AnnBot

"Water rights sharing can only mediate conflict in the short term but cannot address water scarcity. In practice, a shared understanding of watershed functions, and reconciliation of the diverse interest and expectations of multiple stakeholders at the landscape level, .

So far, the best-known attractants in carnivorous prey traps are nectar, colour and olfactory cues. Reporting a new prey capture mechanism in some species of carnivorous plants. They found the existence of distinct blue fluorescence emissions at the 'capture spots' of Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Drosera, Pinguicula, Dionaea muscipula and Utricularia stellaris at UV 366 nm. When the capture spot was masked by coating a non-fluorescent extract, the pray capture was drastically reduced. The study has been published as a short research paper in the current issue of 'Plant Biology' 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2012.00709.x/abstract

Jeanne walks you through the botany you need to know to understand pomegranate fruit structure.  Jeanne’s definition of “need to know” is arguably a bit broad and includes a brief tour of the many ...

We’ve just received the following little plug from Trevor Dines...

Just to let you know that Wild Things, the new Channel 4 series that I’ve been involved with, will begin at 8.30pm on Monday 21st Jan. This new six-part series opens up a completely different view on the world around us, revealing how plants offer an understanding of changing British wildlife. Using maps to show which species have come and gone over the last 50 years, each episode explores a different part of Britain and tells the stories and the science behind the changes.

With help from Plantlife, the Botanical Society of the British Isles, the British Lichen Society and the British Bryological Society, as well as Bangor University and Treborth Botanic Garden, Wild Things aims to introduce maps and change to a whole new audience in an accessible and slightly quirky way. A book, The Wild Things Guide to the Changing Plants of the British Isles: Guide to the Changing Plants of the British Isles, complete with maps, illustrations and more background information, has also been written to accompany the series.

The Botanical Society of the British Isles is the leading organisation for identification of British and Irish plants.

Can we call quinoa a grain? Why do people care?  Where did all these geese feet come from, and what does Ban Ki-moon have to do with it?  On long winter runs, Katherine’s mind wanders over such que...

You might expect me to say that environmentalists should say no to meat, and that we should focus on changing what people eat in the interest of saving the planet. But it's not quite so simple.

Wetlands have often been at odds with agricultural land uses and their very existence threatened by pressure from cropland expansion or chemical runoff. However, one of the goals in taking a landscape approach is managing these conflicts within a landscape. Today’s blog post highlights ongoing research to realize synergies between agricultural land uses and wetlands.

The Bank of Canada blundered by using a Norwegian maple leaf instead of the country's native variety on its new banknotes, plant experts have claimed.

Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre botanist Sean Blaney highlighted the difference between the leaf on new \$20, \$50 and \$100 notes and the North American sugar maple.

He said: "It's really hard to deny the image is of a Norway maple."

He said the Norway maple has more lobes - or sections - has a more pointed outline than the sugar maple and the lobe that rises in the centre is shorter than the sugar maple's.

Winter has come. Plants die, days are short and gloomy, everyone is supposed to hide under blankets watching some old movie on TV. Many gardens close : after all, who would like to brave the cold t...