Topic: Plants

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Michelle Obama: 8 food and garden tips, stories from the First Lady

8 stories and pieces of advice from Michelle Obama's new book 'American Grown'
Five hotbeds of biodiversity

Here are five flora- and fauna-rich ecologies that Conservation International, a nonprofit organization in Arlington, Va., says are more than 70 percent intact.
What makes a planet livable? Five things scientists look for.

Scientists have so far detected at least 550 planets outside the solar system – and another 2,000-plus await confirmation. But how to pick out the ones that may be Earth-like havens for life? Here's what one team looks for in assessing any planet's potential habitability and its similarity to Earth's properties.
2011 Man Asian Literary Prize: 7 (not 5) nominees

Here are the seven novels that made the shortlist for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize.
2011 fiction quiz: Can you recognize the opening line?

Can you match the opening lines to the titles of the best novels of 2011?

All Content

Voracious kudzu bugs spread across South. Are they boon or bane?

The nubbin-sized Japanese invader arrived on American shores somewhere near Atlanta in 2009. Today it’s eating pesky kudzu across at least three states. Unfortunately, it’s chowing on soybean crops, too.
Enormous forest fire in New Mexico sets state record for acres burned (+video)

For the second year in a row, New Mexico is battling a huge, record-setting forest fire. The Whitewater-Baldy fire, triggered by lightning strikes, has torched more than 170,000 acres.
Michelle Obama: 8 food and garden tips, stories from the First Lady

8 stories and pieces of advice from Michelle Obama's new book 'American Grown'
The kudzu of global business languages

A call for companies to require English of all their employees seems insensitive – and unnecessary.
Diggin' It
Tiarella, or foamflower, does double duty in the shade garden

Foamflower is a perennial plant that comes in two forms, clumping and creeping. Both Tiarellas are favorites with gardeners who have shade.
Diggin' It
Peony season

When peonies bloom in spring, it's time to think about adding more next season. Singles or doubles may be the question.
Plants flowering much faster as global temperatures rise (+video)

Scientists have been underestimating the effects of climate change on plant growth, according to a recent study.
Diggin' It
Four unusual shade perennials to try

Light up a woodland garden with this quartet of unusual shade-loving perennial plants.
Diggin' It
Pollination power in the garden

Attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and mason bees to your garden because they're excellent pollinators.
Diggin' It
Tips for Japanese garden design

A trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden provides good examples for designing a successful Japanese garden.
Diggin' It
Dwarf larkspur: an early, colorful wildflower

Among the charming early wildflowers is dwarf larkspur, Delphinium tricorne.
Diggin' It
The canna that thinks it’s a banana

Why this huge ‘foliage plant’ defies descriptions
Change Agent
5 urban garden programs that train inmates and help communities

Prison gardening programs teach inmates valuable skills, reduce recidivism, and provide those in need with fresh produce.
Five hotbeds of biodiversity

Here are five flora- and fauna-rich ecologies that Conservation International, a nonprofit organization in Arlington, Va., says are more than 70 percent intact.
How reflections on the moon could aid search for aliens

By studying "earthshine" – the reflection of the Earth on the Moon – scientists may have found a technique they can use to look for life elsewhere.
300-million-year-old 'Chinese Pompeii' found buried under volcanic ash

Researchers near Wuda, China, have uncovered a tropical forest that was preserved by ash from a volcanic eruption during the early Permian era.
What makes a planet livable? Five things scientists look for.

Scientists have so far detected at least 550 planets outside the solar system – and another 2,000-plus await confirmation. But how to pick out the ones that may be Earth-like havens for life? Here's what one team looks for in assessing any planet's potential habitability and its similarity to Earth's properties.
2011 Man Asian Literary Prize: 7 (not 5) nominees

Here are the seven novels that made the shortlist for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize.
Newly discovered carnivorous plant devours underground worms

Found in the tropical savannas of Brazil, Philcoxia minensis uses its sticky underground leaves to trap tiny roundworms.
Difference Maker
Álvaro Cogollo uses popular music to entice Colombians to love nature

Biologist Álvaro Cogollo draws on Colombia's native vallenato music to inspire a love for his country's biodiversity.
2011 fiction quiz: Can you recognize the opening line?

Can you match the opening lines to the titles of the best novels of 2011?
Decoder Wire
A Christmas tree farmer as president? How he raised spirits during wartime.

US presidents have had Christmas trees at the White House for years. But only one was a bona fide Christmas tree farmer, according to his voter registration card.
Frankincense, Christmas staple, 'doomed': Scientists

If fire, grazing and insect attack, the most likely causes of decline, remain unchecked, then frankincense production could be doomed altogether.
Global News Blog
One village at a time in Haiti

The Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee raises funds to build self-sustaining villages complete with schools and water-treatment facilities in Haiti.
Global warming: winners and losers in the Arctic's 'new normal'

The Arctic Report Card study suggests that changes at the top of the world have led to unusual weather patterns, a greener Greenland, and lots of plankton. At least the whales are pleased.