Botany: Media

Morning glories unfurl their petals like clockwork in the early morning. A closing white waterlily signals that it’s late afternoon. And moon flowers, as their name suggests, only bloom under the night sky. What gives plants this innate sense of time? Dasha Savage investigates how circadian rhythms act as an internal timekeeper for flora and fauna alike.

What if human consciousness isn't the end-all be-all of Darwinism? What if we are all just pawns in corn's clever strategy game to rule the Earth? Author Michael Pollan asks us to see the world from a plant's-eye view.

Plants are constantly under attack. They face threats ranging from microscopic fungi to small herbivores like caterpillars, up to large herbivores like elephants. But plants are ready, with a whole series of internal and external defenses that make them a less appealing meal — or even a deadly one. Valentin Hammoudi explains some of the fascinating ways that plants defend themselves.