Botany

Are you sure your houseplants are not hearing and discussing you? Find out what facts will make you believe in it.

Tomatoes are nutritious fruits (or vegetables) with an interesting history, but they often lack flavor compared to tomatoes of the past. A discovery by scientists should be helpful in creating tastier fruits. Some strategies for obtaining tomatoes with a better taste already exist.

Pitcher plants produce cups that trap and digest prey. The digestive enzymes of one species can break down gluten and may help people with celiac disease.

The hedge bindweed or morning glory twines around other plants and interferes with their growth. Bindweed produces large and beautiful flowers in summer.

The monkey puzzle tree is a very strange and interesting plant. It's native to South America but grows in parks and gardens in other areas as an introduced plant.

The carnauba palm and the candelilla shrub are interesting plants that produce a useful wax. Many people are exposed to carnauba or candelilla wax on a frequent basis via the products that they buy.

The Abutilon menziesii is a native plant in Hawaii, endemic and federally listed as a critically endangered species with only about 500 plants remaining in fewer than 10 naturally-occurring populations throughout the Hawaiian islands. This sprawling shrub is known as Koʻoloa ʻula in Hawaii.

Wild relatives of some major agricultural crops are in trouble. We need the genetic diversity in wild crops and the lower diversity present in cultivated ones to provide food security for the future.

Ferns are attractive plants with interesting features. They exist in both wild and cultivated forms. The western sword fern is a common and often impressive plant in coastal British Columbia.

Salvias are a lovely,elegant, upright flower that hummingbirds love and bees find beneficial. They hail from all over the world and are full of surprises. Read on to find out more.

Some carnivorous plants such as bromeliads and pitcher plants possess pools of liquid which they use as pitfall traps. Within these pools are rich communities of microbes and tiny invertebrate animals which have evolved to inhabit these pools.

Hellebores bloom mainly in late winter and spring. Their flowers are an attractive and welcome sight in nature, gardens, and landscaped areas. Lenten and Christmas roses are both types of hellebores. Many other species and cultivars of hellebores exist, offering gardeners some interesting choices.

Unripe lychees and ackee fruits contain toxins. Both fruits should be eaten only when ripe. In addition, it's very important that ripe ackee is prepared properly.

Parasitic plants obtain their food or nutrients from another plant. The relationship may last for a long time, but sometimes the parasite kills its host.

Foxgloves are beautiful but poisonous flowers in the wild and in the garden. They contain digitalis, which is a useful heart medication but can also be dangerous.

English and Spanish bluebells and hybrids between the two species live in British Columbia and in Britain. In each location, the flowers are admired for their beauty but are also a concern. The concerns are a little different in each location but are important.