Close Encounters
Healing Power of Sunflowers Helps Bumblebees
No matter how old or where it’s from, frozen sunflower pollen helps bumblebees fight off a common gut parasite that threatens bee health and pollination.
Close Encounters
The Light They Can’t See Draws Bees to Tomato Plants
Research found that far-red light, which boosts tomato growth and flowering in greenhouses, also makes the plants’ flowers more appealing to bumblebee pollinators through enhanced scents and sugars, attracting more bees.
Close Encounters
When it comes to removing invasive species, timing can help
Discovering the power of patience in combating invasive plant species, this study highlights the critical role of timing in the successful removal and ecological restoration process.
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Red flowers, short stamens, and acetoin: the secret to attracting fungus gnats
Fungus gnats like red flowers with short stamens and a strong smell of acetoin, and scientists found that Euonymus plants have evolved these traits to attract these flies for pollination.
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The role of floral scent in pollinator attraction
Scientists studied how the scents of a Solanaceae species vary and how they affect pollinator visitation and found that although floral perfume is an important factor, other signals might affect pollinators visits.
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Daylight shrubbery with thieving hummingbirds
Urban hummingbirds opportunistically sip nectar from both native and non-native flowers to survive year-round, though their thieving ways may limit the spread of those alluring alien blooms
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Tiny Plant Made Smaller By Microbes
Lemna minor, Common Duckweed, is typically a small plant only a couple of centimetres long. New research finds that it gets even smaller when microbes interact with the plant.
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Trees can benefit when their neighbour recruits ants
Planting more trees with nectar-secreting structures not only offers a greener strategy for reforestation and carbon capture, but also enhances the health of neighbouring trees by attracting ant defenders
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Highbush Blueberries Bloom with Help from Fungal Friends
Improving pollination could also improve your grocery shopping.
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Some seeds do better when they get eaten twice
A Hungarian study finds that plant seeds can benefit when their original carrier gets eaten by an owl.
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Small Furry Animals Influence Plant Species Size Diversity in Old Fields
Who knew herbivores could play favourites, subtly pushing for a plant world dominated by smaller species?
Close Encounters
What happens to a plant’s seeds when its seed dispersers have dispersed?
Despite the apparent abundance of fruit, the Monoon liukiuense tree on Iriomote Island is at risk due to inefficient seed dispersal, as revealed in research by Ryo Furumoto.