tree

Beetle Larvae on US University Campus Found to Jump in a Completely Unknown Way

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While most of us avoid creepy-crawlies at all costs, entomologists – scientists who study insects – need to actively go looking for them. “My colleague noticed a dead tree in the middle of our university campus,” entomologist Adrian Smith from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences told ScienceAlert.   “If you’re an entomologist, when you … Read more

New tree species: Uvariopsis dicaprio named in honour of Leonardo DiCaprio

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By Chen Ly The new species – Uvariopsis dicaprio Lorna MacKinnon A tropical, evergreen tree from Cameroon, the first plant species to be named as new to science in 2022, has officially been labelled Uvariopsis dicaprio today in honour of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio. It adds to the list of the strange and spectacular plants … Read more

These Ants Can ‘Heal’ Wounded Trees in a Fascinating Symbiotic Relationship

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An accidental slingshot hit on a Cecropia tree in Panama has led to a surprising discovery: the Azteca alfari ants that live inside these trees are often ready to fix damage to their living homes.   When high schooler Alex Wcislo fired the 9 mm (0.35 inch) clay ball through the tree, leaving clean entry and exit … Read more

Signs of Pinochet’s coup spotted in Chilean tree rings | Science

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On a summer day several years ago, Fabrice Lambert, a climatologist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, met one of his colleagues in Quinta Normal, a 35-hectare public park in central Santiago. The researchers weren’t there for a picnic. They carried with them a drill-tipped tool known as an increment borer and a package … Read more

Explore Evolution on Earth in The Most Comprehensive Tree of Life Ever Created

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Spiraling fractal branches draw connections between a staggering 2.2 million living species on Earth in the most comprehensive tree of life ever created. “It allows people to find their favorite living things, be they golden moles or giant sequoias, and see how evolutionary history connects them together to create a giant tree of all life … Read more

‘False’ tree rings could provide a new record of long-ago hurricanes | Science

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A tree’s annual growth rings reveal how it has flourished—or floundered—over time, with the size of the rings indicating years of health or hardship. But sometimes nature throws a wrench into the works, and a tree will form more than one growth ring in a year. Now, such “false rings,” found in trees along the … Read more

We May Finally Know What Makes One of The World’s Largest Organisms So Tough

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With massive webs of probing black tentacles extending for miles below the ground, the Armillaria group of fungi includes some of the largest known organisms on our planet.  An 8,500-year-old specimen of Armillaria ostoyae in Oregon covers 2,385 acres (3.7 square miles) with its mass of rhizomorph tentacles and is estimated to weigh roughly 7,500 … Read more