Flowering plants, or angiosperms, are a clade of seed-producing vascular plants characterized by flowers, enclosed ovules, and fruits that develop from ovaries. They exhibit double fertilization, producing both a diploid zygote and a triploid endosperm, and possess highly diversified floral structures that underpin complex pollination syndromes. Angiosperms dominate most terrestrial ecosystems in species richness, morphological diversity, and functional roles, driving global primary productivity and biogeochemical cycles. Research on flowering plants spans phylogenomics, developmental genetics of floral organs, plant–pollinator coevolution, and physiological adaptations, making them central model systems for understanding plant evolution, speciation, and ecosystem dynamics.
The pigments that give beets their red color may have helped a major group of flowering plants repeatedly adapt to dry environments, setting the stage for the evolution of traits that allowed plants to adapt to some of the ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 3, 2026
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Despite the importance and dominance of angiosperms ("flowering plants") in the current ecosystem, it is rather surprising that we know so little about their origin and early evolution. Paleobotanists have been making efforts ...
Bees are the most important pollinators of flowering plants, and approximately 10% of flowering plants are functionally specialized for buzz pollination. Buzz pollination is a mechanism in which pollen can be extracted from ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 26, 2026
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The majority of plant seeds have the special ability to almost completely dry out and yet remain viable. While most living cells die with a 90% loss of water, cells in seeds enter a biological state of dormancy. With a moisture ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 26, 2026
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Letting late-summer weeds grow could help honeybees when they find it most challenging to gather nectar, according to new research published in the journal, Functional Ecology.
Plants & Animals
Aug 20, 2026
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A flowering plant has been confirmed as a new carnivorous lineage, according to research published in Nature Communications. The findings show that Saxifraga candelabrum can attract, trap, digest and absorb nitrogen from ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 4, 2026
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The mountain jewelflower inhabits a wide swath of California and Oregon, from summer-scorched foothills to high mountains where snow falls during winter. But it is already suffering from climate change, with plants in the ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 21, 2026
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Every spring, millions of people around the world head outdoors to admire wildflowers. But flowering is much more than a beautiful seasonal display. It is one of the most important stages in a plant's life cycle, determining ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 20, 2026
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Two types of carbohydrates are important to plants—structural carbohydrates (which form cell walls) and nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs). The latter group represents plants' stored energy reserves, which can be used to ...
Evolution
Jul 14, 2026
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High above the rainforest floor, tiny ponds form in the leaves of plants perched on tree branches. Frogs breed in these ponds, alongside insects, microbes and even tiny crustaceans, creating miniature ecosystems suspended ...
Evolution
Jul 9, 2026
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