An international team of researchers has successfully germinated and analyzed an ancient seed, uncovering secrets that may shed light on a plant species mentioned in ancient texts like the Bible, which may have been extinct in the southern Levant region. The study, recently published in the journal Communications Biology, details how a seed recovered during […]
Plants
The Curious Phenomenon of Tree Shyness
We know that shyness affects both humans and animals, but what about plants? It turns out that yes, certain species of trees develop what is botanically referred to as shyness, which consists of an unusual growth of their branches that avoids touching those of neighboring trees. When this happens between specimens that are very close […]
How Wheat Bread Gave Rise to Civilization
A recent international study has shed light on how a simple wheat plant transformed the course of human history, becoming the foundation that sustains a global population of eight billion people today. This research, published in the journal Nature, reveals a critical event in the evolution of our civilization: the birth of bread. Professor Brande […]
Scientists have Solved the Mystery of where Baobabs Originated and how they Spread Around the World
Recent genomic and ecological analyses by a global research team led by the Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, CAS, hosted by the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have shed light on the origins and dispersal of these iconic trees. The study reveals that Madagascar is the cradle from which all other baobab […]
The Sea Mollusk That’s Half Animal, Half Plant, and Feeds on Sunlight
Elysia chlorotica, commonly known as the green leaf sea slug, is a sea mollusk with unique features that are part animal and part plant. It belongs to the phylum Mollusca (mollusks like clams, oysters, or octopuses) and the class Gastropoda (like snails and sea slugs), but it has the amazing ability to photosynthesize like plants. […]
Fairy Lantern, the Tiny and Mysterious Flower That Few Are Lucky to See
In the heart of the southern states of Australia, there lives a curious and elusive plant, so small and hidden that very few people have the luck to ever see one in their lifetime. It’s Thismia rodwayi, commonly known as the fairy lantern. Belonging to the family Burmanniaceae, which is found in the lush and […]
Rare Fossil Found in Canada Shows Trees Had Surprisingly Bizarre Shapes 350 Million Years Ago
Researchers in Canada have discovered the fossil of a really strange tree that lived over 350 million years ago. They published their findings in Current Biology journal magazine. This tree fossil is special because it still has parts that show what the branches and leaves looked like. Tree fossils usually just show the trunk. The […]
Wasabi, the Surprising Weapon of Ancient Egyptian Papyri Restorers
Researchers have found a new natural method to clean and preserve valuable ancient Egyptian papyri threatened by the action of fungi and bacteria. It involves wasabi, a plant native to Japan known for its bactericidal and fungicidal properties. The papyri are written documents on strips of paper made from papyrus fiber, an aquatic plant that […]
The mystery of the disappearance of the most valuable medicinal plant from antiquity
The ancient Greek city of Cyrene (in present-day Libya), where Eratosthenes was born, was founded by settlers from Thera (Santorini) on the advice of the Oracle of Delphi around 632 BC. It soon prospered and became one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean. A plant, whose trade Cyrene dominated for centuries, had a lot […]