PLANTS

The accomplished mycologist made an important discovery about mushrooms—which went ignored because she was a woman.

From ricin and strychnine to coca, the Poison Garden is full of things people shouldn’t even smell, let alone touch or eat.

The smearwort (Aristolochia rotunda) dupes fruit flies into entering its flowers and then traps them there, getting pollinated without offering any reward.

Many plant-based drugs—such as caffeine, cocaine, nicotine and morphine—are all made for the exact same reason: to fight off insects. Why exactly do humans love ingesting insect repellent so much?

Geckos and shrubs and sharks, oh my! 2013 was a big year for new species. Scientists found hundreds of them this year. Here are some of our favorites.

Some of the most influential people who ever lived have had a fascination with Dionaea muscipula. Here are 11 facts guaranteed to inspire one of your own.

For the first time, scientists have used dried herbarium samples to decode the genome of a plant pathogen and its plant host. The pathogen in question is Phytophthora infestans and its host, the simple potato—a duo responsible for the devastating famine t

Trauma, that’s what. It’s the smell of chemical defenses and first aid. The fresh, “green” scent of a just-mowed lawn is the lawn trying to save itself from the injury you just inflicted.