Lei Day in Hawaiʻi is more than just a festival—it’s a vibrant tapestry of living tradition, scientific wonder, and heartfelt connection to the land. Imagine fragrant strands of pikake and vivid loops of ʻilima, each flower telling a story that stretches back centuries. On May 1st, the islands pulse with color and scent, as people ...
Glistening in the morning light, sundews look like something out of a fairy tale—tiny, delicate plants crowned with what appear to be dewdrops. But don’t be fooled by their sparkling beauty. These plants are not gentle forest ornaments; they are among nature’s most cunning predators, perfectly engineered to lure, capture, and consume unsuspecting victims. Their ...
Imagine witnessing a garden that trembles with anticipation, flowers closing up hours before the ground shakes, or trees releasing an unusual scent on an otherwise calm morning. Throughout history, tales have swirled about plants acting as silent sentinels—heralds of seismic disaster. Is there truth buried beneath these age-old stories, or are they just whimsical folklore ...
Imagine a world hidden within the hollow stem of a plant—a bustling metropolis of ants, secret tunnels, nurseries, and an intricate exchange of life’s essentials. This isn’t a scene from a science fiction novel, but a real phenomenon unfolding in rainforests, jungles, and even your local botanical garden. Ant plants, or myrmecophytes, have evolved alongside ...
Imagine a world where plants don’t just sway gently in the breeze, but actively hunt, trap, and digest animals. It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, but this is the astonishing reality of carnivorous plants. Most people know the iconic Venus flytrap, with its jaw-like leaves snapping shut on unsuspecting insects. But what if ...
It’s a scene fading from memory: a tangled hedgerow alive with birdsong, wildflowers bursting from the brambles, and a symphony of insects busily weaving through the leaves. Once, these living boundaries stitched the English countryside together, supporting a world of color and life. Now, many of those native plants—guardians of biodiversity—have vanished from hedgerows, victims ...
When birds feed on nectar from flowers, they do more than just get a meal—they play a crucial role in pollination, transferring pollen from one flower to another. But how well do the shapes of their beaks match the flowers they visit? A new study on Australian honeyeaters feeding on spotted emu bush (Eremophila maculata) ...
Maria Faith Saligumba
Maria Faith Saligumba
