In November 2019, visitors to Joshua Tree National Park in California encountered a strange sight. Joshua trees and closely related Mojave yuccas, which normally remain reproductively dormant until late spring, were in full ...
Measuring plant phenotypes, a term used to describe the observable characteristics of an organism, is a critical aspect of studying and improving economically important crops. Phenotypes central to the breeding process include ...
A team of biologists has identified that the pathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae, responsible for wilt disease in many crops, secretes an 'effector' molecule to target the microbiome of plants to promote infection. The ...
We've all watched a honeybee fly past us and land on a nearby flower. But how does she know what she's looking for?
Researchers at the University of Bristol have identified the huge impact of flowering plants on the evolution of life on Earth.
A pair of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed an artificial material that emulates the way that plants use fluids to defy gravity. In their paper published in the CellPress journal Matter, ...
As the weather cools in autumn, you may notice the process of condensation, with water droplets forming on windows.
The endosperm, the tissue surrounding the plant embryo in the seed, has long been perceived as a nourishing tissue that is abandoned once the transition to the seedling is complete. A Swiss team, led by scientists from the ...
The hot and dry desert environment has led to big genetic differences between male and female jojoba plants, a discovery which could boost jojoba production and shed light on how plants adapt to environmental stress.
About 175,000 plant species—half of all flowering plants—mostly or completely rely on animal pollinators to make seeds and so to reproduce. Declines in pollinators could therefore cause major disruptions in natural ecosystems, ...
