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Plants

2014 Holiday Gift Guide

Best Gifts of 2014 for Nature Lovers

Smithsonian editors, gardeners and scientists offer ideas to give the gifts that keep wildlife thriving

Cool Finds

Some Plants Eavesdrop (And Steal) Via an Underground Fungal Network

An underground network can be used for friendly communication—or for evil

Cool Finds

Get Past the Vile Smell: Ginkgo Nuts Are Delicious

People have been feasting on these tasty little morsels since at least the 11th century

Around 1,400 chimps might lose their home in Congo.

Cool Finds

How a Misdrawn Map Put 1,400 Chimps and a Rare Plant in Peril

Miners and farmers are moving into a protected forest in Congo thanks in part to an administrative blooper

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Cool Finds

This Artist Makes E. coli-Shaped Popsicles

For those who prefer plants to pathogens, there’s popsicle cacti, too

This twisted wing parasite is one twisted killer.

The Everyday Cannibals and Murderers of Los Angeles

Who needs film noir when you’ve got these insects in the City of Angels?

A farmer in Sierra Leone holding cassava roots

Cool Finds

How the Gates Foundation Is Making Cassava the Next Corn

Sophisticated plant breeding techniques (but no GMOs) and lots of money are aimed at improving this staple crop of the tropics

Cool Finds

Scientists Plan to Kill Off the American West’s Tumbleweeds

Two species of fungus from Russia could be the bane of America’s tumbleweed

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Cool Finds

Thousands of Strange Green Balls Appeared Overnight on a Beach in Australia

Scientists believe that the balls are actually extremely rare algae congregations called marimo

The ornate black gates to the Poison Garden warn visitors of the deadly plants that grow within.

Step Inside the World’s Most Dangerous Garden (If You Dare)

The Poison Garden at England’s Alnwick Garden is beautiful—and filled with plants that can kill you

New Research

Why We Shouldn’t Worry About Growing Plants With Recycled Water

Trace amounts of common pharmaceuticals show up in crops grown with recycled water, but not as much as you’d think

Cool Finds

Detroit’s Dumps Are Slowly Being Reclaimed By Nature

Some illegal dumping grounds in Detroit are being repopulated by hardy plants

A coffee roaster does a taste test in Los Angeles.

New Research

Five Coffee Mysteries the Bean’s Genes May Crack

The newly sequenced coffee genome might reveal the origins of caffeine and pave the way for better-tasting, healthier brews

Cool Finds

This Project Wants to Compost People After They Die

A Seattle-based designer aims to introduce a sustainable way of disposing of bodies

A bromeliad epiphyte growing on a branch of a giant ceiba tree in Ecuador

New Research

Flowering Plants Appeared in Forest Canopies Just a Few Million Years After Dinosaurs Went Extinct

A new study gives scientists some more insight into the weird history of flowering plants

Working under LED lighting in a tomato greenhouse in the Netherlands

New Research

Scientists Are Hacking Tomatoes To Make Them Keep Growing All Night Long

Geneticists are working to circumvent the tomato’s circadian rhythm

Cool Finds

America’s Tumbleweeds Are Actually Russian Invaders

Some say the tumbleweed’s takeover of the American West was the most aggressive weed invasion in our country’s history

Cool Finds

How Plants Could Clean Up Abandoned Mines—And Extract Metal in the Process

Some groups are researching how plants can be used to clean up dangerous metals from the ground

Fun fact: Most of the fish oil harvested from the sea goes to fish farms.

New Research

Fish Oil Could (One Day) Come From Plants

A field trial of genetically modified oilseed plants that can make fish oil hopes to help fish farming become more sustainable

This hardware innovation will make it easier for conservationists to identify where illegal deforestation efforts are happening and stop them before the trees have been taken down.

Tech Watch

How Solar-Powered Recycled Smartphones Could Save the Rainforest

A Silicon Valley non-profit is ready to give the forests of Africa and the Amazon ears to listen for loggers—and the ability to phone the authorities

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