Celastrus paniculatus, “the intellect tree”, is a climbing shrub with medicinal properties found throughout India. And it’s under threat.

Teasels are an important species for wildlife, but they don’t like salt. Will they survive?

Plants and Habitats of European Cities is apparently the ‘first explicit comparative account of plant diversity in several cities worldwide’ and the changes therein as a consequence of urban development…

“It’s the equivalent of finding a Tyrannosaurus rex in your back yard,” said Jimmy Turner, Director of Horticultural Research at Dallas Arboretum. His words echoed those of . It’s either a triumph of marketing or a millstone round the neck of botanists who think the Wollemi Pine should have a place in the Anthropocene as well as the Jurassic era.

Molecular genetic diversity and population structure analysis were used to clarify the controversial botanical classification of Stylosanthes guianensis.  In this paper, the accessions were clustered in nine groups, each of which was mainly composed of only one of the four botanical varieties.

Nathalie Escaravage, Jocelyne Cambecèdes,  Gérard Largier and André Pornon present here the genetic structure of the endangered endemic species, Aster pyrenaeus. Only 14 populations remain in the Pyrenees and the Cantabrian Mounts. The study provides new insights into the pattern of plant genetic diversity across these mountain ranges.

The rate of molecular evolution of Tricyrtis plant groups as a model system was estimated. The outcome further highlights the importance of conserving biodiversity in a rapidly changing Earth environment. This phylogenetic analyses of Tricyrtis with its high endemism in north-east Asia sheds light on processes of speciation processes.