Category

Botany

Image: A bushel of tomatoes at the CSHL Uplands Farm. Credit: CSHL

An evolutionary mystery 125 million years in the making

By | Botany, News, Plant Science

Over 125 million years of evolution, plants like tomatoes and Arabidopsis thaliana have developed distinct genetic regulatory systems, influencing traits like fruit size. Researchers found mutating regulatory DNA around the CLV3 gene affects growth differently in each species. Understanding these evolutionary mysteries could revolutionize crop engineering, benefiting farmers worldwide.

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Image: The newly discovered plant Relictithismia kimotsukiensis probably diverged at an early stage in the evolution of the whole family and retains ancestral characteristics. This history is reflected in the plant’s name. Credit: SUETSUGU Kenji (CC BY) 

Researchers discover a new plant species whose name tells a story

By | Botany, News, Plant Science

In a botanical breakthrough, researchers unveil a new plant species, Relictithismia kimotsukiensis, discovered in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. Divergent from Tanuki-no-shokudai, it constitutes a new genus within the Thismiaceae family, signifying a rare find in Japan’s well-explored botanical landscape. With environmental threats looming, further ecological research becomes imperative.

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Image: Syntrichia ruralis moss. Credit: Jenna T. B. Ekwealor

Drying Without Dying: Tracing Water Scarcity Coping Mechanisms from Mosses to Flowering Plants

By | Botany, News, Plant Science

In a groundbreaking study, researchers unravel the evolutionary secrets behind plants’ ability to survive harsh drought conditions. Exploring moss resilience mechanisms, akin to crop seed dormancy, sheds light on a 450-million-year-old adaptation. Insights could revolutionize crop resilience amidst climate change, offering hope for a greener future.

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Scientists point the way to advance conservation and restoration of seagrass meadows

By | Botany, General, News, Plant Science

European scientists outline critical research questions for seagrass conservation. Seagrass meadows, crucial for carbon storage and biodiversity, face decline. Collaborative efforts aim to address knowledge gaps, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary research. Funding disparities highlight the need for inclusive approaches to save European coastal ecosystems.

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Image: In black and white: three fossil flowers from the Cretaceous (Glandulocalyx, Normanthus,Platydiscus; enlarged). In colour: four present-day species (Cymbidium, Primula,Hyacinthoides, and Passiflora). Credit: Julia Asenbaum.

Floral Time Travel: Flowers Were More Diverse 100 Million Years Ago Than They Are Today

By | Botany, News

An team botanists has analyzed the morphological diversity of fossilized flowers and compared it with the diversity of living species. Their results were quite exciting: Flowering plants had already produced a large number of different flower types shortly after their emergence in the Cretaceous period, and this earliest floral diversity was greater than that today.

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Image: Native Eucalyptus forest growing in the field site located in Cleland Conservation Park - the largest conservation reserve used in the study (1027.47 ha). Credit: A Blackall (Flinders)

Night study of native plant survival

By | Botany, News

With land clearance, bushfires, weeds and climate change, small pockets of native vegetation are important for future plant and animal conservation – but do plants in small reserves struggle with reduced habitat for both plants and their pollinators?

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