Plants

Gambel oak branchlet

This Massive New Guidebook Will Forever Change the Way You Look at Trees

Written by Smithsonian botanist W. John Kress, the book details more than 300 North American tree species in words, maps and photographs—and why we shouldn't take them for granted

Recent genetic research could be used to produce plants without prickles, making it easier for gardeners to pluck roses without getting jabbed.

Scientists Identify the Gene Behind Thorny Roses and Other Prickly Plants

A recent study could pave the way to cultivating various thornless plants, making them easier to grow and potentially more widely available

So-called “corn sweat,” the water vapor released by the process of evapotranspiration, can raise humidity in corn-producing areas on the hottest days of summer.

Feeling Sticky This Summer? 'Corn Sweat' Could Be Raising the Humidity

The natural process of plant evapotranspiration is pumping moisture into an already hot and humid atmosphere, especially in the corn-growing areas of the Midwest

José Santiago of Palenque Don Lencho, in San Pablo Guilá village, with wooden vats of fermenting agave prior to distillation

The Race to Save Mezcal From the World

Climate change, corporate money, soaring demand—can Mexico’s local agave growers find a viable path for a beloved beverage?

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As Hurricanes Bear Down and Get Stronger, Can a $34 Billion Plan Save Texas?

A massive project prompted by the wildly destructive Hurricane Ike offers a solutions-based preview of our climate future

A jar containing Ascaris, a parasitic worm that affects over one billion people worldwide

Parasites Are Everywhere. Why Do So Few Researchers Study Them?

Aging parasitologists are working hard to inspire more students to enter the field

As well as frescoes of Cerberus, the guard dog of the underworld, the tomb was decorated with paintings of marine centaurs.

Archaeologists Crack Open a 2,000-Year-Old Coffin in Italy's ‘Tomb of Cerberus’

The stone coffin likely contains the leader of the family that built the frescoed chamber in Naples

The pups helped spread the seeds of foxgloves, bluebells, common spotted orchids and other plants.

These Backpack-Wearing Dogs Have an Important Job to Do

The pups are dispersing seeds at an urban nature reserve—just like their wild wolf ancestors used to do before being hunted to extinction

Rainforests, like this one in Ecuador, only appeared after the mass extinction that ended the Age of Dinosaurs.

No, Dinosaurs Did Not Trudge Through Thick Rainforests

The first jungles dense with flowering plants only formed after an asteroid impact wiped out the giant creatures

Project leader Laura Cinti visited the Wood's cycad at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.

The 'World's Loneliest Plant' Could Soon Find a Mate With a Little Help From A.I.

The only known wild Wood's cycad was discovered in 1895, and it has since been cloned into many male trees. Now, researchers are scouring a forest in South Africa for an elusive female specimen

The Kei apple tree (Dovyalis caffra) is native to southern Africa. It is one of the species that will have its scientific name changed after a recent vote.

Botanists Vote to Remove Racial Slur From Hundreds of Plant Species Names

In a first for taxonomy, researchers opted to change scientific names containing derivatives of the slur “caffra” to derivatives of “afr,” in reference to the plants' origins in Africa

Asteroid impacts and volcanism have led to mass extinctions on our planet.

Has Life on Earth Survived More Than Five Mass Extinctions?

Scientists aren’t just arguing whether humans are causing a sixth mass extinction event now, but whether many more occurred in the past

Winged Life Winner

View 11 Breathtaking Images From the BigPicture Photography Competition

This 2024 showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet's most amazing species and places

The grape family had a complex, tumultuous history of extinction and dispersal in Central and South America.

Did the Extinction of the Dinosaurs Pave the Way for Grapes?

Newly discovered fossils in South America hint at the evolution and proliferation of grapes around the world

Wild chimpanzees in Uganda appeared to seek out and eat specific plants with medicinal properties when they were sick.

Chimpanzees May Self-Medicate With Plants, Using the Forest as a Pharmacy

New research suggests sick chimps seek out and eat plants with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties—a finding that could advance drug discovery for humans

A Forster's tern appears to float upside-down after emerging from underwater at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, California.

See 12 Captivating Bird Images From the Audubon Photography Awards

In its 15th year, the contest showcases diverse avian species, their fascinating behaviors and the habitats needed to keep them alive

False mermaid-weed is small and only emerges for a short window every spring.

Rare 'Absolutely Tiny' Plant, Not Seen for More Than a Century, Found in Vermont

The last time a botanist recorded a sighting of false mermaid-weed in the state was in 1916

Monarchs, some frogs and other animals feed on toxic plants or bugs for protection

A Poisonous Diet Gives These Animals Their Own Toxic Defense

From monarchs to sea slugs, various creatures consume chemicals that keep predators at bay

Aspen, Colorado gets around 300 days of sunshine per year.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2024

From a bluegrass capital in Virginia to a laid-back surf town in Hawaii, these spots are beckoning to tourists this year

The fern Tmesipteris oblanceolata, which scientists just discovered has the longest known genome of any organism. Ferns are known among scientists for having particularly large genomes.

This Tiny Fern Has the World's Largest Known Genome

The plant's genome has about 50 times as many base pairs as a human's, and its DNA from a single cell would stretch longer than a football field

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