Jan 23, 2025 · Discover a world of science hiding behind our beautiful botanical collections filled with over 40,000 living plants

While it isn’t listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, numbers of Rafflesia species across Indonesia are falling due to the impact of ecotourism.. To assist with pollination, Rafflesia flowers also produce heat which helps to spread their foul aroma. Rafflesia arnoldi pollen, unlike many other pollens, is a thick sticky liquid that dries on the back of …

The ginkgo tree is classified as Endangered according to the IUCN Red List and has also been given a high priority conservation status by the Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) method.. Living gymnosperms (naked-seed-bearing plants that include ginkgos, conifers, cycads, and gnetophytes) are one of the most threatened groups of living organisms on the planet, with 40% of ...

As members of the nightshade family (Solanceae), tomatoes were thought to be poisonous when brought to Europe and grown only as ornamental plantsBotanically, tomatoes are berries and considered fruit.However, in 1893 the US Supreme Court defined them as vegetables for tax purposes. The first genetically-engineered food to be sold in shops was the Flavr Savr tomato, which was modified to extend ...

Sunflowers can remove toxic elements from soils, like lead and uranium, and have been used in clean-up operations at both Chernobyl and Fukushima.. As ornamentals, there are a wide variety of sunflower cultivars, including ‘Aztec Sun’, ‘Mongolian Giant’ and ‘Teddy Bear’.. Despite their name, sunflower seeds are actually the fruit of the sunflower, known as an ‘achene’.

Dec 18, 2020 · Stretching from Bali to Timor, the Lesser Sunda islands are covered in seasonal tropical forests that are home to unique flora and fauna, including the world’s largest lizard the Komodo dragon and 74 bird species found nowhere else.

Probably one of the most recognisable trees in Britain, the common oak tree is a cultural icon. Quercus robur is the most common oak tree in the UK. Oak trees, leaves and acorns all feature on coats of arms, company logos and coins. Growing tall and broad, the common oak can be found in woodlands across Europe and plays a key role in forest ecosystems.

One of the world’s most popular products, chocolate, comes from the cacao, or cocoa tree. It is made from cocoa beans: The seeds stored in the yellow fruit of the cacao tree. Cacao beans have been eaten by humans for thousands of years. The Mayans and Aztecs mixed ground cacao beans with chilli to make a bitter and spicy drink.

Beautiful. Dangerous. Valuable. Delicious. The opium poppy is many things to many people. Opium has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, becoming an enormously profitable commodity in the 17th century, resulting in several wars over its sale. While probably most famous for being the source of the eponymous drug, the flowers are also cultivated for …

In the latter half of the 20th century, a small yew tree growing in the forests of the Pacific Northwest became the next big thing in cancer treatments. Paclitaxel, also known as taxol, was discovered in pacific yew tree bark, and was shown to be an effective treatment against a number of cancers. Unfortunately, the pacific yew was already …