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.
Justin Scholten '22 knows the plants growing on the forest floor around the Finger Lakes. There's the white baneberry, Actaea pachypoda and the red baneberry, Actaea rubra. Both are about 30–70 centimeters tall, herbaceous ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 29, 2026
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A new study reveals how a remarkable group of plants on the Galápagos Islands developed their diverse leaf shapes—offering unique insight into evolution at the genetic level. A large international team of researchers has ...
Evolution
Apr 27, 2026
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Most of the carbon fixed by plants through photosynthesis is ultimately stored in the cell wall, primarily in the form of polysaccharides such as cellulose, xylan, and glucomannan. Yet how plants efficiently synthesize these ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 23, 2026
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In the Philippines, Indigenous communities have been harvesting wild honey for centuries. A new chemical analysis of this honey now provides insights into the biodiversity of the region. "And an additional reason to protect ...
Ecology
Apr 23, 2026
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A study published in Science Advances shows that, in moss and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly known as thale cress, leaf formation relies on very similar cellular dynamics, with growth concentrated at their ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 21, 2026
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With their dazzling blooms, orchids are among the most famous and collected flowering plants on Earth. But orchids are not just beautiful and rare. They can also provide clues into the broader health of global ecosystems.
Plants & Animals
Apr 20, 2026
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In efforts to better understand how plant photosynthesis is regulated, scientists are studying how Rubisco activity responds to light. In a new meta-analysis study, a team from the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 15, 2026
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Ecologists have long seen a strong connection between biodiversity and pollinators—the butterflies, birds, bats, bees, and other insects that help the flowers they snack on fertilize by transferring pollen from male anthers ...
Ecology
Apr 13, 2026
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North America's bee populations are in trouble, but don't blame the honey bees. While some people argue that an overabundance of managed honey bees—those raised to help pollinate crops and produce honey—is causing native ...
Ecology
Apr 9, 2026
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August Weismann's germ plasm theory of the late 19th century posited that only germ cells, e.g., sperm and egg cells in animals or pollen and ovule cells in plants, transmit genetic information to the next generation, and ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 2, 2026
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