Plants

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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  3. Plants

    Herbal therapy for beleaguered lawns

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

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  4. Plants

    Nectar: The First Soft Drink

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

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  5. 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.

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  6. 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.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

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  9. Plants

    Day-Glo Flowers: Some bright blooms naturally fluoresce

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

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  10. 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.

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  11. 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.

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  12. 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.

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