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 species.
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.
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 by their fruit size and shape. Despite this knowledge, Western botanists have long considered the tree as a single species, but a genetic analysis confirms the Iban people were right all along.
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 farms on the slopes and hilltops, resulting in the loss of 98% of the original forest cover on those mountains. Despite several botanical explorations and extensive floristic studies in these mountainous areas, there is a clear lack of sufficient literature on the flora and vegetation of the area. Through a joint effort, several field expeditions were carried out between 2015 and 2019, with an effort put to expand geographical coverage to areas where plant collections were previously scarce.
New insights into the evolutionary origins of unique African high mountain botanical diversity.
Despite their obscurity, gametophytes are vital to our understanding of biodiversity and to the successful implementation of conservation strategies.
Large, open-access database contains 30,252 images, including images of fossil leaves, and will be of potential use to scientists and students.
A new study involving more than 100 scientists from across the globe and the largest forest database yet assembled estimates that there are about 73,000 tree species on Earth, including about 9,200 species yet to be discovered.
More than 66 million years ago, an asteroid impact led to the extinction of almost three-quarters of life on Earth. The little life that was left had to struggle, and research into its tenacity can provide key insights into how organisms survive environmental challenges. In a new study, scientists discovered how some species of single-celled algae lived through the mass extinction, a finding that could change how we understand global ocean processes.
Mosses and lichens in tropical rainforests emit highly reactive and particle-forming molecules that affect air quality, climate, and ecosystem processes.
