Lost birds and mammals spell doom for some plants

In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have gauged how biodiversity loss of birds and mammals will impact plants' chances of adapting to human-induced climate warming.

Guazia, the earliest winged seed without cupule

In a paper published in National Science Review, a Chinese group of palaeobotanists described a new genus and species of Late Devonian ovule (seed before fertilization), Guazia dongzhiensis gen. et sp. nov., which is borne ...

Latin American rice breeding gets a boost from genomic tools

How do you like your rice? Sticky, fluffy, brown, or white? These qualities, in addition to grain length, width, appearance, and other traits, are hugely important predictors of rice sales and consumption worldwide. And region ...

The young plant's pantry does more than just feed it

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 ...

Fleshy fruits are more common in tropics: Phylogenic analysis

Fruits can be dichotomously classified as fleshy or dry. Although many factors have been proposed to explain the pattern that the fleshy-fruited species occur with deceasing latitude and altitude, the relative importance ...

Scientists can switch on plants' response to light

Scientists have figured out how plants respond to light and can flip this genetic switch to encourage food growth. The discovery could help increase food supply for an expanding population with shrinking opportunities for ...

How plants ensure that their kids make it far in life

If you're going apple picking this fall, you may find yourself being drawn to the biggest, brightest, and most aromatic apples you can find. Apple trees and other fruit-bearing plants have evolved to produce such appetizing ...

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