Plant

‘Striking’ Expansion of Two Antarctic Flowering Plants Is a Climate Warning

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Flowering plants in the Antarctic region are rapidly expanding, scientists say, indicating the continuing effects of climate change on the continent. The findings suggest we may have reached a tipping point in this fragile, remote ecosystem.   A new study of this plant expansion looked at the two flowering plants native to Antarctica, Deschampsia antarctica … Read more

You Shouldn’t Let Your Dog Do Its Business Wherever It Wants in Nature. Here’s Why

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Domestic dogs are fertilizing the green spaces where they regularly poop and pee, and not in a good way. Even in nature reserves where dogs are supposed to be kept on leash, a new study in Belgium shows our pets’ droppings are a major disturbance to wildlife.   Each year, researchers estimate the paths that run … Read more

Flowers in The UK Are Blooming a Whole Month Earlier Than They Did in The 1980s

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For centuries, British flowers have been blooming like clockwork. A few months into spring, sometime around May or June, the nation bursts into color. Since the early 1980s, however, hundreds of plants have grown out of sync with the seasons, which means they’re also unraveling from the complicated tapestry of interactions that keep ecosystems sustainably … Read more

Plant genomics: Huge database includes over 9000 species of flowering plants

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Public library of DNA sequences will allow botanists to track the complex evolutionary history of flowering plants in unprecedented detail Life 1 February 2022 By Chen Ly Zinnia flowers in a meadow Shutterstock / Pheobus More than 9000 species of plants have had sections of their genomes sequenced as part of the Plant and Fungal … Read more

A Newly Discovered Fossil Could Be The Answer to Darwin’s ‘Abominable’ Mystery

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Scientists in China say they have found the oldest flower bud in the fossil record, finally aligning the fossil evidence with the genetic data suggesting flowering plants, or angiosperms, evolved tens of millions of years earlier than we initially thought.   The team hopes their discovery will help “ease the pain” around a nagging, centuries-old mystery that … Read more

New Evidence Challenges The Idea That Mutations Are Entirely Random

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It’s a common misconception that evolution has a sense of direction – a notion that biology nerds around the world are constantly trying to correct. But new research reveals there may be a semblance of truth to this misconception, at least more than we ever realized.   While it’s not as straightforward as mutation with … Read more

Plant science: ‘Near impossible’ grafting technique could revolutionise agriculture

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For the first time, grafting has been made to work in monocots, a type of plant including oats, wheats and bananas – and it might improve disease tolerance among these important crops Environment 22 December 2021 By Alex Wilkins A date palm two-and-a-half years after grafting. Inset shows a region at the base of the … Read more

Plant science: The way that leaves flutter can reveal when plants need more water

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Leaves vibrate at a different frequency depending on whether soy plants are under water stress Life 7 December 2021 By Bas den Hond Leaves on a soy plant Igor Stevanovic / Alamy When leaves flutter in the breeze, the frequency of their vibrations may indicate whether the plant is dehydrated. This finding could lead to … Read more