Ecosystems
Where do halophytes grow? Influence of elevation, flooding, and salinity in a non-tidal saltmarsh
Unpredictability means that the traits needed to survive in seasonally flooded marshes are different to tidally flooded marshes.
Reviews
The refreshing tale of gin-and-tonic (well, half of it…)
Just the tonic, by Kim Walker and Mark Nesbitt 2019. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. What is: carbonated water, citric acid, sodium citrate, natural quinine, and aspartame?
Taxonomy & Evolution
Scientists suggest bringing a fresh set of eyes to the problem, ‘When did the first flowers evolve?’
A disagreement on when flowers evolved could be solved by studying the real experts on pollination, the pollinators.
Plants & People
Law enforcement and ecologists will need to trade information to combat trading in endangered plants say crime researchers
Online trading is increasing the damage done by illegal trading in plant material, but researchers have suggestions to reduce this.
Growth & Development
The off-switch is not the on-switch for rhizome development in tall fescue
When drought passes the signals to restart the development of rhizomes in Festuca arundinacea are on different regulatory pathways to the signals that turned it off at the start of the drought.
Ecosystems
Can epigenetic diversity act as an evolutionary backup for threatened wild plants?
Genetic diversity defines the evolutionary potential of a species, yet mounting evidence suggests that epigenetic diversity could also contribute to adaptation.
Computational Models
You get a better model of the forest when you look at the individual trees
The computing principle GIGO states that if the data you put into a model is garbage, then the output will be too. Jie Yang and colleagues
Growth & Development
Going below ground: how some of the diversity in plant root morphology arose
A major transition in plant growth habit may have driven evolution of certain root traits
Growth & Development
When weather becomes less predictable, so do reproductive traits
Both within a plant and within a population, trait variability increases with unpredictable precipitation.
Taxonomy & Evolution
Image analysis of phytoliths can tell grass species apart
Tiny stones created in plants can help identified which plants were found in past habitats.
Reviews
Tales of tea, still stirring emotions in 2020
Tea leaves might not predict the future, but they have a powerful connection to our past.
Computational Models
From computer to field: can in silico modelling can help us to optimise rice for possible droughts?
Advances in computational models may allow us to quickly predict responses of important food crops to environmental stresses in the field, and to identify the genetic basis of these.