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PLANTS

Martin Smith/University of Cambridge

This 440-Million-Year-Old Fungus Is the World's Oldest Known Land Organism

Researchers discovered pieces of the tiny, thread-like organism called 'Tortotubus' in fossilized rock.

Pl@ntNet

This App Can Identify the Types of Plants You Photograph

What is that pretty flower called? Pl@ntNet can tell you.

Mark Marathon via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Aboriginal Australians Team Up With Scientists to Develop Nanomaterials from Local Plant

Spinifex grass fibers can be used to make super-strong, super-thin latex.

Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 3.0

11 Diseases and Pests That are Catastrophic to Plants

These plant diseases and crop-killing critters cause many millions of dollars in damage, and mean very hard work for those that're trying to stop them.

Mimosa pudica. Image Credit: Werner1122, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY SA-3.0

Plants Fart in the Face of Danger

When threatened, the roots of Mimosa pudica plants deploy fart-like stink bombs.

Jason Hollinger via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 2.0

This Orchid Emits 'B.O.' to Attract Mosquitoes

The scent produced by this orchid is oddly familiar.

Nicole Steinmetz

Plant Virus Shows Potential as a Cancer Treatment

Exposure to the harmless outer shell of the cowpea mosaic virus inspires the immune system to attack tumors.

Brad Kelly, USDA Forest Service

Sticky Plants Protect Themselves with a Deadly 'Siren Song'

The plant's chemical signal lures insect tourists, who get stuck and die—then their delicious corpses draw predators who scare off insects that might munch the plant.

iStock

Rebellious Group Splices Fruit-Bearing Branches Onto Urban Trees

Fighting The Man with sustainable fruit.

Mogens Engelund, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Europe's Oldest Tree is Undergoing a Sex Change

The recent change in the ancient organism shocked scientists.

iStock

How Do Plants Decide When to Flower?

Scientists pin down the chemical process that makes plants open up.

Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility // Public Domain

These Caterpillars Trick Plants With Their Poop

You may have heard the saying “don’t s**t where you eat,” but fall armyworms certainly haven’t.

Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Meet Marimo, the World’s Most Charismatic Algae

The fuzzy green balls are revered as national treasures, celebrated in religious ceremonies, and kept as pets.

Dr. Roger Schürch

Bees Love Caffeine, Too

Some plants may be luring bees with caffeinated nectar.

iStock

Nearly One-Third of Cacti Are at Risk of Becoming Extinct

One major threat? Collectors and horticulturists harvest the wild plants and sell them illegally.

istock

Decorative Gourds Get Weirder Every Year

Why are decorative gourds so weird looking?

Tashkoskim via Wikimedia Commons // CC-BY-3.0

Poop-Like Plant Tricks Dung Beetles Into Burying Its Seeds

Looking like crap isn’t always a bad thing.

YouTube

How Do Plants Grow in Space?

When a weed tries to take root in zero gravity, interesting things start to happen.

Josh Haroldson via Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0

10 Glorious Facts About Sunflowers

The world's tallest sunflower reaches 30 feet and 1 inch.

iStock

Scientists Are Making a Better Artificial Leaf

To unlock the secret to renewable energy, science is taking a cue from nature.

Screenshot

Alfred Kinsey's Massive Gall Wasp Collection

Before he was a sexologist, Kinsey's traveled the country on a hunt for gall wasps.

Viridi

There Is a Video Game Where You Just Take Care of Succulents

Viridi is sort of like a Tamagotchi for gardening.

Amanda Voisard, Washington Post

Celebrating a 390-Year-Old Bonsai Tree That Survived the Hiroshima Bombing

39 years after its arrival at the facility, and on the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, the tree is being honored.

iStock

5 Ways Plants Communicate

Plants are chattier than you think.