Botany

Time to get nutty! How much do you know about all of the different types of nuts out there? Take this quiz and find out!

By Alia Hoyt

Researchers are studying the chemistry behind what makes cats go crazy for catnip. And whether or not the chemical compound could have medicinal benefits for treating diseases like cancer.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

We may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but plants? A smartphone app has that covered.

By Laurie L. Dove

The Titan Arum is also known as the "corpse flower" because of its rotting-flesh scent. The flower rarely blossoms, even in the wild. See pictures of the corpse flower in this gallery.

By Julie Douglas

The corpse flower looks like a giant phallus and smells like a rotting animal, the perfect addition to any garden. So how can gardeners get their gloved hands on one of these unique specimens? Or can they?

By Jonathan Atteberry

Nature uses color in lots of different ways. Find out why some types of cabbage are purple and what this means.

Even if you've never seen a saguaro in person, when you think "cactus," you're probably thinking "saguaro."

By Jesslyn Shields

Many people think of cinnamon simply as a condiment that makes sweet treats taste even better, but the spice has had many, diverse uses over time. Could it have some medicinal properties, too?

By Diana Bocco

How can something as delicate and delicious as a cranberry thrive in something as filthy as a bog? Blame it on the durability of this most unusual and hardy plant.

By Russel Avery

How can the grass on the greens at a golf course be so perfect? What are they doing that's different from a normal lawn? Could my lawn look like this?

Plants that eat other creatures? It sounds like a genetic experiment gone awry. But there's actually nothing unnatural about it; carnivorous plants have been around for millions of years.

By Ann Meeker-O'Connell

Ten-tier wedding cakes, bagels slathered with cream cheese and slim, crusty baguettes -- we owe them all to wheat. What's the story behind this ancient, ubiquitous food crop?

By Robert Lamb

Have you ever suspected your neighbor was up to something illegal? He's always home and he gets midnight deliveries. Doesn't he have a job? Maybe he does, just not the kind you think.

By Robert Lamb

For Jack and his beanstalk, the sky was the limit, but nature's giants hit a point at which they can't grow any taller. What prevents lofty trees like sequoias from soaring any higher?

By Jacob Silverman

How does hemp work? What do rope and "organic clothes" and drugs have to do with each other?

Mexican jumping beans are small, brown beans that seem to have a life of their own as they jump and move around. But what is it that makes them jump?

By Nicole Antonio

If you've heard of frankincense and myrrh, it's probably because of the biblical account of Jesus' birth. But have you ever wondered what exactly it was the three wise men gifted?

By Clint Pumphrey

Grass seed can grow just about anywhere, just as long as they have plenty of water and nutrients. Can grass grow on lava rocks as well as it can on soil, though? Find out the answer to this question in this article from HowStuffWorks.

Autumn rolls out its very own red carpet to make a fashionable arrival. So why do falling leaves change colors to vibrant hues of crimson, yellow and orange?

By Jennifer Horton

They call kudzu the plant that ate the South for a reason. How did this leafy green legume make its way here all the way from Asia, and how has it managed to devour entire buildings?

By Victoria Vogt

On Johns Island, South Carolina, stands an oak tree so big and beautiful that people come just to stand under its branches and feel the magic.

By Patty Rasmussen

Found along beaches and in the mangrove swamps of tropical climates, the fruit of the manchineel tree was called the 'little apple of death' by Spanish conquistadors.

By Katie Carman

Ashwagandha, sometimes called Indian ginseng or Indian winter cherry, is one of the most prized herbs in the Indian Ayurvedic science of life.

By Katie Carman

These majestic trees send their roots down in pillars from branch to ground, can form a canopy over 80 feet high and can live to be 250 years old.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Cork is the go-to material for wine stoppers and bulletin boards. So are we really running out of it? And if so, what happens?

By Wendy Bowman