Fruit exist to invite animals to disperse the swallowed seeds. A research team found that plants targeting insects rather than birds or mammals for this service are more common than previously thought ...

Waterbirds play a pivotal role in the dispersal of plant seeds, thereby influencing the distribution, genetic connectivity, and composition of ecosystems across diverse habitats. Their dual seed ...

Don't be disappointed if all the fluffy seeds of a dandelion don't fly away with a single blow. The gust of wind from your lungs may be strong, but the dandelion's natural desire to control how its ...

New research into the biomechanics of explosive seed dispersal in squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) reveals how these plants have adapted a suite of unique traits that help propel their ...

Fruit might be nature's candy, but some of them can hold a dark secret. Certain fruits can be dangerously toxic if you're not careful. You just need to know which fruits and what part of the fruit to ...

Haldre Rogers’s entry into ecology came via the sort of man-made calamity that scientists euphemistically call an “accidental experiment.” She’d taken a job in 2002 on the Pacific island of Guam and ...

Take a look at squirting cucumber explosive seed dispersal in real time and slowed down. Credit: Helen Gorges/CC BY-NC-ND One doesn’t normally associate ballistics with botany, but most of us don’t ...

Many plants rely on animals to reproduce, regenerate and spread. But the current sixth mass extinction is wiping out seed-dispersing wildlife that fill this role, altering entire ecosystems. Thousands ...

Scientists have discovered one of the earliest examples of a winged seed, granting insight into the origin and early evolution of wind dispersal strategies in plants. Scientists have discovered one of ...

To be a majestic bundle of life and energy like a seed! Swimming through the water, soaring through the air, traveling across the lands ... Wait, what? Motionless is a common way to describe plants.

The shrub-like plant Rhynchotechum discolor produces fruit that are difficult to see from above but suitable for ground-dwelling insects. However, seed dispersal by insects was previously thought to ...