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Gardeners and Nature lovers already appreciate the botanical wonders around us, but plants are more than floral beauties. We owe the air we breathe to them, all of our food, and much of our housing. Animals from elephants to ants depend on plant-life. And the world's flora has an equally intimate relationship with the birds, insects, mammals and humans around them.

Explore these relationships and find the latest botany discoveries through the links below.

Or check out the categories in the menu.

What Street Trees Can Do

"Urban forests have a role to play in reducing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. Urban trees reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) through sequestration and reducing GHG emissions by conserving energy used for space heating and cooling."

How Green Is Your Business?

"Forests provide pure water and regulate temperatures. Wetlands help mitigate floods. Businesses can hurt these and other ecosystem services (like wind breaks and the pollination of crops) or then can assist and benefit from them. A new report from Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) looks at seven tools business can use to assess their impacts on ecosystem services. "

Trees Can Make Their Own 911 Call

"It turned out that a slight difference of acidity between tree and soil creates an imbalance of hydrogen ions, generating voltage. The next question was: What could be done with such limited power?"

Biodiversity Pays Off

"Diversity is valuable socially, economically and now environmentally. Research by Michigan State University scientists has found that growing more corn to produce ethanol creating less diverse landscapes — reduces the ability of beneficial insects to control pests, a loss valued at about $58 million per year in the four states studied."

Spicy Peppers Protect Themselves

"The new research provides convincing evidence that the bitter and sometimes toxic chemicals found in many fruits serve to prevent microbial attack — a popular idea that has been difficult to demonstrate. "

EXTRA! Extra! Biodiversity Theory Proven?

"It's still a mystery why there are 300 times more herbivorous insects than bird species, but now we are able to implicate traits of both plants and insects that have given rise to so many species."

The Little Guys Win

"Until now most of the thinking has suggested that to be a good competitor in the forest, you have to be a big plant …But our research shows it’s virtually the other way around."