Celebrating Plants and People
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Climate Change Driving Elk To Decimate Mountain Forests
The densities of seasonal woodsy plants, including aspen and maple trees, in the northern Arizona mountains have steadily declined over the last two decades… this decline is primarily the result of one of two things: decreased soil water or increased exposure to hungry elk.
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Seed Disperser Crisis Rivals Pollinator Crisis
Climate change, fragmentation and animal declines are driving the seed dispersal process to the brink of extinction in most human-modified landscapes today.
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You Wouldn’t Think The Plant Was A Murderer
Philcoxia's murderous habits suggest that we may have underestimated the true number of meat-eating plants in the world. After all, if this rare species feeds on microscopic prey using hidden traps, perhaps other plants do so too. As Mark Chase wrote a few years back, “we may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.”.
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Another Treasure Found In Traditional Herbal Medicine
Some centuries-old organic remedies — specifically white tea, witch hazel and rose — have scientifically supportable qualities that are beneficial to health and skin appearance, according to a collaborative study
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Disappearing Frankincense Forests Spell Doom For Ancient Resin
Our models show that within 50 years, populations of Boswellia will be decimated, and the declining populations mean frankincense production is doomed. This is a rather alarming message for the incense industry and conservation organisations.
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What Have You Done For Eelgrass Lately?
There are both freshwater and saltwater eelgrass species and they all benefit from clean water and support a wide array of other species.
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The Macho World Of Plant Pollen
Plant pollen may be basically microscopic dust, but as far as evolutionary biology goes it can be as male as any swaggering pool-hall hound with smooth moves and high hopes for the night. Pollen grains competing for access to the alluring green nubbins of female tissue in a pine tree add to growing evidence that a quirky evolutionary force known from animals, called sexual selection, may also show up in plants.
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Hairy Crab Farms On Its Arms
In the deep ocean off the coast of Costa Rica, scientists have found a species of crab that cultivates gardens of bacteria on its claws, then eats them.
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Birds Disperse Seeds Previously Eaten By Their Prey
Although predatory birds are obviously not typical frugivores, they can play an important role in the seed dispersal processes of many plant species, acting as primary or secondary seed dispersers.
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A First! Night flowering Orchid Discovered
While there are a number of orchids that do attract night-time pollinators, B. nocturnum is the first known species that exclusively flowers at night.