Plants & People
Will State Flowers and Insects Leave Home?
State flowers and insects are meant to represent a place, but climate change may soon test how long those living emblems can remain in place.
Plants & People
The Fragrant Library: Can a Perfume Bottle Save a Rainforest?
Could perfumes help save endangered plants? A new initiative combines fragrance technology, conservation funding, and ethical sourcing to protect some of the world’s rarest species.
Plants & People
Have We Forgotten the Names of Plants?
New research finds that people are no worse at naming common wild plants than they were two decades ago, but younger adults may be missing out on everyday plant knowledge.
Ecosystems
The Silent Partner: The Real Value of Pollination in Daily Life
Pollinators are a vital link between biodiversity and human health, securing both essential nutrients and family livelihoods. While their decline threatens to deepen poverty and malnutrition, protecting local plant diversity offers a sustainable path to resilience.
Ecosystems
The Jungle’s Heaviest Courier Service: The Case of Tent-Roosting Bats
Tent-roosting bats are the unsung "nocturnal gardeners" of the Lacandon Rainforest. New research reveals they disperse up to 79.8 million large seeds annually, carrying fruits weighing up to 250% of their own body mass to help regenerate mature forests.
Plants & People
Can a Garden Change How You Feel About Wildlife?
New research suggests that gardens and green spaces may quietly reshape how we feel about animals, including species many people overlook or dislike.
Plants & People
What It Takes to Get Europe Watching Flowers
A Europe-wide search for Primula veris showed that successful citizen science depends not just on technology, but on culture, language and local knowledge.
Plants & People
Smells Like Green City?
Scientists reveal that the mix of plant scents and pollution in city parks shifts with location and weather, quietly shaping the benefits of a simple walk outdoors.
Plants & People
Fizz With a Conscience: Reintegrating Indigenous Knowledge Into Australia’s Native Food Industry
A vitamin-rich drink made with a native plant shows how science, law and Traditional Knowledge can combine to create healthier products while delivering real benefits to Indigenous communities.
Plants & People
Healing at What Cost? The Conservation Status of Britain’s Herbs
Researchers reveal that while few herbal ingredients are officially endangered, most remain conservation question marks in a growing global trade.
Close Encounters
Lights, Camera, Bloom!
Flowers may seem still, but time-lapse videos reveal their hidden movements, offering a powerful way to document plants and spark public interest in botany.
Plants & People
More Heart than Logic: What Drives a Scientist to Pursue Botany?
A study of botanists’ pathways shows that if we want experts capable of addressing tomorrow’s challenges, we must start by cultivating their curiosity and awe.