plant biology

Scientists warn that climate change–induced early flowering could have negative effects on wildlife, agriculture, and gardening.

Whole genome sequences reveal multiple domestications of this agriculturally important tree and may hold the secrets to producing the sweet fruit year round.

Elaborate annotations hidden in a copy of Sir James Edward Smith’s The English Flora hinted at the life of a mysterious woman botanist.

A look back at some of the articles we most enjoyed reading, writing, and editing this year

The first reference-quality genome for this grass species could aid managers in understanding and eradicating this highly invasive plant.

An analysis of more than half a million trees reveals that many species begin to taper off seed production once they hit a certain size.

A study finds that plants sharing the same growth medium can exchange microRNAs that silence genes in the recipient, suggesting the nucleic acids may act as signaling molecules.

Spores found in 480 million-year-old rock bring the fossil record in line with molecular estimates of when plants first adapted to life on land.

Horizontal arms dubbed cantils only appear under certain growing conditions—perhaps explaining why they had not been identified before.

The high-yield variety of rice he produced in the 1970s prevented countless people from dying of starvation.

TMAO appears to both stabilize other plant proteins and influence the expression of stress-response genes, researchers report.

Phylogenomics data place the enigmatic plankton in the middle of the algal family tree, despite their apparent lack of plastids—an organelle characteristic of all other algae.

In the book’s introduction, “Connections,” Suzanne Simard relates how her “perception of the woods has been turned upside down.”

Whether the galls that aphids make on witch hazel leaves are red or green is associated with a gene expressed in the insects’ salivary glands.

Cultivating stenophylla, untapped by the coffee industry for the last century, could help farmers cope with the effects of climate change, researchers suggest.

Plant species officially reported to be lost are in fact persevering in the wild, in seed banks or botanical gardens, or as other species now recognized to be taxonomic synonyms.

Cells found in different branches of a tree have different patterns of DNA methylation, changes in which accumulate over time.

The Boyce Thompson Institute researcher’s work revealed key insights into how plant pathogens recognize and colonize their hosts.

The “mother of plant virology and serology,” Helen Purdy Beale, developed techniques to understand the nature of viruses that went unappreciated for decades.