Plants change their clocks to flower at the right time

Humanity has a major stake in the reproductive success of plants, especially of crops such as rice and wheat, which are important sources of calories and protein in our diets. Because annual plants have just one opportunity to produce seeds, it is essential that this is timed to coincide with optimal environmental conditions. To maximize their chances of success, plants have evolved a series of intricate mechanisms to monitor changes in their environment and to adjust their development accordingly (1). In a study published in PNAS, Andrade et al. (2) describe important advances in our understanding of how plants regulate their reproduction in response to one critical environmental signal: photoperiod.