Bees and Flower “Velcro”

Getting a Grip
Ever wonder how a bee or a butterfly can land on a flower and not fall off?
Me neither.
But thanks to researchers in the UK, we now have another reason why flowers are so marvelous.
Flowering plants have evolved chemical signals to attract pollinators to their flowers. Such signals include volatile chemicals to produce attractive [...]

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Plant Versus Plant: Some Plants Kill Other Plants Using Natural Herbicides

Alien Invader Uses Chemical Warfare
Spotted knapweed (photo left) is an invasive plant in North America.
It is native to Central Europe, east to central Russia, Caucasia, and western Siberia, but was accidentally introduced to North America through contaminated seed or ballast beginning in the late 1800’s.
Since then, spotted knapweed has spread throughout most of Canada and [...]

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Why Herbicides Kill Plants (But Not You) – Part 2: Roundup®

The Last Roundup?
The herbicide that most Americans are likely familiar with is Roundup®.
Unlike the auxin-based herbicides I discussed in the previous post, Roundup® is not a selective herbicide. That is, it usually kills all green plants (except if the plant is Roundup Ready® or if the plant is a naturally Roundup®-resistant “superweed” – see [...]

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