Cells, Genes & Molecules
Caterpillars Deploy Molecular Sabotage Against Plants
Scientists have discovered caterpillars inject chemical weapons into plants that shut down defences before they can even form.
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.
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.
Close Encounters
Plants Might Get Explosive When It Comes to Ensuring Their Paternity
Like many animals, some plants can actively hamper their rivals’ attempts to reproduce in previously unimagined ways, according to a recent study published in The American Naturalist.
Close Encounters
Want More Bees in Your City? Mix Up Your Flowers
A new study finds that cities can support more wild bee species by planting a greater variety of flower shapes—not just more flowers.
Close Encounters
Why Thrips Might Be the Unknown Heroes of Pollination
Thrips, tiny insects often seen as pests, play a key role in pollinating many plants.
Close Encounters
Lured by Litter? An Australian Tree that Fools Its Pollinator by Mimicking Dead Leaves
A rainforest flower has evolved to look and smell like a pile of dead leaves, convincing enough to trick a beetle into pollinating it.
Close Encounters
Fire, Bees, and Ants: How Apodolirion buchananii Masterminds its Reproduction
A unique South African plant brings together fire, bees, and ants in a clever strategy to ensure its survival and reproduction.
Close Encounters
The Secret of a Plant’s Sexual Attraction Is Betrayed by the Shadow of Its Scent
Botanists discover that plants seeking to sexually attract a pollinator may be hiding their stocks of potent perfumes in overlooked alkenes.
Close Encounters
Hummingbirds in the City: How Urban Life Shapes Their Role as Pollinators
A recent study shows that cities are transforming hummingbird behaviour, favouring generalist interactions with plants and altering the structure of plant-pollinator networks.
Close Encounters
Bees avoid wildflowers experiencing drought
New research reveals drought-stressed wildflowers produce smaller flowers with less nectar, causing bees to avoid them.
Close Encounters
Soil moisture does not predictably affect pollination success
A four-year study in the Colorado Rockies reveals unexpected interactions between pollination and soil moisture in wildflower reproduction, challenging current predictions about plant responses to environmental change.