Plants

Some three to five million years ago, the icy environs of Antarctica were replaced by verdant swaths of green

CO2 Levels Are as High as They Were Three Million Years Ago

The last time Earth had this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees were growing at the South Pole

Wildflower enthusiasts waiting to exit toward Walker Canyon on March 9, 2019.

Superbloom Turns Southern California City Into a #Poppynightmare

Lake Elsinore has seen tens of thousands of people descend on Walker Canyon to see the recent superbloom, overwhelming local resources

To find out what's going on outside, people love to search for it online.

Bird Migrations, Floral Blooms and Other Natural Phenomena Cause Seasonal Spikes in Wikipedia Searches

A new study has found that pageview trends for various plants and animal species correspond to real-world seasonal patterns

Banksias, 2014

Dornith Doherty's Mesmerizing Photos Capture the Contradictions of Seed Banking

"Archiving Eden," now at the National Academy of Sciences, shows how guarding against an ecological catastrophe is both optimistic and pessimistic

New Study Showcases Three-Toed Sloth's Unsung Adaptability

Juvenile members of the so-called "specialized" herbivore species draw on a more diverse diet than previously believed

Yutu-2 sets off on its inaugural journey.

The Cotton Plant That Sprouted on the Far Side of the Moon Has Died

China, which is manning the first probe to land on the lunar far side, was hoping to find out how plants fare in outer space

Beach primrose, Oenothera drummondii.

Flowers Sweeten Up When They Sense Bees Buzzing

A new study suggests plants can 'hear' the humming of nearby pollinators and increase their sugar content in response

The Gardens of Agra

Restored Mughal Gardens Bloom Once More Along Agra's Riverfront

Two of the 44 original historic gardens and structures have been rescued in an ambitious conservation project

One of the flower-strewn slabs.

Could These Fossils Push Back the History of Flowers?

A study analyzing 200 tiny flowers from 174 million years ago suggests angiosperms were around during the Jurassic, but paleobotanists are skeptical

Varieties of maize found near Cuscu and Machu Pichu at Salineras de Maras on the Inca Sacred Valley in Peru, June 2007.

Rethinking the Corny History of Maize

A new genetic study traces the movement of one of the world's most vital crops from Mexico to South America

The Georgia aster is one of many threatened plant species

Thousands of Little-Known Plant Species Are at Risk of Extinction

When researchers used machine learning to evaluate 150,000 plant species, they found that 10 percent were likely to qualify for the IUCN Red List

The cholla plant’s prickly proclivities actually serve a reproductive purpose

Researchers Stabbed Slabs of Meat With Cacti Spines to Learn About Puncture Strength

Barbed spines function much like porcupine quills, drawing on an overlapping shingled design to hook onto victims’ muscle fibers

Frost drought and extreme winter warming trigger a phenomenon known as "Arctic browning"

Extreme Weather Is Turning the Arctic Brown, Signaling Ecosystem’s Inability to Adapt to Climate Change

Vegetation affected by extreme warming absorbs up to 50 percent less carbon than healthy green heathland

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How the Poppy Came to Symbolize World War I

The red flowers blooming on a battlefield in Belgium, inspired John McCrae to write the war poem “In Flanders Fields”

Ambitious Project to Sequence Genomes of 1.5 Million Species Kicks Off

The Earth BioGenome Project promises to revolutionize biology

Seagrass plants have a large capacity for absorbing and storing carbon on the seafloor.

Underwater Meadows of Seagrass Could Be the Ideal Carbon Sinks

Many ecosystems absorb and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, and seagrass is one of the most efficient natural carbon storage environments

Why Fall Color Has Been So Meh in Parts of the U.S. This Year

A hot fall and excess rain robbed much of the East Coast of its annual leaf show

Gourds come in all shapes and sizes—some sweet and delicious, some stiff and bitter, and some that are just plain odd.

The Science Behind Decorative Gourd Season

Gourds are the runts of their family of fruits, too tough and bitter to eat, but they remain one of the most popular crops of fall

Lavender’s Lovely Smell Soothes Anxious Behavior in Mice

In mice, at least, lavender may also be as effective at combating anxiety as commonly-prescribed medications

Rice terraces in Yunnan, China.

136,000 Varieties of Rice Are Now Protected in Perpetuity

An annual $1.4 million funding grant will allow the International Rice Research Institute to help develop drought, heat- and flood-resistant rice varieties

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