Close-up of wild cereal grass (Poa annua) blooming over dark background

A Most Opportunistic Colonizer

Poa annua is a unique grass species now thriving on every continent—including Antarctica. Wherefore its wanderlust?
A rose, Zéphirine Drouhin, against a black background

What Do Gardens and Murder Have in Common?

Writers have long plotted murder mysteries in gardens of all sorts. What makes these fertile grounds for detective fiction?
Watercolor illustration of Plumeria Acuminata commissioned by Scottish doctor and botanist William Roxburgh, late 18th century or early 19th century.

Plant of the Month: Frangipani

An ornamental plant whose white flowers hang over graveyards and temples in Southeast Asia presents complicated questions on national belonging and religious identity.
Meji Jingu Shrine on December 15, 2012 in Tokyo, Japan

Sacred Trees in Japan

In the modern city of Tokyo, mature forests and trees form a spiritual bridge between past and present.
François André Michaux, “Cotton Wood,” from The North America Sylva, 1817–19.

Plant of the Month: Poplar

Poplar—ubiquitous in timber, landscape design, and Indigenous medicines—holds new promise in recuperating damaged ecosystems.
Green-Wood Cemetery with Manhattan in background

Restoration in the Heart of the City

Green-Wood cemetery in New York City is also a site of urban grassland management and restoration, an effort to mitigate its contributions to climate change.
Downtown Los Angeles skyline

How to Plant Trees in the City: It’s Complicated

Trees in cities have the ability to sequester carbon, provide shade, and mitigate flooding. But no one tree fits all environments.
Oak tree

What Does a Tree See?

A hundred-year-old red oak in a Massachusetts forest told a writer and a team of scientists secrets about change over time.
Illustration of a Pawpaw

Plant of the Month: The Pawpaw

The pawpaw is finding champions again after colonizers' dismissal, increasing globalization and economic needs.
Dried flowers

Which Flowers Bloom First and Why?

A massive collection of dried flower specimens demonstrates that climate change disrupts the timing of spring blooms.