Australasian Science: Australia's authority on science since 1938
Articles related to botany
Cover Story:
Genes that Cuddle in the Cold
An ingenious experiment has allowed scientists to observe how plant genes move around the nucleus to locations that either stop or stimulate flowering depending on temperature. |
Browse: Nullarbor’s Ancient Forests Uncovered |
Browse: Fertilisers Make Plants Weaker | Browse: Plant-based Chemicals Could Reverse Terminal Cancer |
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Flower Evolution from the Birds to the Bees
Walking around in the Australian bush we can see a dazzling array of different flower colours, but have you ever wondered how and why these evolved? |
Browse: Size Matters for Sexually Deceptive Orchids |
Browse: Even the Light Touch of a Green Thumb Slows Plant Growth |
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The Ancestor of All Flowers
An international collaborative project has reconstructed the ancestor of all modern flowering plants. What can it tell us about the evolution of this important group? |
Browse: Lilly Pilly Fossils Reveal Snowless Snowy Mountains |
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Heavy Metal Farming
Special plants called hyperaccumulators can extract valuable metals from mineralised soils, yielding metallic crops that are more valuable than food grown in soils that are unsuitable for normal agriculture. |
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Plant Viruses Threaten Crops as Climate Warms
Climate change will exacerbate the spread of a virus that reduces the yield of infected wheat by 70%.
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Back from the Dead
Resurrection plants can survive for years in an air-dry state before growing at full capacity when the rain comes. How do they do it, and can this trait be transferred to improve the tolerance of crops to drought, heat, salinity and infection? |
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The Tree That Waters Itself
Island gigantism might have driven the evolution of one of the most bizarre adaptations in the plant kingdom.
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Cell Walls in Wood Crack Like Concrete
The discovery that nanometre-scale cracks form in the cell walls of wood can be exploited to engineer high-performance floorboards from soft woods such as pine. |
Browse: Lentils Can Boost Selenium | Browse: How Plants Control Vitamin C Production Revealed |
Browse: Climate Changes Timing of Leaf Growth | Browse: Mountain Plants Can’t Climb Higher |
Browse: Moa Affected Plant Evolution | Browse: Plants Respond to Touch |
Browse: Can Trees Cope with the Third Degree? | Browse: Wine Grapes Gasp for Breath |
Browse: Trees Remember Heatwaves | Browse: Climate Change Threatens Māori Plant Use and Knowledge |
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Moss polysaccharide discovery likened to beta glucen
A polysaccharide discovered in moss is showing the potential to be exploited for health, industrial and medical uses. |