New research is showing how the rise of modern agriculture has turned a North American native plant, common waterhemp, into a problematic agricultural weed.
For spring ephemerals, timing is everything. These special wildflowers grow in temperate forests around the world, early in spring before the trees leaf out. Come out too early and it's still winter, too late and it's too shady under the…
What defines us and other living organisms more strongly: genes or the environment? Only recently, researchers were able to prove experimentally that even microorganisms can be inherited from one plant generation to the next via the seed. In a new…
Seed dormancy is an important survival tool for plants since it allows them to weather conditions not conducive to survival. At the same time, excessive dormancy may lessen cultivation time. In response, farmers often plant low dormancy cultivars of rice…
A new analysis of more than 20,000 trees on five continents shows that old-growth trees are more drought tolerant than younger trees in the forest canopy and may be better able to withstand future climate extremes.