Haller's pasqueflower (Pulsatilla halleri ssp. slavica) from the buttercup family is currently in full bloom in our alpine garden.

The spikemoss Selaginella picta with sporophylls and striking white upper leaves.

They were already visible at the beginning of January, but only now are they in full bloom: winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) from the buttercup family are currently flowering en masse and are being visited by all kinds of pollinators.

Everyone starts small, even the Queen of the Night (Selenicereus grandiflorus)!

In Gnetum gnemon, pollen is absorbed via a pollination drop that is secreted at the micropyle. This acts as a physical-chemical medium for pollen fixation and supports successful fertilization.

The superhydrophobic leaves of the algae fern Azolla caroliniana, which floats freely on water, are hollow and inhabited by symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria.

A jar full of flowering Utricularia subulata. This carnivorous plant has underground suction traps.

Nothing beats classical histology! Photo by Arroj Sajjad

Venus Flytrap cake, fresh from the lab meeting :) Thank you @aroojsajjad.bsky.social

Holy smokes

Abstract submissions for #SEBconference Florence 2026 are officially open! 🎉 Deadline: 6 March 2026. Submit today and be part of cutting-edge biology in Florence. More information www.sebiology.org/resource/seb-conference-florence-2026-abstract-submission-is-now-open.html

Peat moss Sphagnum medium in a bioreactor #MossMonday #BlueSkyMossFotos #Sphagnum

The seed pods of snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) could also have come straight out of a pirate movie...

(1/n) What if you never had to make your bed? What if your laundry could fold itself? Folding is everywhere around us - but did you know that folding flat sheets are at the ❤️ of diversity of shapes in the animal world - since 500 million years ago. Our latest work: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nudC...

The plant community of the year 2026 is the feather grass steppe. This is known to occur in the dune areas around Darmstadt and has already been targeted several times on our “Friends' excursions.” A near-natural dune can also be found in our botanical garden. www.nul-online.de/aktuelles/ne...

🏆 Engagiert, reflektiert, praxisnah – Athene-Preise 2025 verliehen! Gestern wurden im Anschluss an den „Tag der Lehre“ an der TU Darmstadt die Athene‑Preise für gute Lehre gemeinsam mit der Carlo und Karin Giersch Stiftung verliehen wurden – mit insgesamt 46.000 Euro dotiert.

I started to work on MscS-Like proteins 20 years ago, dreaming that they were involved in plant mechanotransduction. And it is becoming more & more clear that they are! #plantscience 🧪 "DmMSL10 is crucial for mechanosensing, facilitating AP firing by generating a receptor potential (RP) amplitude."

🌿 The Venus flytrap’s secret touch sensor A new study reveals that the protein MSL10 acts as a highly sensitive mechanosensor in the Venus flytrap. It enables the plant to detect touch, fire electrical signals, and snap shut on its prey. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... #SciComm #Plants 🧪

How do plants recover after drought? buff.ly/UG9TXGG via @salkinstitute #PlantScience #Science #Plants #drought #water

Press release from TU Darmstadt @tuda.bsky.social on the exciting discovery of the Great capricorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo) in the botanical garden: www.tu-darmstadt.de/universitaet...

Nice image movie by TU Darmstadt @tuda.bsky.social with participation of our doctoral candidate Arooj @aroojsajjad.bsky.social! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhND...

Peter Kappel @peterkappel.bsky.social from @poppingalab.bsky.social introduced me to the fascinatingly mobile, three-dimensional jaws of leeches with some clever imaging experiments

The Darth Vader plant, Aristolochia salvadorensis!

Coffee party time with our friend's association: great weather and flowering Aloe ovatifolia - not much left to be desired :)

Some biology students received a very special, unofficial certificate at this year's graduation ceremony...

Plant identification exerises - every student's dream!

Great talk by our guest Prof. Linnea Hesse from Hamburg University about the functional morphology of plants in 3D and over time. Let's hope we can do even more together in the future! Foto by Arooj Sajjad.

Relaxed interview shooting for a TUDa-related movie in our Botanical Garden. Thanks Arooj @aroojsajjad.bsky.social for your participation!

Maybe someone has a fitting paper in the pipeline? The Journal of Biosciences launches a Special Issue about functional morphology and biomechanics of plants and animals. Guest editors for this issue are Wencke Krings, Simon Poppinga, Thomas Speck, and Stanislav Gorb. www.ias.ac.in/Journals/Jou...

From June 14-22, the BioBlitz, a participatory campaign for citizens to record the diversity of wild species, will take place in the Botanical Garden of the TU Darmstadt @tuda.bsky.social. There will also be a special day of action on June 14 from 11 a.m. We look forward to beautiful finds!

Wir begrüßen Simon Poppinga @poppingalab.bsky.social als neuen außerplanmäßigen Professor am Fachbereich Biologie. Poppinga forscht zu Biomechanik, Funktionsmorphologie und Biomimetik und leitet seit 2022 den Botanischen Garten der TU Darmstadt. Zum Interview 👉 www.tu-darmstadt.de/universitaet...

The TU Darmstadt @tuda.bsky.social Open Campus day was a blast - good weather (mostly) and 6 hrs of non-stop discussing plant science with the public. A huge thanks to the team, @aroojsajjad.bsky.social and Peter Kappel! Photo by Sebastian Hess.

We will be supporting the TU Darmstadt Open Campus - Tag der Wissen schaf(f)t with an information stand about the Botanic Garden and ongoing research projects, a guided tour of the biodiversity measures on the Campus Lichtwiese, and a children's lecture on carnivorous plants!

Echium wildpretii in front of the Teide volcano, during our botanical excursion to Tenerife. Photo by Kerstin Reifenrath.

The dead horse arum lily (Helicodiceros muscivorus) temporarily captures its pollinators in so-called kettle traps.

Deherainia smaragdina surprises with green petals and a strong cheesefoot odor...

In order to promote biodiversity, a new maintenance concept for some areas on the Lichtwiese campus of TU Darmstadt is being implemented as part of a pilot project with the involvement of the Botanic Garden. www.tu-darmstadt.de/nachhaltigke...

Flowering Mibora minima, the smallest grass in the world.

Lots of pollen on the yew (Taxus baccata), during a public guided tour in the Botanical Garden :)

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) in full bloom

Bulbophyllum lasiochilum has a motile labellum for pollinator interaction.

That's quite a catch!

In addition to suction, the anterior and posterior suckers of the Mediterranean medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana) can also hold on by grasping, clinging and other effects. The BiPas project in our lab investigates this further! Image from DOI: /10.1098/rsif.2020.0300

Beautiful orchestration of Jeffrey's pine cone scales during drying. doi.org/10.3390/plan...

The flower of Roridula gorgonias, a carnivorous plant with symbiotic bugs that feed on prey caught in glue traps and fertilize the plant with their excrement.

Our Nepenthes alata x merrilliana captured a big cockroach!

The leptosporangium of Adiantum peruvianum shooting its spores, recorded with 50.000 fps

Selaginella uncinata, the blue spikemoss, has a striking bluish shimmer that supports photosynthesis in shady environments.

The aquatic carnivorous Waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda vesiculosa) uses underwater snap-traps, which close within ca. 20 milliseconds. However, this small crustacean was lucky and quick enough to escape the trap after triggering the closing process. The footage is slowed down 50x.