The miracle, low-maintenance plant for a drier, hotter world

We don’t know about the ecological roles of many species of plants, animals and insects—let alone what human use could be made of them. Unchecked loss of biodiversity in remote places does carry a cost, as recent work in Illinois points out.
 
A graduate student is learning how to grow mirabilis, an Andean plant on the brink of extinction which holds tremendous potential as a drought-resistant, super-nutritious plant that needs sandy soils to thrive. Full story: The Southern Illinoisian