Tag Plants
Newly identified gene helps time spring flowering in vital grass crops
The discovery may help plant breeders and engineers get more from food and energy crops. Read More
Cultural value of natural world doesn’t depend only on species diversity
Researcher Rose Graves' work in North Carolina has implications for other regions with deep ties to nature, such as lake- and forest-filled Wisconsin. Read More
New center brings together biologists, engineers to improve crops
The phenotyping center at the Wisconsin Crop Innovation Center aims to develop new ways to measure plants and address novel questions about what factors influence crop performance. Read More
From test tube to plate, UW–Madison program keeps potatoes clean
The Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program, a 104-year-old program run by UW–Madison, is dedicated to supplying Wisconsin farmers with quality, disease-free tubers. Read More
Parsley and other plants lend form to human stem cell scaffolds
The result could one day be an efficient, inexpensive and scalable technology for making tiny structures to repair muscle, organs and bone using stem cells. Read More
Monsanto donates Middleton plant research facility to UW–Madison
A $10 million commercial biotech plant laboratory in Middleton, Wisconsin, first opened in 1982 with the help of University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists, will soon become part of UW–Madison following a donation from Monsanto Company. Read More
Fast Plants Program’s new varieties are tailored for classroom use
A UW–Madison program built around plants that mature quickly enough to engage the scientific curiosity of elementary through college students is releasing two new varieties that make the popular plants even better suited to classrooms. Read More
UW botanist leads petition to give Venus flytrap endangered species protection
The plant faces multiple threats: habitat loss, diminished genetic diversity, predators and outbreaks of disease. Read More
Buckthorn Baggie kills invasive trees without chemicals
The problem was simple: Buckthorn kept resprouting in Matthew Hamilton's backyard after he cut it back. His patent-pending cure annihilates the weed tree once and for all. Read More
Beyond genes: Protein atlas scores nitrogen fixing duet
The massive atlas of plant and bacterial proteins is possibly the most exhaustive proteomic inventory of any kind to date. Read More
With designer lignin, biofuels researchers reproduced evolutionary path
As one of the researchers put it, 'Nature was already doing what we thought we’d laboriously taught her to do.' Read More
UW spinoff helps boost new crop in cranberry country
Some Wisconsin cranberry farmers have started growing aronia, a fruit that is sometimes touted, in this nutrition-conscious era, as the "next superfruit." A UW–Madison spinoff is helping explain aronia's benefits. Read More
Spring comes sooner to urban heat islands, with potential consequences for wildlife
It may be music to gardeners’ ears, but that tune could be alarming to some native and migratory birds and bugs. Read More
Carrot genome paints picture of domestication, could help improve crops
The crop's full genetic code was just deciphered by a team of researchers led by UW–Madison horticulture professor and geneticist Phil Simon. Read More
Specimens from George Washington Carver discovered at UW–Madison
At least 25 specimens of fungi that infect plants, collected more than a century ago, were found in the Wisconsin State Herbarium. Read More
Mycologist says our close relatives break the bounds of biology
The mushroom nicknamed "death cap" made headlines this summer when it poisoned Syrian refugees fleeing through Eastern Europe. Read More
Ancestors of land plants were wired to make the leap to shore
When the algal ancestor of modern land plants made the transition from aquatic environments to an inhospitable shore 450 million years ago, it changed the world by dramatically altering climate and setting the stage for the vast array of terrestrial life. Read More
Giant Pumpkin Regatta set for Oct. 10 at Memorial Union
Madisonians have a fun, alternative way to enjoy the fall harvest: attending the university's Giant Pumpkin Regatta at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Memorial Union Terrace, 800 Langdon St. Read More
Pharmacy garden exhibits the roots, shoots and leaves of medicine
The garden of traditional medicinal plants at the entrance of Rennebohm Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus shows the deep plant roots of pharmaceuticals, says former Dean Jeanette Roberts, a professor of pharmacy. Read More
Family tree for orchids explains their astonishing variability
Orchids, a fantastically complicated and diverse group of flowering plants, have long blended the exotic with the beautiful. Most species live on trees, often in remote, tropical mountains. Their flowers can be strange - one even flowers underground, and many species deceive their pollinators into thinking they are good to eat. Read More