Plant news, features and articles

A global analysis deep in soil found 20% of plants studied have an unexpected deeper set of roots more than 3 feet underground.

Claims that spruce trees synchronize their responses to a solar eclipse were widely reported recently — but many researchers are sceptical of the results.

Fossil sites in Australia hold pollen and spores from the dinosaur age, when the island straddled the Antarctic Circle. Now, scientists have re-created the habitat of "polar dinosaurs," using these plant remains.

Sugar beets and spinach are the best vegetables to grow if you live in a temperate, midsize city during a nuclear winter, a new study suggests, while wheat and carrots are recommended for industrial production on the outskirts of town.

Tonka bean trees survive lightning strikes — and use the powerful electric shocks to kill their competitors.

A newly discovered plant found by a national park volunteer in the Texas desert is a small, fuzzy flower that pokes up between rocks. With its limited range, this species could be threatened by climate change.

Researchers have counted the number of trees in China and mapped their distribution across the country using a laser-based technique called lidar.

Rather than helping each other out when they're attacked, plants may have to eavesdrop on each other to know when to launch their own defenses.