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March 20, 2020

Prairie plants need fiery romance


For a prairie plant, a fiery love life isn’t just fun — it’s essential. In this study, researchers found that prescribed, expert-controlled fires are critically important to successful reproduction in prairie plants. Fires cause prairie plants to flower at the same time, which increases mating opportunities and seed production. The NSF-supported study, entitled “Fire synchronizes flowering and boosts reproduction in a widespread but declining prairie species,” was published in January, 2020 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Credit: The Echinacea Project, http://echinaceaproject.org


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