Dozens of plants on a small Japanese island may have shrunk themselves to avoid hungry deer – suggesting that persistent pruning by herbivores could drive the evolution of dwarf plants.
Miniaturised plants are found all over the world, says Daiki Takahashi at Tohoku University in Japan, but these stubby flora are usually a reaction to environmental factors such as cold, dry or windy conditions.
The alpine reaches of Yakushima Island in southern Japan host more than 80 plant species…