The study reveals how Balanophora plants function despite abandoning photosynthesis and, in some species, sexual reproduction. Their plastid genomes shrank dramatically in a shared ancestor, yet the ...

Researchers have identified a genetic sequence that is essential for plant reproduction. As this region is found in all plant species, it is expected to contribute to future crossbreeding initiatives ...

Some plants bend the rules of plant life so far that they barely resemble plants at all. Balanophora is one of them - a ...

Humans like plants. We like seeing them change the colour of their leaves throughout the year. They connect us to nature even if we live in a big ...

Asexual, or vegetative, reproduction in plants is controlled by environmental conditions, but the molecular signaling pathways that control this process are poorly understood. Recent research suggests ...

Scientists have discovered a sexual reproduction process in microalgae that helps them better understand algae and plant evolution. Their discovery could lead to new industrial applications for ...

Plant reproduction is highly complex and variable across the kingdom. The emergence of sexual reproduction has contributed to increase plant genetic diversity and enabled the colonisation of new ...

Asexual reproduction is a remarkable feature of perennial fruit crops that facilitates the faithful propagation of commercially valuable individuals by avoiding the uncertainty associated with the ...

In the damp understory of forests in Taiwan, mainland Japan, and Okinawa, a plant called Balanophora can fool you at first ...

“[A]re the male flowers of a vegetable marrow plant needless, or do they lead a useless life; seeing that they bear no fruit?’” To a modern reader, this simple question about plants seems innocuous, ...