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 ...

“Leaves have evolved over millions of years to optimize light collection, transport of nutrients to and from the plant body, and mechanical stability against natural stresses,” says David Young a ...

Applied mathematicians dissected the morphology of the plantain lily, a characteristic long leaf with a saddle-like arc midsection and closely packed ripples along the edges. The simple cause of the ...

The technique could be used on everything from flowers to cells to examine the factors that influence the shapes of plant parts. The story of a plant is etched in its leaves. A tree growing in a cold ...

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 ...

video: Professor Miltos Tsiantis from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne talks about his recent work in CELL showing how genes act to determine leaf shape. view more ...

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 ...

I.—General Principles THE leaf is the essential and really active part of the ordinary vegetal organism: it is at once the mouth, the stomach, the heart, the lungs, and the whole vital mechanism of ...

Miltos Tsiantis and his group from the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research want to find out how biological forms develop and the basis for their diversity. The researchers are using thale ...

In late summer, the world is rich with lush green foliage. Take a stroll through a park or some nearby woods after a rainstorm, and you'll find an abundance of leaves strewn on the ground. Pick one up ...

Scientists have determined how key developmental genes influence growth of cells to produce such differences in leaf form. The researchers were able to make thale cress, which typically produces ...