In the Eocene, some of the world’s most important mountain ranges emerged and large climate changes took place that affected the future of the planet. In this era, about 50 million years ago, large groups of mammals and other animals also came , as did Daniellia clade, an array of legume plants which carry environmental relevance.
From two seeds grew a thousand plants. Researchers used advanced cloning techniques to give the threatened Hill’s thistle a fighting chance. This cutting-edge propagation method could rejuvenate the population of other threatened and endangered plant species.
Valued at dining room tables and factory floors alike, cassava is worth about $10 billion in Asia. The continued growth of the commodity faces challenges from climate change, land degradation and limited investment in crop improvement and disease.
Researchers show that the wallflower is an excellent model plant for discovering new cardenolides that could be used to treat heart disease and cancer.
Some flowers have a remarkable and previously unknown ability to bounce back after injury, according to a new study. Some injured flowers bent and twisted themselves back into the best possible position to ensure successful reproduction within 10-48 hours of being knocked over, for example, by falling branches or being walked on.
Botanists have long held a fascination for heterotrophic plants, not only because they contradict the notion that autotrophy (photosynthesis) is synonymous with plants, but also because such plants are typically rare and ephemeral. However, it is still a matter of debate as to how these plants obtain nutrition.
Plant life is expanding in the area around Mount Everest, and across the Himalayan region, new research shows. Scientists used satellite data to measure the extent of subnival vegetation – plants growing between the treeline and snowline – in this vast area.
Plant seeds may strike the casual observer as unspectacular – but they have properties that are nothing short of superpowers. In a dry state they can store their energy for years and then suddenly release it for germination when environmental conditions are favourable. Seeds conserve a fully formed embryo, which only continues growing when conditions are right for it to do so. This may be the case only years – or in more extreme cases even centuries – later.
Photosynthesis, the process by which some organisms convert sunlight into chemical energy, is well known. But, it is a complex phenomenon, which involves a myriad of proteins. Now, scientists have uncover the location and functions of a new type of chlorophyll molecule for the first time.
Genome Duplication Events May Have Contributed to Floral Scent Biosynthesis and Other Traits of Early-diverged Flowering Plants
