Nature reports

Coralita is an ornamental plant that was introduced to several Caribbean islands and has quickly found its way to the top of the invasive species lists for the Dutch Caribbean. Its fast-growing vines smother and outcompete native..

Researchers from Wageningen University & Research and the University of Amsterdam report on a fascinating case of competition between an animal and an invasive pIant. In tropical ecosystems, photosynthesizing organisms are..

If a dried specimen of an extinct plant species still has seeds in a herbarium, is the plant really extinct? A global team of scientists toyed with that question. To arrive at the answer, they made a survey of all extinct plants..

The plant genus Phyllanthus was large and complex. PhD student Roderick Bouman disentangled it. ..

Why do some plants grow into large woody shrubs or colossal trees, while others remain small and never produce wood in their stems? It’s an evolutionary puzzle that already baffled Charles Darwin more than 160 year ago. Now,..

The mangrove forest of Lac Bay, Bonaire, is experiencing a die-off of trees in its northern area. Increasing the tidal exchange by creek restoration likely enlarges the living conditions of the mangrove trees. A collaboration..

Summers are getting hotter on average, showers are becoming more intense, and sea levels are rising ever so slightly. “But it's not just the changing averages that determine whether an organism can settle somewhere or not. It's..

The Netherlands is known for its beautiful and colourful tulips. Though most tulips originate from the Ottoman empire, Tulipa sylvestris, the wild tulip, followed a different path. Anastasia Stefanaki and Tinde van Andel, both..

Which 'hidden' organisms live in the city? How can we use these organisms to help trees grow better, make concrete more plant-friendly and measure heat stress? Will city dwellers act more environmentally conscious if they let..

A global biological study has provided the most direct evidence to date that humans, and specifically cities, are the drivers of evolutionary change on earth. Leiden University, the municipality of Leiden and Naturalis..