Protecting living fossil trees
Scientists are working to protect living fossil trees in Fiji from the impact of climate change with cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology. View More (2012-03-02)
Analyzing complex plant genomes with the newest next-generation DNA sequencing techniques
Genomes are catalogs of hereditary information that determine whether an organism becomes a plant, animal, fungus or microbe, and whether the organism is adapted to its surroundings. View More (2012-02-27)
To turn up the heat in chilies, just add water
Biologists have learned in recent years that wild chilies develop their trademark pungency, or heat, as a defense against a fungus that could destroy their seeds. But that doesn't explain why some chilies are hot and others are not. View More (2011-12-21)
Nature's medicine cabinet could yield hundreds of new drugs
There are probably at least 500 medically useful chemicals awaiting discovery in plant species whose chemical constituents have not yet been evaluated for their potential to cure or treat disease. View More (2011-12-13)
Super-tough seed coat keeps Michaux's sumac on critically endangered list
It is one of the rarest shrubs in the southeastern United States, and for scientists trying to save it, the critically endangered Michaux's sumac (Rhus michauxii) is not cooperating. View More (2011-10-12)
Revolutionary changes to the Botanical Code published in 16 journals and 5 languages
Important changes that will affect the publication of new names in algae, fungi, and plants accepted by the XVIII International Botanical Congress are detailed in a paper that is being published simultaneously or will be published soon in a total of sixteen leading academic journals. View More (2011-09-15)
E. coli, salmonella may lurk in unwashable places in produc
Sanitizing the outside of produce may not be enough to remove harmful food pathogens, according to a Purdue University study that demonstrated that Salmonella and E. coli can live inside plant tissues. View More (2011-08-16)
Waging war on invasive plant species: Effects of invasives persist even after removal
Invasive species cost an estimated $1.4 trillion annually in their environmental and economic impacts worldwide and are second only to habitat loss as a threat to biodiversity. As scientists struggle with the challenge of controlling invasive species, the question of why some species are so successful continually arises. View More (2011-08-10)
Fadang photo makes the cover of major botanical journal
The research efforts of University of Guam scientist Thomas Marler have put Guam's endangered native cycad, Cycas micronesica (fadang is the Chamorro name) on the cover of the June 2011 International Journal of Plant Sciences (IJPS). View More (2011-07-29)
Pearl-flowered legume a surprise new find in the Cape Snowy Mountains, South Africa
A pearl-flowered legume collected in 2005 by Ralph Clark & Nigel Barker (Rhodes University) in the Sneeuberg, South Africa, was determined by taxonomists Charles Stirton & Muthama Muasya (University of Cape Town) to be a distinct new species. View More (2011-07-28)
DNA solves identities of Australian melons and loofah
Molecular data have shown that three Australian Cucurbitaceae species initially collected in 1856 but never accepted as separate species are distinct from each other and that one of them is the closest relative of the honeymelon, Cucumis melo. View More (2011-07-28)
Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia yield 18 new species of rare ferns and flowering plants
Recent botanical exploration efforts in the rugged Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) have increased the known flora of the archipelago by an impressive 20%. View More (2011-07-20)
Popular fungicides failing, may cause hard choices for apple growers
Orchard growers have started finding that some of the most commonly used fungicides are no longer effective at controlling apple scab, according to a Purdue University study. View More (2011-07-13)
Female mate choice enhances offspring fitness in an annual herb
In many organisms females directly or indirectly select mates (or sperm) and potentially influence the fitness of their offspring. Mate choice and sexual selection in plants is more complex in some ways than in animals because plants are sessile organisms and often have to rely on external vectors, such as animals, for pollen transport. View More (2011-06-28)
Salivating over wheat plants may net Hessian flies big meal or death
The interaction between a Hessian fly's saliva and the wheat plant it is attacking may be the key to whether the pest eats like a king or dies like a starving pauper, according to a study done at Purdue University. View More (2011-06-15)
Storing seeds for a rainy day -- or in this case, a fire
As mountain pine beetles march across the forests of western North America, these insects may kill millions of pine trees during a single outbreak. View More (2011-06-01)
Selaginella genome adds piece to plant evolutionary puzzle
A Purdue University-led sequencing of the Selaginella moellendorffii (spikemoss) genome - the first for a non-seed vascular plant - is expected to give scientists a better understanding of how plants of all kinds evolved over the past 500 million years and could open new doors for the identification of new pharmaceuticals. View More (2011-05-06)
Loss of plant diversity threatens Earth's life-support systems
An international team of researchers including professor Emmett Duffy of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has published a comprehensive new analysis showing that loss of plant biodiversity disrupts the fundamental services that ecosystems provide to humanity. View More (2011-03-08)
Flood-tolerant rice plants can also survive drought, say UC Riverside scientists
Rice, which is sensitive to drought due to its high water requirement, is particularly vulnerable to how global climate change is altering the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts. View More (2011-03-03)
2 new plants discovered in Spain
Just when everyone thought that almost every plant species on the Iberian Peninsula had been discovered, Spanish researchers have discovered Taraxacum decastroi and Taraxacum lacianense, two dandelions from the Pyrenees and the Cordillera Cantábrica mountain range, respectively. View More (2011-02-16)
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