Pinalia moluccana

Pinalia moluccana, synonym Eria kingii, commonly known as the common gremlin orchid, is a plant in the orchid family and is an epiphyte or lithophyte with crowded pseudobulbs, each with three or four thin, channelled leaves. Up to fifty white or cream-coloured, cup-shaped flowers with hairy exteriors are arranged along an erect flowering stem. It is native to areas between Sulawesi and tropical North Queensland.
Description.
"Pinalia moluccana" is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with crowded, cone-shaped pseudobulbs long and wide. Each pseudobulb has three or four dark green, elliptic to egg-shaped, channelled leaves long and wide. Between fifteen and fifty white or cream-coloured, cup-shaped, resupinate flowers long and wide are arranged along a stiffly erect flowering stem long. The flowers are hairy on the outside. The dorsal sepal is long and wide, the lateral sepals long and wide and the petals are long and about wide. The labellum is about long and wide with three lobes. The side lobes are erect and the middle lobe turns downwards and has a ridge along its midline. Flowering occurs between August and October in Australia.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Eria kingii" was first formally described in 1877 by Ferdinand von Mueller who published the description in "Southern Science Record". Mueller "gladly dedicated it to Mr. King" who supplied the type specimen from his conservatory. "Mr. King" is further identified earlier in the same article as "Arthur (Septimus) King, Esq., son of ... Admiral Ph. Parker King" "Eria moluccana" was first formally described in 1905 by Rudolf Schlechter and Johannes Jacobus Smith. , Plants of the World Online and the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families regarded both names as synonyms of "Pinalia moluccana", although the epithet "kingii" is the older.
Distribution and habitat.
The common gremlin orchid grows in rocks and trees in humid situations, often on branches overhanging water. It is found in Sulawesi, the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Queensland, Australia. In Queensland it is found from the Iron Range to the Tully River.


Micrasterias furcata

Micrasterias furcata is a species of freshwater single-celled desmid. "M. furcata" is round, flattened and lobed in body plan.


Draba carnosula

Draba carnosula is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Mt. Eddy draba. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of far northern California, where it is known from fewer than twenty occurrences at Mount Eddy and other peaks in the range. This is a perennial herb forming small clumps in serpentine outcrops. The leaves are located at the base of the plant, each an oval shape under a centimeter long. They are mostly hairless, except for long hairs along the edges. The erect inflorescence bears fewer than 10 yellow mustardlike flowers. The fruit is a lance-shaped silique one or two centimeters long, containing several winged seeds.


Lysimachia nummularia

Lysimachia nummularia (syn. "Lysimachia zawadzkii" ) is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. Its common names include moneywort, creeping jenny, herb twopence and twopenny grass.
Distribution.
It is native to Europe, but has been introduced to North America, where it is considered an invasive species in some areas. It aggressively spreads in favorable conditions, such as low wet ground or near ponds. It is moderately difficult to remove by hand pulling. Any tiny piece left behind will regrow.
Etymology.
The Latin specific epithet "nummularia" means "like a coin", referring to the shape and colour of the flowers; hence the common names, such as "moneywort", which also references coins.
Description.
It is a vigorous, prostrate, evergreen perennial growing to in height and spreading rapidly and indefinitely by stem-rooting. It has rounded leaves, and cup-shaped yellow flowers 2 cm in diameter, in summer. It is particularly associated with damp or even wet areas, though in cultivation it will tolerate drier conditions. It is cold hardy, surviving lows of .
Cultivation.
It is available for planting in temperate regions as a horticultural item, and is usually offered as an accent plant, but must be used with care because it can spread rapidly and crowd out other plants. It makes a nice groundcover where the range of its growth can be limited. It is also suitable for a bog garden or as an aquatic marginal plant.
The cultivar 'Aurea' (golden creeping Jenny) has yellow leaves, and is somewhat less aggressive than the species. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Traditional uses.
Moneywort is used in herbalism for healing wounds. The plant contains a number of phenolic acids. In traditional Chinese Medicine, "Lysimachia" (whole plant) is used to treat stone lin syndrome, which encompasses gall stones and urinary bladder stones. Some practitioners are using this herb to battle painful gout symptoms.


Hugo von Mohl

Hugo von Mohl FFRS HFRSE (8 April 1805 – 1 April 1872) was a German botanist from Stuttgart. He was the first person to use the word "protoplasm".
Life.
He was a son of the Württemberg statesman Benjamin Ferdinand von Mohl (1766–1845), the family being connected on both sides with the higher class of state officials of Württemberg. While a pupil at the gymnasium, he pursued botany and mineralogy in his leisure time, till in 1823 he entered the University of Tübingen. After graduating with distinction in medicine he went to Munich, where he met a distinguished circle of botanists, and found ample material for research.
This seems to have determined his career as a botanist, and he started in 1828 those anatomical investigations which continued till his death. In 1832 he was appointed professor of botany in Tübingen, a post which he never left. Unmarried, his pleasures were in his laboratory and library, and in perfecting optical apparatus and microscopic preparations, for which he showed extraordinary manual skill. He was largely a self-taught botanist from boyhood, and, little influenced in his opinions even by his teachers, preserved always his independence of view on scientific questions. He received many honours during his lifetime, and was elected foreign fellow of the Royal Society in 1868.
The process of cell division as observed under a microscope was first discovered by Hugo von Mohl in 1835 as he worked on green algae "Cladophora glomerata".
Mohl's writings cover a period of forty-four years; the most notable of them were republished in 1845 in a volume entitled "Vermischte Schriften" (For lists of his works see "Botanische Zeitung", 1872, p. 576, and "Royal Soc. Catalogue", 1870, vol. iv.) They dealt with a variety of subjects, but chiefly with the structure of the higher forms, including both rough anatomy and minute histology. The word protoplasm was his suggestion; the nucleus had already been recognized by R. Brown and others; but Mohl showed in 1844 that the protoplasm is the source of those movements which at that time excited so much attention.
He recognized under the name of primordial utricle the protoplasmic lining of the vacuolated cell, and first described the behaviour of the protoplasm in cell division. These and other observations led to the overthrow of Schleiden's theory of origin of cells by free-cell-formation. His contributions to knowledge of the cell-wall were no less remarkable; he held the view now generally adopted of growth of cell-wall by apposition. He first explained the true nature of pits, and showed the cellular origin of vessels and of fibrous cells; he was, in fact, the true founder of the cell theory. Clearly the author of such researches was the man to collect into one volume the theory of cell-formation, and this he did in his treatise "Die vegetabilische Zelle" (1851), a short work translated into English (Ray Society, 1852).
Mohl's early investigations on the structure of palms, of cycads, and of tree ferns permanently laid the foundation of all later knowledge of this subject: so also his work on "Isoetes" (1840). His later anatomical work was chiefly on the stems of dicotyledons and gymnosperms; in his observations on cork and bark he first explained the formation and origin of different types of bark, and corrected errors relating to lenticels. Following on his early demonstration of the origin of stomata (1838), he wrote a classical paper on their opening and closing (1850).
In 1843 he started the weekly "Botanische Zeitung" in conjunction with Schlechtendal, which he edited jointly till his death. He was never a great writer of comprehensive works; no textbook exists in his name, and it would indeed appear from his withdrawal from co-operation in Hofmeister's "Handbuch" that he had a distaste for such efforts. In 1850, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In his latter years his productive activity fell off, doubtless through failing health, and he died suddenly at Tübingen on 1 April 1872.


Winteraceae

Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more southern distribution. Plants in this family grow mostly in the southern hemisphere, and have been found in tropical to temperate climate regions of Malesia, Oceania, eastern Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar and the Neotropics, with most of the genera concentrated in Australasia and Malesia. "Drimys" is found in the Neotropical realm, from southern Mexico to the subarctic forests of southern South America. "Takhtajania" includes a single species, "T. perrieri", endemic only to Madagascar.
This family has been estimated to be anywhere from 105 to at least 35 million years ago. Being one of few angiosperms forming persistent tetrads with prominent sculpturing, pollen of Winteraceae is rare but easy to identify in the fossil record. Pollen samples found in Gabon may indicate that the family is at least 120 million years old, but the association of these fossils with Winteraceae is uncertain. Oldest unambiguous Winteraceae fossils are from the middle to late Albian of Israel (~110 million years old; described as "Qatanipollis"). Pollen fossils indicate that the range has been much wider than it is now, reaching north as far as Greenland during the Paleocene (Danian), and disappearing from continental Africa (Cape Peninsula, South Africa) in the Miocene. Equally characteristic is Winteraceae wood, which lacks xylem vessels in contrast to most other flowering plants. Fossil Winteraceae wood has been found in the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (c. 85–35 million years ago) of Antarctica (Santonian-Campanian), western North America (Central Valley, California; Maastrichian) and Europe (Helmstedt, Germany; Eocene).
According to the 1998 APG I system, it did not belong to any order, but it has since been placed in Canellales by the APG II, APG III and APG IV systems.
Description.
Members of the family Winteraceae are trees or shrubs. The leaves are alternate, with light green dots and a fragrant aroma. Some are used to produce essential oils. Stipules are absent. Flowers are small, mostly appearing in cymes or fascicles. They have two to six free, valvate sepals, though they are united in "Drimys".
The Winteraceae have no vessels in their xylem. This makes them relatively immune to xylem embolisms caused by freezing temperatures. In addition, vascular occlusion can occur near the openings of the stomata, preventing excess water from entering.
Among all species, the distinctive characters of released pollen tetrads are easily recognized using light and electron microscopy.
Notable species.
"Drimys winteri" (Winter's bark) is a slender tree native to the Magellanic and Valdivian temperate rain forests of Chile and Argentina. It is a common garden plant grown for its fragrant mahogany-red bark, bright-green leaves, and its clusters of creamy white, jasmine-scented flowers. The bark has historically been used to prevent scurvy.
"Tasmannia lanceolata", known as Tasmanian pepper, is grown as an ornamental shrub, and is increasingly being used as a condiment.


Ipomoea horsfalliae

Ipomea horsfalliae is a flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae known by several common names including Lady Doorly's morning glory, cardinal creeper, and Prince Kuhio vine. It is native to the Caribbean and Brazil.
References.
How to Setup Discord


Globularia trichosantha

Globularia trichosantha is an ornamental plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is a mat-forming evergreen with oval leaves that blooms from early spring and through the summer carrying pale blue flowers that brighten in the summer.


Phlomis chrysophylla

Phlomis chrysophylla, the golden-leaved Jerusalem sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae , native to southwest Asia. It is an evergreen shrub growing to tall by wide, with woolly-textured, sage-like leaves that turn lime green with age, and yellow flowers carried in the leaf axils in early summer.
The specific epithet "chrysophylla" means "golden-leaved".
In cultivation it requires some protection in winter. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Galaxaura barbata

Galaxaura barbata is a species of Pacific marine algae belonging to the family Galaxauraceae. It is a critically endangered plant.
Distribution.
It was located at Post Office Bay, Isla Santa María, Galápagos Islands.
Taxonomy.
It was named by Ruth Chen-Ying Chou in "Pacific marine algae of the Allan Hancock Expeditions to the Galapagos Islands." "Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions" 12: i-iv


Takakiales


Tillandsia subulifera

Tillandsia subulifera is a species in the genus "Tillandsia". This species is native to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.


Dacrydium novo-guineense

Dacrydium novo-guineense is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.


Encyclia

Encyclia is a genus of orchids. The genus name comes from Greek "enkykleomai" ("to encircle"), referring to the lateral lobes of the lip which encircle the column. It is abbreviated as E. in the horticultural trade.
Biology.
The epiphytic genus "Encyclia" occurs in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, and other regions of the tropical Americas. It grows in lowland forests at altitudes up to 1000 meters. The distribution of the species is more or less evenly spread throughout this area. Most of these species are found in seasonally dry forests where the humidity tends to remain high throughout the year, though precipitation is infrequent, sometimes lacking for months. They are most common in dry oak forests.
Most species have stiff, drought-resistant leaves and large onion-shaped pseudobulbs. The flowers arise from an apical inflorescence. This genus is pollinated by bees and birds. There are normally eight pollinia, but in some subgroups this is reduced to four. One species, "Encyclia cyperifolia", produces cylindrical, terete leaves.
Cultivation.
Many species in this genus are cultivated as ornamental plants. The flowers may last over a month. They are easily overwatered and require only a periodic misting during the winter.
Some species are fragrant; "Encyclia fragrans" produces vanilla-scented flowers.
The plants have continuously growing rhizomes that eventually create a large mass. In the wild the plants shed the older pseudobulbs. In cultivation they may fail to split, so growers will divide them by hand to prevent the plants from forming unwieldy mounds. An exception is "Encyclia tampensis", which does well in a mounded form and does not need to be divided.
Taxonomy.
Cladistic research has shown that "Encyclia" "sensu stricto" is monophyletic. This genus was originally included in "Epidendrum" until William Jackson Hooker separated it in 1828.
The genera "Euchile", "Prosthechea" and "Dinema" were separated from "Encyclia" based on morphological analysis. "Sulpitia" is a synonym of "Encyclia".
"Encyclia" can hybridize with related genera. "E. tampensis" is often bred for its attractive hybrids.
Species.
See List of "Encyclia" species.


Chionochloa rubra

Chionochloa rubra, known commonly as red tussock grass, is a species of tussock grass in the grass family.
Description.
New Zealand has 22 endemic species of "Chionochloa", including "Chionochloa rubra", which has a distinctive appearance from other members in the genus. "C. rubra" has a long living span, meaning that there is rarely any dead foliage around the plant — giving the species a clean, sleek and vertical look. The plant will grow up to 1–1.2m high in rich moist ground, with seed heads reaching even taller. The leaf blade themselves grow up to 1m long and 1.2mm in diameter, and the plant width itself is 50 cm in diameter (with little rhizomatous spread). (Kelly, D. 2000)
There are usually long hairs next to the base of the leaf and prickle-teeth towards the apex that help distinguish it from other "Chionochloa" species. There is also rows of short hairs at the base of the leaf. However, in dry habitat conditions such as dry clay soil the plant struggles to grow and may only grow to 90 cm high, causing possible confusion for other species of "Chionochloa". Therefore, environment should be taken into account for identification purposes. Depending on the subspecies, the tawny leaves' colour ranges from a beautiful greenish tone to its more dominant rustic colour of bronze or red. Because of this, some may consider it to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing tussocks, as green and red are known as complementary colours. In general, "Chionochloa rubra" is a tall brown reddish plant with slender leaves that clump together forming its classic arc shape.(New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. 2014)
Distribution.
Natural global range.
"Chionochloa rubra" is a native species in New Zealand. (Connor & Edgar, 1999; Wardle, 1991)
New Zealand range.
Red tussock ("C. rubra") is a hardy grass dispersed from the central volcanic fields and Huiarau Range to Stewart Island, and from the lower area of the penalpine belt to sea level in south of New Zealand.
Habitat preferences.
There are two different types of tussock-grassland, the one where commonly small tussock-grasses dominate, called: “Low tussock-grassland”, and other where generally larger tussocks dominate, called “Tall tussock-grassland” (Cockayne, 1958)
Red tussock ("Chionochloa rubra") is distributed in general in Tall tussock-grassland, and covers most of the pumice-scoria soil located on the volcanic plateau at the altitude between 900 and 1200 m. Places associated with wetlands will be changed by the red tussock, because other species cannot tolerate the diminution of light environment due to the master seeding and dense growing habit of red tussock. (Cockayne, 1958)
Life cycle/phenology.
The "Chionochloa rubra" plant's seeds are dispersed with the use of gravity and the wind. Nature is the plants main pollinating agent with very little use of invertebrates or mammals as pollinating agents. Mass seeding is used as the main technique to prevent seed loss by predators (which are hard to satisfy due to their big appetite) and other competitor plants. Mass seeding is the production of a large quantity of seeds that are released all at once over a large area. It usually takes the plant a few years to produce enough seed to carry out the process. This form of spreading is particularly more prominent in the Takahe Valley in the Southland of New Zealand. Statistics and studies have shown that the mean annual loss ranges from 10–33% during a four-year studies in the Takahe Valley. So if not for mass seeding the plant would not be able to be successful as it is. (Kelly, D. 2000) The seed is dropped on well drained and moist soil where starts to grow. It flowers during the summer season from October to December and grows fruits all around from November to May.(New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. 2014)
Habitat.
Red tussock ("Chionochloa rubra") is a most adaptable vegetation which will grow in the exposed and windy environment. It can tolerate low-nutritious, and also can grow in relatively wet or dry soil conditions. (Cockayne, 1958; Metcalf, 1998). It is harsh enough to use one individual specimen plant however, if space allowed, would be better for planted several as a group. Red tussock ("Chionochloa rubra") is a useful vegetation for helping to reestablish wildlife habitat, especially useful as a buffer plant around wetland areas. (Metcalf, 1998).
While the "Chionochloa rubra" can be slow growing and prefers more cooler, wet and less humid climates. Though once established it is very resistant plan and can take plenty of abuse due to its hardy texture. (New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. 2014)
Predators, parasites, and diseases.
The area of volcanic plateau is no longer untouched, with wild horses and cows having fed on it for many years and more recently rabbits having become common visitors on these tussock lands. But, the status of the red tussock ("Chionochloa Rubra") is still primitive. (Cockayne, 1958)
The inflorescences of "Chionochloa" spp. are attacked by at least two flies and one moth. Research taken place in Mt Hut, Canterbury, found two flies fed on "Chionochloa" pollen inflorescences, including the eggs and larvae of "Diplotoxa Similis" (Diptera: "Chloropidae"), which appeared in the inflorescences while they grew. The larvae primarily eat flowers, and most "Diplotoxa Similis" young have pupated by the end of the flowering span, if not over the winter as adults. Another fly was an unclassified cecidomyiid, which lays its eggs in the pollen of the floret during flowering, hatching into early-stage larvae. Late-stage larvae will turn to clear orange and are typically less active. Eventually, these are dropped at the end of the season. The moth is "Megacraspedus Calamogonus" (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) which has large, active caterpillars and appears in the early season. (Mckone et al., 2001).
Cultivation.
"Chionochloa rubra" is grown in cultivation. In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. (confirmed 2017).
Cultural uses.
In ancient southern Māori, people used tussock to make leggings that protected their bare legs from speargrass. Tussock was used in paraerae (sandals) for warmth, as it was found to be much warmer with patiti around the feet than without it.
Common names: Red tussock
Interesting fact.
In the article by Sullivan and Kelly. (2010), the authors investigate the unusual phenomena by "Chionochloa rubra" in particular, found to produce many seeds in response to decreased seed predation. In contrast, it was found to have a lower seed production at higher predation rate areas. Red tussocks seeds annually at low alpine areas, differs from other "Chionochloa" sp. Red tussocks mast seeding at higher altitudes. An explanation for these changes is that red tussocks do not have pronounced altitudinal ecotypes, seed predators satiation and mast seeding being ineffective at lower altitudes. (Kelly. D & Sullivan. J.J, 2010)


Dioscorea abysmophila

Dioscorea abysmophila is a herbaceous vine in the genus "Dioscorea". It is native to Venezuela, with the type locality listed as "Estado do Amazonas, São Gabriel, Rio Negro." A note included with the type specimen, collected in 1945, indicates that the specimen was collected from rocky terrain on a high mountain range.
Another specimen, collected in 2000, is listed as being collected from the forested northern slope of a coastal mountain range near the headwaters of the Temerla river.


Eustichiaceae


Nepenthes mapuluensis

Nepenthes mapuluensis (; from Mount Ilas Mapulu), the Mapulu pitcher-plant, is a species of tropical pitcher plant native to East Kalimantan, Borneo. It is known only from a restricted geographical range and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
"Nepenthes mapuluensis" has no known natural hybrids. No infraspecific taxa have been described.
Botanical history.
"Nepenthes mapuluensis" was first collected in 1957 on Mount Ilas Mapulu by A.J.G. 'Doc' Kostermans, the head of the Botanical Division of the Forestry Research Institute at Bogor, on the same expedition in which he collected the type material of "N. campanulata". The species was described in 1990 by J. H. Adam and C. C. Wilcock based on a single duplicate collection in the Leiden and Bogor herbaria, designated as "Kostermans 14017".
Description.
The stem of "N. mapuluensis" can measure up to 6 mm in diameter, but the maximum length is unknown. Internodes are cylindrical and up to 4 cm long. The leaves are coriaceous. The lamina is oblanceolate-linear in morphology, up to 26 cm long, and 5 cm wide. The apex of the lamina is acute, while the base is attenuate, sub-petiolate, and semi-amplexicaul. Tendrils grow to 50 cm in length.
The pitchers of "N. mapuluensis" are ellipsoidal in shape. They grow to 21 cm in height and 8.5 cm in diameter. The pitchers possess two fringed wings up to 10 mm wide. The peristome of this species is moderately developed and is folded or wavy as in the closely related "N. northiana". The peristome may be up to 12 mm wide and bears a row of distinct, but not pronounced, teeth. Aerial or upper pitchers may be infundibular throughout, but are often cylindrical and relatively small. They bear reduced fringed wings or ribs.
"Nepenthes mapuluensis" has a racemose inflorescence. The peduncle is up to 7 cm long. The size of the rachis is unknown. Pedicels grow to 8 mm in length. A study of 120 pollen samples taken from the type specimen ("Kostermans 14017") found the mean pollen diameter to be 28.9 μm (SE = 0.5; CV = 9.2%).
The species is mostly glabrous, although certain parts of the plant, such as the pitchers, may have a scattered indumentum of short hairs.
Ecology.
The type locality of "N. mapuluensis" is described on the original collector's label, which reads: "the species is common on the limestone mountain of Ilas Mapulu at an altitude of 800 m". The population from which the type specimen originated was subsequently destroyed and for some time the species was thought to be extinct. More recently, however, further observations of "N. mapuluensis" have been made by Troy Davis, Joachim Nerz and Andreas Wistuba, significantly expanding the known range of this species. This being the case, "N. mapuluensis" is thought to be endemic to the Sambaliung mountain range in East Kalimantan.
"Nepenthes mapuluensis" is restricted to limestone substrates and grows in stunted vegetation on low summit ridges, which are often extremely inaccessible. It has been recorded from elevations of between 50 and 850 m.
Related species.
"Nepenthes mapuluensis" is very similar to "N. northiana" and there is some question as to the validity of its species status. Although there are few morphological characters separating these two taxa, there seem to be several stable differences that can be used to distinguish between them. Compared to "N. northiana", the leaves on the climbing stems of "N. mapuluensis" are more linear, the pitchers darker in colour, and the upper pitchers narrower. It is also worth noting that "N. northiana" is known only from the Bau area of Sarawak, which lies several hundred kilometres away from the only known populations of "N. mapuluensis".
In his Carnivorous Plant Database, taxonomist Jan Schlauer treats "N. mapuluensis" as a possible synonym of "N. northiana".
Cultivation.
"Nepenthes mapuluensis" is extremely rare in cultivation. It has been artificially crossed with "N. ventricosa" to produce the hybrid "Nepenthes × mapulucosa" Hort.Westphal "in sched." (2000), although this name is a "nomen nudum".


Oxydendrum

Oxydendrum arboreum, the sourwood or sorrel tree, is the sole species in the genus Oxydendrum, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern North America, from southern Pennsylvania south to northwest Florida and west to southern Illinois; it is most common in the lower chain of the Appalachian Mountains. The tree is frequently seen as a component of oak-heath forests.
Growth.
Sourwood is a small tree or large shrub, growing to tall with a trunk up to diameter. Occasionally on extremely productive sites, this species can reach heights in excess of 30 meters and 60 cm diameter. The leaves are alternately arranged, deciduous, long and broad, with a finely serrated margin; they are dark green in summer, but turn vivid red in fall. The flowers are white, bell-shaped, 6–9 mm ( 1/4 to 1/3 inch) long, produced on long panicles. The fruit is a small woody capsule. The roots are shallow, and the tree grows best when there is little root competition; it also requires acidic soils for successful growth. The leaves can be chewed (but should not be swallowed) to help alleviate a dry-feeling mouth.
Description.
The bark is gray with a reddish tinge, deeply furrowed and scaly. Branchlets at first are light yellow green, but later turn reddish brown. The wood is reddish brown, with paler sapwood; it is heavy, hard, and close-grained, and will take a high polish. Its specific gravity is 0.7458, with a density of 46.48 lb/cu ft.
The winter buds are axillary, minute, dark red, and partly immersed in the bark. Inner scales enlarge when spring growth begins.
Leaves are alternate, four to seven inches long, 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide, oblong to oblanceolate, wedge-shaped at the base, serrate, and acute or acuminate. Leaf veins are feather-veined, the midrib is conspicuous. They emerge from the bud revolute, bronze green and shining, and smooth; when full grown, they are dark green, shining above, and pale and glaucous below. In autumn, they turn bright scarlet. Petioles are long and slender, with stipules wanting. They are heavily laden with acid.
In June and July, cream-white flowers are borne in terminal panicles of secund racemes seven to eight inches long; rachis and short pedicels are downy. The calyx is five-parted and persistent; lobes are valvate in bud. The corolla is ovoid-cylindric, narrowed at the throat, cream-white, and five-toothed. The 10 stamens are inserted on the corolla; filaments are wider than the anthers; anthers are two-celled. The pistil is ovary superior, ovoid, and five-celled; the style is columnar; the stigma is simple; the disk is ten-toothed, and ovules are many.
The fruit is a capsule, downy, five-valved, five-angled, and tipped by the persistent style; the pedicels are curving.
Cultivation and uses.
The sourwood is perfectly hardy in the north and a worthy ornamental tree in lawns and parks. Its late bloom makes it desirable, and its autumnal coloring is particularly beautiful and brilliant. The leaves are heavily charged with acid, and to some extent have the poise of those of the peach. The leaves are also a laxative.
It is renowned for nectar, and for the honey which is produced from it. Juice from its blooms is used to make sourwood jelly. The shoots were used by the Cherokee and the Catawba to make arrowshafts.
In Appalachian culture.
Sourwood Mountain is a popular old-time tune in the Appalachian region of the United States.


Marsupella

Marsupella is a liverwort genus in the family Gymnomitriaceae.


Xanthorrhoeoideae


Oenothera xylocarpa

Oenothera xylocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name woodyfruit evening primrose. It is native to the Sierra Nevada of California, its range extending just into western Nevada. It grows in coniferous forest and meadow habitat, often in soils rich in pumice and other gravel. It is a perennial herb growing from a thick taproot and producing a flat, dense rosette of hairy, gray-green leaves. There is no stem. The showy flowers appear amidst the leaves. Each has four petals which may be nearly 4 centimeters long, bright yellow in color, fading pink to red with age. The fruit is a straight, curving, or twisting capsule which may be up to 9 centimeters long.


Thuidiaceae

Thuidiaceae is a family of mosses within the order Hypnales. It includes many genera but the classification may need to be refined. The core genera "Thuidium", "Thuidiopsis", "Pelekium", "Aequatoriella", "Abietinella", "Rauiella", "Haplocladium" and "Actinothuidium" form a clade but others currently placed in the family may belong elsewhere.
Species include "Thuidiopsis sparsa" and "Abietinella abietina"


Fleurydora felicis

Fleurydora felicis is a species of plant in the Ochnaceae family. It is endemic to Guinea. "F". "felicis" is a shrub or small tree, growing up to 15 meters in height. It grows on rocky areas in the Guinean forest-savanna and Guinean montane forests ecoregions. It has large yellow flowers. Its fruits are small flattened winged seeds, which are dispersed by wind, unlike other species of Ochnaceae which have fleshy fruits.
Its conservation is threatened by harvesting, mining and fires. This plant is harvested both for medicinal purposes and for firewood.


Begonia coccinea

Begonia coccinea, the scarlet begonia, is a species of plant in the family Begoniaceae. It is native to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.


Amaranthus sclerantoides

Amaranthus sclerantoides is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador.


Himalayacalamus asper

Himalayacalamus asper is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae found in Nepal. also called Malinge nigalo in common language.


Huaceae

Huaceae is a family of plant in the rosids group, which has been classed in the orders Malpighiales, Malvales, and Violales or in its own order Huales. The APG II system placed it in the clade eurosids I, whereas the APG III system of 2009 and APG IV (2016) place it within the Oxalidales. The family is endemic to central Africa. It contains four species in the following two genera:


Printzina

Printzina is a genus of green algae. in the family Trentepohliaceae.
Species.
"Printzina lagenifera" (Hildebrandt) Thompson et Wujek.
Description.
Appears as small, reddish cushion-like masses. Consisting of entangled filaments of globular or elliptical cells 6 - 12μm wide.. It forms reddish streeks.


Dacrycarpus cinctus

Dacrycarpus cinctus is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.


Goupia

Goupia is a neotropical genus of flowering plants and the sole genus included in the family Goupiaceae. There are three species, all found in tropical northern South America.
Species.
The genus was previously included in the family Celastraceae, in the order Celastrales.


Roystoneinae


Bee orchid

Bee orchid is a common name for several orchids and may refer to:


Downingia pusilla

Downingia pusilla is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name dwarf calicoflower. This wildflower is found in two separate parts of the world, Chile and the US state of California. It grows in wet areas such as ditches and vernal pools. This annual is different from the other downingias in that its flowers are much smaller, reaching 4 millimeters in width at maximum. It grows erect stems with few pointed leaves. The tiny tubular flower is white or blue, with yellow spots near the mouth of the tube. The fruit is a capsule two or three centimeters long.


Nelumbo

Nelumbo is a genus of aquatic plants with large, showy flowers. Members are commonly called lotus, though "lotus" is a name also applied to various other plants and plant groups, including the unrelated genus "Lotus". Members outwardly resemble those in the family Nymphaeaceae ("water lilies"), but "Nelumbo" is actually very distant to Nymphaeaceae. "Nelumbo" is derived from the Sinhalese word: (Sinhala is the name of the language) "neḷum", the name for the lotus "Nelumbo nucifera".
There are only two known living species of lotus; "N. nucifera" is native to East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia and is better-known. It is commonly cultivated; it is eaten and used in traditional Chinese medicine. This species is the floral emblem of both India and Vietnam.
The other lotus is "Nelumbo lutea" and is native to North America and the Caribbean. Horticultural hybrids have been produced between these two allopatric species.
There are several fossil species known from Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene aged strata throughout Eurasia and North America.
Classification.
There is residual disagreement over which family the genus should be placed in. Traditional classification systems recognized "Nelumbo" as part of the Nymphaeaceae, but traditional taxonomists were likely misled by convergent evolution associated with an evolutionary shift from a terrestrial to an aquatic lifestyle. In the older classification systems it was recognized under the biological order Nymphaeales or Nelumbonales. "Nelumbo" is currently recognized as the only living genus in Nelumbonaceae, one of several distinctive families in the eudicot order of the Proteales. Its closest living relatives, the (Proteaceae and Platanaceae), are shrubs or trees.
The leaves of "Nelumbo" can be distinguished from those of genera in the Nymphaeaceae as they are peltate, that is they have fully circular leaves. "Nymphaea", on the other hand, has a single characteristic notch from the edge in to the center of the lily pad. The seedpod of "Nelumbo" is very distinctive.
APG.
The APG IV system of 2016, recognizes Nelumbonaceae as a distinct family and places it in the order Proteales in the eudicot clade, as do the earlier APG III and APG II systems.
Earlier classification systems.
The Cronquist system of 1981 recognizes the family but places it in the water lily order Nymphaeales. The Dahlgren system of 1985 and Thorne system of 1992 both recognize the family and place it in its own order, Nelumbonales. The USDA still classifies the lotus family within the water lily order.
Characteristics.
Ultrahydrophobicity.
The leaves of "Nelumbo" are highly water-repellent (i.e. they exhibit ultrahydrophobicity) and have given the name to what is called the lotus effect. Ultrahydrophobicity involves two criteria: a very high water contact angle between the droplet of water and the leaf surface, and a very low roll-off angle. This means that the water must contact the leaf surface at exactly one, minuscule point, and any manipulation of the leaf by changing its angle will result in the water droplet rolling off of the leaf. Ultrahydrophobicity is conferred by the usually dense layer of papillae on the surface of the "Nelumbo" leaves, and the small, robust, waxy tubules that protrude off each papillae. This helps reduce the area of contact between the water droplet and the leaf.
Ultrahydrophobicity is said to confer a very important evolutionary advantage. As an aquatic plant with leaves that rest on the water's surface, the genus "Nelumbo" is characterized by its concentration of stomata on the upper epidermis of its leaves, unlike most other plants which concentrate their stomata on the lower epidermis, underneath the leaf. The collection of water on the upper epidermis, whether that be by rain, mist, or the nearby disturbance of water, is very detrimental to the leaf's ability to perform gas exchange through its stomata. Thus, "Nelumbo's" ultrahydrophobicity allows the water droplets to accumulate together very quickly, and then roll off of the leaf very easily at the slightest disturbance of the leaf, a process which allows its stomata to function normally without restriction due to blockage by water droplets.
Thermoregulation.
A unique property of the genus "Nelumbo" is that it can generate heat, which it does by using the alternative oxidase pathway (AOX). This pathway involves a different, alternative exchange of electrons from the usual pathway that electrons follow when generating energy in mitochondria, known as the AOX, or alternative oxidase pathway.
The typical pathway in plant mitochondria involves cytochrome complexes. The pathway used to generate heat in "Nelumbo" involves cyanide-resistant alternative oxidase, which is a different electron acceptor than the usual cytochrome complexes. The plant also reduces ubiquitin concentrations while in thermogenesis, which allows the AOX in the plant to function without degradation Thermogenesis is restricted to the receptacle, stamen, and petals of the flower, but each of these parts produce heat independently without relying on the heat production in other parts of the flower.
There are several theories about the function of thermogenesis, especially in an aquatic genus such as "Nelumbo". The most common theory posits that thermogenesis in flowers attracts pollinators, for a variety of reasons. Heated flowers may attract insect pollinators. As the pollinators warm themselves while resting inside the flower, they deposit and pick up pollen onto and from the flower. The thermogenic environment might also be conducive to pollinator mating - pollinators may require a certain temperature for reproduction. By providing an ideal thermogenic environment, the flower is pollinated by mating pollinators. Others theorize that heat production facilitates the release of volatile compounds into the air to attract pollinators flying over water, or that the heat is recognizable in the dark by thermo-sensitive pollinators. None have been conclusively proven to be more plausible than the others.
After anthesis, the receptacle of the lotus transitions from a primarily thermogenic to a photosynthetic structure, as seen in the rapid and dramatic increase in photosystems, photosynthetically involved pigments, electron transport rates, and the presence of 13C in the receptacle and petals, all of which assist in increasing photosynthesis rates. After this transition, all thermogenesis in the flower is lost. Pollinators do not need to be attracted once the ovary is fertilized, and thus the receptacle's resources are better used when it is photosynthesizing to produce carbohydrates that can increase plant biomass or fruit mass.
Other plants utilize thermoregulation in their life cycles. Among these is the eastern skunk cabbage, which heats itself to melt any ice above it, and push through the ground in early spring. Also, the elephant yam, which heats its flowers to attract pollinators. In addition, the carrion flower, which heats itself to disperse water vapor through the air, carrying its scent further, thus attracting more pollinators.
Cultural significance.
The sacred lotus, "N. nucifera", is sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism.


Nepenthes thai

Nepenthes thai is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to peninsular Thailand. It grows on limestone hills at elevations of 500–600 m above sea level.
"Nepenthes thai" has no known natural hybrids.


Center for Plant Conservation

The Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) is a not-for-profit organization consisting of a network of more than 50 institutions with the mission to conserve and restore the rare native plants of the United States and Canada. CPC represents a one-of-a-kind network of conservation partners, collectively known as CPC Participating Institutions (PIs), that collaboratively work to save the imperiled plants of the United States and Canada. CPC PIs maintain the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants, a living conservation collection of imperiled plants, by working to collect and manage living seeds and plants, advancing the understanding of threats as well as means to save these species, and by communicating with partners within the CPC network to ensure that all are using the best and most up-to-date means possible to Save Plants.
CPC is coordinated by a national office and guided by a volunteer board of trustees. By developing standards and protocols and conducting conservation programs in horticulture, research, restoration, and raising awareness, CPC’s network is striving to save America’s rarest plants from being lost forever.


Haworthia mirabilis

Haworthia mirabilis is a species of the genus "Haworthia" belonging to the family Asphodelaceae.
Etymology.
The genus name "Haworthia" honors the British botanist Adrian Hardy Haworth (1767–1833), while the species epitheton "mirabilis" derives from Latin and means "wonderful”.
Description.
"Haworthia mirabilias" is a succulent evergreen slow-growing species reaching a size of in height. It is usually a solitary stemless plant. The leaves are green, with longitudinal pale green lines along the upper surfaces and small teeth along the margins. They turn to brownish or reddish in the sun. The leaves form a rosette and the flowers are white and small, in an inflorescence.
This highly variable species is one of the "retuse" species of "Haworthia", meaning that it usually grows sunken beneath the ground with its flattened leaves only showing on the surface. Its rosette of succulent leaves are turned back ("retuse") so as to provide a flat and level face on the surface of the ground. In this form, it is similar to other retuse haworthias (e.g. "Haworthia pygmaea", "Haworthia bayeri", "Haworthia springbokvlakensis", "Haworthia magnifica", "Haworthia emelyae" and "Haworthia retusa").
However "Haworthia mirabilias" can be distinguished from its relatives by the marginal bristles on the leaves, and the way that the leaves end in sharp points. They also usually have lines on the upper leaf faces.
Varieties.
"(*The names in bold in the list below are recognized as accepted names by WCSP as of February, 2018. )"
Distribution.
This species is native to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Specifically it occurs in the Overberg District, near the far southern point of the country.
Habitat.
It grows in rocky areas, especially slopes or ridges, at an altitude of about 500 meters. In habitat it is often found growing in the partial shelter of bushes or shrubs.


Eschscholzia

Eschscholzia is a genus of 12 annual or perennial plants in the Papaveraceae (poppy) family. The genus was named after the Baltic German/Imperial Russian botanist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz (1793–1831). All species are native to Mexico or the southern United States.
Description.
Leaves are deeply cut, glabrous and glaucous, mostly basal, though a few grow on the stem.
Flowers have four yellow or orange petals, and grow at the end of the stem, either alone or in many-flowered cymes. The petals are wedge-shaped, forming a funnel. The two fused sepals fall off as the flower bud opens. There are 12 to numerous stamens. The flowers close in cloudy weather.
Seeds are tiny and black, held in long pointed pods that split open when ripe.
The taproot gives off a colorless or orange clear juice, which is mildly toxic.
Cultivation.
The best-known species is the California poppy ("Eschscholzia californica"), the state flower of California. "Eschscholzia caespitosa" is very similar to "E. californica", but smaller and without a collar below the petals.
Another species common in cultivation is "Eschscholzia lobbii", which is often sold as "Eschscholzia caespitosa". "E. lobbii" has yellow flowers and very narrow leaves.
They prosper in warm, dry climates, but withstand some frost. They grow in poor soils with good water drainage.
The cultivars 'Apricot Chiffon', with orange/yellow flowers, and 'Rose Chiffon', with pink and cream flowers, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Sasa veitchii

 is a species of flowering plant in the genus "Sasa", in the Poaceae family.
Description.
"Sasa veitchii" is a large species of bamboo grass which may reach a height of 1-2m, with leaves about 20cm in length and 4-5cm in width. Young leaves are initially uniform green in color but develop light-colored edges as they mature overwinter.
In its native Japan, it is found as a dense covering on some forest floors. The term "kumazasa" is not precise and can refer to a variety of bamboo grass species other than "S.veitchii", including "S. kurilensis", "S. senanensis", "S. palmata", and others.
Uses.
This species is often planted in gardens as ornamental ground cover. The leaves can be used to make herbal tea, and are traditionally ground up and taken as a folk remedy for diabetes and hypertension, although there is no scientific consensus on its efficacy as medicine. In Ishikawa, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures, the leaves are used as wrapping for regional varieties of sushi and rice dumplings. It also has some uses as a textile, for example in the manufacture of absorbent floor mats.


Lonicera nitida

Lonicera nitida is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family. In English, it is sometimes given the common names box honeysuckle or Wilson's honeysuckle.<ref name="NPGS/GRIN"></ref> It is widely used as a low hedging plant, and for topiary. It is also a popular low-maintenance ground cover plant for urban landscaping.
The species is native to China, in the area of Yunnan and West Sichuan, where It grows in scrub form along streams at .
Description.
"L. nitida" is a broadleaf evergreen shrub tall and wide if unclipped, with dark green, small leaves (6–16 millimeters long). The creamy white, fragrant flowers, appearing at the end of spring, are 6 millimeters long, and grow in pairs. The fruit (rarely formed on clipped specimens) is an inedible bluish-purple berry about 6 millimeters in diameter. The stems are layered one on top of the other giving the appearance of a haystack. The growth rate is moderate or fast growing. While resistant to deer and rabbits, it is attractive to birds. When planted, the species is easy to clip and needs frequent clipping because it flops if it grows to a height over 5 feet. The species is commonly confused with cotoneaster species. The difference between the two is that cotoneaster has alternate leaves while this species has opposite leaves.
The Latin specific epithet "nitida" means “shining’, in reference to its glossy leaves.
Cultivars include 'Maigrün', 'Baggesen's Gold' and 'Briloni' (a.k.a. 'Edmee Gold')
Cultivation.
When planted, the species should be put in the full sun to light shade in fertile, well-drained soil. The species is more shade resistant than most honeysuckles. The species can tolerate drought and pollution.
"Lonicera nitida" takes clipping well and makes a small hedge. The cultivar ‘Baggesen’s Gold’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.
At Osborne House, a holiday home built in 1845 on the Isle of Wight for Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, there are "L. nitida" shrubs clipped in the form of stags rising from beds of "Felicia amelloides", "Festuca glauca", and scarlet pelargoniums.
This plant is often used for bonsai. Because it is an energetic grower, it is possible to collect old and quite sizable "L. nitida" from the landscape or growing wild, cut most of the roots and branches off to start from scratch to build a new tree-like form.


Aristogeitonia monophylla

Aristogeitonia monophylla is a species of plant in the Picrodendraceae family. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Aristolochia yunnanensis

Aristolochia yunnanensis is a species of plant in the family Aristolochiaceae. It is endemic to China.


Wullschlaegelia

Wullschlaegelia is a genus of orchids, (family Orchidaceae), consisting of two species in the Caribbean Islands and to much of Latin America from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. These are myco-heterotrophic plants, lacking chlorophyll and subsisting entirely on nutrients obtained from soil fungi. The genus has previously been included in the tribe Calypsoeae, but is now included as the only genus in the tribe Wullschlaegelieae, pending further study.
The genus is named for botanist Heinrich Wullschlägel.


Grevillea microstegia

Grevillea microstegia, the Mount Cassell grevillea, is a spreading shrub which is endemic to the Grampians National Park in Victoria, Australia. It grows to between 0.3 and 1 metre in height and 2 to 4 metres in width. The flowers are reddish-brown and have green-tipped red styles. These appear between November and December (late spring to early summer) in its native range.
The species was first formally described by Bill Molyneux in "Muelleria" in 1975.
"Grevillea microstegia" is endemic to the Mount Cassel area in the Mount William Range, north-west of Moyston, Victoria.
The species is listed as "threatened" in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and "Vulnerable in Victoria" on the Department of Sustainability and Environment's "Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria".


Maesoideae


Amsinckia menziesii

Amsinckia menziesii is a species of plant in the family Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family.
Varieties.
The plant has two varieties:
Var. "intermedia".
Amsinckia menziesii" var. "intermedia (common fiddleneck, or intermediate fiddleneck) is one of the common fiddlenecks of western North America, distributed from Alaska and Canada through the Western United States to Mexico. Like other members of the genus, it has a terminal flowering whorl somewhat shaped like the head of a violin or fiddle, hence the name fiddleneck. The flowers are yellow-orange, orange, or dark yellow.
In Australia, the species has become a common weed of cultivated areas in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. In the British Isles, it is an introduced species naturalised particularly in the east of the country and recorded in the wild since 1910.
Its seeds, while inedible to humans due to their high pyrrolizidine alkaloid content, are the favorite food of Lawrence's goldfinch during that Californian bird's nesting season of spring and early summer.


Stethopachys formosa

Stethopachys formosa (orchid beetle or dendrobium beetle) is an Australian insect found in New South Wales and Queensland. This insect feeds on the flowers and leaves of orchids, often causing damage to cultivated plants.


Astrolepis cochisensis

Astrolepis cochisensis is a species of fern known by the common name Cochise scaly cloak fern. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it occupies mainly desert habitat, often on calcareous soils.
Description.
The fern grows from a short rhizome. The rhizome bears tan scales, sometimes dark at the base, which are up to long and may or may not have hairlike small teeth on the edge. The leaves are long, and divided into 20 to 50 pairs of pinnae (leaflets) which are sometimes lobed. The pinnae are oblong and the largest specimens typically measure long. Some lack lobes altogether; others bear 1 to 4 lobes, asymmetrically arranged on the pinna. The lobes are broadly rounded, and the indentations between them are shallow.
The leaflets are coated in star-shaped scales on the upper surface and hairy lance-shaped scales beneath.


Bristly buttercup

Bristly buttercup is a common name for several plants and may refer to:


Zostera novazelandica

Zostera novazelandica Setchell is a species of seagrass in the family Zosteraceae found on the shores of New Zealand. It is regarded as a distinct species by some authors but considered as a synonym of "Zostera muelleri" Irmisch ex Ascherson by others. The Maori names for "Zostera novazelandica" are karepō, nana, rehia, and rimurehia.
Identification.
The "Zostera novazelandica" is a marine flowering plant. The species has long, narrow blade like leaves, and a rhizome root structure submerged below the ground. "Zostera novazelandica" have elongated, olive-green leaves (50 cm long and 2mm in width) consisting of three longitudinal veins. The species leaf length can reach up to 50 cm long and 0.75 to 1.75mm wide.
"Zostera novazelandica" have a minimum of two spathes (sheathing bracts enclosing the flower). Each spadix consists of four to eight female and male flowers. The flowers and fruits sit with the leaf blades and are easily located, but inconspicuous and small in size. The flowering shoots have one or more branches, which can have plenty of inflorescence and each inflorescence is surrounded almost completely by a leaf sheath. The monoecious plant produces flowers consisting of petals, stamens, pistols and sepals. The carpels and stamen are compacted tightly within the seagrass flower. "Zostera novazelandica" consists of less than six carpels and approximately twelve anther-sacs. These reproductive structures slope diagonally inwards and upwards within the flower. The achene, or simple dried fruit, is smooth, yellow, oval and approximately 2.5 x 1.0mm in size. Its seeds are ellipsoidal, brown, and 2mm in length.
Geographic Distribution and Habitat.
Natural Global Range.
Seagrasses are angiosperms adapted to live in marine environments, particularly coastlines. The genus of "Zostera" is found worldwide on the coastlines of Australia, south-east Asia, southern Africa and northern hemisphere countries. Until recently the seagrasses of New Zealand was thought to consist of two species; the "Zostera capricorni" Ascherson (which also occurs in Australia), and the "Zostera novazelandica" Setchell, which only occurs in New Zealand. It has been investigated that these two separate species are conspecific, or belonging to the same species. This analysis also determined that "Zostera muelleri" and "Zostera mucronata" are considered to be conspecific to "Zostera capricori" Ascherson. Therefore, where this merge of species is accepted, the seagrass can then be found in Northeastern and Southeastern Australia as well as Papua New Guinea, in addition to New Zealand.
New Zealand Range.
Where this merge of species is not accepted, the "Zostera novazelandica" is characterized as a smaller form of the same subspecies of "Zostera capricorni", and separate. Therefore, the species can be accepted as strictly endemic to New Zealand. The term endemic defines a species which is native to, or restricted to, a certain place. The species is established on the New Zealand coastlines, from Parengarenga harbour in the North Island, to Stewart Island in the South Island. The New Zealand seagrass establishes in large meadows or small patches in intertidal beds or estuaries. The concentrations of seagrass range between one metre squared to fifteen meters squared. "Zostera novazelandica" is found at Harwood (Otago Peninsula), Manukau Harbour and Whangaparoa Harbour.
Habitat preference.
The "Zostera novazelandica" occurs in subtidal and large intertidal zones of New Zealand. The seagrass grows in patches, a discrete, internally homogeneous unit that is closed to its surroundings. The species thrives in locations sheltered from wave action, or where there is entrapment of water at low tide such as reef platforms and tide pools. The species has slight, but not significant, preference for tide pools. The seagrass patches live interspersed among algal beds.
"Zostera novazelandica" has a minimum light requirement; if the seagrass does not receive 10-20% surface light, it will die. If the species is provided with more light, it will increase the seagrass growth linearly. These species do not favour very deep water. Deep water reduces the amount of light the plant will receive and also increases the hydrostatic pressure on the marine plants. This means that there is increased weight of fluid exerting downward force from above, onto the plant. "Zostera novazelandica" prefers brackish, slightly saline waters. This is evident in both the increased reproductive and vegetative growth in low salinity waters and its abundance in brackish estuaries. "Zostera novazelandica" inhabits siltstone platform reefs along the shorelines of New Zealand. The seagrass prefers shallow, soft-sediment environments such as mud or sandy-silt seafloors.
Phenology.
"Zostera novazalendica" experiences a perennial lifecycle, where it lives for two or more years. In the winter the species patch sizes are reduced to their smallest sizes, losing on average 34% of their initial surface area. Winter patch mortality is the highest of the 4 seasons, and new patches are recruited from July to November. Patches are produced by the fragmentation of larger patches, and this occurs mostly in the middle of the winter.
Regrowth of patches then occurs in spring, by elongation at the base of the plant. These patches are formed July to September either by the germination of seeds, which accounts for 40% of new recruits, or by fragmentation, which accounts for 60% of new recruits. This recruitment happens in tide pools or cracks. Once the seedlings are germinated the shoots begin to flower in the spring and immature inflorescence can be observed during late October in all parts of the low and mid tidal zones.
In the summer, flowering shoots begin appearing in patches higher on the shore. Mature embryos and seeds can be seen from late December to March, and seeds overwinter and germinate the following spring. In summer, the sea grasses continue to allocate biomass through elongation of the rhizomes. The seeds that are produced by the plants do not have a large role in the reproduction of the species, year to year. Seed recruitment occurs at very low levels or may even be episodic making the species rely on vegetative growth for survival. Once a patch reaches 0.4 meters squared its chances of survival are enhanced greatly. Leaf surface area is at a maximum in the summer, while rhizome biomass stays constant throughout the year in order for the seagrass to stay firmly planted. November is when the peak recruitment of seedlings occurs, and these seedlings typically disappear by January. The flowering season lasts on average 8 months of the year, from spring to late autumn. Water movement is important for the summer pollination process. Evidence suggests that this species usually flowers only when permanently submerged, due to the requirement of a liquid medium and therefore high shore species have a lower reproductive output when not in permanent pools.
By autumn the seedlings can be found in rock pools and tidal cracks, and flowering is still present.
In some cases the species can become an annual, where the species will be composed entirely of flowering shoots, and the rhizomes do not live through the winter. Annual seagrass’ grow during the spring and die out by the end of autumn.
Diet, Prey and Predators.
Diet and Foraging.
"Zostera novazalendica" relies on photosynthesis for “food”. The species growth habits are restricted to where it can be provided with sunlight. Photosynthesis is “the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water.” However, the loss of photosynthetic tissue has been proven to not have any significant negative effect on patch expansion. The species can recover from loss of photosynthetic tissue, because a significant portion of its total biomass rests below ground. This biomass acts as a nutrient store and rapidly produces new shoots in response to the loss.
"Zostera novazelandica" occurs in soft-sediment seafloors, “sandy mud” or rocky platform reefs. Habitable soil depths can range from 34 to 137 mm. Their ideal soil depth conditions are between 60 and 100mm.
Lower salinity waters, produce more flowers compared to higher salinity waters. Salinity influences vegetative proliferation of seagrass.
Predators, Parasites and Diseases.
The species that most affects "Zostera novazalendica", is the endemic Macrophthalmus hirtipes species. It is a small crab, which burrows in 63% of patches on average and feeds on the blades, basal sheaths, rhizomes and roots. The species relies on the "Zostera novazalendica" for 30% to 50% of its diet, while the rest of its diet is from invertebrates. The crabs also deteriorate the patch edges and accelerate erosion by burrowing around the edges and consequently reducing binding of seagrass roots, and creating a loss of soil.
The species is also affected by a disease called the wasting disease. The disease deteriorates the leaf blades of the plant. The overall effect is that the blades are drastically reduced and patches are more vulnerable to possible invasion of crabs, which would result in severe erosion of the plant. However, the patches often recovers well with the growth of new blades.
The decline in the New Zealand seagrass species is not only due to natural causes including predation and parasitism, but instead by anthropogenic stressors such as eutrophication, climate change and aquaculture. These threats include residential and commercial development on shores and pollution, such as agricultural and forestry leaving liquid waste and increasing nutrient loads. Increased water temperatures have led to the species creating more flowers due to increased stress, and therefore the species wastes its stored energy.
Other information.
Uses.
The "Zostera" species was used as a food source, a substitute for manufacturing paper and mattress stuffing. The New Zealand seagrass was significant to indigenous Maori, as it was important in food preparation and clothing embellishment.
Historical accounts.
It is believed that there were widespread meadows of "Zostera novazelandica" in the 19th century, because of the historical accounts made by European naturalists. For example, Leonard Cockayne (1855-1934) explained that the seagrass was “extremely common in shallow estuaries” and that it “covers the muddy floor…for many square yards at a time."
Importance of seagrass.
The reduction of seagrass is associated with the decline of both black swans and fish catches. As primary producers, they are needed to create organic form through photosynthesis using carbon dioxide and sunlight. They are large suppliers of resources in the food web. The seagrass are seabed stabilizers that promote biodiversity. Many young fish rely on the seagrass as nurseries to grow within during their juvenile months. For example, the New Zealand snapper, an important large fish for commercial and recreational purposes, relies on seagrass such as "Zostera novazelandica" as a nursery for the first year of their lives.
Lack of research.
There is very little known about this species except for a select few of individuals who have undergone research. Researchers have recently discovered the extent of the species resilience to disturbance. This may be a major factor in its management of human disturbance.


Abuta

Abuta is a genus in the flowering plant family Menispermaceae, of about 32 species, native to tropical Central and South America.
Description.
It consists in dioecious climbers or rarely erect trees or shrubs ("Abuta concolor") with simple leaves. Flowers in composed panicles. Male flowers: sepals 6, in 2 whorls, petals absent, stamens 6, connate or free, introrse, anthers with a longitudinal or transverse dehiscence. Female flowers: sepals and petals as in male, staminodes 6, carpels 3, drupes ovoid, endocarp woody, condyle septiform, endosperm ruminate, embryo curved, cotyledons appressed.
It is in the tropical rain forest.
Taxonomy.
"Abuta" is usually classified in the tribe Anomospermeae Miers, together with "Anomospermum" Miers.
Synonymy.
The genera "Anelasma" and "Batschia" have been brought into synonymy with "Abuta".
Uses.
"Abuta" is one of the components of the arrow poison curare of some indigenous tribes of South America (especially "Abuta imene" from Colombia). Roots of "Abuta rufescens" are used as medicinal in diseases of the urogenital tract, but it is dangerous.
The dichloromethane extracts of "Abuta grandifolia" and "Minthostachys setosa" (Labiatae) demonstrated high larvicidal activity against "Aedes aegypti", the most active being the dichloromethane extract of "A. grandifolia".


Galbulimima baccata

Galbulimima baccata, the northern pigeonberry ash is a rare rainforest tree found in two populations in Queensland, Australia. It is likely to be a poisonous and hallucinogenic plant like the related "Galbulimima belgraveana". The fruit is eaten by cassowaries and rainforest pigeons.


Leucobryum

Leucobryum is a genus of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in the family Leucobryaceae. The name comes from the Greek leukos, meaning white, and bryon, meaning moss.
Description.
Leucobryum species are in found in erect, dense, and often rounded cushions. Their color varies from white to grayish or bluish-green. Species are characterized by having thick, whitish leaves with a large, expanded costa. It has been suggested that the characteristic pale color exhibited by some species is caused by air bubbles in the leucocysts. The bubbles are theorized to be necessary for the function of the chlorocysts for the purpose of gas exchange.
Species are dioecious, with male plants stunted and found growing among the leaves of the female plants. Sporophytes are rare.
There are approximately 122 species of Leucobryum worldwide. Only two species are known to occur in North America.


Trichocolea

Trichocolea is a genus of liverworts belonging to the family Trichocoleaceae.
The species of this genus are found in Eurasia and Australia.
Species:


British NVC community OV20

British NVC community OV20 ("Poa annua" - "Sagina procumbens" community) is one of the open habitat communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. It is one of six communities characteristic of gateways, tracksides and courtyards.
This community is widely distributed in the lowlands and upland fringes of Britain.
There are two subcommunities.
Community composition.
Two constant species are found in this community:
No rare species are associated with the community.
Distribution.
This community is widely distributed in the lowlands and upland fringes of Britain. It is found in urban and suburban habitats, occupying crevices between paving slabs and brickwork on streets and pavements, and in courtyards, and also occurs in rural areas, around farms and domestic buildings, wherever there is heavy trampling.
This is the British equivalent of the Papaveri-Sileneetum noctiflori syntaxon, first described by Diemont, Sissingh and Westhoff (1940) from the Netherlands but which is found widely throughout Europe.
Subcommunities.
There are two subcommunities:


Eulychnia

Eulychnia is a genus of candelabriform or arborescent cacti, comprising between 6 and 9 species depending on the authority. These desert cacti can survive under very hot conditions—temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, this breed of cacti can also survive in some of the driest places in the world such as the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world.
This genus has one synonym: Philippicereus .


Nepenthes alata

Nepenthes alata (; from Latin "alatus" "winged") is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Philippines. Like all pitcher plants, it is carnivorous and uses its nectar to attract insects that drown in the pitcher and are digested by the plant. It is highly polymorphic, and its taxonomy continues to be subject to revisions.
Description.
"N. alata" can vary strongly in colouration and morphology. The floral formula is ✶ K4 A4+4+1* G0 for staminate (the apical stamen /*/ may not be present) and ✶ K4 A0 (4) for pistillate flowers.
Taxonomy.
"Nepenthes alata" has long been treated as a highly polymorphic species spanning all the major islands of the Philippine archipelago (with the possible exception of Palawan). Under this broad circumscription, "N. alata" was understood to have an altitudinal range of above sea level and was recorded from, among others, the islands of Bohol, Camiguin, Cebu, Culion, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Samar, and Sibuyan. "Nepenthes alata" in this broad sense ("sensu lato") is one of the easiest and most popular "Nepenthes" in cultivation.
In 2013, "N. alata" was redelimited by Martin Cheek and Matthew Jebb to encompass only those populations from northern and central Luzon with conspicuously hairy pitchers (a taxon known in horticultural circles as the "hairy "N. alata""). Cheek and Jebb's "N. alata" "sensu stricto" has an altitudinal distribution of and above. Under this interpretation, the more southerly plants previously referred to this species actually represent the newly resurrected "N. graciliflora" (the "typical "N. alata" of horticulture; found on Bohol, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Panay, Samar, and Sibuyan) as well as the newly described "N. negros" (Biliran and Negros) and "N. ramos" (Mindanao). "Nepenthes viridis" from Dinagat and Samar is another close relative, as are "N. ceciliae" (Mindanao), "N. copelandii" (Mindanao), "N. extincta" (Mindanao), "N. hamiguitanensis" (Mindanao), "N. kitanglad" (Mindanao), "N. kurata" (Mindanao), "N. leyte" (Leyte), "N. mindanaoensis" (Dinagat and Mindanao), "N. saranganiensis" (Mindanao), and "N. ultra" (Luzon). Together these species form the so-called "N. alata" group", being united by a number of morphological characters including winged petioles, lids with basal ridges on the lower surface (often elaborated into appendages), and upper pitchers that are usually broadest near the base.
"Nepenthes alata" is closely related to several other species, including "N. copelandii", "N. mindanaoensis", and "N. saranganiensis". "Nepenthes eustachya" from Sumatra was once considered to fall within the variability of "N. alata", but this was based on a misinterpretation of type specimens; these two species do not seem closely related to each other.


Epilobium rigidum

Epilobium rigidum is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names stiff willowherb and Siskiyou Mountains willowherb.
It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of far northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in dry, open areas in lower elevation coniferous forest habitat. It is sometimes a member of the serpentine soils flora.
This is a perennial herb forming upright clumps or mats of tough, peeling stems around a woody caudex. It bears bright pink flowers with heart-shaped petals up to 2 centimeters long flanked by pointed reddish sepals. The fruit is a hairy capsule up to 3.5 centimeters long.


Prasinoderma

Prasinoderma is a genus of green algae in the phylum Prasinodermatophyta.


Amsinckia grandiflora

Amsinckia grandiflora is a species of fiddleneck known by the common name large-flowered fiddleneck. This is a wildflower endemic to California and considered a Critically endangered species on the state and national level.
Distribution.
The last remaining native populations are on the grasslands near Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Alameda County, California. Other populations have been established in nearby protected areas. The plant is endangered due to a number of factors, including invasive plants, grazing, and development of the valuable land.
This fiddleneck has low reproductive output; it produces few seeds per plant. It is also heterostylous, making the plant self-incompatible, which means individuals cannot breed with other individuals of the same morph. This often prevents reproduction.
This fiddleneck is also sensitive to habitat; it grows on sedimentary loam in mesic areas of its range. The Livermore Laboratory is actively monitoring the status of this California endemic.


Diploglottis pedleyi

Diploglottis pedleyi is a shrub or small tree, found in tropical Queensland. Usually seen as an understorey plant in well developed rainforest, growing from one to six metres tall. The type specimen is from The Boulders near Babinda in the wet tropics.


Clarkia rostrata

Clarkia rostrata is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name beaked clarkia.
Distribution.
The wildflower is endemic to California, where it is known from the California oak woodlands of the Sierra Nevada foothills around the Merced River in Mariposa County.
Description.
"Clarkia rostrata" is an annual herb that grows erect to about in maximum height. The lance-shaped leaves are up to about long.
The inflorescence bears opening flowers below closed, hanging flower buds. The reddish or purplish sepals stay fused together as the flower opens from one side. The fan-shaped petals are lavender-pink, lightening to nearly white at the bases, where it turns reddish purple. There are 8 stamens, some tipped with large lavender anthers and some with smaller, paler anthers.


Quararibea dolichopoda

Quararibea dolichopoda is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is found only in Panama. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Viburnum nudum

Viburnum nudum is a deciduous shrub in the genus "Viburnum" within the muskroot family, Adoxaceae (It was formerly part of Caprifoliaceae, the honeysuckle family).
One variety of the species is Viburnum nudum" var. "cassinoides; synonyms for this variety Viburnum nitidum Aiton, Viburnum cassinoides, Viburnum cassinoides" var. "harbisonii, Viburnum cassinoides" var. "nitidum, and Viburnum nitidum.
Common names for the plant include withe-rod, witherod viburnum, possumhaw, and wild raisin.
Description.
"Viburnum nudum" is a shrub with opposite, simple leaves, on slender stems. The flowers are white, borne in late spring.
Range.
It is native to North America from southern Ontario and Quebec to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and west to Wisconsin.
Ecology.
The fruit is eaten by wildlife, and deer browse the foliage. It is a larval host to spring azures and hummingbird clearwing moths.
Conservation status in the United States.
It is listed as endangered in Kentucky and Pennsylvania and as special concern species and believed extirpated in Connecticut.
Native American ethnobotany.
Cuisine.
The Abenaki use the fruit and the grains of var. cassinoides for food. The Algonquin people eat the berries of var. cassinoides.
Medicinal use.
The Cherokee have several medicinal uses for "Viburnum nudum" var. "cassinoides". They take an infusion of it to prevent recurrent spasms, use the root bark as a diaphoretic and a tonic, and take a compound infusion of it for fever, smallpox and ague. They also use an infusion of the bark as a wash for a sore tongue.


Tmesipteris elongata

Tmesipteris elongata is a fern ally endemic to south eastern Australia and New Zealand. Often seen growing on soft tree ferns in moist valleys.


Cecropia obtusifolia

Cecropia obtusifolia is a species of plant in the family Urticaceae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico and Panama. Common Names include trumpet tree, pop-a-gun, tree-of-laziness, and snakewood tree. In Central America it is known as Guarumo. Though impressive silhouetted against the sky, it is an invasive species in the islands of Hawaii.
"Cecropia obtusifolia" is used in traditional Amerindian medicine. Many other species of the genus "Cecropia" share the folk reputation of curing heart failure, cough, asthma and bronchitis. "Cecropia obtusifolia" has vasorelaxant activity due possibly to inhibition of angiotensin.


Clematis terniflora

Clematis terniflora (sweet autumn clematis, sweet autumn virginsbower) is a plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to northeastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia (Siberia), Taiwan). It was introduced into the United States in the late 1800s as an ornamental garden plant, and has naturalized in many of the eastern states. It is considered a Category II invasive plant in Florida (north and central) and some other eastern states, meaning invading native plant communities but not yet seen as displacing native species.
Description.
"Clematis terniflora" is a vine with opposite, pinnately compound leaves, on climbing stems. The flowers are white, borne in fall. The blooms are nicely fragrant and visited by bees. In late fall the fertilized flowers become fruit (seed) clusters of 5-6 fruits connected at the heads and each having a long white tail. As these dry, the color of the fruits fade and the tail becomes feather-like. In the spring the fruits detach and are dispersed by wind.
Culture.
Prefers full sun, but will prosper and bloom in partial shade. These woody-stemmed plants can be pruned in fall or early spring to within a couple of feet from the ground, and will vine up fence, trellis, arbors (or other plants) to heights of 10 to 30 feet. Can also be allowed to sprawl along the ground as a dense ground cover. Blooms on new growth. No serious insect or disease problems. Does not require fertilizer or frequent watering, although will benefit from a low nitrogen fertilizer such as 5-10-10 in spring. Considered deer resistant.


Andersonglossum

Andersonglossum is a small genus of plants native to North Americam known as wild comfreys. The genus was named in 2015 by James I. Cohen. , it comprises three species, each formerly placed in the genus "Cynoglossum":


Sporobolus pyramidalis

Sporobolus pyramidalis, commonly known as giant rat's tail grass, is a species of grass native to Africa and Yemen. It has become a weed in eastern Australia.


Commelinids

In plant taxonomy, commelinids (originally commelinoids) (plural, not capitalised) is a clade of flowering plants within the monocots, distinguished by having cell walls containing ferulic acid.
The commelinids are the only clade that the APG IV system has informally named within the monocots. The remaining monocots are a paraphyletic unit. Also known as the commelinid monocots it forms one of three groupings within the monocots, and the final branch, the other two groups being the alismatid monocots and the lilioid monocots.
Description.
Members of the commelinid clade have cell walls containing UV-fluorescent ferulic acid.
Taxonomy.
The commelinids were first recognized as a formal group in 1967 by Armen Takhtajan, who named them the Commelinidae and assigned them to a subclass of Liliopsida (monocots). The name was also used in the 1981 Cronquist system. However, by the release of his 1980 system of classification, Takhtajan had merged this subclass into a larger one, and no longer considered it to be a clade.
Takhtajan system.
In the Takhtajan system treated this as one of six subclasses within the class Liliopsida (=monocotyledons). It consisted of:
Cronquist system.
The Cronquist system treated this as one of four subclasses within the class Liliopsida. It consisted of:
APG system.
The APG II system does not use formal botanical names above the rank of order; most of the members were assigned to the clade commelinids in the monocots (its predecessor, the APG system used the clade commelinoids). The commelinids now constitute a well-supported clade within the monocots, and this clade has been recognized in all four APG classification systems.
Subdivision.
The commelinids of APG II (2003) and APG III (2009) contain essentially the same plants as the commelinoids of the earlier APG system (1998). In APG IV (2016) the family Dasypogonaceae is no longer directly placed under commelinids but instead a family of order Arecales.


Weinmannia portlandiana

Weinmannia portlandiana is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to Jamaica. It is threatened by habitat loss.


All heal

All heal, allheal or all-heal may refer to a number of plants used medicinally including:


Chrysocephalum semipapposum

Chrysocephalum semipapposum, commonly known as clustered everlasting is a perennial shrub native to Australia. Clustered everlasting belongs to the family Asteraceae. C. semipapposum produces terminal flowers heads in clusters, mainly between spring and early summer with silver-grey appearing stems and branches. It grows up to 40cm high and 60 cm high, although there have been some varieties which can grow up to 1 m. C. semipapposum is often confused as Chrysocephalum apiculatum or 'yellow buttons', due to their similar appearances. C. semipapposum has 4 different subspecies, however they lack distinctive qualities and are often hard to identify. C. semipapposum is endemic to Australia and can be found in multiple states, most notably within Victoria. The plant is found in a variety of habitats including dry rocky regions. Clustered everlasting often grows sparsely and is rarely found in abundance and can be mistaken for a weed.
Clustered everlasting has many uses, including as a source of nectar for butterflies, cut flowers or as an addition to a garden.
Description.
Chrysocephalum semipapposum is a perennial herbaceous shrub, which is highly variable. Generally, the erect shrub is 15-60 cm high, and is sprawling in nature, with its width up to 40cm. Despite this general 60cm height cap, there have been forms of Chrysocephalum semipapposum found up to 1 metre tall.
Chrysocephalum semipapposum can be sometimes mistaken for a weed.
Morphology.
Inflorescence.
The floral display of the Chrysocephalum semipapposum is a corymb, or a cluster of flowers that form a flat head and can be up to 10 cm in diameter. The corymb of the Chrysocephalum semipapposum contains 70 capitula, or flowering shoots which gives the appearance of a single flower. The colour of the capitula can occur from a lemon shade to a common orange shade, or a cluster of flowers that form a flat head. These flower heads are compact clusters and are surrounded by bracts, an adapted leaf which surrounds the flower with a woolly grey appearance.
Stems.
These corymbs are found on leafy branches, which give a silver-grey appearance. This appearance is due to silky glandular hairs which covers the stems and foliage of the Chrysocephalum semipapposum. The slender and erect stems grow from the base of the plant. The leaves are linear in shape and are 0.2-5cm long and 1-2mm wide. The leaves decrease in size towards the tip of the stem and can end in a sharp or a long, drawn-out point. The leaves are flat and are denser towards to bottom of the plant.
The upright stems grow from the base of the plant.
Fruit.
Chrysocephalum semipapposum produces a fruit – achene - which does not have to open to bear its seeds. This fruit is found within the dried-out flower heads, and many fruits grow within each flower head. The fruits have pappus bristles, which appear as a feathery attachment. The fruit is white and yellow.
Chrysocephalum semipapposum has both bisexual and female flowers
Chrysocephalum apiculatum is similar in appearance to the Chrysocephalum semipapposum. The common names of these plants are often used interchangeably in both professional and recreational settings. The inflorescence, or flower, of the Chrysocephalum semipapposum is similar in physical appearance to Chrysocephalum apiculatum which causes confusion when identifying the plant. However, Chrysocephalum apiculatum is a taller plant and has the possibility to be single stemmed or multistemmed, where Chrysocephalum semipapposum is only multi-stemmed. C. apiculatum may also have a loose to compact flowerhead, where C. semipapposum has compact flowerhead.
Taxonomy.
C. semipapposum is a part of the Asteraceae family, commonly known as daisies, under the Chysocephalum genus. The word chrysocephalum derives from Greek origins. Chryso translates to golden, and cephalus translates to headed, referring to the appearance of the compact flowers.
Chrysocephalum semipapposum is formerly known as Helichrysum semipapposum. However, the Helichrysum genus has been reassessed to apply to African and Eurasian plants, and similar Australian plants have been reclassified to the Chrysocephalum genus.
Variation.
C. semipapposum has 4 subspecies.
These subspecies are determined by both morphological features or physical attributes and location in which these varieties are found. C. semipapposum has historically been taxonomically difficult and the subspecies have similar variations which cause overlap. Because of these similar attributes, the subspecies are broad based and do not have specific infraspecific or scientific names.
Subspecies.
Lineare.
This variety grows up to 80 cm high, with slender stems and narrow leaves.
This subspecies is found in southern Eastern New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.
Occurs in numerous habitats.
Growth cycle: December to February.
Brevifolium.
Brevifolium subspecies grows up to 50cm high. It has slender sparsely cottony stems with thick leaves 2-3cm long at the top of the plant and 2-6cm long at the base of the plant.
This subspecies is found in eastern New South Wales, central and south-eastern South Australia, and central and eastern Victoria.
Asperum.
C. Semipapposum subsp. Asperum grows up to 90 cm high. The stems have minimal hair, and the leaves grow up to 7cm long.
This subspecies occurs in eastern New South Wales, eastern Victoria, south-east Queensland and north-eastern Tasmania.
Occidentale.
This subspecies has been found to grow from 40-120 cm high with slender erect stems and cottony leaves which are scattered along the stems.
This subspecies is found in south-western Western Australia.
Distribution and habitat.
C. semipapposum is a native shrub to Australia. C. semipapposum varieties have been found in most Australian states, including New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania however C. semipapposum has been most notably found within Victoria.
C. semipapposum occurs in a variety of habitats including woodland hills, grassland hills, mountains or isolated rocky rises. They are rarely found in large groups and are most commonly found as scattered individual shrubs.
C. semipapposum can grow in a variety of soils and is a tough plant which can withstand drought.
Ecology.
C. semipapposum’s flowering season occurs from September until December, mainly throughout spring and summer. C. semipapposum is a tough shrub and natural disturbances, such as fires promote growth and flowering.
The nectar produced by the clustered everlasting flowers are a source of food for butterflies and the plant itself is minimally used as a food option for grazing animals. The plant will only be eaten when there are limited food sources available.
C. semipapposum’s growth may be impacted by lower light, producing leggy growth. The growth can also be impacted by the invasion of non-native plants.
C. semipapposum was found to inhibit the process of nitrification in the rhizosphere soil, the soil surrounding the plants roots, when compared to non-rhizosphere soil. Nitrification transforms relatively soil bound ammonium into nitrate which is more mobile and can get lost in the environment. Nitrification can cause negative impacts on the environment including toxic algae blooms, biodiversity loss and can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and loose up to 50% of nitrogen for the plant. This compound is very important in the creation of plant proteins and stimulating growth within the plant. The rhizosphere has a great impact to the plants ability to take in nutrients, which is integral to the health and growth of the plant. The ability of C. semipapposum to inhibit the process of nitrification is closely related to the lower amount of ammonia oxidising bacteria (AOB) found in the rhizosphere. Further research is needed to evaluate the exact mechanisms found in C. semipapposum which contribute to the inhibition of nitrification.
Uses.
The clustered everlasting is a tough plant which can be used as ground covering in a residential garden and can help keep weeds out. It is easy to care for due to its drought tolerance and frost resistance. Growing conditions include part shade to full sun, and a dry or well-drained soil. If dried out, regular pruning down to the base of the stem can promote growth in the next season.
The seed viability for C. semipapposum is higher or equal to 80%, and can also be easily propagated. Germination can occur under both light, part shade and dark conditions. However lower light availability may produce thin and underdeveloped seedlings and leggy growth.
Clustered everlasting can also be used as a cut flower in floral arrangements. Clustered everlasting has a vase life of 7-14 days making it ideal as a flower filler.


Castilleja coccinea

Castilleja coccinea, commonly known as scarlet Indian paintbrush or scarlet painted-cup, is a flowering plant in the family Orobanchaceae. It is usually found in moist meadows, prairies, and barrens from Maine to Minnesota, and south to Florida and Louisiana.
Description.
It is an upright, hairy, tall hemiparasitic plant. The stem is usually unbranched and rises from a basal rosette. The basal leaves are oblong and mostly entire, while the alternate stem leaves are deeply and irregularly lobed. The common names for this plant reflect the showy red calyx, inside of which is the actual greenish-yellow corolla ("flower").
"Castilleja coccinea" can be distinguished from other "Castilleja" of the southeastern US because it has a 2-to-3.5-millimeter long, thin yellowish or orangish lip on the corolla, the inflorescence bracts are deeply lobed, and the basal rosettes of leaves are usually well-developed.
Reproduction.
"C.coccinea" have color polymorphism, which means that they can be yellow or scarlet in color, and this depends on the availability of pollinators such as bees. When pollinators are present, the scarlet "C. coccinea" tend to have a higher reproductive output, as they have higher seed and fruit set. On the other hand, the yellow "C.coccinea" would have a higher reproductive output when pollinators are scarce.
Natural history.
Though it can survive on its own, studies indicate a forty-fold growth increase when its roots parasitize those of another plant for nutrients. It is primarily pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds who can transfer the pollen long distances between typically small and scattered populations of this plant.


Mickelia nicotianifolia

Mickelia nicotianifolia is a species of fern in the family Dryopteridaceae, subfamily Elaphoglossoideae. It has a widespread distribution in Central America and northern South America.
Taxonomy.
The species was first described by Olof Swartz in 1806 as "Acrostichum nicotianifolium". It has since been placed in several other genera, including "Mickelia". In 1995, Robbin C. Moran and Benjamin Øllgaard described a new species from Ecuador as "Bolbitis riparia". Under this name, it was considered to be endemic to Ecuador and threatened. However, in 2010, Moran et al. treated "Bolbitis riparia" as a synonym of "Mickelia nicotianifolia", a widespread species.


Weinmannia fraxinea

Weinmannia fraxinea is a tree in the family Cunoniaceae. It grows up to tall. The bark is grey to dark brown. Inflorescences bear up to three pairs of flowers. The specific epithet "" is from the Latin meaning "ash tree", referring to the leaves' resemblance to those of the genus "Fraxinus". In Malaysia's Sarawak state the leaves are used to make a dye. The tree grows in a wide variety of habitats from sea level to altitude. "W. fraxinea" is found widely in Malesia.