Category: Amazing Plants

An apparently advantageous mechanism of conifer pollination has nevertheless been disappearing over millions of years, a new study finds. The mechanism works well, but because it depends on three traits related only loosely, the vagaries of evolution have led to its demise in many species. It its wake, however, a diversity of new traits and functions has emerged.

The most significant horizontal transfer yet discovered in plants,

In nature, plants growing in infertile land all use almost exactly the same above-ground strategy: they produce very tough leaves that survive for several years. However, up until now the contrasting diversity of what they were doing underground with their roots was unknown

Our observations revealed that neither nectar robbers nor legitimate pollinators discriminated between water-drained flowers and intact controls. However, seed predation significantly increased in drained flowers, suggesting that water-filled bracts help protect the flowers from seed herbivores.

The present atmospheric conditions on Earth do not permit these once extinct species to live out of an artificial context. It is still a mystery to modern science how such species could attain such gigantic proportions compared to their modern relatives.

The researchers extracted the frozen moss cores and then carefully incubated portions, providing optimal light and temperature. The moss began to grow a few weeks later. Carbon dating puts the moss at 1530 years old, and the team estimates that the plants were a few decades old when the permafrost set in.

Nepenthes have turned the tables of the conventional plant-animal relationship, evolving to become a skilled hunter of the tropical rainforest. In doing so, they illustrate how fascinating, intelligent and complex plant life can be.

Leaves come in many shapes and sizes, from simple flat blades to elaborate vessel or pitcher shapes found on some carnivorous plants. How do plants create this diversity of forms?

This is our strongest evidence of Jurassic angiosperms that we have at this time, but it is tentative, If this was in the Cretaceous, no one would be arguing about it, but because it’s in the Jurassic, you need to have more evidence.