Parasitic plants tend to get a bad press. Unfairly?

It seems that for some plants and insects the attraction is so strong that they could not live without each other. This post is in both English and French.

Genome restructuring is an ongoing process in natural plant populations and the influence of environmental changes on the genome is crucial.

Evolution need not be a lonely path. Some insects and plants have evolved in partnership with each other, sharing an attraction that’s can be almost electric.

Interspecific hybridization and polyploidy are key processes in plant evolution and are responsible for ongoing genetic diversification in the genus Sorbus (Rosaceae). Ludwig et al. study mating systems of diploid, triploid and tetraploid taxa in a diversity ‘hotspot’ for Sorbus in south-west England and find mating inter-relationships to be complex, and to provide the driving force [...]

Picking up on my elemental theme, fire has long been considered a major influence on evolution of the angiosperms, whether natural or anthropogenic conflagrations. This incendiary interaction has not been helped by plants themselves, which not only generate highly calorific and combustible dry matter but also provide the oxygen needed to permit their combustion. The [...]

Most of the edible Citrus species are believed to be of interspecific origin as a consequence of reticulate evolution. Garcia-Lor et al. conduct phylogenetic studies at intergeneric level (Citrinae, Rutaceae) and within the Citrus genus based on targeted gene nuclear DNA sequences, SSR and indel nuclear markers. They clarify the phylogenetic relationships between the ancestral ‘true [...]