A recent study by Cardoso and colleagues in Annals of Botany reveals an intricate pollination strategy employed by the lady’s slipper orchid, Phragmipedium vittatum. This remarkable plant mimics aphids, tiny insects that serve as food for hoverflies’ larvae, to attract pollinators and guide them through a specific path that ensures effective pollen transfer.
How plants know when they are too close to each other
Sorghum plants can sense nearby plants through chemicals in the soil water, and this makes them slow their growth, which helps explain why planting crops close together doesn’t always increase yields.
