Most of us aren’t spending our days watching our houseplants grow. We see their signs of life only occasionally – a new leaf unfurled, a stem leaning toward the window. But in the summer of 1863, ...

Flowers are one of the most striking examples of diversity in nature, displaying myriad combinations of colours, patterns, shapes and scents. They range from colourful tulips and daisies, to fragrant ...

They brighten our days with their sunny, vibrant and summery feel. But as it turns out sunflowers are not just pretty to look at, they also have a hidden feature that may offer clues as to how plants ...

It turns out sunflowers are more than just a pretty face: the ultraviolet colours of their flowers not only attract pollinators, but also help the plant regulate water loss. It turns out sunflowers ...

New UC Davis research shows how an internal circadian clock controls the opening of individual florets in concentric rings in the sunflower head. This helps attract pollinating insects. (Jason Spyres) ...

A new sunflower-inspired pattern increases concentrated solar efficiency. Just outside Seville, in the desert region of Andalucia, Spain, sits an oasis-like sight: a 100-meter-high pillar surrounded ...

Dancing in the sunlight: Yasmine Meroz inspects a sunflower plant. (Courtesy: Tel Aviv University) Sunflowers in a field can co-ordinate the circular motions of their growing stems to minimize the ...

In this study, researchers found that sunflowers grown in a dense row naturally formed a near-perfect zigzag pattern, with each plant leaning away from the row in alternating directions. This pattern ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Chantal Nguyen, University of Colorado Boulder (THE CONVERSATION) Most of us aren’t ...