First Signs of Spring? We’re about to switch to the stupid “daylight savings time” here in the Pacific Northwest, and I’m starting to see some daffodils around town…both iconic signs of spring in many parts of the world. The appearance of the daffs motivated me to revisit this post from…
From “Friendly” Bacteria To Plants In The “Fast-Lane”. A key word in the plant science news of November 2018 appears to be “heat”…from how hot temperatures affects plant genetics to how hot (as in spicy) plants may be used for pain relief. Also featured in last November’s news was how…
From Taller Arctic Plants To GMO Organic Farming. A recurring topic in the plant science news of last October seemed to be “big”, as in Arctic plants may be getting bigger due to a warming climate, or making bigger fruit using genetic engineering. Speaking of GMO’s, the idea of organic…
From Trees That “Bleed” Metals To Visualizing Danger Signals In Plants. There was lots of unusual plant science news last September, from trees that apparently accumulate certain heavy metals, such as nickel, to plants that glow in the dark when wounded. Added to these September 2018 stories are reports ranging…
From How Plants Tell Time To Saving The American Chestnut. Time seemed to be a recurring theme in the plant science news of August 2018…from how plants tell time to how long seeds have to successfully germinate. The future was also a theme…from the future of food production in the…
From “Talking” Trees To The Origin of Plant Hormones. The plant science news of March 2018 began with a recent (but a somewhat unfortunate, in my view) trend of mysticism somehow creeping into scientific studies of plant physiology. (Think plant consciousness. Or that plants possess some sort of “secret wisdom”.)…
No Plant Says “Christmas” Like…. If there’s a plant most associated with Christmas, then, of course, it’s the Christmas tree. What would be in second place? Did you think poinsettia? If so, I suspect most people would agree with you. If you’re looking for a comprehensive website regarding poinsettias (e.g.,…
Turgor Pressure + Plant Cell Wall “Loosening” = Growth. In the previous post, we explored the question of whether or not plants grew at night. The main point of this story was that plant cell turgor pressure is the force that drives plant cell enlargement, and thus plant growth. But…
Do Plants Grow More During The Day Or At Night? A silly question? Whenever I posed this question in my plant science classes, most students thought I was joking. They presumed that plants grow only during the daytime, when the plants are photosynthesizing. If you’re like them, then it may…
Plant Growth = Plant Cell Enlargement. The tallest trees in the world are the California coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens), which can grow to over 100 meters (328 feet) tall. That’s higher than a 30-story building. These huge trees can grow so big mainly because their growing cells can enlarge…