Plants

Plants' many health benefits are helping fight some of humankind's biggest killers, such as heart disease and cancer.

How people power is saving plants from local extinction in North West England.

Looking at the record of bird poo preserved for thousands of years could give us clue as to what might happen as climate change gathers pace.

Canisius Kayombo is a remarkable researcher who is enriching our understanding of plants and science.  

The extinction risk to plants could be worse than previously thought, according to a landmark report.

They cover an enormous area of the UK and are home to many rare and declining wild plants, insects, amphibians and more.

Making Sun prints is a fun activity that can turn leaves and flowers into simple but distinctive artworks.

The first taxonomically verified checklist of the plants of New Guinea is complete.

Can you find these usual summer suspects on your walk?

Invasive species are a much bigger threat to nature than many people realise.

Like small signposts, lichens can tell us a lot about the air we are breathing. 

Some trees keep their distance from one another, but why do they do it?

Attract bees to your lawn with clover, grow a mini wildflower meadow, add areas of aromatic thyme and more ideas.

Sequencing the wheat genome could help to protect food supplies in the future.

The great diversity of life on Earth can become a literal support system.

Our cities are damaging our health. Here's how plants can help us.

Find out how to help urban nature and attract more wildlife to your garden.

This scavenger hunt will take you and your family back to the time of the dinosaurs.

The two-year project will help conserve rare plants and invertebrates.

Discover the story of the 11-tonne fossil that's been welcoming visitors to the Museum since 1887.

Wildfires are ripping through the Amazon rainforest at an unprecedented rate. 

Discover the most common trees in Britain's towns and cities and what helps them to thrive in an urban environment.

How did potatoes come to Europe and how did they adapt to a new environment?

Meet eighteenth-century naturalist and collector Sir Joseph Banks.

Follow our simple instructions to prepare pressed flowers for craft projects or create your own plant herbarium.

Museum wildlife experts share their favourite signs spring is here or on its way.

The new amoeba species is the earliest of its kind ever discovered.

The small but mighty insects buffer the forests against drought.

Hans Sloane's collection formed the basis of the Natural History Museum.

They include new dinosaurs, an ancient wombat and a giant shark.

Take our quiz to find out how familiar you are with the UK's plants and animals and their strategies for surviving winter.

Though visitors can spot his namesake on the iconic gilded ceiling of the Museum's Hintze Hall, few will have heard of Graman Kwasimukambe.

Researchers are delving into the origin of the aubergine by sequencing its DNA.

Bees' pollinating prowess often overshadows many of the insects working just as hard as them. 

Scientists believe that the arrival of just one more ash dieback spore could kill off Europe's remaining ash trees.

Meet the first person to illustrate a book with photographic images.

Plants appeared on Earth 100 million years earlier than scientists previously thought.

Hear from researcher Dr Anne Jungblut as she explores the abundance of life in the glaciers of South Georgia.

More than 20,000 plant specimens held at the Museum will be digitally copied.

Scientists have for the first time a clear baseline figure for the number of plant species that grow in the vast lowland rainforests of the Amazon.