Close Encounters
Daisy’s Intricate Fly Decoy Attracts Pollinators with Ingenious Gene Repurposing
A flower has found a shortcut to attracting males through sexual deception.
Close Encounters
How Native Plants Team Up to Repel Invaders
Native plants that suffer when black mustard invades their patch do much better when a neighbour helps.
Close Encounters
Ants can be the villains of conservation
Invasive ants can stop visitors from properly pollinating native plants, damaging their chances of reproduction.
Close Encounters
Ants can be the heroes of forest regeneration
Human-caused disturbances can affect the ability of animals to help spread seeds, which could reduce the amount of plant diversity in some forests.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
The plant that has a nectar menu to prevent unwanted visitors from interfering with pollination
A South American liana creates two different nectars for visitors. A new study finds out why.
Close Encounters
Botanists find out why Yellow Rattle is so good at robbing so many different plants of their nutrients
Herbivores often specialise in the plants they persecute, but European Yellow Rattle can tackle many different species and steal their goodies.
Close Encounters
Set a killer to catch a killer?
Carrying dengue fever and Zika virus, the Asian tiger mosquito is a danger to humans. Italian scientists have examined whether plants could help reduce their numbers.
Close Encounters
Purple Moor Grass prevents Oaks from getting help finding nutrients
Molinia caerulea out-wrestles Quercus petraea in the battle for better ectomycorrhizal colonization.
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.
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.
Close Encounters
Flowers play a key role in flight control for bumblebees
A bee can approach a flower from any direction, but markings on the flower help guide bees in the most effective way, like a natural air traffic control.
Close Encounters
A parasitic plant can cause an invasive plant’s allies to switch sides
Scaldweed, Cuscuta grovonii, can prevent an invasive plant from using soil microbes to help invade territory – and the parasite can even become more vicious by using those same microbes against its invasive host.