Plants

Perhaps Magnolia rzedowskiana should be renamed Magnolia interneta.

Two New Flower Species Were Discovered Online

These naturalists didn’t know one another—but that didn’t keep them from discovering two new magnolias together

The highly regular spacing of fairy circles in Australia becomes visible in dense vegetation. The grasses in the foreground of the image are patchy as they rebounding from fire.

Mysterious Fairy Circles Have Been Found in Western Australia

Once thought to exist only in Namibia, circles spotted 6,200 miles away are helping sort out how these odd features form

A blooming Amorphophallus titanum corpse flower looms over visitors at the University of Basel botanical garden in November 2012.

What’s on Your Botanical Bucket List?

From rare orchids to grizzled desert plants, experts weigh in on which flora they most want to see before they die

One of Chef Bun Lai's recipes: A dish that features whole fried invasive lionfish at Fish Fish of Miami, Florida.

Bite Back Against Invasive Species at Your Next Meal

From seaweed to lionfish, invasive species are appearing on menus throughout the U.S.

"Lotus, An X-ray" c. 1930's.

Check Out These X-Rays of Flowers From the 1930s

Dain L. Tasker’s radiographs depict delicate flowers from the inside out

This Venus flytrap is just biding its time to ensure the meal is worth its energy.

Venus Flytraps Know How to Count

Figuring out when to chomp is as easy as one, two, three, four, five

An eight-year-old Firethorn "Air Bonsai"

These Levitating Bonsai Will Brighten Your Home With Science

A workshop in Japan created tiny Bonsai plants that float with the help of magnets

This flower isn't just a pretty face—its the first one ever grown in space.

Check Out the First Flower Grown in Space

It was a close call for this brilliant orange zinnia

A New Rose Is Part Plant, Part Color-Changing Machine

Innovation has never looked so pretty

Opuntia cacti grow in the desert near Twentynine Palms, California. The area is home to plenty of dry plants and weeds—perfect for the city's annual Weed Show.

At This Unique Flower Show, Weeds Are the Stars

The women of this small desert town have found beauty in getting in the weeds

Montsechia’s origins in freshwater lakes challenge the idea that flowers evolved on land before moving into water.

These Are the Oldest Known Flowers in the World

Found in the fossil record, these plants are more than 100 million years old

This Giant Van Gogh Painting Is Made of Pumpkins, Watermelons and Squash

How crop artist Stan Herd made an acre-wide ode to "Olive Trees"

By the time the Salt River reaches downtown Phoenix, it is a river in name only. Some scientists think that is why a non-native plant, the salt cedar, is thriving while native flora are suffering.

How We Created a Monster In the American Southwest

The salt cedar is often seen as an un-killable invader. But are humans the real reason this unwanted plant is thriving?

Setting up sound monitors in Papua New Guinea.

Scientists Are Recording 24-Hour Soundtracks of Rainforests

The bioacoustic data gives Nature Conservancy researchers clues about the health of an ecosystem

Mayapple plant

Scientists Manipulate Common Plants to Produce Cancer Drugs

Stanford researchers have figured out how to transfer a rare plant's chemical "assembly line" into a cheap, common lab plant

How Climate Change is Messing with Bees

New and ongoing research points to issues with bee ranges and the early emergence of flowers

The True Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Never Truly Ate the South

A naturalist cuts through the myths surrounding the invasive plant

Coming Soon: Helmets Made From Carrots

A Scottish company has created a biodegradable material from carrot pulp that could be used in protective sports gear

A hawthorn tree in the moonlight

Plants Might Move with the Moon Just as the Oceans Do with Tides

One researcher calls it the "leaftide"

Five of the World's Most Fascinating Topiary Gardens

Whimsical gardens in surprising shapes decorate homes, churches and cemeteries around the world. We’ve rounded up five of the most extraordinary

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