The study of plant life; e.g. angiosperms, gymnosperms, bryophytes, pteridophytes, and algae.
37
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3answers
589 views
Is there a reason why human eyesight and plants make use of the same wavelength of light?
The accepted range for the wavelengths of light that the human eye can detect is roughly between 400nm and 700nm. Is it a co-incidence that these wavelengths are identical to those in the ...
30
votes
4answers
2k views
Why do plants have green leaves and not red?
I know plants are green due to chlorophyll.
Surely it would be more beneficial for plants to be red than green as by being green they reflect green light and do not absorb it even though green light ...
24
votes
4answers
368 views
How does the sensitive plant detect vibrations?
The sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) is a remarkable little plant whose characteristic feature is its ability to droop its leaves when disturbed:
Apparently, this ability to droop rests on the cells ...
21
votes
1answer
274 views
How long will a vegetable live for after being harvested?
I understand this might depend on the types of vegetables, but is there an average or studied specifics? Does it die immediately? Is there a way to precisely diagnose death in plants? If so, what are ...
20
votes
4answers
1k views
Do plants produce any heat?
Many plants (e.g. roses, palms) can be protected from frost during the winter if shielded with an appropriate coat that can be bought in garden shops. Do plants produce any heat that can be kept ...
17
votes
4answers
879 views
Do trees really get a large share of their mass from the carbon in the air?
I remember hearing that trees and other plants actually obtain a large amount of their mass from the carbon floating in the air, not the ground beneath them. Does the makeup of air actually contain ...
15
votes
4answers
367 views
How do trees manage to grow equally in all directions?
I was walking down a road with these beautifully huge trees when this question occurred to me.
Large trees with many thick branches have to grow equally in all directions, or they would tip over. Is ...
14
votes
1answer
180 views
What is the lowest pressure at which plants can survive?
What is the lowest pressure at which plants can survive? How the plants behave in a Martian-type atmosphere? Is there any plant that can survive such atmosphere?
Can a lichen grow at Martian ...
13
votes
1answer
214 views
Do trees age on a microscopic level?
Most animals age via at least two mechinisms:
at a "macroscopic" level, basically wear and tear to the point where (on evolutionary time scales) it's more genetically advantageous to optimize for ...
12
votes
2answers
247 views
Why was it so hard to decode the corn genome?
My teachers growing up told me it was impossible to decode the maize genome. But yet its been done.
Why was decoding the genome so significant, and what made it so difficult?
12
votes
2answers
1k views
How will rising carbon dioxide levels in the troposphere affect photosynthetic producers?
Much discussion has been had about the affects of climate change on plantlife, but how will rising carbon dioxide concentrations affect the photosynthetic process itself? Since CO2 is a reagent in ...
12
votes
2answers
319 views
How Do Galls Form?
I am curious how Gall Wasps, bacteria and other organisms induce galls to form.
Specifically, what chemicals induce gall formation?
11
votes
2answers
253 views
Are there any plants that fix their own nitrogen?
I know that most nitrogen is fixed through industrial processes and bacterial symbiotic relationships. However, are there any plants that can fix their own atmospheric nitrogen?
11
votes
2answers
117 views
How to decide which is the correct scientific name for a particular species
To start with, I am not a person having sound knowledge in biology. When I started my search for phyto-chemicals in a particular family in the plant kingdom, I got confused. The scientific papers use ...
11
votes
1answer
159 views
Why do some trees have a life span, while some don't?
I have heard that there is no limit on the growth of trees, but then why do some trees, such as boxelders and poplars, tend to live shorter than redwoods, for example? Some advertisements for improved ...
10
votes
2answers
140 views
How deep in the soil can a seed be placed and still develop into a plant/tree?
The selected answer to How does a plant grow before photosynthesis is possible? indicates that a sprout grows beneath the soil using the food stored within the seed.
Does this limited ready food ...
10
votes
1answer
115 views
(How) does coppicing fundamentally alter tree growth?
I am interested in adding the ability to model coppice tree production to a model of perennial crops (Miguez et al 2008)..
Implementing the biomass pools and allocation parameters required for tree ...
10
votes
3answers
147 views
Most suitable biodiversity index
I am conducting an investigation into the effect of two different grass management techniques (grazing vs. machine-mowing) upon floral biodiversity.
I have collected my data and now need to process ...
10
votes
1answer
4k views
How to store vegetables in the refrigerator: In plastic bags or not?
My wife and I are having a debate similar to this one:
I claim that it's better to take the fresh veggies out of the bags and put them in the crisper with humidity control because:
That's what the ...
9
votes
2answers
904 views
Did animals evolve from plants?
Did animals evolve from plants? Did the animals' ancentors have chloroplasts in their cells?
9
votes
4answers
161 views
What was the reason for some plant and animals to become giant in course of evolution?
The dinosaurs, mammoths, giant plants etc are known to be bigger than modern animals. I wonder why they had been lived and why they are not living now? I really don't know much but is it something ...
9
votes
1answer
423 views
Why do some plant species have lobed leaves, while similar species in the same habitat don't?
Some plants have lobed leaves, like the English oak (Quercus robur), while other plants growing the same deciduous woodland habitats, and very often growing alongside oaks, such as the European beech ...
9
votes
1answer
85 views
Why do some fruits have a much wider range of acceptable sizes than others?
Some fruits such as pumpkins can grow to be 100 lbs. Under different conditions, the same variety of pumpkin can produce a 15 lb. fruit. Both plants are healthy, and look the same except for their ...
9
votes
1answer
473 views
What's the effect of oxygen deficit on plants?
As I know all cells require oxygen. So my question is how efficiently can plants operate in no-oxygen atmosphere? Do all plants produce enough oxygen for themselves? Can they consume their own oxygen ...
9
votes
1answer
80 views
Why do cucurbits produce so much fluid when their stems are cut?
When carrying out some germination tests on species in the Cucurbitaceae, I notice that young plants of this family produce a lot of clear fluid when they are dissected. Most plants I dissect do not ...
8
votes
2answers
219 views
What kind of fruit is this?
Just spotted this fruit while walking to school. It's the size of a small coin.The taste is almost sour and tangy and somewhat sweet (I only tried one of them and very little of it). I admit, ...
8
votes
1answer
87 views
What are the variables that control/influence the color of oranges(Citrus sinensis)?
I hear that Oranges cultivated in tropical areas of the world tend to be greener when ripe, is that correct?
Even the same type of Orange differs in color if cultivated in California or Florida. I ...
8
votes
1answer
118 views
Can plants get cancer?
I can't think of any reason why plants wouldn't be able to get cancer, but I've never heard of a plant growing a tumor. I've also never seen a plant with a noticeable abnormal growth. Can plants get ...
8
votes
1answer
342 views
Does the use of “var”, “x”, and/or “ssp” in a scientific name provide specific information?
What exactly does it mean when a plant has a scientific name that specifies a vairety, for example Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides, or when the name includes an "x", as in Populus ...
8
votes
0answers
83 views
How would a warm winter affect maple sap production?
The past winter (2011-2012) was warmer than usual.
Trees are normally tapped in late February when the daily maximum temperature goes above freezing. However, assuming that there have been ...
7
votes
1answer
257 views
Why are some berries poisonous?
In my understanding, the evolutional function of berries is to be eaten and pood out somewhere else, so that the seeds of the plant spread. Is this so? Then why are some berries poisonous?
7
votes
1answer
561 views
How can a monocot get so massive?
Some monocots (such as palms) are impressively thick and massive, yet botanists maintain that they don't have secondary growth. Why do botanists say this? How can it get so big without secondary ...
7
votes
1answer
284 views
Can any plant regenerate missing tissue?
I have not yet found a plant that, when an insect eats a hole in one of its leaves, it can regenerate the lost tissue. Many plants will grow a new stem if the old one is cut, but it is not a perfect ...
7
votes
1answer
203 views
If the xylem of a woody plant is composed of dead tissue, how does sapwood become heartwood?
If the xylem of a tree is composed entirely of dead tissue, then that means the sapwood is dead. If so, how does it transform into heartwood, and what starts the process?
7
votes
1answer
209 views
What's the name of the fibrous strands that hold the seeds in a pumpkin?
If you cut open a pumpkin, the seeds are suspended inside the pumpkin by some fibrous, slimey strands. You can see them in the middle of this sliced-open pumpkin:
I'm writing a post for the ...
7
votes
1answer
85 views
Can fruit tissue be cultured and grown independent from the plant?
Can fruit tissue be grown in a tissue culture as is done to other plant tissues? From the answer to this question, I learned that fruit is alive. Could it be possible to manufacture fruit products ...
6
votes
2answers
863 views
Are there any motile plants?
There are numerous examples of sessile animals (sponges, barnacles etc.) but are there any examples of motile plants? If not, why not? Surely mobility would have conferred an evolutionary advantage to ...
6
votes
2answers
169 views
What's the difference between a plant and an animal?
Are there some living things where the distinction between plant and animal is blurry or unclear? I wouldn't know where to put something like yeast. I also thought of photosynthesis, but then I ...
6
votes
1answer
64 views
Do any plants exhibit hormonal changes similar to puberty?
Just what the title states.
Are there any plants/trees that exhibit a growth spurt at a definite interval after the shoot appears?
6
votes
1answer
161 views
How do white Caladiums perform enough photosynthesis to support their mass?
In some white caladiums, there is less than a square inch of green space spread over the whole leaf. How do these plants perform the photosynthesis necessary to support the large leaves, the roots, ...
6
votes
1answer
127 views
What's a good reference for choosing histological staining chemicals?
It's often difficult to find the appropriate or best stain to use when I want to examine a new type of tissue. I think that's partly because many histological techniques were developed a long time ...
5
votes
1answer
192 views
Photosynthetic Pigments vs. Chloroplasts
What is the difference between Photosynthetic Pigments and Chloroplasts? I know plants have both but Prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archeae) only have the former.
5
votes
1answer
219 views
Do immature fruits perform photosynthesis?
Most immature fruits are green: peppers, pine cones, plums, lots of them. I want to know if the green is from chlorophyll in the cells. Do the fruit cells perform photosynthesis? When you cover a ...
5
votes
1answer
212 views
How does plant grafting work?
Plant grafting is a process whereby a piece of one plant is inserted into another and results in a change of the original plant. For example, grafting a piece of a lemon tree into a bitter orange tree ...
5
votes
1answer
34 views
Why are some plants frost tender?
Why do some plants have the ability to stand frost, while others can't? Does it have to do with the size of the water vacuoles in the plant cells?
5
votes
1answer
52 views
What mechanisms tell temperate trees when to drop leaves?
I've been looking around and cannot find a definite answer on what it is that tells trees to change their metabolism and drop leaves. I see that such activity is called Deciduous.
What interests me ...
4
votes
2answers
63 views
Is it possible to grow any kind of plant soilless (hydroponics)?
Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. [wikipedia]
My question is if is it possible to grow any kind of ...
4
votes
1answer
212 views
What is the largest perennial herbaceous plant?
What is the largest perennial herbaceous plant? My guess would be some kind of banana or bamboo.
4
votes
1answer
37 views
Photosynthesis regulation
I read about the regulation of Calvin cycle by thioredoxin which activates key enzymes essentially by converting disulphide linkages on inactive enzymes into sulfhydryls. Another regulatory mechanism ...
4
votes
1answer
104 views
How do plants intake minerals through their leaves?
How do plants intake the fertilizer when it is sprayed all over the leaf surface as a foliar feed?
