Botanists suggest that the frilly lip of the white egret orchid evolved as a stabilizer for the hawkmoth while it pollinates the plant, resulting in better seed production.
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In a new paper researchers concluded the eucalypt, currently known as Eucalyptus sp. Cattai, should be formally described, after confusion over whether it was a distinctive new species or a peculiar population resulting from the hybridization of two already described…
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Host-killing by hemiepiphytes is an endemic phenomenon in the tropics. Many fig species—keystone plants in tropical forests—have evolved the hemiepiphytic ecotype. However, the benefits and adaptive strategies of their special life history remain poorly understood.
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Land plants evolved 470 million years ago from algae and have since reshaped our world. Throughout their evolution, ferns have undergone a series of changes that have helped them survive on land. For the first time, researchers have characterized the…
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Violets reproduce both sexually, through cross-pollination of the showy flowers we're familiar with; and asexually, by self-seeding of less noticeable flowers that remain hidden near the base of the plant. This is called "mixed mating." Although environmental factors drive how much a…
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Over 200 years ago, a Spanish botanist described Artocarpus odoratissimus, a species of fruit-bearing tree found in Borneo and the Philippines. The Iban people, who are indigenous to Borneo, know the tree to have two different varieties, which they call lumok and pingan, distinguished…
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As a part of the global biodiversity hotspots, the Taita Hills forests, located in Taita Taveta County in southeastern Kenya, forms the northernmost tip of the Eastern Arc Mountains. They are highly fragmented forests embedded in a human settlements and…
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New insights into the evolutionary origins of unique African high mountain botanical diversity.
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Low-cost “tree fitbits” can pinpoint the precise timing of tree activities, like spring bloom or autumn leaf change, according to a new study. Researchers outfitted two ash trees with high-resolution accelerometers, efficiently tracking how the trees responded to changing seasons.
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The absence of large herbivores after the extinction of the dinosaurs changed the evolution of plants. The 25 million years of large herbivore absence slowed down the evolution of new plant species. Defensive features such as spines regressed and fruit…
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