Plant news, features and articles
With corpse flowers, carnivorous penis plants and otherworldly "fairy lanterns," Earth is filled with a dizzying variety of plants, from the beautiful to the bizarre. At Live Science, we celebrate this plant diversity by bringing you fantastic flora facts and the latest botany-based research. Curious about what plants you can eat if you're stranded in the wild? Or how plants "scream" in the face of stress? Our expert writers and editors answer these questions and more in the latest plant news, features and articles.
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Scientists watch microscopic plant 'mouths' breathing in real time with palm-sized tool
By Sarah Wild published
Scientists say their Stomata In-Sight tool can observe plants "breathe," which could be used to bioengineer crops that require less water, making them potentially more resilient to climate change.

Avenue of the Baobabs: Madagascar's natural monument with dozens of 'mother of the forest' trees
By Sascha Pare published
The Avenue of the Baobabs preserves the remnant trees of an ancient tropical forest on Madagascar.

Trees in Panama's tropical forests are growing longer roots in the face of drought
By Sarah Wild published
A long-term experiment reveals tropical forests in Panama are able to adapt to droughts, but scientists warn this short-term "rescue strategy" is unlikely to save them from the impacts of climate change.

China's Great Green Wall: The giant artificial forest designed to slow the expansion of 2 deserts
By Sascha Pare published
Since 1978, China has planted more than 66 billion trees along its 2,800-mile-long northern border, and it wants to plant 34 billion more over the next 25 years to complete its "Great Green Wall."

China has planted so many trees it's changed the entire country's water distribution
By Sascha Pare published
Huge "regreening" efforts in China over the past few decades have activated the country's water cycle and moved water in ways that scientists are just now starting to understand.

Death Valley shrub rearranges its insides to thrive in one of the hottest places on Earth
By Sarah Wild published
Heat-loving plants that thrive in California's Death Valley could hold the key to growing crops in a changing climate.

Why can pumpkins grow so large, but blueberries can't?
By Ashley Hamer published
Most fruit is pretty small, so why do pumpkins grow to such enormous sizes?

Fruits and vegetables quiz: Do you know where pumpkins, blueberries and broccoli come from?
By Laura Geggel published
Do you know where your staple fruits and vegetables were domesticated? Take Live Science's quiz to find out.

Plants self-organize in a 'hidden order,' echoing pattern found across nature
By Olivia Ferrari published
Scientists have discovered a "perfect disordered hyperuniform" pattern in how plants arrange themselves across many dry landscapes that allows them to make the most of water resources.
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