Botanists have tried to understand the conditions that led to the evolution of the first flowers by reconstructing the niches from which the earliest flowering plants diverged.

Doubling the chromosomes of Arabidopsis arenosa does not always lead to strong ecological niche differentiation.

The deadly carrot might sound as likely as the killer tomato, but decoding the defences of Thapsia garganica might have a big pay-off in the future.

Compensatory base changes (CBCs) that occur in stems of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) can have important phylogenetic implications. Li et al. quantify how CBCs affect selection of substitution models and values for species delimitation in a more recent Corydalis lineage by using both DNA- and RNA-specific models. They demonstrate that application of conventional […]

For the first time, whole-genome cytogenomic maps were established for octoploid plants.

Is the best way for a plant to attract bats as pollinators to hoist their flowers up high?

The cuticle is a waxy covering of a leaf that helps prevent water-loss. A new study of adult maize leaves shows it's not a simple structure.

Trees fight infections by trapping pathogens in one part of the tree. Hugh Morris and colleagues have been reviewing how trees use secondary metabolites in order to control the process.

A new technique to scan tree rings offers to yield precious new data on past climates.

New research shows that marsh plants may be lying in wait in marshes-to-be, waiting for geological processes to catch up.

For pioneer species in the marshes, it's a case of grow fast or die young. But the differences in growth speed can be caused by tiny changes in geography.

The idea was simple, Proteaceae plants are experts at releasing phosphorus from soils, so planting them alongside Nothofagus should provide the beeches with natural fertilizer. The reality is more complex.