Taxonomy & Evolution
How Rice Plants Evolve to Pollinate Themselves
Some rice plants have evolved special flower traits to fertilize themselves instead of relying on the wind, helping them survive and reproduce more easily.
Ecosystems
The Role of Flower Colours in Invasive Plants and Their Competition for Pollinators
Researchers discover how invasive plants use colour to compete with native plants for pollinators.
News in Brief
Compassion Can Transform Plant Conservation
A withering houseplant can tug at our heartstrings just like a suffering animal, showing how emotions could help save plant species.
Growth & Development
Long-day Plants Adapt More Slowly to Climate Change
Plants must carefully time their life cycle events, such as germination and flowering, to their environment. But with changing climate and warmer weather, some plants are adapting to their new realities better than others.
Ecosystems
The Natural Spies Inside Bird Feathers
Tiny grains of pollen are revealing the secret lives of birds, acting as natural tracking devices that tell scientists where they have been.
Close Encounters
How Orchid Bees Craft Unique Scents from Non-Floral Sources
Discover how orchid bees use surprising, non-floral sources to create perfumes that attract mates in the tropical forest.
Close Encounters
Botanists Trip Over The Light Fantastic When They Try To Understand Flower Colour
What humans see in a flower is nothing like the multi-stage sensory journey that guides insects to blooms.
News in Brief
Strangely, Pitcher Plants Might Try To Warn Their Prey Not To Enter
Pitcher plants may be using red colouration to warn potential pollinators away from their traps.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Can you teach an old log new tricks?
Mareike Jezek shares the latest advances on epigenetic changes in trees – changes that “allow” plants to prepare their offspring for the environments they might face.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Hidden Networks Inside Brazilian Savanna Plants
Deep in the cells of a pink-flowered Brazilian plant, researchers have found unexpected living highways of connected cells.
The Week in Botany
The Week in Botany February 3, 2025
A weekly roundup of the news and papers you’re sharing on social media.
News in Brief
An Anonymous Botanist has Poisoned a Herbarium in New York in an Unusual Way
My guess: Professor Plum, in the LuEsther T. Mertz Library, with the suspicious green bottle.