Probably the first pioneer plants to arrive in Hawaii were mosses and ferns. Ferns have been around for over 360 million years. Giant tree fern forests were common for millions of years but they gave ...

Plant biologists report that a species of tree fern found only in Panama reanimates its own dead leaf fronds, converting them into root structures that feed the mother plant. The fern, Cyathea ...

In the Panamanian rainforest, scientists found the first known plant species to transform decaying tissue into a new source of nutrients. By Douglas Main In the rainforests of western Panama, the ...

With wispy tufts that drape trees like haunted-house cobwebs, old man’s beard lichen can be an unexpected sight in northern ...

Scientists have discovered a zombie tree that converts its leaves into roots as it dies. The Cyathea rojasiana tree fern, which is native to Panama in Central America, was studied by plant biologists ...

Ordinarily, once a fern's leaf fronds have died, the plant has no further use for them. Such is not the case with the Cyathea rojasiana fern, though – a scientist has discovered that its dead fronds ...

The gumbo limbo, Bursera simaruba, also called the naked Indian tree in the Caribbean is hard to miss because of its reddish shiny bark. It is also referred to as the living fencepost tree since a ...

The colossal tree in northern York County is one of the nation's great survivors. Its seven trunks erupt in all directions from a well-worn base in an open field. Its limbs are gnarled and its height ...

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign plant biology professor James Dalling and his colleagues discovered that some tree ferns recycle their dead fronds into roots. The researchers call these ...