The hot and dry desert environment has led to big genetic differences between male and female jojoba plants, a discovery which could boost jojoba production and shed light on how plants adapt to environmental stress.

Clarence the giant schnauzer came into Penny Wagner's life as a puppy nearly eight years ago, at a traumatic time for her family.

With crops, farmers will adapt—they always have and always will. To help this adaptation, however, a Texas A&M AgriLife research project has used artificial intelligence modeling to determine what traits cultivars will need to be successful under changing climate conditions.

We've all seen the picture of the polar bear perched precariously on a melting iceberg. It's the obligatory poster child for any discussion about species that are endangered by climate change. It isn't alone, of course. To commandeer a clickbait cliché, you'll be amazed to hear about some of the plants and animals—from household names to virtual unknowns—that could be consigned to the history books by global heating. Here are just a handful of the many species that Fauna & Flora […]

About 175,000 plant species—half of all flowering plants—mostly or completely rely on animal pollinators to make seeds and so to reproduce. Declines in pollinators could therefore cause major disruptions in natural ecosystems, including loss of biodiversity.

A team of researchers affiliated with a host of entities across the U.S., has found evidence that suggests the practice of widespread monoculture has increased the prevalence of pollinator parasites. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of bees in California's Central Valley, and what they found.

When an asteroid struck 66 million years ago and wiped out dinosaurs not related to birds and three-quarters of life on Earth, early ancestors of primates and marsupials were among the only tree-dwelling (arboreal) mammals that survived, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences surveyed all known sites of Passiflora xishuangbannaensis (known as Xishuangbanna passion flower) over past years. They found only 38 individuals in its native habitat, confirming it as a plant species with extremely small population. Nine Passiflora species are endemic to Yunnan with most species occurring in South America, making P. xishuangbannaensis highly significant and emblematic to the […]

Young birds that eat insects with conspicuous warning colouration to advertise their toxicity to would-be predators quickly learn to avoid other prey that carry the same markings. Developing on this understanding, a University of Bristol team have shown for the very first time that birds don't just learn the colors of dangerous prey, they can also learn the appearance of the plants such insects live on.

The sweet, earthy fragrance of sandalwood oil has made it immensely popular in incense sticks, candles and perfumes. But its beautiful scent may also be its downfall—Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) is facing extinction in the wild.