Dearest Gentle Readers,

This week, the Botany One editorial team brings you something rather new: a Focus Issue month. From time to time, we shall gather a series of posts around a shared theme, with the aim of giving you a richer view of emerging topics in plant science. And the subject of this first instalment is none other than Digital Botany, curated under the direction of Juniper Kiss, a former Botany One writer.

Over the coming month, you will find a sequence of posts exploring the many ways digital and computational tools are reshaping botanical research, from the digitisation of herbarium specimens to the use of artificial intelligence in taxonomic identification. All of us at Botany One hope you enjoy this Focus Issue, which Juniper, together with her team of writers and contributors, has so thoughtfully brought to life.

Fear not: there shall also be another edition of TWiB, gathering the latest botanical news shared on Mastodon and Bluesky.

Until next time,

Carlos (webmaster@botany.one)

On Botany One

Sweet Potatoes on Mars
An orange vegetable for a red planet
Botany OneSarah Covshoff
What Would a Flower Need an Elephant’s Trunk For?
A recent study uncovers the overlooked purpose of the strange floral snouts in some lousewort species.
Botany OneAndrés Pereira-Guaquetá
David Pires: Using Fungi to Fight Microscopic Plant Pests
Botany One interviews David Pires, a PhD candidate studying plant-parasitic nematodes and nature-based solutions for healthier crops and forests.
Botany OneCarlos A. Ordóñez-Parra
How Temperature Helps Palm Seeds Break Free
New research shows that the seeds of Butia capitata use seasonal temperature cues to weaken their protective barriers, ensuring germination happens when the rainy season gives seedlings the best chance to survive.
Botany OneCarlos A. Ordóñez-Parra
Have We Forgotten the Names of Plants?
New research finds that people are no worse at naming common wild plants than they were two decades ago, but younger adults may be missing out on everyday plant knowledge.
Botany OneErika Alejandra Chaves-Diaz

Plant of the Week:

Loudetiopsis chrysothrix
The capim-brinco-de-princesa brings together the beauty of the dry-season Cerrado, community seed collection and a new vision for native landscaping.
Botany OneCarlos A. Ordóñez-Parra

There was also last week's Week in Botany, with stories on how American crops travelled to Europe, the value of pollinators on health and an interview with Dr Damilola Olanipon.

In AoBC Publications

News & Views

Welsh researchers create biodegradable plastic from seaweed
Welsh scientists have developed a new biodegradable plastic made from seaweed that could one day replace fossil fuel-based food packaging. Researchers at Aberystwyth University say the material, created using seaweed extracts, could offer a more sustainable alternative to conventional plastic films widely used in the food industry.
nation.cymru
Half of UK adults say they spend less than three hours a week outside in nature
Most people have joyful memories of playing outside as children – and now wildlife charities are urging people to ‘rewild their inner child’.
The Guardian
Cambridge plant scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society 2026 | Department of Plant Sciences
Professor Beverley Glover and Professor Uta Paszkowski from the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences and the oldest science academy in continuous existence.
cam.ac.uk

Science Shared

Three botany papers widely shared on Bluesky this past week were:

  1. Selective autophagy fine-tunes plant immunity to promote cell survival during viral infection
    Clavel, M. et al. · Science
  2. Cell water-potential sensing through biomolecular condensation 🆓
    Woodford, R. et al. · Nature Plants
  3. Endogenous RALF peptide function is required for powdery mildew host colonization 🆓
    Leicher, H. et al. · New Phytol

You can see the top 10 with more details at Science Shared: May 30.

Careers on Bluesky

Please note these are not jobs I am offering. Nor can I help you with any visa requirements. At time of writing there are around 100 other jobs posted at Botany One.

Postdoc position on molecular mechanisms of nutrient exchange in arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis, Postdam
The MPI of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam is looking for a Postdoc (m/f/d) in the group „Mycorrhiza and Root Biology” of Prof. Dr. Caroline Gutjahr. The candidate will conduct high impact research on novel plant molecular mechanisms regulating and executing nutrient exchange between plants and arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi in the frame of the ‘SymbioticExchange’ project funded by the European Research Council. The starting date is as soon as possible.
de Max Plank Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology
Research Scientist Phytopathology, Murcia
As part of our growth strategy and our plans to establish state-of-the-art Research Teams for our Vegetable Business Unit, we are looking for a hands-on Research Scientist Phytopathology (m/f/d), based at our KWS station in Murcia, Spain. The Research Scientist Phytopathology will be part of the global phytopathology research team and is responsible for the local implementation and execution of cucurbits plant pathology activities.
es kws.com

Cover image: Pinus pinaster on Palatine Hill, Rome. Photo by Livioandronico2013 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).