Botanists have tried to understand the conditions that led to the evolution of the first flowers by reconstructing the niches from which the earliest flowering plants diverged.

Annals of Botany

What factors make a deadly carrot so dangerous?

Alun Salt - September 30, 2019 0

The deadly carrot might sound as likely as the killer tomato, but decoding the defences of Thapsia garganica might have a big pay-off in the future.

Annals of Botany

A new study reveals how the cuticle protects maize leaves

Alun Salt - September 18, 2019 0

The cuticle is a waxy covering of a leaf that helps prevent water-loss. A new study of adult maize leaves shows it's not a simple structure.

Annals of Botany

Trees fight infections by building barricades, but how?

Alun Salt - September 11, 2019 0

Trees fight infections by trapping pathogens in one part of the tree. Hugh Morris and colleagues have been reviewing how trees use secondary metabolites in order to control the process.

Annals of Botany

X-ray CT scanning can boost tree-ring research

Alun Salt - September 9, 2019 0

A new technique to scan tree rings offers to yield precious new data on past climates.

Annals of Botany

How do marshes migrate?

Alun Salt - September 4, 2019 0

New research shows that marsh plants may be lying in wait in marshes-to-be, waiting for geological processes to catch up.

Annals of Botany

Even a small change in topography can help tides drive an oxygen pump

Alun Salt - September 3, 2019 0

For pioneer species in the marshes, it's a case of grow fast or die young. But the differences in growth speed can be caused by tiny changes in geography.

Annals of Botany

A plant thought to aid Nothofagus may be out-competing it

Alun Salt - September 2, 2019 0

The idea was simple, Proteaceae plants are experts at releasing phosphorus from soils, so planting them alongside Nothofagus should provide the beeches with natural fertilizer. The reality is more complex.

Annals of Botany

How kelp protects coasts

Alun Salt - August 29, 2019 0

Some protection from waves crashing on the shore could be found in what lies beneath the surface.

Annals of Botany

Why do some columbines make life harder for their pollinators?

Alun Salt - August 27, 2019 0

The flowers of Aquilegia eximia, the serpentine columbine, face downward, but the hummingbirds that pollinate it prefer horizontal flowers, so why do the flowers face the wrong way?

Annals of Botany

How arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi talk to plants before colonisation

Alun Salt - August 21, 2019 1

Plant roots do not sit alone in the soil. In the earth you will also find various microbes. Lurking in the dirt is Rhizophagus...

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