Botany

Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest near Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

Brazil Begins Effort to Plant 73 Million Trees in the Amazon

The experiment in reforestation involves spreading native seeds instead of planting saplings

The herbarium of Washington, D.C.'s Natural History Museum teems with pressed specimens of thousands of distinct plants.

How Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Archival Museum Research

A new study shows off a computer program’s specimen-sorting prowess

Fall in Charlottesville.

Eight Places to See Amazing Fall Foliage Outside of New England

Autumn blazes in these off-the-beaten-path locations

Botanic Gardens May Be Endangered Species' Best Bet

Survey shows the institutions preserve one third of Earth's plant life and 40 percent of endangered plant species

Why Are Some Leaves Massive and Others Minuscule?

Researchers have found that the rainfall, sunshine and the threat of frost or overheating set the maximum size for leaves

One of the stinky blooms at the U.S. Botanic Garden just starting to open last year.

A Triplet of Corpse Flowers Will Soon Release Their Stench in D.C.

If you can't make it to D.C., you can still catch the action (smell free) via live stream

This Enzyme Is Why Onions Make You Cry

Figuring out the how the tear-inducing fumes form could give surprising insights into our own human proteins

How the Silk Road Created the Modern Apple

A genetic study shows how wild Kazakhstan apples dispersed by traders combined with other wild species to create today's popular fruit

Blue chrysanthemums

The Scientific Feat That Birthed the Blue Chrysanthemum

In a world first, scientists engineered the flowers to take on an azure hue

The big tree being prepared for its move in Boise, Idaho.

Watch a 100-foot-tall Giant Sequoia Get Transplanted in Boise

A gift from John Muir, the beloved tree was transferred to a local park by St. Luke's Medical Center so the facility can expand

257-Year-Old Coloring Book Rediscovered in St. Louis

The Florist contains 60 drawings, and recommends watercolor pigments like “gall-stone brown”

This 115-Million-Year-Old Mushroom Is the Oldest Fossilized Fungus

Preserved against all odds, the tiny mushroom sprung up when dinosaurs still ruled the lands

Early shoots of thale cress sprout in their case of transparent gel on the space station. This is the same type of plant examined in this latest study for its "brain."

Seeds May Use Tiny "Brains" to Decide When to Germinate

Two clumps of cells send hormone signals to each other to help determine when the time has come to sprout

A cyanotype photogram from "Photographs of British Algae."

How the First Female Photographer Changed the Way the World Sees Algae

The groundbreaking photo book by Anna Atkins, a 19th-century British botanist, is going on display in the Netherlands

Tea leaves

Researchers Read the Genome in the Tea Leaves

It's massive—four times that of coffee

Unlikely savior: The remarkable properties of spaghnum moss help preserve long-dead bodies, sequester carbon and even heal wounds.

How Humble Moss Healed the Wounds of Thousands in World War I

The same extraordinary properties that make this plant an “ecosystem engineer” also helped save human lives

New Survey Estimates Earth Has 60,065 Tree Species

Researchers from Botanic Gardens Conservation International compiled the list, finding that at least 10,000 tree species are at risk of extinction

David Fairchild in 1940, tasting the fruit of an antidesma tree in Indonesia.

This Swashbuckling Botanist Changed America’s Landscapes

Not always for the better

Among all those poppies is something less beautiful—noxious, invasive weeds.

After Intense Downpour, Superblooming California Has a Problem

In a word: weeds

This image, taken from space last summer, shows a long swath of dead mangroves on Australia's northern coast.

What Killed Northern Australia’s Mangroves?

Last year’s massive die-off was the largest ever observed

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