Plants News

The mid-morning ambience in the wild patch of ground beside my home is consumed with the ecstatic hum of many busy bees. And while news of their staggering contribution to…

As many as 10 invasive alien species (IAS), out of 330 that are known to be invasive in India, have cost the economy $127.3 billion (Rs. 8.3 trillion) in the…

Medicinal plants in the Himalayas are under threat due to climate change, which calls for reviewing current conservation strategies, including protected parks in the mountain ranges, new research shows. The…

Researchers have prepared an extensive genome map of the protein-rich chickpea, by sequencing its genetic material, which helped confirm its origin and migration and discover new genes to aid crop…

Indian savannahs, often tagged as ‘degraded forests’ in the afforestation framework, are likely to throw up “tons of new plant species,” say Indian scientists in a new study. Scouring through…

The entrancingly sweet fragrance of the panneer roja jogs my memories of my beloved aunt accessorising my plait with enchanting blooms from her suburban rose garden. Honey bees love them…

Located in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, the 100 square kilometre Sessa Orchid Sanctuary is home to more than 200 species of orchids including several endemic and rare…

After two consecutive years of incessant rains, floods and landslides in the month of August, the smallest district in Karnataka, Kodagu, was in for a surprise this year. The famous…

While working on a project to document Maharashtra’s endemic species, researchers from the Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research (NGCPR) came across a unique tree that they had never seen…

Biological invasions are a major global challenge for the conservation of biodiversity, maintenance of ecosystem health and sustainable livelihoods. India is not new to the concept and consequences of invasive…

The Konkan Fruit Fest (KFF) is an initiative of Miguel Braganza and his team from Botanical Society of Goa, to preserve endangered food biodiversity by providing fruit growers a forum…

Shyam Sunder Jyani, who hails from the hot and sandy Thar desert region of India, greets you with an unexpected ode to greenery - “हरित प्रणाम”, he says, a Hindi…

For the past 14 years, artisan Deepak Dewangan has been weaving magic out of bamboo. Based in Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh which falls under the Bastar division, Dewangan has been…

The month of April, when Rongali Bihu is just around the corner and spring paints every tree with young, delicate leaves and blooming flowers, is Anamika Baruah’s favourite time of…

The recent Dzukou valley fire, which was doused after two weeks, has raised an alert for several groups of people – local inhabitants, tourists, stakeholders, environmentalists and more. The 80-90…

On February 26, 2003, a group of scientists set out to sea from Goa in the Arabian Sea, India, on a routine mission. They called it "sea truthing," verifying data…

Merely 20-kilometres away from Maharashtra’s Nashik city, the Anjaneri plateau has a good forest patch and is home to at least 105 species of forest and grassland birds including those…

For E. V. Soniya, a scientist with the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, science, and especially molecular biology, has been a lifelong passion. Her expertise in the basic…

During the monsoon season, a team of scientists from India and China embarked on a fungal foray in Assam. Over the course of two weeks, they were amazed by the…

In a village called Lathedi in Kutch, amid the semi-arid landscape, a small patch of land has been fenced with thorny branches by the local community. The aim, they said,…