IN NATURE, vol. xxiv. p. 307 is a very interesting letter on this subject, in which while the functions performed by the two kinds of stamens are very clearly indicated, the modus operandi of ...

To the Melastomaceæ and Commelynaceæ mentioned in NATURE (vol. xxiv. p. 307, vol. xxvi. p. 386, and vol. xxvii. p. 30), may be added the genera Mollia (Tiliaceæ), Lagerstrœmia (Lythraceæ), and ...

Using a mobile stamen to slap away insect visitors maximizes pollination and minimizes costs to flowers, a study shows. For centuries scientists have observed that when a visiting insect's tongue ...

For centuries scientists have observed that when a visiting insect's tongue touches the nectar-producing parts of certain flowers, the pollen-containing stamen snaps forward. The new study proves that ...

Flowers used to come with understood meanings. Marigolds were for the jealous and aggrieved; ambrosias a sign of love returned. Dumas fil’s heroine in Camille carried white camellias when in the mood ...

New research from Michigan State University suggests that natural selection, famous for rewarding advantageous differences in organisms, can also preserve similarities. Reporting in the journals New ...

Following a visit to Oakland, Calif., the late Gertrude Stein, a novelist and playwright, offered this candid assessment: "There's no there there." Well, when it comes to many flowers, there wouldn't ...

Scientists offer novel insights into why and how wind-pollinated plants have evolved from insect-pollinated ancestors, and what it might mean for a potential pollination crisis. They found that plants ...