Tag Archives: plants
cherry tree update
The trees are blooming! And they’re early. It’s not even spring yet; winter doesn’t end until the wee hours tonight.This lovely grove of trees is on the grounds of the Washington Monument, across from the Ellipse. If you’ve forgotten what … Continue reading
spring approaches
In a few weeks, the trees around the Tidal Basin will burst into flower. The prediction came out yesterday: the peak should be somewhere in the range of March 24-31. (Keep up with progress on the National Park Service’s cherry … Continue reading
museum tourist: national bonsai and penjing museum
Bet you didn’t know this museum existed: The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. It’s right across the street from the National Herb Garden and a short walk from the National Boxwood Collection and the National Grove of State Trees. They’re … Continue reading
plants call herbivores’ predators
Plants are amazing. I said this to a friend yesterday and he corrected me: “Everything is amazing.” Which is true. Kidneys? Amazing. Meteorites? Amazing. DNA? Amazing. But, for now, let’s talk about plants. They’re amazing. They can communicate by releasing … Continue reading
lucky clover
Some scientists at the University of Georgia are working on what sounds like a kind of goofy project: making ornamental clovers. They swear they’re very pretty plants – lush green, with red and white markings. And they fix nitrogen, so … Continue reading
trees stay away from their relatives
Ecologists have struggled for years with the question of why tropical forests are so diverse. There are all kinds of hypotheses going around out there – I read papers on many of them in a class in the fall of … Continue reading
plants are awesome
Yesterday for ScienceNOW I wrote about tobacco plants that open their flowers at a different time of day if they’re getting eaten by caterpillars. (My story.) It’s kind of ingenious, if these scientists are right about it. Hawkmoths are good … Continue reading
museum tourist: harvard natural history (cont.)
About a month ago, I wrote about a visit to Harvard’s Museum of Natural History. Friend, fellow science writer, and Bostonian Lila Guterman asked me why I hadn’t written about the glass flowers. Because they’re so awesome they deserve their … Continue reading
snorkel genes
Part of the deal with this fellowship is that I’m also supposed to do my regular work. So, here it is: a news story about rice genetics. I know, it sounds boring, but it’s totally not! Modifying rice is a … Continue reading