Reviews
Plant science, the secret’s out!
The Science of Plants: Inside their secret world by Dorling Kindersley, 2022. Dorling Kindersley, published in association with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. I had a great
Taxonomy & Evolution
Can digital assessment of endangered plants outrace extinction?
AuBuchon-Elder and colleagues demonstrate how botanists can use automated assessment tools to assess the extinction risk of plant species and highlight the need for increased digitization efforts before rapid assessment tools can be successfully used in future research projects.
Close Encounters
Study reveals ‘sticky situation’ for seeds in warming regions
Life would be easier for some seeds if they were a little sticker, but warming seasons may have the opposite effect.
Reviews
The seed sleuth, forensic botany goes veggie
The Seed Detective: Uncovering the secret histories of remarkable vegetables by Adam Alexander, 2022. Chelsea Green Publishing UK. What do you think of when seed banks
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Is photorespiration necessary for photosynthesis?
Modelling unveils the role of photorespiration in stabilizing the Calvin cycle.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
The travel of Costa Rican palms revealed by their genetic footprints
Genetic analysis of a popular Costa Rican palm suggests that its genetic diversity could suffer from human action.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Success tastes like something else for a high-altitude pitcher plant
Hunting at high altitude, where the insects are few, can be difficult. Quite a few pitcher plants prefer to wait for a delivery.
Growth & Development
What lies beneath? Botanists find a disconnection between how plants behave above and below ground.
Do plants invest more in a live-fast and die-young strategy, or take it slow and steady? Botanists have found that the appearance above the ground might not reflect what’s happening in the roots.
Close Encounters
Goth Rabbits spread Vampire Plants
Rabbits tend to nibble on vegetation rather than dry fruits, but the black Amami rabbits of Japan seem to be eating the fruits and spreading the seeds of an unusual plant.
Plants & People
Six glorious plant science facts that happened in 2022
2022 left us memorable moments: the celebration of illustrious anniversaries, the resurrection of physical over virtual scientific congresses and the publication of remarkable research articles that showcase the wonders of the green world. It’s hard to choose among the thousands of noteworthy events
Ecosystems
Missing seed data from the tropics could be harming conservation efforts
Visscher and colleagues propose that global analyses of seed traits with evidence for geographical variation prioritize the generation of new data from tropical regions as well as multi-lingual searches to fill geographical and taxonomic gaps.
Growth & Development
Why would a flower change its shape?
Bilateral flowers tend to receive less pollen than radial flowers, so why would a plant want a bilateral flower?