Flowering Plants, Shrubs and Trees

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

Thinking allows us to solve problems, plan ahead and defend ourselves from outside threats. It's what separates us from "lower" life-forms like plants, right? Well, maybe not.

By Laurie L. Dove

Though they may be stuck in one place, plants have proven to possess a surprising array of capabilities. But the ability to feel pain? Scientists are learning that the possibility isn't as crazy as it sounds.

By Laurie L. Dove & Desiree Bowie

An interesting defense mechanism recently observed in tomato plants has caterpillars turning on themselves rather than remaining vegetarian.

By Laurie L. Dove

You can't find trees taller than these behemoths. But do you know which is the tallest tree in the world?

By Jesslyn Shields

In the quest for the title of world's oldest tree, there's some stiff competition, as well as questions surrounding the way we define "oldest."

By Laurie L. Dove & Sascha Bos

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

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

Requiring little care and upkeep, daffodils are bright, showy perennials that symbolize rebirth and new beginnings.

By Wendy Bowman

Mangroves provide a habitat for wildlife such as fish, birds, deer and insects. They also stabilize shorelines, protect against storm surges and improve water quality. What's not to love?

By Stephanie Parker

Snake plants are attractive and virtually ironclad houseplants, almost impossible to kill, though some of the hype about them acting as air purifying filters has been overblown.

By Jesslyn Shields

How does a plant — incapable of waving its arms or screaming — attract attention and spread its seed? By evolving a powerful stink or an attractive color, of course.

By Jesslyn Shields

Hundreds of crops in developing countries are relatively unknown in the developed world because they're often hard to grow or export. But scientists have found that CRISPR editing can speed up traditional plant breeding techniques.

By Dave Roos

Machines can translate some of the biological functions of plants into synthesizer sounds. But are these synthesized translations the same thing as music?

By Jesslyn Shields

Germinated in medieval times, the pine named Italus now holds the record as Europe's oldest tree.

By Jesslyn Shields

Nine of the 13 oldest baobab trees researchers examined over the past 12 years have died. What's killing off these majestic trees?

By John Donovan

A massive white oak in the hometown of the University of Georgia has many wondering whether a tree can even have legal rights — and about the future of the environmental and animal rights movements.

By Jamie Allen

In a high-traffic city like Denver, a booming cannabis industry could make air quality even worse.

By Jesslyn Shields

Poison sumac is even more toxic than its cousins, poison ivy and poison oak, in its ability to cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems.

By Alia Hoyt