Menu Close

Articles on Botany

Displaying 41 - 60 of 92 articles

Matchstick banksia (Banksia cuneate). There are only about 500 of these plants left in the wild at 11 different sites, with much of its habitat having been historically cleared for agriculture. Andrew Crawford/Threatened Species Hub

Undocumented plant extinctions are a big problem in Australia – here’s why they go unnoticed

A recent global survey found almost 600 plants have gone extinct. And this figure is likely to be an underestimate.
The short answer is that leaves fall off trees when they aren’t doing their job any more. Emily Nunell/The Conversation CC-NY-BD

Curious Kids: why do leaves fall off trees?

Leaves fall off trees when they aren’t doing their job any more. If there isn’t enough water, the leaf can be damaged and stop working.
Melburnians admire the first primrose to arrive in the colony, transported by a Wardian case, in Edward Hopley’s A Primrose from England, circa 1855. Bendigo Art Gallery, Gift of Mr and Mrs Leonard Lansell 1964.

How the Wardian case revolutionised the plant trade – and Australian gardens

A wood and glass case invented in the early 19th-century transformed the movement of plants around the world. In Melbourne, several thousand people greeted a primrose on its arrival from England.
Berzelia stokoei, one of the 3% of plants in South Africa that are found nowhere else in the world. Marinda Koekemoer

Why plants need an identity

There is good news for plant conservation in South Africa and internationally.
Mueller came to Australia in the mid 19th century - and gave women a rare opportunity to be involved in science. state_library_south_australia/flickr

How a German migrant planted citizen science in Australia – and why it worked

We often focus on the “science” part of citizen science. The “citizen” is important as well. It reminds us that we are part of something greater than ourselves, with a duty to generations to come.
Detail from Rachel Ruysch, Still life with flowers in a glass vase, 1716, oil on canvas, 48.5 x 39.5 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Here’s looking at Rachel Ruysch’s Still life with flowers in a glass vase

During her lifetime, the paintings of Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch sold for higher prices than those of Rembrandt. Why, then, have her talents not been more widely acknowledged in the centuries since?
Though not this obvious from the outside, plants are keeping time. Hua Lu

Studying circadian rhythms in plants and their pathogens might lead to precision medicine for people

Precisely calibrated timekeepers are found in organisms from all domains of life. Biologists are studying how they influence plant/pathogen interactions – what they learn could lead to human medicines.

Top contributors

More