Both plants and animals make decisions in response to the environment to maximize their fitness. Plants use dormancy in seeds to move through time and space, and timing of the transition to germination is influenced by external cues, including temperature. Here, we report the presence of a decision-making center within …
the beautiful lotus flower is not only a feast for the eyes; scientists have discovered that it has the remarkable ability to regulate its temperature to a constant degree irrespective of external temperatures. Physiologists Roger S Seymour and Paul Schultze-Motel from the University of Adelaide, Australia, found that the lotus …
PICTURE this: One species invades another to sponge off it and then alters the victim's basic characteristics so it cannot reproduce itself. Finally, the victim adds insult to injury by exploiting the victim's altered biology to perpetuate itself. Bizarre, yes. But this is precisely what happens when Puccinia monoica -- …
THE UNAVAILABILITY of green fodder in hill areas in the dry season is a major problem for residents. But botanists A B Bhatt and Neelam Rawat of the H N Bahuguna Garhwal University have conducted a study on the fodder quality of some shrubs and developed a model to ensure …
SOME PLANTS produce two types of flowers - starninate (males) and bisexual. Scientists thought the role of starninate flowers was more to attract agents of pollination than to donate pollen. But new research shows that while larger floral displays attract more pollinators, staminate flowers are more effective in the dispersal …
THE NEXT time you pluck a flower, take care: you could hurt it. And, if you are a plant-lover, stop talking to them and try touching them instead. Researchers say seemingly passive plants can feel and react to touch in their own special way (New Scientist, Vol 136 No 1843). …
SCIENTISTS at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow and the Indian Institute of Tropical Botany in Pune have found growth rings of tropical trees such as teak (Tectona grandis) and tun (Cedrela toona) can be used to reconstruct the climate, especially the vagaries of the monsoon, in the …
