Plants
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AnimalsA rare rabbit plays an important ecological role by spreading seeds
Rabbits aren’t thought of as seed dispersers, but the Amami rabbit of Japan has now been recorded munching on a plant’s seeds and pooping them out.
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PlantsWhy dandelion seeds are so good at spreading widely
Individual seeds on a dandelion flower are programmed to let go for a specific wind direction, allowing them to spread widely as the wind shifts.
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EcosystemsA Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species
Scientists on Saba are introducing island residents to conservation of Caribbean orchids, red-billed tropicbirds and urchins.
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ClimateHow Kenyans help themselves and the planet by saving mangrove trees
Communities in Kenya took action to restore their coastal mangrove forests, reaping economic and environmental benefits. Others are following suit.
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PlantsThe worldwide water-lifting power of plants is enormous
The energy used per year by the world’s plants to lift sap rivals the amount of energy generated by all hydroelectric dams, a new study suggests.
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EnvironmentFlower shape and size impact bees’ chances of catching gut parasites
Bumblebees have higher chances of contracting a gut parasite from short, wide flowers than from blooms with other shapes, experiments show.
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PlantsThis pitcher plant species sets its deathtraps underground
Scientists didn’t expect the carnivorous, eggplant-shaped pitchers to be sturdy enough to survive below the surface.
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ChemistryCats chewing on catnip boosts the plant’s insect-repelling powers
When cats tear up catnip, it increases the amount of insect-repelling chemicals released by the plants.
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PlantsThese are the first plants grown in moon dirt
The first attempt to grow plants in Apollo samples from the moon shows the promise and potential struggles of farming in lunar soil.
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PlantsLeonardo da Vinci’s rule for how trees branch was close, but wrong
An update to da Vinci’s elegant, 500-year-old “rule of trees” offers a powerful, new way to describe the structure of almost any leafy tree.
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PlantsThese flowers lure pollinators to their deaths. There’s a new twist on how
Some jack-in-the-pulpit plants may use sex to lure pollinators. That's confusing for male fungus gnats — and deadly.
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ClimateForests help reduce global warming in more ways than one
Trees are often touted as bulwarks against climate change for their capacity to sequester carbon, but that’s just one part of the story.