Articles tagged as Plants | Smithsonian Magazine

The Earth BioGenome Project promises to revolutionize biology

November 5, 2018

Seagrass plants have a large capacity for absorbing and storing carbon on the seafloor.

Underwater Meadows of Seagrass Could Be the Ideal Carbon Sinks

Many ecosystems absorb and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, and seagrass is one of the most efficient natural carbon storage environments

November 1, 2018

A hot fall and excess rain robbed much of the East Coast of its annual leaf show

November 1, 2018

Gourds come in all shapes and sizes—some sweet and delicious, some stiff and bitter, and some that are just plain odd.

Halloween

The Science Behind Decorative Gourd Season

Gourds are the runts of their family of fruits, too tough and bitter to eat, but they remain one of the most popular crops of fall

October 26, 2018

Lavender’s Lovely Smell Soothes Anxious Behavior in Mice

In mice, at least, lavender may also be as effective at combating anxiety as commonly-prescribed medications

October 25, 2018

An annual $1.4 million funding grant will allow the International Rice Research Institute to help develop drought, heat- and flood-resistant rice varieties

October 15, 2018

New Research

Non-native tropical milkweed encourage year-round monarch populations which harbor a deadly parasite for the imperiled insect

September 11, 2018

Oils extracted from the citronella plant are a powerful mosquito repellent.

Why Plant-Based Mosquito Repellents Are So Hard to Make

Bug sprays with DEET feel oily and smell gross. But turning natural plant oils into commercial products isn’t easy

September 5, 2018

Elusive “Unicorn” Plant Spotted in Maine for the First Time in 131 Years

The state’s Department of Agriculture has documented around 300 flowering unicorn root stems

August 23, 2018

If you stick to a diet of kale, brussels sprouts and similarly leafy greens, your salivary proteins will eventually adapt to their bitter taste

There’s a Scientific Explanation for Why Adults Are More Likely to Tolerate Leafy Greens

Just eat your veggies: Salivary proteins adapt to bitter tastes, making them more palatable over time

August 21, 2018

In August 2016, a lightning strike killed more than 300 reindeers. Now, their decaying carcasses are spurring the landscape's revitalization

What the Deaths of More Than 300 Reindeer Teach Us About the Circle of Life

In an isolated corner of Norwegian plateau, carcasses of reindeer felled by lightning are spawning new plant life

August 20, 2018

Could spider plants alert you of carbon monoxide, or even the flu, lurking in your home?

Could Houseplants Keep Tabs on the Health of Your Home?

Researchers at the University of Tennessee look at the possibility of using plants as biosensors to detect dangers like mold or radon

July 31, 2018

MASTODON MAXIMUS. CUV. [Cuvier]; Orra White Hitchcock (1796–1863); Amherst, Massachusetts; 1828–1840; pen and ink and watercolor wash on cotton, with woven tape binding

Art Meets Science

Art, Science and Religion Blend in Exhibition Honoring Illustrator Orra White Hitchcock

Orra’s paintings and drawings depict the natural world in colorful detail

July 30, 2018

A court has ruled that plants modified with CRISPR technology are subject to the restrictions of the 2001 GMO Directive

July 27, 2018

The new horticultural center will be built at the RHS flagship garden in Wisley, Surrey

One Million British Botanical Treasures Will Be Digitized

Artifacts in the sprawling collection include a Chilean potato plant collected by Charles Darwin and 18th-century lavender

July 20, 2018

Using an artist's tools and the skills of a scientist, Tangerini makes “art in the service of science.”

The Botanical Artist Who Translates Plant Science Into Beautiful Art

The Smithsonian’s first and only botanical illustrator brings her subjects to life in all their scientific glory

July 10, 2018

The IUCN Red List shows Oz’s reptiles are in trouble as well as flying foxes, a Jamaican rodent and a New Guinea butterfly

July 6, 2018

A Towering, Toxic Plant That Causes Burns and Blindness Has Appeared in Virginia

The giant hogweed, an invasive species, is more typically seen in the Northeast

June 19, 2018

Grape breeding PhD student Laise Moreira collects flower tissue for analyzing sex trait in grapevine as part of the VitisGen2 project at the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center in Excelsior, MN.

The Quest to Grow the First Great American Wine Grape

Genetics might be the key to creating vineyards that both resist disease and don’t taste like skunk

June 5, 2018

This insect can survive being eaten by birds, researchers have found.

Do Mama Stick Insects Get Eaten to Transport Their Eggs?

This may explain why the insects, who can’t travel far on their own, spread across unconnected lands

May 30, 2018