Close Encounters
The Hidden Battle Between Wild and Cultivated Carrots
Wild carrots’ extraordinary adaptability and survival skills are creating unexpected challenges for New Zealand’s role in global carrot seed production.
Close Encounters
The Purple Mistress That Lives Two Lives Each Year
A Mediterranean wildflower shapeshifts between seasons. Why would it stop trying to attract the pollinators it desired earlier in the year?
Close Encounters
Fungal Friends Help Young Trees Thrive in Mixed Forests
Young spruce trees grow better with pine neighbours thanks to underground helpers.
Close Encounters
Sweet Rewards Keep Desert Partnerships Alive Through Harsh Seasons
In Mexico’s Sonoran Desert, cacti and other plants maintain a sophisticated security system – paying ant bodyguards with nectar from specialized glands that operate year-round.
Close Encounters
Garden Discovery Reveals Hidden Plant Disease Threat
Plants from New Zealand growing in an American garden are carrying a dangerous plant disease that could threaten agriculture and native species.
Close Encounters
Can Feeding Birds Harm Plants?
Birds visiting garden feeders doesn’t stop them from pollinating wild plants, say South African scientists.
Close Encounters
Tapirs disperse seeds further than other medium-sized mammals in tropical forests
Modern-day tapirs help spread large seeds across rainforests much farther than smaller animals can, making them crucial for forest survival.
Close Encounters
Plant Disease Detectives Find Huge Diversity of Tree Pathogens in Portugal
Plant pathologists have discovered 48 species of microscopic water moulds threatening trees across Portugal, with many traced to centuries of plant trade.
Close Encounters
Birds Thrive Better in Urban Grass Fields Than Along Roads
Urban grass fields support more bird species than roadsides, showing the vital importance of preserving green spaces in cities.
Close Encounters
Flower-eating insects thrive at higher altitudes in Brazil
Mountain flowers face increased insect damage as elevation rises, potentially impacting plant reproduction.
Close Encounters
Ants Might Not Be the Plant Bodyguards We Thought They Were
Sharing protective ants among plants doesn’t significantly affect plant defence against leaf-eating insects.
Close Encounters
Blasting your rivals’ pollen away
A research team describes how plants take up arms to ensure their pollen reaches the desired destiny.