The plant genus Helichrysum has colonised Madagascar several times from Africa while maintaining similar biomes.
• A study led by the AFROMONT research team has revealed new insights into the origin and evolution of Madagascar’s flora. • Several analyses performed on the genus Helichrysum have revealed evolutionary links between the island’s species and species from various regions of continental Africa, providing evidence of multiple long-distance colonisations. • The results […]
Fossils show that insect pollinators are older than flowering plants
Researchers at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB, CSIC – CMCNB) have led a comprehensive review of evidence suggesting that insect pollination of plants has been occurring for much longer than previously believed. Their study, based on fossil records, also illustrates how pollinator groups have changed over time. Of all currently known living species, angiosperms […]
New research on China’s relict plant lineages published with IBB participation
China is notable for maintaining a rich flora with origins dating back millions of years, which survived global cooling during the latter half of the Neogene. While this cooling led to the extinction of numerous plants in regions such as Europe and North America, the existence of climatic refuges with relatively stable conditions in East […]
The Citizen Science Project «Melanogaster: Catch The Fly» Wins at Falling Walls Science Summit 2024
The citizen science initiative Melanogaster: Catch The Fly! (MCTF) has been selected as one of the winners at the prestigious Falling Walls Science Summit 2024 in Berlin. Recognized as a Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year, the project Melanogaster: Catch The Fly (MCTF) allows students in rural schools, educators, and citizens to actively engage […]
Botanical Expedition in Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range (Kenya)
Researchers Lucía Moreyra (IBB-CSIC) and Cristina Roquet (member of the CSIC-associated unit “Systematics and Evolution of Vascular Plants”) conducted an expedition earlier this year to the Aberdare Range and Mount Kenya. The expedition focused on studying the ecology, chorology, and morphology of two groups of plants from the Asteraceae family: African thistles and a group […]