Cells, Genes & Molecules
How do plants respond to hormone signals instead of cellular noise
You might expect the instructions a cell receives to make a flower to be precise, but the response to those instructions isn’t.
Growth & Development
Scientists Bust the Myth of the Saltwater-Sipping Desert Shrub
The dream of crops that could drink seawater has taken a hit as botanists prove that Nolana mollis, a desert survivor long believed to hydrate itself from atmospheric brine, actually relies on conventional deep-root water uptake to survive Chile’s bone-dry Atacama Desert.
featured
Pilar Márquez-Cardona: Growing Knowledge, Cultivating Communities
Botany One interviews Prof. Pilar Márquez-Cardona, a plant biotechnologist seeking to put cutting-edge science at the service of local communities.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
What were root genes doing before they started building roots?
Even plants that don’t have roots have genes to make them, so what is it that these genes are up to?
The Week in Botany
The Week in Botany May 26, 2025
A plant that is happiest when attacking others, a petal that almost plays pinball with pollen, the maths of how plants shape your mood and more…
Close Encounters
Curse of the perfect graft: how the haustorium allows parasitic plants to infect
Dodder plants act as nature’s master grafters, seamlessly hijacking other plants’ vascular systems for survival.
featured
Mario Vallejo-Marin: Buzzing Questions in Pollination
Botany One interviews Dr Mario Vallejo-Marin, a Mexican evolutionary biologist interested in the evolutionary interplay between plants and pollinators.
News in Brief
Fronds with Benefits
New research reveals how plant leaf shapes affect your mood. Small, complex leaves calm while large leaves energise our spaces.
Close Encounters
Buzz, Bounce, and Stick: The Secret Role of a Flower’s Petal
A specialised petal in a buzz-pollinated flower acts like a pollen traffic controller, guiding grains to the perfect spot on a bee’s body.
The Week in Botany
The Week in Botany May 19, 2025
Another round up of the week’s botanical news.
Growth & Development
Nepenthes creates an unusually slippery trap using common developmental processes
Scientists reveal how pitcher plants develop their deceptively slippery rims that send unsuspecting insects to their doom.
Ecosystems
How Soil and Climate Help Maintain a Flower Colour Polymorphism
Why do flowers of the same species come in different colours? Researchers have discovered that one answer to this phenomenon lies in soil conditions and adaptations to environmental stress.