scared and scabbing over.

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  11. Plants

    Sneaky virus helps plants multiply, creating more hosts

    Plant virus makes hosts more attractive to pollinators, ensuring future virus-susceptible plants.

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  12. Plants

    Internal clock helps young sunflowers follow the sun

    A circadian clock helps sunflowers follow the sun’s daily path across the sky

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