The Week in Botany
The Week in Botany, August 18, 2025
This week, Liedson Carneiro on networking, gunfire doesn’t stop Botany, how dinosaurs got along with each other, and more.
Close Encounters
Unveiling Herbivorous Dinosaur Diets Through Calcium Clues
By analysing calcium isotopes in dinosaur teeth, researchers have revealed the feeding habits of Jurassic herbivores, shedding light on how they coexisted.
Plants & People
Unearthing the Botanical Legacy of the First World War
Long-forgotten flora collected during WWI are finally telling their stories, thanks to a 21st-century digital revival.
featured
Liedson Carneiro: From Flowers to Networks
Botany One interviews Dr Liedson Carneiro, a pollination ecologist fascinated by plant–pollinator interactions and how these relationships sustain ecosystem function.
Ecosystems
Hotter days, smoker skies, quieter fields
As the wildfire burns and sunlight fades, nature’s duet between bees and flowers is starting to sound like a breakup song.
Growth & Development
The orchid prediction nobody noticed
Scientists found a letter where Darwin predicted a major botanical discovery 36 years before anyone proved him right.
Plants & People
Indonesia’s Secret Spice Collection
When scientists ventured into the backyards of Indonesian families, they discovered something remarkable hiding behind everyday cooking. Smallholders in Aceh are stewards of a complex ecosystem of 24 wild spice varieties that most of the world has never heard of.
The Week in Botany
The Week in Botany August 11, 2025
This week, Juliane Ishida on her work with parasitic plants, how poor timing can spur flower evolution and a carnivorous plant that will you have your hand off, if you have tiny hands.
Close Encounters
Chocolate fights climate change with gene editing
Food Dive reports on an attempt by Mars to keep chocolate affordable and make your M&Ms CRISPR.
Close Encounters
When Pollinators and Flowers Have Timing Issues
Some plants don’t flower at the same time as their pollinators are most active, and this mismatch can actually help keep a wide variety of flower shapes and sizes in nature by changing which traits are most useful at different times.
News in Brief
How Canada plans to plug biodiversity data gaps with CAN BON
Gonzalez and colleagues introduce CAN BON, the Canadian Biodiversity Observation Network, a new project to track changes across the nation.
featured
No need to put a ring on it
Digital images of herbarium specimens can be used to non-destructively measure woody plant growth and assess response to climate change in the Arctic.