Last update: December 14th, 2018 at 5:00 pm

Plants of the earth

Our need to classify species has been a driving desire for thousands of years, but the roots of taxonomy begin with Aristotle.

Story of the day

12-14-2018

How did humans begin to classify and name all of life on Earth?

In a broad sense, taxonomy is the science of classification of living things including organisms...

Did you know?

Researchers have determined that a predecessor of today's corn plants was brought to South America from Mexico more than 6,500 years ago.

12-13-2018 Plants

Corn was domesticated more than once in different regions

Scientists at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History are...

A new study shows that expanding the production of biofuel crops like oil palm and corn could have drastic consequences on biodiversity.

12-10-2018 Animals

Biodiversity could suffer if bioenergy crop production grows

Biofuels are often proposed as a solution to help reduce...

Catnip produces a substance that sends cats into a state of ecstasy and could give experts easier access to cancer fighting medications.

12-10-2018 Science

Catnip may give experts insight into cancer fighting treatments

Researchers at the John Innes Centre are providing new insight...

Experts at MIT have unveiled a houseplant that can actually guide itself to receive sunlight whenever necessary.

12-06-2018 Plants

New houseplant can guide itself toward sunlight when necessary

Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unveiled...

A new study by Yale University found that native tree species still make up about 82% of New York City’s “forested natural areas."

12-06-2018 Plants

New York City is still highly populated with native tree species

A new study by Yale University scientists in collaboration with...

Latest news

Plants have built-in defense systems that help them cope with the pests and insects that feed on their leaves, fruit, stems, roots, and saps.

12-06-2018 Plants

Wheat plants can switch chemical defenses to guard against pests

Plants have built-in defense systems that help them cope with...

As humans alter local environments for their own use, local iconic species are lost and replaced with more common ones.

12-04-2018 Environment

With human interference, local species are replaced by common ones

A new study published December 4th in the journal PLOS...

A newly developed method using machine learning will make it much easier to predict species that could be eligible for the IUCN list.

12-04-2018 Plants

Machine learning will make it easier to identify threatened species

While the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red...

Researchers are reporting that prescribed burning, if managed properly, is not as harmful to peat growth as previously believed.

12-03-2018 Environment

Prescribed burns can help peatlands when managed properly

Researchers at the University of Liverpool are reporting that prescribed...

Latest animal news

A new investigation into a penguin supercolony has revealed that the penguins have lived in this region undetected for 2,800 years.

12-14-2018 Animals

Satellite images reveal new clues about Adélie penguins in Antarctica

Earlier this year, around 1.5 million Adélie penguins were discovered...

Australia’s extinct “marsupial lion,” or Thylacoleo carnifex, has intrigued palaeontologists for more than 150 years.

12-14-2018 Animals

Extinct marsupial lion was unlike any modern predator

Australia’s extinct “marsupial lion,” or Thylacoleo carnifex, has intrigued palaeontologists...

12-14-2018 Science

How did humans begin to classify and name all of life on Earth?

In a broad sense, taxonomy is the science of classification...

Identify plants
on the go

PlantSnap is a mobile app that helps you identify plants, flowers, trees, cacti and mushrooms. Simply snap a photo of the plant, and PlantSnap tells you what it is!

Latest videos

12-14-2018 Plants

NASA is capturing meteor activity from space

12-13-2018 Environment

The recovery of Lake Meredith

Today's Video of the Day from the United States Geological...

12-12-2018 Environment

Using virtual reality to motivate environmental action

Today's Video of the Day from Stanford University describes how...

12-11-2018 Science

Looking for patterns that help identify rare childhood diseases

Today's Video of the Day from the University of Utah...

12-10-2018 Science

Alexander Gerst can see the Earth’s fragility from space

Today's Video of the Day from the European Space Agency...

12-09-2018 Environment

Route 66 symbolizes American freedom

Today's Video of the Day from the United States Geological...

12-08-2018 Nature

Chachani, Peru from space

Today's Video of the Day from the European Space Agency...

Plants of the earth

Which flower is prettier?

Story of the day

How did humans begin to classify and name all of life on Earth?

Did you know?

Corn was domesticated more than once in different regions

Biodiversity could suffer if bioenergy crop production grows

Catnip may give experts insight into cancer fighting treatments

New houseplant can guide itself toward sunlight when necessary

New York City is still highly populated with native tree species

Latest news

Wheat plants can switch chemical defenses to guard against pests

With human interference, local species are replaced by common ones

Machine learning will make it easier to identify threatened species

Prescribed burns can help peatlands when managed properly

Latest animal news

Satellite images reveal new clues about Adélie penguins in Antarctica

Extinct marsupial lion was unlike any modern predator

How did humans begin to classify and name all of life on Earth?

Identify plants
on the go

Latest videos

NASA is capturing meteor activity from space

The recovery of Lake Meredith

Using virtual reality to motivate environmental action

Looking for patterns that help identify rare childhood diseases

Alexander Gerst can see the Earth’s fragility from space

Route 66 symbolizes American freedom

Chachani, Peru from space

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