Botany

Volunteers hike into the Victorian mountains to plant banksias that are the "genetic perfect match" to those wiped out by fire. 

Fran Guard turned to fungi research after finding a species that had not yet been scientifically described while weeding her rainforest property.

Researchers say it's like Han Solo from Star Wars coming out from carbonite freezing, but for plants.

There are fewer than 1,000 in the wild, but it is hoped a group of green thumbs can help save the Tumut grevillea from extinction.

A Victorian wine producer has cut his chemical usage after growing grapes resistant to disease.

The CSIRO and Wine Australia are trialling fast-growing, mildew-resistant grapevines designed to maintain yield and wine quality in a changing climate.

A researcher who studies human decomposition has analysed samples of Putricia the corpse flower during its bloom in January for its scent compounds.

Hand-pollination of the pungent corpse flower results in hundreds of seeds that will be sent across the world to help preserve the endangered species.

Named Putricia after its infamous smell, the giant stinky corpse flower has had thousands of people watching its progress on a daily live feed.

The flower has been said to smell like rotting flesh, wet socks or hot cat food, and only stinks for 24 hours after blooming.

A number of animals, plants and an entire ecosystem were added to Australia's extinction watch list in 2024. We look at the new species under threat.

An orchid weevil made its way into the Cairns Botanic Gardens undetected until plants began to show signs of distress, but by then almost the whole collection was infested.

The discovery of a close relative of the world's most popular psychedelic fungus suggests magic mushrooms came from Africa about 1.5 million years ago.

Duckweed is an abundant plant in many parts of the world and researchers are testing if it can be grown in space.

Deep in the bush of northern Tasmania, Sarah Lloyd is crouched over a mossy log holding a magnifying glass brimming with quiet excitement. She is hunting for slime moulds.

An Australian minerals company wants to clear about 1,000 hectares of threatened native banksia woodlands for two WA mining projects.  

When a scientist at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria discovered a tiny blue packet, he likely had little idea it would lead him on a decades-long quest to solve an international mystery.

Brandan Espe goes to great lengths — and occasionally puts his life at risk — to collect rare plants due to their environmental importance.

Australia has up to 250,000 species of fungus but only a fraction of them have been named and described. A group of citizen scientists is working to change that.

Satellite data impressively illustrates what many northern Australian producers savouring lush pasture already know — the just-finished wet season was one for the record books.