John Tann/Flickr
What grows everywhere and looks good doing it? Clematis aristata.
Silver moss can survive almost total dehydration.
HermannSchachner/Wikipedia
The moss that grows in pavement cracks and on the edge of basketball courts in every town and city in Australia has a secret superpower.
Gnangarra via Wikipedia
Firewood banksia don’t just survive in Western Australia’s sandy plains, they thrive, showing off with vibrant, pink-red flower spikes.
The Conversation
This retiring violet tucked away in the Australian bush holds the key to future generations of medically-engineered plants.
How seeds came to be.
Shutterstock.
This is the story of how seeds came together bit-by-bit over a really long time, as plants evolved.
The Conversation/THawkes
Move over Benedict Cumberbatch, there’s another oddly shaped pale figure stealing the limelight.
Your plants would certainly love a drink this summer. But which water is best?
from www.shutterstock.com
Plants can find it tough to get all the nitrogen they need, especially from Australian soils. But summer storms can provide an added boost.
Amenic181/Shutterstock
There are over 100 species of wild coffee, but only a few supply the world’s morning caffeine kick. Sadly, climate change and disease could be about to change that.
‘Brow-raising browning.
Rachael Treharne
Extreme climatic events are harming plant communities in the Arctic. The resulting colour change is bad news for the region’s carbon storage.
Got a license for those seeds?
xuanhuongho/Shutterstock.com
Sharing seeds was common practice among farmers throughout history until the rise of agribusiness. Now seeds are trademarked and regulated, but there’s a new place to get them for free: the library.
Some sneaky plants steal food instead of exclusively making their own.
Charlie Jackson/flickr
Since plants can’t pick up and move to greener pastures if conditions are tough, some have evolved interesting and sneaky strategies to make a living.
The Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa.
Shutterstock
The colonial history of botanical gardens encouraged pride in indigenous flora and culture.
The Eucalyptus obliqua as seen in Merthyr Park, Tasmania.
Cowirrie/Flickr, CC BY-SA
One of the great Australian trees – messmate stringybark, Eucalyptus obliqua.
Shutterstock.
Practical advice from an expert about lighting, decoration and furnishings.
Radula complanata, a cannabinoid moss.
Henri Koskinen/Shutterstock
Radula liverwort shares an intriguing similarity to cannabis – researchers are working out what it does to the brain.
Marc Freestone/The Conversation
Scientists are racing against the clock to figure out how to propagate the rare leek orchid before it goes extinct.
Black wattle is part of the huge Acacia family.
Wikipedia/The Conversation
Black wattle is part of Australia’s iconic acacia family, but it’s largely regarded as a pest overseas. But this fast-growing plant is a boon to gardeners, improving soil and sheltering other plants.
Even the slightest touch of a D. moroides leaf can cause excruciating pain. An intense stinging, burning pain is felt immediately, then intensifies, reaching a peak after 20 – 30 minutes.
Marina Hurley, Author provided
Depending on the species, touching a stinging tree can be like 30 wasp stings at once or being burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time.
Lush moss beds in East Antarctica’s Windmill Islands.
Sharon Robinson
Mosses are the only plants that can withstand life in East Antarctica’s frozen landscape. But a new study shows that life is getting even harder, as ozone loss and climate change make conditions even drier.
Xanthorrhoea have no real trunk – just tightly packed leaves.
Grass trees are wonderfully odd. They fit no neat definition, and can live up to 600 years.