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Plants

Scientists are racing against time: 100,000 species of flora-imperiled by habitat destruction, overharvesting and climate change—are threatened with extinction.

The Noah’s Ark of Plants and Flowers

Scientists at a British laboratory are racing to preserve thousands of the world’s threatened plants, one seed at a time

Photographer Eric Long captures a rainbow over the Air and Space Museum.

Capturing the Moment: A Rainbow this Morning on The National Mall

Smithsonian Institution staff photographer Eric Long captured the moment this morning on his way to work

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Ten Extremely Rare Seeds on the Brink of Extinction

The Millennium Seed Bank has set out to collect 25 percent of the world’s plant species by 2020—before it is too late

Celebrate Suma Qamaña, or living well, at the Bolivian Festival this Saturday

Events May 11-13: Gardening for Healthy Living, Bolivian Festival, Steinway Series for Mother’s Day

Celebrate living well with Mom this weekend at Garden Fest, the Bolivian Festival and at the Steinway series with Mendelssohn Piano Trio

Every Tuesday, take a guided tour through the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden.

Events May 1-3: Ripley Garden Tour, the Multi-colored Universe, and Roni Horn

This week, take a garden tour, discover the universe through cutting edge developments in X-ray telescopes, and meet acclaimed artist Roni Horn

Shake off winter with a scavenger hunt in the Smithsonian Gardens.

Events April 3-5: Spring Break, Let’s Move! and Baseball Presidencies

Spend spring break at the National Portrait Gallery, explore the Smithsonian gardens, and learn about baseball’s special place in our presidential history

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can adversely interact with certain medications.

Why Does Grapefruit Mess With Your Medicine?

The juicy fruit can cause negative side effects with a number of prescription and over-the-counter medicines

Ice cores from a lake in Norway. Image from Science/AAAS

Trees Weathered the Ice Age

Pine and spruce trees managed to survive in certain spots in Scandinavia, according to DNA analyses

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Svalbard Global Seed Vault Turns Four

Four years ago this week, researchers opened the “Doomsday Vault” to store frozen seeds in case of disaster

Wildlife corridors allow animals to safely cross urban areas.

Do Wildlife Corridors Really Work?

A new crowd-sourced project aims to identify and evaluate pathways that connect bits of wildlife habitat

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President Obama to Speak At Groundbreaking for African American History and Culture Museum

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Smithsonian’s newest museum, scheduled to open in 2015, will feature Obama, Laura Bush and others

How much is the Hope Diamond worth? Ask Smithsonian.

How Much the Hope Diamond is Worth and Other Questions From Our Readers

From American art, history and culture, air and space technology, Asian art and any of the sciences from astronomy to zoology, we’ll find an answer

2011 Grand Champion orchid: Cycnodes Taiwan Gold.

Objects Of Desire

Chronicling passions that change the world, for good and ill

John Kress, a Smithsonian botanist, suggests Dominica's Morne Trois Pitons National Park for an evolution vacation.

A Smithsonian Botanist Suggests an Evotourism Site

We turned to John Kress, an expert on how plants and birds co-evolved over time, for his pick for an evolution vacation

If spicy fruits are helpful to a chili plant, why aren't all chili peppers hot?

Why Not All Chili Peppers Are Hot

Being spicy helps a chili plant protect its fruit from fungal rot, but it has a downside in dry conditions

Mistletoes evolved the ability to grow not on the roots of trees, but instead on their branches.

Mistletoe: The Evolution of a Christmas Tradition

Why does this parasitic plant remind us of romance?

Aspen trees in Colorado

What Was Killing the Aspens?

Scientists determine it was lack of water, not food, that was responsible for sudden aspen decline

Hawkmoths prefer columbines with long, slender spurs.

The Columbines and Their Pollinators: An Evolutionary Tale

New research provides insight into an evolutionary concept introduced by Charles Darwin

Internal parts of a wildflower, magnified 100x, by Arik Shapira of Hod HaSharon, Israel

Wildflower, Magnified

Imagery from the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition ranges from the fantastical to the freaky

Prize pumpkins have tripled in size in the past three decades. Tim Parks, of the Ohio Valley growers club, harvests his 2010 contender.

The Great Pumpkin

Competitive vegetable growers are closing in on an elusive goal—the one ton squash

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