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Most of us just take it for granted. But bark is one of the most complex parts of a tree and has many different jobs to do.
Wetlands at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland shows signs of ‘pitting,’ where areas of cordgrass have converted to open water.
Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program via Wikimedia
A coastal scientist explains why marshes, mangroves and other wetlands can’t keep up with the effects of climate change, and how human infrastructure is making it harder for them to survive.
A front lawn can be a canvas for kitsch, elegance and everything in between.
Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images
A new study shows how front yards can serve as windows into the inner lives of their residents – and their feelings about their home, neighborhood and city.
Dig into soil and you’ll find rock dust but also thousands of living species.
ChristinLola/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Rock dust is only part of the story of soil. Living creatures, many of them too tiny to see, keep that soil healthy for growing everything from food to forests.
Climate change complicates plant choices and care. Early flowering and late freezes can kill flowers like these magnolia blossoms.
Matt Kasson
The US Department of Agriculture has updated its plant hardiness zone map, which shows where various plants will grow across the country. Gardeners should take note.
Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock
Their incredible resilience means they are becoming part of the UK landscape.
When buying pre-packaged foods, consumers with allergies rely on the declarations in the list of ingredients to identify safe foods.
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Vegan foods are considered by most consumers to have no ingredients of animal origin, but they may actually contain milk proteins.
The reason trees need sunlight is the same reason their leaves are green.
Scottb211/Flickr
Trees – and all plants – harvest sunlight to gain the energy they need to live and grow.
PeopleImages/Getty Images
Four types of nematodes occur in soil.
Mr Burgess’s potatoes.
Pitts River Museum
Screaming mandrakes, purloined potatoes and heat-giving sunflower seeds were thought to have healing properties.
Apple and cherry blossom on a Spring day.
Zena Elea/Alamy Stock Photo
Rising air temperatures mean shorter winters and earlier springs.
Fields of genetically modified potato plants could detect radiation.
AP Photo/John Miller
What if plants in the area surrounding a nuclear reactor could act as radiation detectors, with the help of a drone?
Details of a silicified fern fossil.
Geoff Thompson/Queensland Museum
Millions of years ago, widespread volcano eruptions in eastern Australia buried entire forests. Today, these time capsules reveal stunningly fossilised plants.
The cut flowers could pay for themselves and even turn a profit.
Margi Rentis
Phosphorus and nitrogen contribute to water pollution and cause harmful algal blooms. New research shows how mats of floating flower beds can take advantage of these nutrients while cleaning the water.
Peat is a natural carbon sink but is often found in house plants and other retail products, particularly within the food and farming industry.
New Africa/Shutterstock
Hidden Peat, a new campaign from The Wildlife Trusts, encourages people to look out for peat-free alternatives and support their wider use.
Laws that govern cannabis use are changing across the nation.
Darren415 via Getty Images
Students are invited to imagine how the social, political and legal landscape for cannabis will look in the future.
Green leaf volatiles are a plant’s rapid response to threats.
Star61/Wikimedia Commons
Green plants produce a specific gas when under attack to both directly ward off herbivores and pathogens and indirectly lure in herbivore predators.
The red berries of the underground palm are just visible at the soil surface.
Agusti Randi
A recently discovered palm tree has an unusual survival strategy - it flowers and fruits beneath the ground
italianestro/Shutterstock
Plants aren’t always as good at photosynthesis as you might think. Our research project wants to help them.
Puddles can be valuable wildlife havens.
Maksim Safaniuk/Shutterstock
Puddles are an often-ignored but crucial habitat for rare and unusual wildlife.