Plants
They never move, yet plants grow astonishingly big, astonishingly old and astonishingly clever.
31 articles
Is the ginkgo really a “living fossil”?
Every autumn, ginkgo trees turn city streets gold. This familiar tree hides a story stretching back to the age of dinosaurs, and a world-class discovery made in Japan.
Are mushrooms plants?
Mushrooms are sold next to the vegetables and sprout in the shade of the forest, so most of us lump them in with plants. Their true identity lies somewhere more surprising.
Can a Venus flytrap count?
What if a plant with no brain and no nerves were “counting” something as its prey crept closer? A look inside the intricate workings of a carnivorous trap.
Is it true that a banana plant isn’t a tree?
It can grow far taller than a person, yet botanists file it with the grasses and herbs. And its fruit is more of a true “berry” than a strawberry.
What is the largest seed in the world?
Sailors on the Indian Ocean once believed a strange floating fruit grew on trees at the bottom of the sea. Its true origin was a plant on a faraway island.
What is the biggest tree in the world?
A tree nearly as tall as a 40-story building stands quietly in a California forest. But change how you measure “big,” and the champion changes too.
Do plants grow better if you play them music?
Vegetables raised on classical music taste better—ever heard that one? We trace the relationship between plants and sound through the history of research.
Do sunflowers really follow the sun?
True to its name, it is the flower that turns its head to track the sun. Spend a whole summer day watching a sunflower field, though, and you may be surprised.
How rare is a four-leaf clover?
Remember crouching in the grass, searching intently? We unpack the rarity of this lucky charm through numbers and genes.
Does bamboo really flower only once every 120 years?
Bamboo is everywhere in Japan, yet almost no one has seen it bloom. And when it finally does, whole groves can wither away.
How are seedless grapes made?
Seedless grapes you can pop straight into your mouth, skins and all. Behind that everyday convenience lies a long story of ingenuity by Japanese researchers and farmers.
What is the largest leaf in the world?
Big leaves bring to mind the giant butterbur leaves of northern Japan, wide enough to use as umbrellas. But elsewhere in the world grow leaves that dwarf them.
Are cactus spines actually leaves?
Green stems bristling with sharp spines, and not a leaf in sight. Yet a cactus’s leaves are right there in front of you, in disguise.
What is the biggest flower in the world?
No leaves, no stem, no roots, and a powerful stench. The plant world’s great eccentric, living in the rainforest, sits at the very top of the flower-size rankings.
What is the oldest tree in the world?
One tree has stood on the same mountain slope since before the pyramids were built. Yet change how you count, and there’s always someone older.
Why do autumn leaves turn red and yellow?
All summer the hills are a single shade of green; then autumn paints them red and gold. Both colors “turn,” but what happens backstage is entirely different.
Why are potato sprouts poisonous?
Leave potatoes in the kitchen too long and sprouts start poking out. We’re told to cut them off before cooking, but why do the sprouts contain poison in the first place?
Can seeds thousands of years old still sprout?
Seeds have lain asleep in the mud of ancient ruins for thousands of years. Add water, and might they wake up? Meet the people who brought ancient plants back to life.
Are all Somei-yoshino cherry trees really clones?
Every spring, the cherry trees in a given area burst into bloom all at once. Behind that remarkable timing lies a secret dating back to the Edo period.
Why do pine cones open and close?
A pine cone brought home seems to clench shut on rainy days and spread open again on sunny ones. What’s more, it does this even though the cone is “dead.”
How does moss come back to life after drying out?
Pour water on moss that has dried brown and brittle, and the green comes rushing back. What was going on inside while it looked dead?
What is the world’s most expensive spice?
A spice like fine red threads turns paella and bouillabaisse a brilliant gold. Behind its eye-watering price lies a staggering amount of work.
Is a baobab’s trunk full of water?
A massive, stubby trunk topped with branches that look like roots. What exactly is packed inside the bulk of a baobab standing on the savanna?
Are tomatoes and potatoes related?
One bears red fruit on its branches; the other swells into tubers underground. These two vegetables look nothing alike, yet they share a surprisingly deep connection.
Do plants sleep at night?
When the sun goes down, the plants in your garden may quietly change shape. Meet the “night face” of plants, which has intrigued people for more than 2,000 years.
Why are plants green?
Fresh spring leaves, deep summer forests: why are plants so uniformly green? Behind that question lies a surprisingly deep puzzle: why aren’t they black?
How far can dandelion seeds fly?
One puff of breath and a dandelion clock bursts into a cloud of tiny parachutes drifting skyward. Just how far do those little travelers go?
Were carrots originally purple?
Carrots are bright orange, surely. Yet if you could peek into a carrot field a few centuries ago, the roots you pulled up might have been a very different color.
Why does the sensitive plant fold up when touched?
Touch it with a fingertip and its leaves fold shut, then the whole stalk sags as if bowing. What is this unusually quick-moving plant doing it for?
How much can bamboo grow in a day?
A bamboo shoot that wasn’t there yesterday is as tall as a person today. In a spring bamboo grove, growth that hardly seems plant-like is quietly under way.
What is the smallest flower in the world?
Green specks smaller than sesame seeds float on a pond. They look like nothing more than algae. But what if each one were a flowering plant?