We can find all kinds of leaves on our planet. Just think of tiny pine needles, fern fronds, ivy vines or a big banana leaf. My friend Eric Roalson is a professor at Washington State University who is ...

The tropical butterfly Heliconius erato distinguishes between shapes, and uses them as a cue for choosing the plants on which to feed and lay eggs, shows new research by scientists from the University ...

Subtle changes in genetics can have major effects on how leaves grow into a wide variety of shapes. John Innes Centre Around the globe, plants have evolved to use their leaves for many purposes: broad ...

Credit: Visualization of a narrow leaf-environment diffuse interface. Credit: Vishnu Muraleedharan, Sajeev C Rajan, Jaishanker R Complexity of biological forms has fascinated humankind over the years.

A study suggests how mechanical forces influence the shapes of plant leaves and flower petals. The genetic and biomolecular mechanisms that give rise to complex 3D shapes in plant organs have been ...

Just a little over a year ago, I launched a From the Farm social media page on Facebook to allow added interaction with readers. With 6,000 followers and growing, it provides one more communication ...

Thin sheets assume a rich diversity of shapes in the natural world, ranging from folds on the earth’s crust, to the wavy shapes of leaves and flowers, down to more microscopic biomembranes and ...

Floating lotus leaves retain their flat, circular shape thanks to the water that supports them. The leaves of a young lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) lie flat on the surface of ponds and lakes, with only ...

The cells that make up the walls of the finest of all lymphatic vessels have a lobate, oak leaf-like shape that makes them particularly resilient to changes in fluid volume. A similar cell shape also ...