Plants

Plants

Biggest Bloom: Superflower changes branch on family tree

The plants with the world's largest flowers, the rafflesias, need to be moved closer to poinsettias on the family tree of plant life.

Plants

Orchid bends around to insert pollen

An orchid species in China has set a new record for acrobatics in self-pollination, twisting its male organs around and inserting them into the cavity where the female organ lies.

Plants

Herbal therapy for beleaguered lawns

Mustard and other herbal remedies can thwart turf attacks by root-feeding roundworms.

Plants

Nectar: The First Soft Drink

Plants have long competed with one another to lure animals in for a sip of their sweet formulations.

Plants

They’re All Part Fungus

Hidden deep in their tissues, all plants probably have fungi that don't make them sick but still may have a big influence.

Plants

Reality Botany: Data ease doubts about plant species

Despite the doubts of some botanists, plant species aren't just some arbitrary human classification scheme, says a team of evolutionary biologists.

Plants

Small difference factored big in rice domestication

A change in a single letter of a rice plant's genetic code gave it the ability to hold onto grains until harvest.

Plants

Save the Flowers

Now that breeders have created thousands of new ornamental-flower varieties, scientists are turning their attention to restoring the fragrances that fell victim to the process.

Plants

Day-Glo Flowers: Some bright blooms naturally fluoresce

Some common flowers fluoresce but the glow most likely has little effect on pollinators.

Plants

Mommy Greenest

Green leafy moms take care of their offspring in ways that go beyond wrapping them in nice, snug seed coats and packing a nutritious lunch for them.

Plants

Honey, We Shrank the Snow Lotus: Picking big plants reduces species’ height

Years of harvesting the larger plants of a Himalayan wildflower used in traditional medicines may be driving the evolution of a stubbier plant form.

Plants

Long search reveals cell receptor for plant growth

More than 70 years after biologists identified the important plant growth hormone auxin, they have finally found a cell-receptor molecule for it.