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World's smallest flowering plant
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Meet Wolffia globosa, the smallest flowering plant in the world. The plant measures less than 0.2 mm in diameter, and can be found in streams and ponds in Australia, Asia and some regions of the Americas.
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3865 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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House plants could one day power our computers
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Researchers have discovered a novel method to harness photosynthesis to create electricity. By attaching nanotubes to plant cells, the researchers were able to direct the electrons that plants free during photosynthesis down a wire and generate electrical current – and it was twice as powerful as electricity gathered from solar cells.
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7674 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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Plants can be albino too!
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This is an albino redwood tree, with white needles instead of green because it's unable to produce chlorophyll. In order to survive, albino redwoods must join their roots to those of a normal redwood to obtain nutrients. Found in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and Humboldt Redwoods State Park in the US, there are only around 20 known albino redwoods in the world, and their exact whereabouts have been kept secret as protection.
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5721 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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Proof that money does grow on trees
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Well, okay GOLD. Apparently, gold grows on eucalyptus trees. Researchers discovered that the trees are acting as a hydraulic pump, extracting gold from the soil and moving it to their leaves and branches. The ‘nuggets’ are about one-fifth the diameter of human hair, but the leaves may be used in combination with other tools to develop better exploration techniques.
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7623 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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Who knew chili peppers were good for you
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Exposure to cold and eating chili peppers both appear to increase the activity of brown fat cells, which burn energy, rather than store it as typical "white" fat cells do, a study has found.
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6896 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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World's largest seed
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The coco-de-mer palm tree ( Lodoicea maldivica) is endemic to the Seychelles. Its seeds are the largest and heaviest of any plant in the world, and have been highly prized over the centuries, which has almost driven the palm tree to extinction.
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5678 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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Strange looking plants
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The island of Socotra is one of the most isolated non-volcanic landforms in the world. Sitting 240 km east of the Horn of Africa and 380 km south of the Arabian Peninsula, its geographic isolation over millions of years has ensured that a third of its plant species are found nowhere else on Earth. Clockwise from the top are dragon blood trees, desert roses, and a native succulent, Dorstenia gigas. ...
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2632 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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The bleeding tooth fungus
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The bleeding tooth fungus grows in Europe and North America. While young, the fungus looks like it is oozing blood. The red liquid is actually an anticoagulant. It lives on the roots of conifer trees and exchanges nutrients in a mutually beneficial relationship. And, if you're wondering, they are inedible. 
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2418 |
savio |
10 years ago |
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Seeds germinate after 2000 years
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A Judean date palm plant was planted in 2005 using seeds that were hidden away for 2000 years. While other species of date palms thrive around the world, this particular species was thought to be extinct for 1800 years. Date palms are either male or female, and this one, nicknamed Methuselah, is a male, so it will not produce fruit. However, the plant is alive and well, and is the oldest known seed to successfully germinate.
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3183 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
