Writer
Alun (he/him) is the Producer for Botany One. It's his job to keep the server running.
News in Brief
Botanists uncover the reason for an orchid’s delicate shape, deforestation is probably worse than you thought, and a test of killing weeds without herbicide.
Plants & People
Instead of complaining about the limits of volunteer work, some Dutch botanists have found how to improve their understanding of data from citizen scientists.
News in Brief
Scientists take different approaches to tackle crop pests, and a well-known plant produces a protein that inhibits tumour growth in mammals.
Ecosystems
Invasive plants change the opportunities for pollinators, helping some but harming others.
Close Encounters
A parasitic plant’s ability to steal carbon rests in their haustoria, specialised organs they use to tap into a host plant.
Ecosystems
Novel agriculture provides a refuge for some birds driven out of traditional farmland.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
It’s not food, so why would cats chew on catnip and silver vine? Scientists have found cats are improving the plants’ mosquito repellent by damaging the leaves in a specific way.
Growth & Development
Botanists have discovered the world’s largest plant in Shark Bay, but Shark Bay is unusually salty – so how could a plant thrive there?
Plants & People
It’s not just the quantity of pollen that’s a problem. It can also be the diversity – and that isn’t helped by invasive species.
Close Encounters
Sundews are carnivorous plants that feed on small naive insects. So why does a fly deliberately lay its eggs on the plant?
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Plants have no opportunity to get out of the sun into the shade, so how do they avoid damage by UV-B light? The answer lies in the cuticle, the outermost layer of a plant.
Ecosystems
Botanists found evidence for the effects of climate change stored in herbaria.