Articles tagged as Plants | Smithsonian Magazine

Sunlight-Tracking Polymer, Inspired by Sunflowers, Could Maximize Solar Power

The SunBOTS bend toward light source and could help solar cells capture more direct sunlight all day long

November 6, 2019

Mosses Expand the Story of Ötzi the Iceman’s Final Journey

Seventy-five species of mosses and liverworts found in and around his body suggest he climbed the alps via a difficult gorge

October 31, 2019

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History are filled with all sorts of eerie specimens.

Smithsonian Voices

Six Bewitching Smithsonian Specimens to Get You Ready for Halloween

Check out some of the spookiest (read: coolest) items in the National Museum of Natural History’s collections.

October 29, 2019

The Global Change Environmental Research Wetland spans 173 acres in Edgewater, Maryland.

Marshes Grow Stronger When Faced With Increased Carbon Dioxide

Marsh plants respond to increased CO2 by growing many small stems, creating a denser wetland that may protect against sea level rise

October 3, 2019

Sochan, a relative of the sunflower, can grow up to ten feet tall. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it rivals kale as a nutritional powerhouse.

Cherokee Indians Can Now Harvest Sochan Within a National Park

For the first time, the indigenous community is allowed to gather the cherished plant on protected land

October 2019

Running Buffalo Clover, which once spread on trampled ground left by bison, has made a comeback in the Midwest and Appalachians

September 16, 2019

Wyss Institute engineers selected works from the collections to illustrate a "new approach to Design Science." The clusters of polyhedrons in the 1954 textile Time Capsule reflects the 1950s sentiment for a brighter future built on scientific progress.

How Biology Inspires Future Technology

Bioengineers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute showcase their ingenious medical, industrial and environmental designs at the Cooper Hewitt

August 26, 2019

Deciduous leaves change color as pigments degrade and synthesize before falling off their trees.

Watch Leaves Change Color in a Matter of Seconds

A new time-lapse video of over 6,000 leaf photos reveals the biology behind fall foliage

August 14, 2019

Cool Finds

Fossil Trees Reveal the Oldest Known Forest in Asia

The grove of lycopsid trees is 365 million years old and covers 2.7 million square feet

August 9, 2019

Ginkgo has survived three mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change—They Need Your Help

Citizen scientists can submit leaf samples from their hometowns through the end of August

August 6, 2019

Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed plants a tree as part of the reforestation project.

The government claims that volunteers at 1,000 sites participated in the coordinated reforestation efforts

July 30, 2019

The exhibit room appears nearly monochromatic and devoid of life before the augmented reality app reveals Ruffner's invented plants.

This Artist Imagines How Nature Evolves Following an Environmental Apocalypse

Ginny Ruffner’s “Reforestation of the Imagination” at the Renwick uses augmented reality to show the plants that might grow after environment devastation

July 19, 2019

Visitors to the Fortingall Yew are snapping twigs, stealing needles and tying beads and ribbons to branches, which experts believe may be stressing it out

June 20, 2019