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Plant ecology

Family roots

Experiments in which related and unrelated plants were grown together reveal the ability of roots to recognize their kin. The ecological and evolutionary implications are tantalizing topics for future studies.

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Figure 1: The Great Lakes (or American) sea rocket, Cakile edentula

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Callaway, R., Mahall, B. Family roots. Nature 448, 145–146 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/448145a

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