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Ferns: the houseplants that reveal how tropical rainforests are responding to climate change
Ferns are at their most diverse and abundant in the world’s tropical rainforests. This warm and humid ecosystem is heaven for these plants, which unfurl their feather-like leaves in the damp and shaded understory. So how did they ever come to colonise British living rooms? If you have a potted fern at home, your choice…
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Five Fascinating Insights into the Inner Lives of Plants
Approximately 4.5 billion years ago, Earth’s land surface was barren and devoid of life. It would take another 2 billion years for the first single-celled organisms to appear in the ocean, including the first algae Grypania spiralis, which was about the size of a 50 pence piece. Plants composed of many cells have only been…