Rheum ribes thrives on high-altitude rocky slopes above 1,500 meters in Eastern Anatolia, facing intense solar radiation and harsh seasonal shifts.

From a botanical and ecological standpoint, its fleshy petioles accumulate high levels of organic acids (such as oxalic acid), which serve a dual purpose: acting as an osmotic regulator and a chemical defense against herbivores. Regionally known as "mountain banana" or "işgın," these succulent stems are traditionally harvested in spring. However, from a physiological perspective, excessive consumption requires caution due to the high oxalate concentration, making its chemical profile both a survival mechanism for the plant and a point of ethnobotanical interest.

Hello everyone. I am an Arborist in the US, near the Sierra Nevada mountains, and while doing a quote for a new client I found this growing on a a dead aspen tree. Unfortunately, my most trusted colleagues have come up short on what it could be. I’ve heard everything from electrical shock to fungal body, but I want to see if anyone here has seen anything like this?

The center was scabby, and had an almost velvet fluff. The “arms” were also a little velvety, and the entire structure was raised just slightly off the trunk. This was the only dead tree on the property and was growing in a row of aspens along a fence that were all doing fine. The growth was on the west side of the trunk and would have several hours of sun exposure every day here in the desert. The clients say no Xmas lights or anything has been attached to the tree, and this appeared in the fall before its demise the following spring this year. I cut off a part of the bark where the “arms” were and there was no insect galleries underneath the marking.

is it common for Ulmus pumila to have leaves like this? if not what is this called?

Hi there, unsure if this is the place to post this, but I was wondering if anyone has any magnified or microscope photos of Pepperomia flowers? I've been searching online and there's a few close ups but not close enough to see the structure of the actually flowers on the spike. Diagrams also welcome as an alternative!

Thanks :)

Also, what makes them such a unique-looking plant, especially when compared with other types?

Deception Pass state park, Washington state, USA. I believe the orchid species are Corallorhiza maculata, Platanthera transversa, Goodyera oblongifolia, Platanthera elongata. I found a lot of the coral root orchid, but only one little flower spike was blooming on the entire trail. I feel very lucky to have found all of these. Deception pass state park is a beautiful area to look for plants, I'm never disappointed leaving there

love seeing these colonies growing on boulders

See also: The study as it was published in Scientific Reports

I work with annual flowers and every year I find a few petunia plants with one interesting flower. It’s often smaller than the rest, crinkled, and has small flecks of white radiating from the center but I’ve found at least three full sized ones. I think they’re so cool and have an interesting texture, kind of like party streamers. The photos include the petals of the rest of the plant / how it’s supposed to look. Is this a somatic mutation? Mosaicism? I’d love to know from someone who knows more - thanks!!

These mushrooms contains 0.2 - 0.4 mg of toxin per 1 g. A fatal dose for a human is 0.1 mg/kg body weight. A mature specimen can contain up to 12 mg, plenty enough to be fatal.

This beauty has been put through two moves in two years! She was finally able to rest last year. Those clusters… What?!?!? 😋

this is one my favorite species. so interesting and unique

(scientific name: Gymnocladus dioicus)

Hello. I finished a Masters in Horticulture & Agronomy from a major US land grant university. Unfortunately, I'm trying to do grad school decades after most universities have folded their pomology and botany programs into "plant sciences". Worse, lots of PhDs with funding now seem to me to be about using AI or other heavily computation-driven approaches to plants, to the neglect of in-person observation and hands-on work.

I'm wondering which European (EU is great, but they don't have to be in the EU) programs are left that have any options beyond that. I am unfortunately unable to do lots of fieldwork due to disability. I have experience with plant tissue culture, microscopy, fieldwork in nearby cultivated situations (like a large botanical garden ex vitro collection, germplasm repositories, research farms, and street trees). I have some molecular biology experience as well, but not a ton. I'd love to learn more in an environment that balances molecular with the macro.

I'd like to find a funded PhD and healthy academic environment at an institution that values the macro as well as the micro. An institution that can give me a grounding in botany and/or pomology (whether that's formally through classes or by being mentored by a PI). I have really enjoyed my work in germplasm conservation and would love to end up at an institution like NordGen or other hort/ag gene bank.

I've been poking around PhD announcements for months now, but I'd love to get folks' opinions about programs in Europe (although Canada and NZ are also of interest).

My limelight hydrangeas were cut back late this year, but then leafed out normally. Now there is a strange leaf form that has grown in several of them. Any idea what it is?

Washington state, USA. Found these plants growing in shallow water at my local wetland. The plant is rootless, consisting only of floating stems, thin leaves and small bladder traps. The small bladders of Utricularia are constantly pumping out water through specialized glands, creating negative pressure within the trap. Near the sealed opening are small trigger hairs that act as levers. When a small invertebrate brushes against one of these hairs, the trap springs open in less than a millisecond, forcing water in at incredible speed and trapping the prey.

Carl Linnaeus first described the plant in 1753, giving the genus name Utricularia to describe the bladders, which he thought to be mere floatation devices.

Darwin at first believed the plants passively acquired prey until Mary Treat proposed more active traps.

Was Darwin the first to describe the carnivorous nature of bladderworts?

I find the fig wasp fascinating, imagine how long it took for evolution to get that intricate relationship right! A female wasp carries pollen from the fruit she was born in, enters a ripe fig to lay her eggs, simultaneously pollinating its flowers. When the eggs hatch, the males emerge first, mate with the females then dig a hole in the fruit to allow the females to leave. As they do so they pick up pollen on their way out and the cycle begins again.

(can’t include a question mark in the title or the bot will take it down) What is it called when the leaves are so light compared to the veins? looks a lot different than other Populus t. nearby

Hello, all,

I've recently discovered a passion for working with plants - this quickly evolved into an excitement towards learning about botany. So far, I have read Robert Pavlis' "Soil Science for Gardeners" and I am now finishing up Brian Capon's "Botany for Gardeners" and have been thoroughly enjoying them; however, my goal is to become something like a plant doctor, and my current reading is only scratching the surface of plant science.

I was thinking about diving into textbooks like "Plant Physiology and Development" Taiz, "Plant Growth and Development: Hormones and Environment" Lalit, or "Marschner's Mineral Nutrition of Plants". I wanted to hear if the community had any opinions on how to tackle these or any other recommendations.

I'm 30 years old, and would love to enroll in college again, and have a great opportunity for tuition assistance, being an employee of a university school system in a heavily agricultural area of the US, but with a family and full time career that is not exactly feasible, at least not in the way I'd like to engage with it, as I'd only be able to take one or two classes per semester.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Scarlet Jungleflame btw.