A recent study led by Bucknell University Professor Chris Martine, biology, the David Burpee Professor in Plant Genetics & Research, has identified and described a new species of bush tomato with a special connection to ants — a taxonomic journey sparked by unusual specimens held in Australian herbarium collections.

Biology professor Chris Martine and his wife, Rachel, artist relations and educational programs coordinator at the Weis Center, publish new guide to shrubs and vines of the mid-Atlantic states.

A few years ago, a team of U.S. and Australian researchers set out on a field expedition to the rugged, dry Northern Territory of Australia. Along their journey, the team happened upon a curious plant. That plant recently made its debut in PhytoKeys, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. The research was led by Bucknell University scientists Tanisha Williams and Chris Martine. — NPR

MELBOURNE, Australia — In the monsoon tropics of northern Australia, a little plant with prickles, gray-green leaves and purple flowers sprouted. It did not have a name, and it confounded scientists: Every time they encountered the plant, the sex of its flowers had changed.

What happens when researchers and social media combine forces in the name of science? A rare wildflower from the US and a team of Twitter-savvy botanists tell us a tale of symbiosis between science and modern technology.

Yes, what you see above is, in fact, a tomato. Crack open the spiky burr, and if the tomato fruit isn’t quite ripe, you’ll see something resembling the fleshy, seedy tomatoes you might find in your supermarket aisle. But the color will look more “like the interior of a Granny Smith apple—that whitish [color with] a little bit of green tint,” says Chris Martine, a biology professor at Bucknell University.

Timing is everything, even when it comes to naming plant species. Bucknell University botanist Chris Martine found that out last fall, when he announced that a newly identified species of Australian bush tomato would be named after Mark Watney, the central character in a little movie called “The Martian.”