Celebrating Plants and People
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When Pests Attack, Plants Warn All Nearby Plants Not Only Close Relatives
Based on their genotypes, different plants have different smells. But when plants come under attack from pests like the goldenrod leaf beetle, their smells – carried by VOCs – become more similar. “So they kind of converge on the same language, or the same warning signs, to share the information freely,. The exchange of information becomes independent of how closely related the plant is to its neighbor.” (Click on title for full story.)
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Tree Thieves Spark 3,300 Acre Forest Fire To Kill Some Bees
The blaze sparked what is now known as “The Maple Fire,” which burned between August and November 2018 and cost approximately $4.5 million to extinguish, according to the US Attorney’s Office. (Click on title for full story.)
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Love Almonds But Hate Almond Flavoring? You Are Not Crazy
Seeds from drupes like peaches and apricots are used to make almond extract because they’re a cheap byproduct of ubiquitous fruits that are often broken down and processed for other types of food, like peach yogurt or apricot jam. All those drupe pits hiding their almond-like seeds are destined for trash, unlike actual almonds, which are sold at a premium. (Click on title for full story.)
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The Weed That Masquerades As Rice And Fooled Humans For 1,000 Years
This form of mimicry, called Vavilovian mimicry, is an adaptation of weeds to mimic domesticated plants. In the case of barnyard grass, the rice mimics grow upright like a rice plant instead of sprawling along the ground like most barnyard grass. They also have green stems like rice plants instead of the red stems more commonly found in the weed. (Click on title for full story.)
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Seed Dispersing Bird Corrupted By Bad Human Associates
In the woods, weka roam around searching for food. But the ones that spend time in campsites and picnic areas tend to lurk, waiting for humans and the snacks they bring, Dr. Carpenter said. Last year, she began to wonder: Are the weka that hang out with people slacking off when it comes to seed dispersal? (Click on title for full story.)
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Flowers That Advertise To Pollinators While Camouflaging Themselves From Herbivores
These flowers can potentially circumvent the conflict of attracting both pollinators and herbivores by producing attractive colours on the surfaces that are exposed to pollinators (when flowers are open) and cryptic colours that are exposed when herbivores are active (when flowers are closed). (Click on title for full story.)
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Prepare For The Invasion Of Giant Tumbleweed (It’s Only Going To Get Worse)
The species, Salsola ryanii, is significantly larger than either of its parent plants, which can grow up to 6 feet tall. A new study supports the theory that the new tumbleweed grows more vigorously because it is a hybrid with doubled pairs of its parents’ chromosomes. (Click on title for full story.)
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Application Of Bacteria May Make Barren Salt Fields Fertile Again
As an area of land is repeatedly used for farming, the salinity rises; the irrigation water has salt in it and when it evaporates or is taken up by the plants, the salt is left behind, With what we’ve found, lands that are now unable to sustain plant life due to high salinity could once again be used for crops.” (Click on title for full story.)
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Please Don’t Lick The Pavement. This Lichen Isn’t Viagra
If you see someone on their hands and knees licking lichen on the footpath there’s an explanation. They’re likely to be after the reported effects of sexy pavement lichen – and be cheap. There are claims the lichen is a natural Viagra and while scientific evidence of efficacy is scant, there’s a thriving trade in the hardy but slow-growing lichen. (Click on title for full story.)
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Pollen: A Mechanical Marvel
“If pollen is transported by insects from flower to flower, it encounters three different types of surfaces to which it must attach itself and then detach again. We want to find out which adhesive mechanisms enable this,” (Click on title for full story.)