Botanists are getting competitive when it comes to naming plant species. Duke University has announced that a whole genus of ferns, with 19 known species, has been named after Lady Gaga. This, as the press release notes, beats the mere one carnivorous plant that Helen Mirren has named after her. In her defence though when [...]

Patterns of ploidy variation can provide useful insights into the evolutionary mechanisms that shape the dynamics of plant systems showing ploidy diversity. Trávníček et al. examine cytotype variation in fragrant orchids, Gymnadenia species, at different spatial scales, from transcontinental to intra-populational. They find that most Gymnadenia populations exhibit considerable cytogenetic (and, to a lesser degree, taxonomic) [...]