Plants & People
Syrian seed rescue a triumph of international cooperation
More than 80% of the Syrian seed collection was preserved at Svalbard before the facility was lost.
Taxonomy & Evolution
Small herbaria make outsize contributions
Small herbarium specimens are likely to be unduplicated elsewhere, or found only in other small herbaria.
Plants & People
A thread about ideas for Botany One plant stories…
Inspiration for Botany One stories Several years ago I penned a piece giving some insights into the sources for my Plant Cuttings items that appear on
Growth & Development
Tea buds are prepared for the cold by remembering past weather
Cold hardiness, acclimating and de-acclimating from cold temperatures can help plants prevent or reduce frost damage to their tissues. Through complex molecular networks, plants can
Plants & People
It’s time to boost botany: the science and the word itself
“Is it time to say farewell to Botany?” asked authors in a recent op-ed.
Computational Models
SoyFACE for 3D soybean canopy modelling under elevated carbon dioxide
New mathematical model dissects how soybean plants might grow larger in the future.
Computational Models
Reuse, don’t lose, process-based models and components
A new system automatically transforms existing process-based crop models into different languages and simulation platforms.
Growth & Development
Seed heteromorphism, an adaptive trait of desert plant species
What are the effects of genetic and environmental factors on seed heteromorphism and its variations?
Close Encounters
Nectar thieves prefer daylight robbery
Displaying flowers in light rather than shadow should help them attract pollinators, but a good display can also attract thieves.
Ecosystems
Global climate change and grasslands: soil microbial diversity to the rescue!
New study the journal New Phytologist reveals the importance of soil microbial diversity for tolerating or recovering from drought, warming and nitrogen deposition.
Growth & Development
Woodiness only indirectly responsible for embolism resistance in Arabidopsis
Its correlation with intervessel pit membrane thickness provides the missing functional link.
Close Encounters
Computer simulation highlights the importance of pollinator diversity
Sharing pollinators can cause problems when pollen competes for transport