Zostera

Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrasses, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass and also known as seaweed by some fishermen and recreational boaters including yachtsmen. The genus "Zostera" contains 15 species.
Ecology.
"Zostera marina" is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries, usually submerged or partially floating. Most "Zostera" are perennial. They have long, bright green, ribbon-like leaves, the width of which are about . Short stems grow up from extensive, white branching rhizomes. The flowers are enclosed in the sheaths of the leaf bases; the fruits are bladdery and can float.
"Zostera" beds are important for sediment deposition, substrate stabilization, as substrate for epiphytic algae and micro-invertebrates, and as nursery grounds for many species of economically important fish and shellfish. "Zostera" often forms beds in bay mud in the estuarine setting. It is an important food for brant geese and wigeons, and even (occasionally) caterpillars of the grass moth "Dolicharthria punctalis".
The slime mold "Labyrinthula zosterae" can cause the wasting disease of "Zostera", with "Z. marina" being particularly susceptible, causing a decrease in the populations of the fauna that depend on "Zostera".
"Zostera" is able to maintain its turgor at a constant pressure in response to fluctuations in environmental osmolarity. It achieves this by losing solutes as the tide goes out and gaining solutes as the tide comes in.
Distribution.
The genus as a whole is widespread throughout seashores of much of the Northern Hemisphere as well as Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and southern Africa. The discovery of "Z. chilensis" in 2005 adds an isolated population on the Pacific coast of South America to the distribution. One species ("Z. noltii") occurs along the land-locked Caspian Sea.
Uses.
Eelgrass has been used for food by the Seri tribe of Native Americans on the coast of Sonora, Mexico. The rhizomes and leaf-bases of eelgrass were eaten fresh or dried into cakes for winter food. It was also used for smoking deer meat. The Seri language has many words related to eelgrass and eelgrass-harvesting. The month of April is called "xnoois ihaat iizax", literally "the month when the eelgrass seed is mature".
"Zostera" has also been used as packing material and as stuffing for mattresses and cushions.
On the Danish island of Læsø it has been used for thatching roofs. Roofs of eelgrass are said to be heavy, but also much longer-lasting and easier to thatch and maintain than roofs done with more conventional thatching material.
More recently, the plant has been used in its dried form for insulation in eco-friendly houses and as a ground cover in permaculture gardens, once its salt layer washed off (ex: Friland, Danish eco-village).
In the United States, eelgrass insulation was commercially marketed in the early 1900's as Cabot's Quilt by the Samuel Cabot Co of Boston. However due to an outbreak of "Labyrinthula zosterae" which destroyed crops of eelgrass, combined with the collapse of the homebuilding industry due to the great depression, it went out of production and was replaced in new homes with fiberglass (introduced in the late 1930's).
Some studies show promise for eelgrass meadows to sequester atmospheric carbon to reduce anthropogenic climate change.
"Zostera" can also be utilized to produce biomass energy using the Jean Pain method.


Gentiana scabra

Gentiana scabra, the Japanese gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the Gentian family (Gentianaceae), found in much of the United States and Japan. The flowers bloom in mid-summer, autumn and are blue or dark blue in color.
Medicinal use.
"Gentiana scabra" roots are used as a bitter tonic in Chinese herbalism where it is said to promote digestive secretions and treats a range of illnesses associated with the liver.


Ilex laevigata

Ilex laevigata , commonly referred to as smooth winterberry, is a plant species in the Aquifoliaceae (holly family). It is native to the eastern coastal United States.


Fagus hayatae

Fagus hayatae, also known as Taiwan beech, is a species of beech tree. It can grow tall.It is the only beech species native to Taiwan. While IUCN reports it, as endemic to Taiwan, ""Flora of China" and "Flora of Taiwan" also report it from China; "Flora of China"" reports a wide but discontinuous mainland distribution between Sichuan in the southwest to Zhejiang in the east.


Gentianella foliosa

Gentianella foliosa is a species of plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.


Grevillea fastigiata

Grevillea fastigiata is a shrub native to Western Australia.


Caulonemata


David R. Goddard

David Rockwell Goddard (January 3, 1908 – July 9, 1985) was an American plant physiologist.
Goddard was most known for his contributions to the large-scale production of penicillin, bacitracin and vitamin B2 in World War II. His later research showed a relation between the respiratory chains in plants and animals.
Goddard was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the chairman of the Division of Biology and the university provost at the University of Pennsylvania.
Goddard was also president of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, the Society of General Physiologists and the Society for the Study and Development of Growth.
He was also home secretary for the National Academy of Sciences.
The University of Pennsylvania established the David Goddard Laboratories as part of Richards Medical Research Laboratories.
"The New York Times" called Goddard a "leading plant expert".
Inventions.
Work that Goddard participated in at, what was then, the Rockefeller Institute, inspired by Leonor Michaelis, in the early 1930s, led indirectly to the discovery of simple methods of permanently modifying the shape of hair by reducing the disulfide bonds in keratin (hair protein). The basic chemistry of this discovery was adapted into the technology known in the hairdressing industry as a cold wave, using chemical derivatives of the reagent, thioglycolic acid, that he identified as suitable for this purpose. Goddard was only interested in the, considerable, scientific implications of this discovery, and refused any suggestion of attempting to patent the process.
Family.
Goddard was the son of Pliny Earle Goddard, American linguist and ethnologist noted for his extensive documentation of the languages and cultures of the Athabaskan peoples of western North America.


Calamagrostis nutkaensis

Calamagrostis nutkaensis is a species of grass known by the common names Pacific reedgrass and Nootka reedgrass.
It is native to western North America from Alaska to central California, where it is mainly a coastal species growing in moist areas such as beaches and wetlands. This is a perennial bunchgrass forming thick tufts of stems which may exceed a meter in height. There are several flat grass leaves up to a centimeter wide. The inflorescence is usually narrow and thin.
Coastal roadsides in Mendocino County, California can have populations, often receiving fog drip under Eucalyptus stands.


Asplenium goudeyi

Asplenium goudeyi is a fern only found on Lord Howe Island. A common plant growing in a variety of situations. On trees, or rocks, boulders, cliff faces and sometimes in exposed positions. The wavy edged fronds are 50 to 75 cm long, and 12 to 18 cm wide.
Taxonomy.
This plant was described in 1996.
A global phylogeny of "Asplenium" published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. "A. goudeyi" belongs to the ""Neottopteris" clade", members of which generally have somewhat leathery leaf tissue. While the subclades of this group are poorly resolved, several of them share a characteristic "bird's-nest fern" morphology with entire leaves and fused veins near the margin. "A. goudeyi" forms a clade with the morphologically similar "A. nidus" "sensu lato" and "A. australasicum", but other bird's-nest ferns such as "A. antiquum" and "A. phyllitidis" form a separate subclade which is not particularly closely related.


Comesperma drummondii

Comesperma drummondii, commonly known as Drummond's milkwort, is a slender herb in the family Polygalaceae. It is a perennial herb growing to between 20 cm and 1.2 m high, on sandy and gravelly soils Its pink-blue-purple flowers may be seen from August to November.
The species was first formally described by the botanist Joachim Steetz in "Plantae Preissianae" in 1848.
The species occurs in Western Australia, in Beard's Eremaean and South-West provinces.


Corallina elegans

Corallina elegans is a species of red algae in the family Corallinaceae from the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Another instance of the name, "Corallina elegans" Lenormand ex Areschoug, 1852 is accepted as "Jania rubens var. corniculata" (Linnaeus) Yendo, 1905.


Gymnocalycium fischeri

Gymnocalycium fischeri is a globular cactus of the family Cactaceae. The first description was in 2002 by Josef Halda Jacob, Petr Kupčák, Emil Lukasik and Jaromír Sladkovský. The specific epithet honors the Czech cactus collector Ladislav Fischer.
Description.
"Gymnocalycium fischeri" have blue-gray-green, flat, spherical stems reaching a diameters of and a height of up to . The single central spine is rare or absent and it is formed only in older plants. The five to seven (rarely nine) radiating, rigid spines are gray-brown. The spines have a length from . The funnel-shaped, white to pale pink blooms have a darker pink throat. They are up to long and have a diameter of . The blue-green fruits are spindle-shaped and reach a length of .
Distribution.
Gymnocalycium fischeri is common in the Argentine province of San Luis in the west to south-east of the foothills of the Sierra de San Luis at altitudes up to .


Cryptocoryne walkeri

Cryptocoryne walkeri is a plant species belonging to the Aroid genus "Cryptocoryne". It is known to occur only in Sri Lanka.
Description.
"Cryptocoryne walkeri" has a more rigid and upright structure than most other Cryptocorynes. It grows to be 12–15 cm with a width of 8 cm.
Cultivation.
"Cryptocoryne walkeri" is considered to be of medium-difficulty to cultivate. It is a slow grower with medium demands as to nutrients and light. Prefers medium lighting along with a pH of 5.0-7.0. Grows well in water that is 20-28C. As with all other Cryptocoryne cultivars, C. walkeri is subject to crypt melt.


Thymelaeoideae

Thymelaeoideae is a subfamily of the Thymelaeaceae family.
References.


Gomphrena

Gomphrena is a genus of plants in the family Amaranthaceae. They are known as the globe amaranths.
Species include:


Cochlospermum vitifolium

Cochlospermum vitifolium is a tree in the family Bixaceae. It is native to the Americas: from Mexico to Brazil.


Solanum jamesii

Solanum jamesii (common names: wild potato or Four Corners potato) is a species of nightshade. Its range includes the southern United States. All parts of the plant, and especially the fruit, are toxic, containing solanine when it matures. The tubers were/are eaten raw or cooked by several Native American tribes, but they require leaching and boiling in clay in order to be rendered edible. The tubers are also extremely small when compared to familiar varieties of "S. tuberosum". Escalante Valley in Utah boasts the oldest known cultivation sites of the Four Corners potato, dating back over 7,000 years, and the plant is so prevalent there that a former name for area was "Potato Valley". "S. jamesii" is sometimes grown in yards or gardens as an ornamental plant, and there have been recent experiments in Escalante, Utah to start growing it as a food vegetable again.


Antennaria alpina

Antennaria alpina (alpine pussytoes or alpine catsfoot or alpine everlasting) is a European and North American species of plant in the sunflower family. "Antennaria alpina" is native to mountainous and subarctic regions of Scandinavia, Greenland, Alaska, and the Canadian Arctic, extending south at high altitudes in mountains in the Rocky Mountains south to Montana and Wyoming.
"Antennaria alpina" is a perennial, herbaceous plant growing to 15 cm tall, with off-white to pinkish flowerheads 4–8 mm in diameter, produced in clusters of three to five together.


Crossosoma californicum

Crossosoma californicum, known by the common name California rockflower, is one of only a few species in the flowering plant family Crossosomataceae.
Distribution.
"Crossosoma californicum" is native to San Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands, two of the Channel Islands of California, as well as Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California.
It is also known from one location on the mainland California coast at the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve, on the Palos Verdes Peninsula of Los Angeles County.
Description.
"Crossosoma californicum" is a shrub or small tree sprawling to a maximum height of . The stem is intricately divided into many thorn-tipped branches lined with veiny, pale green, oval-shaped to rounded leaves up to 9 centimeters long.
The species produces solitary flowers with round white petals, each one to 1.5 centimeters long. At the center are numerous of stamens and 1-5 free carpels


Passiflora maliformis

Passiflora maliformis, the sweet calabash, conch apple, wild purple passionfruit, or sweet cup, is a smallish (5cm) passionfruit with purple, yellow or green skin and a greyed-yellow to orange pulp that is aromatically-scented and -flavoured. It is a fast-growing vine, growing best in somewhat cooler-than-tropical climates. The rind is particularly hard and tougher than most passionfruits. It is usually eaten fresh or used to flavour drinks. It is a native to the Caribbean, Central America and Northern South America.
Description.
"Passiflora maliformis" is a fast-growing evergreen shrub or vine. The slender, woody stems can reach lengths of 3–10 metres and are equipped with tendrils by means of which the plant climbs other plants or structures for support. The green or orange-green fruit is up to 4cm in diameter. The skin of this fruit can be hard so a hammer is sometimes needed to open it for consumption.
Cultivation.
It is usually grown from seeds but may also be propagated by stem-cuttings and layering. Grafting onto other "Passiflora" rootstock can improve hardiness."Passiflora maliformis" grows in the warm, wet tropics the plants require a temperature no lower than around 16°c when they are flowering in order to ensure fruit set. Passiflora species tend to flower and fruit more freely when grown in soils of only moderate fertility. Seedlings can commence fruiting when only 1 - 2 years old. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Nutrition.
"Passiflora maliformis" arils contain 85.44% water, 7.17% net carbohydrates, 3.63% fibre, 2.2% protein, and 0.45% fat (see table). A 100-gram amount provides 42 kilocalories and is an excellent source of magnesium and phosphorus as well as a significant source of other minerals (see table). The fruit also contains various organic acids and phenolic compounds which are responsible for the aroma and flavour. It is commonly eaten raw or made into a drink, it is said to have a flavor similar to grape.


Nepenthes ramos

Nepenthes ramos is a tropical pitcher plant native to the northeastern Mindanao, Philippines. It is known from only a handful of herbarium specimens collected in 1919 at an elevation of 670 m above sea level. It likely grows in the forest on ultramafic soils.
"Nepenthes ramos" belongs to the informal ""N. alata" group", which also includes "N. alata", "N. ceciliae", "N. copelandii", "N. extincta", "N. graciliflora", "N. hamiguitanensis", "N. kitanglad", "N. kurata", "N. leyte", "N. mindanaoensis", "N. negros", "N. saranganiensis", and "N. ultra". These species are 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.
The specific epithet "ramos" honours Philippine botanical collector Maximo Ramos, who collected the type material with J. Pascasio.
Plants matching the description of "N. ramos" have been observed in the Mindanao provinces of Bukidnon, Davao Oriental, and Surigao, and on an "isolated mountain" on an undisclosed island around 120 km from the type locality. These discoveries suggest that "N. ramos" might be the most common member of the ""N. alata" group" on the island of Mindanao.
"Nepenthes kurata".
"Nepenthes kurata" was described in 2013 as a species known only from Mount Malindang in Misamis Occidental Province, Mindanao, where it was recorded at 1400 m altitude. This would make it one of the most westerly known "Nepenthes" species in Mindanao. (In 1995 "N. mirabilis" was found near Polanco, further to the west.) This taxon was previously described as a variety of "N. alata"—"N. alata" var. "ecristata"—in John Muirhead Macfarlane's 1908 monograph, "Nepenthaceae".
The specific epithet "kurata" honours botanist Shigeo Kurata, best known for his 1976 book, "Nepenthes of Mount Kinabalu".
"Nepenthes kurata" was formally synonymised with "N. ramos" in 2016.


Guzmania

Guzmania (tufted airplant) is a genus of over 120 species of flowering plants in the botanical family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Tillandsioideae. They are mainly stemless, evergreen, epiphytic perennials native to Florida, the West Indies, southern Mexico, Central America, and northern and western South America. They are found at altitudes of up to in the Andean rainforests.
The genus is named after Spanish pharmacist and naturalist, Anastasio Guzman.
Several species of this genus are cultivated as indoor and outdoor garden plants. The best known is "Guzmania lingulata" (scarlet star) which bears orange and red bracts.
The plant dies after it has produced its flowers in summer, but new plants can easily be propagated from the offsets which appear as the parent plant dies. They are epiphytes and can do well if tied on to pieces of bark with roots bound into sphagnum moss.
Guzmanias require warm temperatures and relatively high humidity. The sac fungus "Bipolaris sorokiniana" (anamorph of "Cochliobolus sativus") and others can cause fatal root rot in plants of this genus if the roots get too wet and cold.
Species.
, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes 215 species, including hybrids.
Notable cultivars.
Hybrids:


Droseraceae

Droseraceae is a family of carnivorous flowering plants, also known as the sundew family. It consists of approximately 180 species in three extant genera. Representatives of the Droseraceae are found on all continents except Antarctica.
Description.
Droseraceae are carnivorous herbaceous plants that may be annuals or perennials. Their leaves are alternate and adaxially circinate, with at least one leaf surface containing hairs with mucilage-producing glands at the tip. Their flowers are bisexual, usually with three carpels and five sepals, petals and stamens.  Their pollen grains are triporate or multiporate and released in tetrads. Despite being carnivorous, their flowers are insect-pollinated, typically with white to purple flowers that close at night. They produce small seeds that are dispersed by wind and water.
Most of the members of Droseraceae are contained in the genus "Drosera", the sundews. Both "Dionaea" and "Aldrovanda" have only one extant species. "Drosera" species trap prey by secreting a sticky substance from hairs on their leaves. "Dionaea" and "Aldrovanda" both use snap-traps that close rapidly when the leaves are disturbed. "Dionaea" is terrestrial, while "Aldrovanda" is strictly aquatic. Like carnivorous plants of other families, the Droseraceae are able to supplement their nutrient intake, especially that of nitrogen, by capturing and digesting small animals such as insects. In this way, these plants are able to thrive in nutrient-deficient areas, such as sphagnum bogs.
"Drosera".
"Drosera" is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, and individual species vary extensively in their specific morphology. Common to all members of "Drosera" are highly modified leaves lined with tentacle-like glandular trichomes. At the end of each trichome, a bead of highly viscous mucilage is secreted, which resembles a drop of dew. The mucilage is a fairly pure aqueous solution of acidic polysaccharides with high molecular weights, which makes the mucilage not only highly viscous, but also very sticky, so much so, a single drop of mucilage may be stretched to lengths of up to a meter and cover one million times its original surface area. Insects and other prey animals are attracted by the smell of this mucilage and become stuck in it. Such snares are termed “flypaper traps”, but the trapping mechanism of sundews is often erroneously described as “passive”. In fact, sundew traps are quite active and sensitive, and the disturbance of one or a few trichomes quickly triggers an action potential that stimulates the rapid movement of other trichomes toward the prey. The leaf then curls in on itself, enveloping the prey for digestion.
Four "Drosera" subgenera are recognized today: subgenus "Regiae" and subgenus "Arcturia" are each monotypic ("D. regia" and "D. arcturi," respectively), and the remaining "Drosera" are divided into two clades, subgenus "Ergaleium" and subgenus "Drosera".
"Dionaea".
"Dionaea muscipula", better known as the Venus flytrap, is a globally famous carnivorous plant and according to Charles Darwin, “one of the most wonderful in the world.” The leaves of "Dionaea" are also highly modified and form a “snap-trap” that quickly shuts when a stimulus is detected. Three large trichomes extend outward on the inner surface of the trap. Two of these three hairs must be stimulated within a certain amount of time to trigger the trap. The trap closes as the result of a flipping of the trap lobes from a position where the exterior of the trap is concave to one where the exterior is convex. This movement can begin as soon as 0.4 seconds after stimulation and can be completed after one second.
"Aldrovanda".
"Aldrovanda vesiculosa", also called the waterwheel plant, is a free-floating, rootless, aquatic plant. It is less well-known than its relative "Dionaea muscipula", but the two have similar trap structures. In 1875, Darwin described "Aldrovanda" as "a miniature aquatic "Dionaea"". The trap of "Aldrovanda" is aquatic and is smaller and faster than that of "Dionaea". In addition, while two stimuli are required to close a trap in "Dionaea", only one is required in "Aldrovanda". The trap of "Aldrovanda" closes about ten times faster than that of "Dionaea".
Etymology.
The type genus for the Droseraceae is "Drosera", which was described and named by Linnaeus in 1753.  The name was derived from the Greek word “droseros”, meaning “dewy” or “drops of water”.  The "Principia Botanica", published in 1787, states “Sun-dew ("Drosera") derives its name from small drops of a liquor-like dew, hanging on its fringed leaves, and continuing in the hottest part of the day, exposed to the sun.”
Phylogeny.
In 1867, Bentham and Hooker placed six genera in the Droseraceae: "Dionaea, Aldrovanda, Drosera, Drosophyllum, Byblis," and "Roridula".  Although these genera had significant differences in leaf and flower morphologies, they were grouped together on the basis of insect traps that appeared to be homologous. In 1922, "Byblis" and "Roridula" were moved into a new family, the Byblidaceae (and later further split out, forming the Roridulaceae). In the 1990s, both morphological and molecular evidence began to build that "Drosophyllum" differed from the other genera in the Droseraceae, "Drosophyllum", another monotypic genus ("Drosophyllum lusitanicum" being the only species")", exhibits a flypaper-type trap similar to those of "Drosera", but "Drosophyllum" does not actively curl its leaves to envelop captured prey animals. This important morphological distinction led researchers to question the validity of this taxon’s placement in Droseraceae. Other significant trait differences in "Drosophyllum" include pollen structure, trichome anatomy, and a woody stem with a deep taproot. Ultimately, "Drosophyllum" was shown to be more closely related to the carnivorous liana "Triphyophyllum" and the noncarnivorous liana "Ancistrocladus", and is, thus, classified elsewhere (to be specific, its own monotypic family Drosophyllaceae). and APG III (2009) placed it into its own family, the Drosophyllaceae.  This left only the three genera ("Dionaea, Aldrovanda, Drosera") that are classified as Droseraceae today.
Despite some debate, taxonomists have tended to include at least two of these three genera, and, in general, all three, in this family since at least 1906. Separate families for "Dionaea" and "Aldrovanda" have been proposed in the past. These were Dionaecae, proposed in 1933, and Aldrovandaceae, proposed in 1949. Ultimately, molecular and morphological evidence support the inclusion of all three, confirming that the Droseraceae are a monophyletic group. Molecular evidence also shows that the two genera with traps that snap shut ("Dionaea" and "Aldrovanda") are more closely related to each other than to "Drosera", suggesting snap traps evolved only once.
The family Droseraceae is part of the order Caryophyllales in the Superasterid clade within the core eudicots. The family totals nearly 200 species. Caryophyllales are divided into two major suborders: Caryophyllineae, which contains the “core” Caryophyllales, such as Cactaceae and Amaranthaceae and is sister to the Polygonineae – the “non-core” Caryophyllales. This non-core clade is where Droseraceae is placed.
Recent molecular and biochemical evidence (see the AP-Website) suggests the carnivorous taxa in the order Caryophyllales (the families Droseraceae, Drosophyllaceae, Nepenthaceae, and the species "Triphyophyllum peltatum") all belong to the same clade, which does not consist only of carnivorous plants, but also of some noncarnivorous plants such as those in the family Ancistrocladaceae.
The fossil record of Droseraceae is the richest of any carnivorous plant family. Fossil pollen has been attributed to several extant, as well as extinct, genera, although some are of questionable validity.
Evolution.
Darwin concluded that carnivory in plants was convergent, writing in 1875 that "Utricularia" and "Nepenthes" were not “at all related to the Droseraceae.” This remained a subject of debate for over a century. In 1960, Leon Croizat concluded that carnivory was monophyletic, and placed all the carnivorous plants together at the base of the angiosperms.  Molecular studies over the past 30 years have led to a wide consensus that Darwin was correct, with studies showing that carnivory evolved at least six times in the angiosperms, and that trap designs such as pitcher traps and flypaper traps are analogous rather than homologous.
The origin of carnivory within the ancestors of the Droseraeae has been dated to 85.6 million years ago, with the evolution of snap-traps dated to 48 million years ago. Researchers have hypothesized that carnivory in the Droseraceae began with simple flypaper traps, followed by movement of tentacles in some "Drosera"-like species, followed by movement of leaves, leading eventually to the development of snap-traps in "Dionaea" and "Aldrovanda" by increasing the speed of the leaf movements and altering the morphology of the leaves.  Due to the sister relationship of "Dionaea" and "Aldrovanda," it is likely that the snap-trap mechanism only evolved once, but it is unknown if the common ancestor was terrestrial or aquatic.


Amblyanthopsis bhotanica

Amblyanthopsis bhotanica is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family (Primulaceae). It is native to Bhutan.
"Amblyanthopsis bhotanica" was first formally described as "Ardisia bhotanica" in 1882 by Charles Baron Clarke. It was transferred to the genus "Amblyanthopsis" by Carl Christian Mez in 1902. It is one of three species in that genus.


Linaria algarviana

Linaria algarviana is a species of toadflax in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, endemic to southern Portugal, specifically the western portion of the Algarve. It inhabits clearings of xerophilic scrub, pastures and meadows close to the coast, very rarely in vineyards and pine forests. Usually in dry places, with sandy substrate.


Olearia solandri

Olearia solandri, commonly known as coastal daisy-bush or coastal tree daisy, is a coastal shrub of New Zealand.
The plant has an upright, bushy stature, with leaves 5–8 mm long. "O. solandri" can grow into a small tree about four metres high.


Philcoxia

Philcoxia is a genus of seven rare plant species in the Plantaginaceae that are endemic to Brazil and resemble terrestrial species of the genus "Utricularia". The genus, formally described in 2000, consists of the species "P. bahiensis", "P. goiasensis", "P. minensis", "P. tuberosa", "P. rhizomatosa", "P. maranhensis" and "P. courensis", each of the first three named for the Brazilian state to which it is endemic. The species are characterized by subterranean stems, peltate leaves at or below the soil surface, and five-lobed calyces. Their habitat has been reported as areas of white sand in the midst of cerrado vegetation at an elevation between 800 and 1450 m. Initial descriptions of the genus included suspicions that the plethora of stalked capitate glands on the upper surfaces of leaves was an indication that these species may be carnivorous. A study published in 2007 tested "P. minensis" for protease activity, a typical test for the carnivorous syndrome, and could detect none. Later studies detected other digestive enzymes such as phosphatases and qualitatively assessed prey digestion and nutrient uptake, suggesting that it is a true carnivorous plant. The genus epithet honors David Philcox, a botanist at Kew Gardens who worked extensively in tropical Scrophulariaceae.
Description.
Members of the genus are small perennial or annual herbs that reside in oases of deep white sand surrounded by the typical vegetation of the cerrado ecoregion. They are no more than 26 cm tall with 5-10 leaves. Zigzag-shaped racemes are produced from upright stems and account for the height of the species. These monotelic inflorescences are leafless and produce pale blue to lilac flowers ("P. goiasensis" has a yellow corolla tube). The flowers possess monothecous, glabrous anthers, which are unusual in the family. The upper surface of the leaves are covered with stalked capitate glands that are also seen in many carnivorous plant genera.
Taxonomy.
The nature of "Philcoxia"'s highly specialized morphology has led to confusion about its proper taxonomic placement. In 1996, before "Philcoxia" was even formally published as a taxon, it had been placed by Vinícius Souza in the tribe Scrophularieae of the Scrophulariaceae. Peter Taylor "et al." later noted in the 2000 description of the genus that its affinities should include the genera "Gratiola" and "Dopatrium" in the tribe Gratioleae of the Scrophulariaceae. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group later changed the circumscription of the Scrophulariaceae so that the tribe Gratioleae is now within the Plantaginaceae. In 2004, E. Fischer also placed in tribe Gratioleae, but also placed it within the informally recognized subtribe Dopatriinae, which was described as also containing the genera "Deinostema", "Dopatrium", "Hydrotriche", and "Limnophila", which consist mostly of aquatic species. In 2007, an extensive study and phylogenetic analysis by Peter Fritsch "et al." confirmed that "Philcoxia" should be placed in the tribe Gratioleae, but it is in fact not as closely related to "Gratiola" and the Dopatriinae as was previously assumed. Recent research has suggested that "P. minensis" may be polyphyletic, so may represent more than one species.
Botanical history.
The first recognized specimens of "Philcoxia" ("P. bahiensis") were collected by local resident Wilson Ganev in August 1992 from the Serra do Atalho in the municipality of Piatã of Bahia. One collection was sent to Kew Gardens for naming. Because of its placentation, the specimen was determined to be a member of the Scrophulariaceae (later Plantaginaceae "sensu" APG II) despite its appearance close to that of terrestrial "Utricularia". Material of this specimen had been sent to Vinícius Souza, who was working on the Scrophulariaceae of Brazil. Souza recognized the material as congeneric with a plant collected in 1981 from the Serra do Cabral of the Brazilian state Minas Gerais. The collection was made by a group from the University of São Paulo. The site location of that collection was not identified and subsequent expeditions were unable to relocate the species until 2007.
However, an even earlier specimen now recognized as "P. goiasensis" had been collected in 1966 near Posse in the northeastern state of Goiás by a group from the New York Botanical Garden. Initially, the specimen had been determined to be a member of the Lentibulariaceae. Peter Taylor and David Philcox later concluded that this represented an undescribed genus of Scrophulariaceae. A description and illustration was completed and set aside for over twenty years. Then, in 1994, Taylor showed the specimen and description to Ray Harley in preparation for publication. Harley, who had been involved in the early 1990s discovery of "P. bahiensis", recognized Taylor's materials as another species of the as yet undescribed genus.
Carnivory.
Peter Taylor, in his 2000 description of the genus, suggested that the morphology "Philcoxia" resembles that of the carnivorous Lentibulariaceae and the relatively unrelated Droseraceae in some aspects. The upper surface of the leaves are covered in stalked capitate glands similar to those seen in other carnivorous plants. Taylor noted that field observations had not indicated that there was any carnivorous function of the leaves, citing a lack of captured prey as evidence.
Peter Fritsch and his coauthors decided to do a more comprehensive test for carnivory on "P. minensis" after they observed nematode worms on leaf surfaces. The similarity between the habitat for "Philcoxia" species and that of "Genlisea" and their similar subterranean leaves and stems spurred the team's decision to test for potential carnivory in the field and "in situ". They tested for a protease enzyme that is one of the enzymes found in other carnivorous plants and is responsible for breaking down captured prey. They hypothesized that "Philcoxia" could be carnivorous, capturing nematodes and possibly soil microbes like "Utricularia" and "Genlisea" do. Ultimately, Fritsch's study concluded that while no protease activity was detected, this fact does not rule out the possibility that the genus may be carnivorous in some other way. They note that there are many possibilities, such as seasonal carnivory or the unusual growth form being an adaptation to the heat and sun, and more study is needed before precise conclusions can be reached.
A study by Caio G. Pereira "et al." published in 2012 provided experimental evidence using 15N-labeled nematodes, concluding that "P. minensis" actively digests prey and absorbs the nutrients. This data was combined with the observation that the leaf surfaces of "P. minensis" produce phosphatases, similar to many other carnivorous plants. The similarity in structures in all the species of this genus suggest that all species are carnivorous.


Dillenia

Dillenia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Australasia, and the Indian Ocean islands.
The genus is named after the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius, and consists of evergreen or semi-evergreen trees and shrubs.
Structure.
The leaves are simple and spirally arranged.
The flowers are solitary, or in terminal racemes, with five sepals and five petals, numerous stamens, and a cluster of five to 20 carpels; they are superficially similar in appearance to "Magnolia" flowers.
Species.
"Plants of the World Online" currently includes:


Acacia prominens

Acacia prominens (golden rain wattle, goldenrain wattle, Gosford wattle or grey sally) is a shrub or tree in the genus "Acacia" native to New South Wales, Australia.
Description.
"Acacia prominens" usually grows to a height of , sometimes to a height of . It has glabrous branchlets that are angled at the extremeties and has smooth grey coloured bark. Like most species of "Acacia" it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The grey-green to grey-blue, glabrous to sparsely hairy phyllodes have a narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong-elliptic shape and are more or less straight. The phyllodes are in length and wide with a prominent midvein. It blooms between July and September producing inflorescences in groups of 5 to 25 in an axillay raceme with spherical flower-heads that have a diameter of containing 8 to 15 lemon yellow to pale yellow coloured flowers.
Taxonomy.
The species was first formally described by the botanist Allan Cunningham in 1832 as part of George Dons work "A General History of Dichlamydeous Plants". It was reclassified as "Racosperma prominens" by Leslie Pedley in 2003 then transferred back to genus "Acacia" in 2006.
The species epithet refers to the prominent exerted gland on the margin of the phyllode, about above the pulvinus. It is most closely related to "A. kettlewelliae" and "A. covenyi".
Distribution.
It is endemic to south eastern Australia in New South Wales and also found in Victoria. In New South Wales it is found from around the Hunter Valley in the north west to the Gosford and Sydney areas in the south east. It is often situated in damp and sheltered areas growing in loamy and clay soils along the margins of rainforest or as a part of wet sclerophyll forest communities. It is naturalised to parts of central Victoria including the goldfields, greater Grampians, Gippsland Plain and northern inland slopes.
Alkaloids.
It contains the psychoactive alkaloids phenethylamine and β-methylphenethylamine.


Central America bioregion

The Central America bioregion is a biogeographic region comprising southern Mexico and Central America.
The bioregion covers the southern portion of Mexico, all of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and all but easternmost Panama.
WWF defines bioregions as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)."
The bioregion lies in the tropics, and is home to tropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical coniferous forests. The higher mountains are home to cool-climate montane forests, grasslands and shrublands.
Central America connects North America to South America. The land bridge was completed 2.8 million years ago, when the Isthmus of Panama was formed, linking the two continents for the first time in tens of millions of years. The resulting Great American Interchange of animals and plants shaped the flora and fauna of the Central America bioregion.
Large mammals include the white-lipped peccary "(Tayassu pecari)", Baird's tapir "(Tapirus bairdii)", white-tailed deer "(Odocoileus virginianus)", Central American red brocket "(Mazama temama)", Yucatan brown brocket "(Mazama pandora)", giant anteater "(Myrmecophaga tridactyla)", brown-throated sloth "(Bradypus variegatus)", jaguar "(Panthera onca)", cougar "(Puma concolor)", and ocelot "(Leopardus pardalis)".
Plants of South American origin came to dominate the tropical lowlands of Central America, as did South American freshwater fish and invertebrates. 95% of Central American freshwater fish are South American in origin, with only the Tropical gar "(Atractosteus tropicus)", three clupeids "(Dorosoma)", a catostomid "(Ictiobus)", and an ictalurid "(Ictalurus)" of North American origin.
The montane vegetation of the region is distinct from the lowland vegetation, and includes species with origins in temperate North America, including oaks "(Quercus)", Pines "(Pinus)" and alders "(Alnus)", as well as a some species with origins in temperate South America, including "Weinmannia" and "Drimys".


Parachlorella

Parachlorella is a genus of green algae in the order Chlorellales.


Colmanara

Colmanara, abbreviated Colm. in the horticultural trade, is the nothogenus comprising intergeneric hybrids between the orchid genera "Miltonia", "Odontoglossum" and "Oncidium" ("Milt." × "Odm." × "Onc.").
The name refers to Jeremiah Colman (1859–1942), an English collector of orchids, and uses the suffix "-ara" used to form nothogenera of orchids. The nothogenus was established in 1936.
In the current botanical classifications according to Genera Orchidacearum by Alec M. Pridgeon, Phillip J. Cribb, Mark W. Chase, and Finn N. Rasmussen, Odontoglossum is merged into Oncidium and x Colmanara is considered to be the same as the nothogenus x Miltonidium. The RHS Orchid register does not register x Colmanara anymore.


Ruschia namusmontana

Ruschia namusmontana is a species of plant in the family Aizoaceae. It is endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitats are rocky areas and cold desert.


Chrobry Oak

The Chrobry Oak is an oak tree, the largest oak in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe.
It is monumental oak with single-stemmed, hollow trunk, its girth was 1004 cm, height – 26 m and volume – 90 m³ (in 2014). Moreover, it is the oldest oak tree in Poland. Age of the "Chrobry" is about 760 years, according to dendrochronological research.
Oak was officially preserved (as a natural monument) since 1966.
"Chrobry" was measured in 1908 at the earliest, by Theodor Schube (German botanist), girth of the tree was 861 cm.
Tree was set on fire by vandals on November 2014. "Chrobry" remained in fatal condition, but in 2015 part of the crown was still alive.


Begonia compacticaulis

Begonia compacticaulis is a species of plant in the family Begoniaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Solanum chenopodioides

Solanum chenopodioides, commonly known as the whitetip nightshade or velvety nightshade, is a shrub of the family Solanaceae native to South America that has become naturalised in North America, Europa, Australia and New Zealand.


Kim Soon-kwon

Kim Soon-kwon (born May 1, 1945) is a South Korean maize specialist employed by Handong Global University.
Early life.
Kim, better known in Korea as "Dr. Corn" or in Africa as "Green Revolutionary", was born to a poor family in Ulsan, on the southeast coast. This family depended on agriculture to survive, and Kim, as the son of the family, helped too. He studied at the Ulsan Agrarian Institute, expanding his agrarian knowledge. However, it was difficult to attend university because of his family's economic situation. Instead, he earned a scholarship and entered into the Faculty of Agriculture and Science of Life of Kyungpook National University in Korea.
Kim worked as a teacher to raise funds to attend university, as he dreamed of becoming an agricultural scientist and combating hunger around the world.
Having a passion for agriculture, he decided to expand his knowledge of corn.
He studied in the University of Hawaii where he started to investigate corn, a principal factor in defeating the menace known as starvation. He was impressed with American corn, which was 30 times better than the Korean one at the time. His studies soon attracted interest. During that time, there were about 50 companies in the United States seeking "better corn", and they discovered Kim's research. "Mr Kim, your investigation is really incredible. We are amazed. Do you want to work for us? We will pay you 20 times more," but Mr Kim denied and he returned to Korea with his Hawaiian degree. Finally, he developed the varieties 18, 19 and 20 of Suwon, which he grew in Gangwon-do city. When the corn grew, Kim saw that they were as big as the American ones.
In fact, in only 5 years he developed a corn hybrid in Korea's favour, which United States made it in 55 years. This successful hybrid changed Korea's agriculture, who was unable to make more.
Early goals.
The IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture) was founded in 1967 by 2 American organizations dedicated to caritative entities; this organization also held UN support.
Dr Kim entered IITA, with his first mission in Nigeria, IITA's seat. Remembering his promise to help people, he went to Africa. There, he began to search for an African hybrid. It was said that central and western Africa weren't able to produce a hybrid, however Dr Kim continued to organize his efforts. He attempted to create varieties of cultivations, which could be helpful for farmers in Africa and elsewhere in the world, cultivations that resisted diseases. In time, Kim made a hybrid for farms in Western and Central Africa, concluding with the "Miracle of Central and Western Africa". Nigeria, which needed to import one million tons of corn yearly, is now self-sufficient in corn production.
During his stay in Africa, he contracted malaria 5 times, but has recovered each time. It is believed that he accumulated about a million kilometres in travel in and out of Central and Western Africa.
"My best profit in Africa was the creation of varieties that could resist "striga", a herb known as "Devil's herb". This herb caused a loss of 7 billion dollars. Western investigators tried to beat the herb for 100 years, but without much effect. Dr. Kim did not try to beat the herb, instead, he tried to create a variety of corn that could co-exist with the striga. After developing a new African hybrid of corn, the loss of production was reduced from 73% to 5%. His method can be applied not only to corn, but to rice, sorghum and other cultivations. These methods are believed to have resulted in gains of 1200 million dollars annually in benefits. This method is now used to control orobanche in Mediterranean areas Spain, Eastern Europe and Russia, and has attracted interest internationally.
Then he was named "Mayegun" in Nigeria, meaning "Who feed poors". In 1986 he received the International Prize of Agrarian Investigation from the King of Belgium, with other prizes from other countries. Numerous companies asked Kim to join them, but he always denied and stayed in IITA.
It was around this time that starvation in North Korea became a more pressing issue. It was a difficult decision to quit IITA and go to Kyungpook, where he received wage 4 times less, but he thought that such efforts might spur accelerated Korean reunification. He founded the International Foundation of the Corn in March 1998 and became the director of the organization. Thanks to numerous sponsors he continued researching corn to help North Korea and countries in the Third World.
Sources.
"Koreana, Arte y Cultura de Corea"
http://starbulletin.com/97/04/17/news/story3.html


Chilli leaf curl virus

Chilli leaf curl virus (ChiLCV) is a DNA virus from the genus "Begomovirus" and the family "Geminiviridae". ChiLCV causes severe disease especially in pepper ("Capsicum spp."), but also affects other crops such as tomato ("Solanum lycopersicum"). It can be found in tropical and subtropical regions primarily in India, but has also been detected in countries such as Indonesia and Sri Lanka. This virus is transmitted by an insect vector from the family "Aleyrodidae" and order "Hemiptera", the whitefly "Bemisia tabaci". The primary host for ChiLCV are several "Capsicum spp.," but host species also include tomato and amaranth. ChiLCV has been responsible for several epidemics and causes severe economic losses. It is the focus of research trying to understand the genetic basis of resistance. Currently, a few sources of resistance have been discovered and used to breed resistant varieties.
Genome.
This virus typically consists of a single circular single-stranded (ss) DNA molecule (2.7 kb in size), and betasatellite (1361 nt in size), with some reports of bipartite genomes and alphasatellites. The betasatellite most associated with ChiLCLV in "Capsicum" was identified as "Tomato leaf curl Bangladesh betasatellite" (ToLCBDB). However, multiple betasatellites have been detected, and they likely play a role in symptom development. This virus has similar coat protein structure and genome organization to that of other begomoviruses such as TYLCV.
Transmission.
ChiLCV is transmitted by the insect vector "Bemisia tabaci" in a persistent-circulative nonpropagative manner. Transmission of the monopartite genome alone can lead to infection, but the presence of DNA A or DNA B helper viruses plays a large role in symptom development.
Agricultural importance.
The main symptoms are an upward curling, puckering, and bunching of leaves. The leaves are also reduced in size. Severely affected plants produce fewer, smaller, and deformed fruits. This virus can cause significant yield losses. In the case of mixed infections or pests such as thrips or mites, losses may be as severe as 90–100%, but typically range from 20-50%. Treatments that are commonly used for this disease include insecticides, removing infected plants, and growing varieties with genetic resistance.
Epidemiology.
ChiLCV is found in tropical and subtropical regions, and it significantly affects pepper production in India's major pepper growing regions. This virus was first detected in India around 1940, and later confirmed in the 1960s. There are closely related virus species including:
ChiLCV is related to "Pepper leaf curl virus" (PepLCV), but it is a different species. Comparison of the sequence of ChiLCV with previously characterized begomoviruses shows it likely recombined with "Papaya leaf curl virus" and resulted in the new virus, PepLCV.
Management.
Currently, the most widespread treatments used to control the spread of ChiLCV are a wide range of insecticides. Rouging infected plants and destroying infected fields is also used when necessary. The usage of large quantities of insecticides to control vector populations is not ideal, and other cultural methods to control vector populations are of increasing importance to a complete integrated pest management strategy. Other strategies include producing resistant varieties through a transgenic, RNAi-mediated approach.
Management by insecticides, imidacloprid 17.8 SL (0.003%) was most effective than spinosad 48 EC (0.02%), malathion 50 EC (0.05%), acephate 75 SP (0.1%) and methyl-demeton 25EC (0.025%). Management of chilli leaf curl was done by seed extract of plants and insecticides at different concentrations.


Viburnum suspensum

Viburnum suspensum, commonly called Sandankwa viburnum, is a compact, perennial shrub, native to Japan. It grows up to 3.7 m in height.
The coarse leaves are dark green and densely cover the shrub. They are oval with serrated edges about long and wide and are held oppositely on rough textured, dark brown stems.
Small tubular flowers are borne on the ends of new branches in the spring, and sporadically appear in the summer. They are white to pale pink, followed by small red berries in the fall that attract wildlife.


Indosasa

Indosasa is a genus of East Asian bamboo in the grass family. The species are native to China and Indochina (Laos and Vietnam).


Socratea

Socratea is a genus of five species of palms found in tropical Central America and South America.
It is commonly believed that "Socratea" can move away from where it germinated by growing roots on one side and abandoning them on the other. Attempts to detect this behavior have failed.


Thespesia populnea

Thespesia populnea, commonly known as the portia tree (), Pacific rosewood, Indian tulip tree, or milo, among other names, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a tree found commonly in villages of Tamil Nadu and on coasts around the world. However, the Portia tree is probably native only to the Old World tropics. It was introduced to the Pacific Islands from Island Southeast Asia by prehistoric Austronesian voyagers.
History.
"Thespesia populnea" is native to the Old World tropics and is adapted for sea dispersal and growth in island environments. Like the related "Talipariti tiliaceum", it was one of the main sources of bast fibers for the production of cordage and wood for Austronesian outrigger ships and carving. Though the plant seeds can survive for months on sea currents, no remains of "T. populnea" have been recovered from Polynesia prior to the Austronesian expansion (c. 5,000 BP), thus it is regarded as canoe plant, deliberately carried and introduced by Austronesian voyagers in the islands they settled.
The trees were regarded as sacred in Polynesian culture, and were commonly planted in "marae" sites along with trees like "Ficus", "Fagraea berteroana", "Casuarina equisetifolia" and "Calophyllum inophyllum".
Description.
The Portia tree reaches a height of tall and its trunk can measure up to in diameter. It grows at elevations from sea level to in areas that receive of annual rainfall. The Portia tree is able to grow in the wide range of soil types that may be present in coastal environments, including soils derived from quartz (sand), limestone, and basalt; it favours neutral soils (pH of 6–7.4). Pollen grains are approximately 70 microns in diameter.
Uses.
The heartwood of the Portia tree is dark reddish brown to chocolate brown and has a specific gravity of 0.55 to 0.89.
Portia tree is known as "milo" or "miro" in Polynesian languages. It is popular in Hawaii for woodworking (commonly turned into bowls) because of the range of colours expressed (tan, through yellow, to red). Traditionally it was planted in sacred groves and used for religious sculpture throughout eastern Polynesia. In Tahiti, Milo wood is used in the making of the to'ere (slotted wooden drum), used in traditional Tahitian tribal drumming. "Makoi" was used for the rongorongo tablets of Easter Island. Since the advent of aluminium-hulled boats in the 20th century, Pitcairners have made regular trips to Henderson Island to harvest "miro" wood. Usually they venture to Henderson only once per year, but may make up to three trips if the weather is favourable. Pitcairners carve the wood into curios, from which they derive much of their income.
In New Ireland, Portia wood is used to make hourglass drums. In Tonga, its bark is used to treat mouth infections among infants, and its wood is used to make canoes, house parts, and artwork.
In South Asia, it is used to make the "thavil," a Carnatic musical instrument of South India. The flower of the Portia tree played a part in Sri Lanka's independence movement, when it was sold on Remembrance Day by the Suriya-Mal Movement instead of the poppy to aid Sri Lankan ex-servicemen. The wood from the tree was used by early Tamil people to make instruments in ancient Tamilakam.


Exaerete smaragdina

Exaerete smaragdina is a species of kleptoparasitic euglossine bees.
Description.
"Exaerete smaragdina" can reach a length of about . The body shape of these bees is euceriform. Body color is metallic green. The metatibiae are three times longer than wide in both sexes. Like other "cuckoo bees", females lack a pollen-carrying apparatus.
Behavior.
These solitary bees do not build nests, as they are kleptoparasites of "Eulaema nigrita" and "Eufriesea surinamensis". Usually they wait for the host bees to leave the nest, then they lay their eggs in a completed cell. They go through five larval stages. In the second larval stage they kill the host egg. Adult males collect aromatic substances from flowers, mainly orchids. These substances are possibly used in reproduction to attract females.
Distribution.
This species is present in Central and Southern America, from Mexico to Argentina.


Euonymus morrisonensis

Euonymus morrisonensis is a species of plant in the family Celastraceae. It is endemic to Taiwan. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Phragmipediinae


Vandaenopsis

Vandaenopsis, abbreviated Vdnps. in the horticultural trade, is an intergeneric hybrid between the orchid genera "Phalaenopsis" and "Vanda" (Phal. x V.).


Phyllodon (plant)

Phyllodon is a genus of moss.


Alsophila alleniae

Alsophila alleniae, synonym Cyathea alleniae, is a species of tree fern native to the Malay Peninsula, where it grows in forest margin on steep ground at an altitude of approximately 1200 m. The trunk is erect, about 4 m tall and 15 cm in diameter. It is usually unbranched, but may branch to form several small crowns. Fronds are bi- or tripinnate and 1–2 m long. The stipe is spiny at the base and at least partially covered by scales. Typically of "Alsophila" species, these scales are dark brown, glossy, and have fragile edges. Sori occur near the midvein of fertile pinnules and are covered by firm, brown indusia that resemble scales in appearance.
"A. alleniae" is named after Betty Molesworth Allen (1913-2002), a collector of Malaysian and Indonesian flora.


Garrya fadyenii

Garrya fadyenii is a species of flowering shrub known by the common name Fadyen's silktassel. It is native to the West Indies, specifically Jamaica, Hispaniola, and the former Cuban provinces of Oriente and Santa Clara (Las Villas). It grows in rocky areas of mountainous tropical rainforests.
Along with "Vaccinium cubense", it is a principal wide-leaved plant in the Hispaniolan pine forests ecoregion.
Description.
Growing up to tall, its foliage consists of elliptical-shaped leaves, each around long, which are green and shiny on the upper surface. The shrub is dioecious, with male and female plants producing similarly arranged inflorescences surrounded by lanceolate bracts. The fruit is between long, and turns black when dry.


Bulbophyllum pandanetorum

Bulbophyllum pandanetorum is a rare species of epiphytic plant in the family Orchidaceae. It is found in Cameroon and Gabon, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests at elevations roughly between 200 and 950 meters. It is threatened by habitat loss. It was botanically described in 1954.
In September 1925, the first sample of "B. pandanetorum" were collected, twice, in Gabon. They were both found in the Ngounie River region; the first specimen was located near Kembélé, and the second, along the River Dévèla. Both were attached to "Pandanus" trees, and so the botanist's choice of specific epithet.
Since then, it has never been collected again from anywhere in that country, and in spite of meticulous, if sporadic botanical surveyance in many parts of the south and west of Cameroon, "B. pandanetorum" had never been among the plants collected in that country either.
In June 1996, however, it was for the first time found outside of Gabon, growing on the submontane slopes of Mt. Kupe, in Cameroon. Here it must be supposed, it undergoes continuing decline due to habitat loss through the encroachment of farms, which are known to be spreading. The Gabonian habitat's course of endangerment to "B. pandanetorum", and its level of seriousness are yet to be determined.


Fossombronia foveolata

Fossombronia foveolata is a species of liverwort belonging to the family Fossombroniaceae.
It is native to Europe and America.


Erythranthe androsacea

Erythranthe androsacea is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name rockjasmine monkeyflower. It was formerly known as "Mimulus androsaceus".
Distribution.
It is endemic to California, where its distribution spans between the Coast Ranges north of the San Francisco Bay Area to the Mojave Desert, and the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges.
It grows in moist or wet areas in many types of habitat.
Description.
"Erythranthe androsacea" is a petite annual herb producing a hair-thin, erect stem just a few centimeters tall. Its herbage is mostly red to greenish in color, the paired tiny leaves sheathing the stem at midpoint. The tubular base of the flower is surrounded by a slightly hairy red calyx of sepals. The flower corolla is pink to reddish-purple with darker spots in the throat, and just a few millimeters long.


Siphonocladus

Siphonocladus is a small genus of green algae in the family Siphonocladaceae. The algal body (thallus) is composed of long, club-shaped cells that divide by segregative cell division, followed by the formation of branches that break through the mother cell.
As in other members of the order Cladophorales, cells are multinucleate.
The genus occurs in subtropical or tropical seas, in shallow intertidal and subtidal habitats. Most species are rare.


Capon Oak Tree

The Capon Oak Tree is one of the last surviving trees of the ancient Jedforest, close to Jed Water, a small river which has cut a course below soft sandstone cliffs.
It is located south of Jedburgh, Scotland, west of the A68. The Capon Tree is held together with concrete, bricks and timber beams supporting its trunk and branches due to a massive split down the middle of the trunk. The tree continues to grow.
Trees are being replanted in the Borders to establish a renewal of the ancient 'Caledon Wood,' or great northern forest, which included Ettrick Forest and Jedforest.


Combretum rotundifolium

Combretum rotundifolium, the monkey brush or monkey brush vine, is a plant species in the genus "Combretum" found in South America.
"Combretum rotundifolium" contains acidic dammarane arabinofuranosides.
The bright yellow/red flowers are the decoration of the interior where the color green is in abundance. When in blossom the flower buds will slowly burst open giving this exotic vine its 'monkey brush' appearance.
External links.
it is also a natural food source for animals, for instance a hummingbird. but, also it is a resting place for other animals too.


Eriogonum brachypodum

Eriogonum brachypodum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name Parry's buckwheat. This annual herb is native to the southwestern United States from California to Utah, especially the Mojave Desert, where it grows in sandy and gravelly substrates. It has a skeletonlike spindly stem which branches many times, reaching anywhere from 5 to 50 centimeters in height and up to a meter in width. There is an array of rounded, dark-colored leaves around the base, each a few centimeters long and fuzzy on the undersides. Most of the plant is actually the spreading inflorescence. At intervals on the otherwise naked branches hang tiny clusters of glandular flowers a few millimeters wide in involucres of bell-shaped bracts. Each flower is less than three millimeters wide.


Centaurea solstitialis

Centaurea solstitialis, the yellow star-thistle, is a member of the family Asteraceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin region. The plant is also known as golden starthistle, yellow cockspur and St. Barnaby's thistle (or Barnaby thistle) The plant is a thorny winter annual species in the knapweed genus.
Description.
"Centaurea solstitialis" is an annual herb from the family Asteraceae. During the vegetative stage it forms a rosette of non-spiny leaves (5–20 cm diameter). As the summer approaches, it produces a flowering stem (1 m) which will produce numerous spinous capitula containing numerous (10-50) yellow flowers. Flowers within capitula are pollinated by insects and each capitula will produce a mix of (10-50) pappus and non-pappus seeds. It is an annual semelparous species, and will die after reproduction is completed, normally by the end of the summer.
Ecology.
"Centaurea solstitialis" is a weed also on its native European range (e.g., Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Spain), consequently, it inhabits highly disturbed ruderal habitats, being typically found on roadsides and cereal crop margins. After introduction in several parts of the world as an exotic species (e.g., Australia, Argentina, Chile, United States), it has developed local adaptations to the different habitats colonized, and an incipient level of reproductive isolation between native and non-native ranges has been detected—a case of ecological speciation.
Invasive species.
"Centaurea solstitialis" grows as a balanced part of the ecosystems in Eurasia, where it is kept in check by an assortment of natural herbivore enemies and other plants that have co-evolved with it in its native habitat. However, it has been introduced in several parts of the world, including Australia, Argentina, Chile, and the USA. In many of these non-native regions, where the particular array of natural biological controls found in the native regions do not exist, it has become an invasive species and noxious weed.
Impacts.
The yellow star-thistle plant has the ability to create monotypic stands and habitats in the cultivated soil of fields, graded dirt sites, and disturbed natural ecosystem lands. Its colonization eliminates and prevents other plant species from growing, terminating the habitat's biodiversity. Extensive spreading monotypic fields of yellow star-thistle are not uncommon. Its growth plasticity, competitiveness, preference for the Mediterranean climate, and a lack of natural herbivore enemies and co-evolved species, make it a very successful invader. The plant is an invasive pest in field crops, degrades native plant habitats and natural ecosystems, prevents the grazing of domestic animals in rangelands, and is a physical barrier to indigenous animal movement in wildlands.
Toxicity in horses.
Grazing of the plant by horses can cause nigropallidal encephalomalacia or "chewing disease", a neurological condition. The disease generally follows consumption of 60-200% of the horse's body weight over an extended period of a month or more, or 2.3-2.6 kg of star-thistle per 100 kg body weight per day. Though star-thistle is most dangerous when it is the only plant available or is delivered as a contaminant in dried hay, horses may develop a taste for it and seek it out. Many other species of grazers, including mules and burros, are not affected.
Holistic perspective.
Star-thistle is a valuable source of pollen, thus nectar for pollinators. Yellow star-thistle, a noted pest plant, is a major nectar source for many central valleys and foothill butterflies. Star-thistle populates ground that has been abused: dry, compacted, or scraped clean. A plant with a tap root system, it has a crucial role in restoring the soil by bringing up vital micronutrients. Similar to many plants classified as 'weeds', they "quickly establish in, protect, and restore soil that has been left exposed by natural and human-caused disturbances".
Species introduction.
The introduction of "Centaurea solstitialis" in North America probably occurred in California sometime after the start of the California Gold Rush, as a fodder seed contaminant in imported Chilean-harvested alfalfa seed, also known as Chilean clover ("Trifolium macraei"). Introduction in other parts of the world is poorly known.
In California, yellow star-thistle was dispersed into agricultural fields, and immediately took hold in the state's Mediterranean-type climate areas. Human factors, such as mowing, land grading for development and roads, domestic animal grazing, and disturbance of the soil surface for agricultural tillage and wildland firebreaks have and continue to contribute to the successful thriving and spread of this plant. Yellow star-thistle is now a very common sight in vacant lots and fields, along roadsides and trails, in pastures and ranch lands, and in parks, open-space preserves and natural areas. In addition to the United States, star-thistle has been introduced throughout Africa, Europe, and North and South America.
Range increase.
After the turn of the 20th century, Spain, France, Italy, and perhaps Turkestan were also likely sources of the invasion's seed in California. Since its introduction to California in the mid-nineteenth century, it has become a large-scale invasive species (noxious weed or invasive exotic) throughout twenty-three states. It currently dominates over in California alone.
By 1970, yellow star-thistle had reached 23 U.S. states. According to the USDA Forest Service, as of 2006 the plant has been reported present in 41 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states, with the only exceptions being Maine, Vermont, and five of the Deep South states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia). The plant is considered an invasive species in six of the 41 states: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and New Jersey.
Control.
Chemical control.
Most herbicides used for controlling yellow star-thistle are registered for range lands, right-of-way, and other non-crop areas. Many auxin-like or growth-regulator herbicides are used for post-emergence control, including 2,4-D, aminopyralid, clopyralid, dicamba, picloram and triclopyr. Alternatively, glyphosate may be used. Pre-emergence herbicides used for yellow star-thistle control include chlorsulfuron and sulfometuron. Pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides may be used effectively together to kill growing plants as well as any new seedlings that may emerge from the copious soil seed bank often produced by yellow star-thistle. Controlled burning may also be used in conjunction with clopyralid application as an effective integrated approach to yellow star-thistle management.
Aminocyclopyrachlor + chlorsulfuron, aminopyralid, chlorsulfuron, clopyralid, clopyralid + 2,4-D, dicamba, diflufenzopyr + dicamba, picloram, and triclopyr + clopyralid for the Pacific Northwest of North America.
Resistance.
A yellow star-thistle biotype resistant to picloram was discovered in a pasture near Dayton, Ohio in 1988. This biotype was determined to have cross resistance to other auxin-like herbicides, especially clopyralid. Resistance was discovered to be conveyed by a single nuclear recessive gene.
Picloram-resistant "C. solstitialis" has been observed which had cross-resistance to clopyralid, dicamba, and fluroxypyr, but not triclopyr or 2,4-D.
Biological control.
Yellow star-thistle is sometimes resistant to removal methods such as mowing and burning, because of its long root system and the seeds' ability to withstand fire. The plant has been the target of biological pest control programs with positive results. Seven types of seed-feeding insects have been released (one accidentally) to control the plant.
Fungi.
A variety of the rust fungus "Puccinia jaceae" var. "solstitialis", first released in July 2003 on a ranch in the Napa Valley, has shown promise as an agent against yellow star-thistle, dramatically damaging leaves and hampering growth. The rust causes widespread pathology in the leaves of the plant and slows its dispersal. The fungus "Synchytrium solstitiale" ("Synchytrium" of phylum Chytridiomycota) is also being considered as an agent of biological control.
Grazing.
Grazing by goats, cattle, or sheep can be effective in controlling yellow star-thistle. Goats will eat star-thistle even in its spiny stage. Because yellow star-thistle growth is particularly difficult to inhibit in canyon rangelands since its remoteness limits control options, goats and other herbivores have become an excellent option to curb the plant's spread. According to one study, grazing has decreased yellow star-thistle presence by 58% when compared to the study's controls. Subplots also showed a 94% decrease in seed heads after only three years of experimentation.
Integrated methods.
California researchers (Thomsen et al., 1996) tested mowing, controlled sheep grazing and subterranean clover plantings to control star-thistle growth. According to the researchers, subclover would help fill the void left by star-thistle populations.
They compared subclover seeding, grazing, two mowings, grazing + mowing without subclover - and an untouched control without grazing, subclover, or mowing. Thistle seed production was 130 times higher where only one mowing was done, and 1,720 times higher where nothing was done, as compared to the area that had been grazed and mowed twice. Excellent yellow star-thistle control can be achieved with the combination of competing plants, mowing, and rotational grazing.
Research.
Although these biocontrol agents have proven somewhat effective at controlling "Centaurea solstitialis", there is interest in finding additional agents to further control the species. Two weevils, including "Larinus filiformis", a flowerhead feeding weevil, and "Ceratapion basicorne" (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Apionidae), which develops in the root crown of rosettes have been evaluated and proposed for introduction. Also under evaluation are a stem-feeding flea beetle "Psylliodes chalcomera" (Illiger) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (Cristofaro et al. 2004a), a lacebug "Tingis grisea" Germar (Heteroptera: Tingidae), and a mite "Aceria solstitialis" de Lillo (Acari: Eriophyidae). (de Lillo et al. 2003).
Similar species.
Species similar to "Centaurea solstitialis" are purple star-thistle ("Centaurea calcitrapa"), sulphur star-thistle ("Centaurea sulphurea"), Maltese star-thistle ("Centaurea melitensis"), and rough star-thistle ("Centaurea aspera").


Clematis integrifolia

Clematis integrifolia is a flowering vine of the genus "Clematis". Like many members of that genus, it is prized by gardeners for its showy flowers.
"C. integrifolia" bears nodding, urn-shaped blue flowers in summer that are 1.5 inches wide. It is a fairly short variety, growing only to 3 feet high. It is native to Europe and Asia; in the USA it grows best in American Horticultural Society zones 8 to 1.
Several popular hybrids have been made by crossing "C. integrifolia" with other "Clematis" varieties. "C." 'Hendersonii' is a cross with "C. viticella", and "C". 'Durandii' is a cross with "C. x jackmanii".


Daviesia mimosoides

Daviesia mimosoides, the blunt-leaved bitter pea is a shrub found in south eastern Australia, up to 5 metres tall but usually much smaller. Often a dominant shrub at high or low altitudes, mostly growing on acidic soils. This plant first appeared in scientific literature in 1811 in the second edition of Hortus Kewensis published by the prolific Scottish botanist Robert Brown. The specific epithet mimosoides refers to the phyllode like leaves, similar to mimosa. Two subspecies are recognised: "D. m. laxiflora" and "D. m. mimosoides".


Desmococcus (alga)

Desmococcus is a genus of green algae in the family Prasiolaceae.


Baccharis dracunculifolia

Baccharis dracunculifolia is a medical plant found in Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay.
"Baccharis dracunculifolia" is used for green propolis production.


Francoa sonchifolia

Francoa sonchifolia, commonly known as bridalwreath, is a plant species in the family Francoaceae. It is endemic to Chile.


Rupicola

Rupicola is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The species are endemic to New South Wales in Australia.
In 2015 it was found that genus "Epacris" is paraphyletic to "Rupicola" and "Budawangia", and proposed to merge species into "Epacris".
The species are heaths of limited distributions, found in cliff habitats in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Their growth habits vary from decumbent or pendulous to more erect. Their flowers are white with short tubes and five lobes, and are, like in other Epacrids, carried singly in leaf axils near the ends of the stems.
Etymology.
The name "Rupicola" is formed from ""rupes-is", a cliff, and "cola", an inhabitant".
Taxonomy and systematics.
"Rupicola" was established as a monotypic genus by Joseph Maiden and Ernst Betche in 1898 containing the single species "Rupicola sprengelioides". Though it has some features in common with "Prionotes" and "Sprengelia", they noted that the new species "strikingly resembles the Tasmanian "Epacris mucronulata", R.Br." They placed it adjacent to "Epacris" in tribe Epacrideae, an affinity that was supported by Watson in 1967 and Powell in 1987.
In 1927, Summerhayes described a second species "Rupicola gnidioides".
Ian Telford in 1992 revised the genus. He removed "R. gnidioides" to a new genus "Budawangia". Two new species were described – "Rupicola ciliata" and "Rupicola decumbens" – plus "Epacris apiculata" was considered to be mis-classified and was moved from "Epacris" to "Rupicola". Members of "Rupicola" were distinguished by having their stamens inserted at the base of the corolla, in contrast to those of "Epacris" and "Budawangia", which have them attached at the mouth of the corolla tube. "Budawangia gnidioides" has hypogynous swellings which "appear to have no nectary function", and "Rupicola" species have no nectary structures. In "Epacris" the species generally have well-developed nectary scales. In Rupicola, the anthers open with a short apical slit, unlike most members of Epacridoideae which form a full-length slit. In other subfamilies the anthers open with a short slit or a pore.
In the latter 1990s, Crayn et al. compared sequences for the plastid gene "rbc"L and suggested that "Epacris" may be paraphyletic to "Rupicola" and "Budawangia". In 2015, Quinn et al. studied 45 morphological characteristics along with genetic indels from the plastid "atp"B–"rbc"L non-coding region. They found that the two smaller genera together formed a group within "Epacris", and that although there were discernible clades in "Epacris", none were "readily recognisable on morphological features", hence there was no cause to split it into smaller genera along cladistic lines. The authors point out that in the Ericaceae family more widely, stamen filaments attached to the corolla tube have arisen independently multiple times, that attachment may be weak, and that reversion to the original plesiomorphic state is not uncommon. In their analyses, the "Rupicola"–"Budawangia" group was related to "E. calvertiana", "E. coriacea", "E. gunnii", "E. microphylla", and "E. purpurascens".
They proposed moving all five species into "Epacris". The epithet "ciliata" is already occupied by "Epacris ciliata" , so a new name for "Rupicola ciliata" was given: "Epacris pilosa" . For the three other species which had not previously been members of "Epacris", new combinations were proposed with co-author Elizabeth Anne Brown as the taxonomic authority.
Thus the concepts for "Rupicola" have been:
References.
Further references not sighted:


Hugo Leander Blomquist

Hugo Leander Blomquist (June 5, 1888 – November 28, 1964) was a Swedish-born American botanist. His well rounded expertise encompassed fungi, bacteria, bryophytes, algae, grasses, and ferns.
Early life.
Although several sources state his birth year as 1885, Blomquist was actually born in 1888 in Sorsele, Sweden. In 1892, his family emigrated to Kulm, North Dakota. He earned his B.S. in botany from the University of Chicago in 1916. He enrolled in graduate school, but his studies were interrupted by World War I. From 1917 to 1919, Blomquist served as a musician first class in the U.S. Army. After the war, he briefly studied at Pasteur Institute before finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. He completed his doctorate in botany under William Jesse Goad Land in 1921.
Career.
Blomquist was hired as Assistant Professor of Biology at Trinity College, now Duke University, after his graduation in 1921. He was promoted to full professorship two years later, and in 1935, he became Chairman of Botany. Although retired in 1953, he remained as an emeritus professor. He was active in his field until a few years before his death.
Throughout his career, Blomquist had a leading role in many botanical societies. He served as chairman of the Southeastern Section of the Botanical Society of America, president of the American Fern Society, president of the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, president of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society, president of the North Carolina Academy of Science, and president/founding member of the Association of Southeastern Biologists. He was also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of several other groups.
Legacy.
About 3,500 of Blomquist's specimens are cataloged by the University of North Carolina Herbarium, and the Duke University Herbarium holds about 10,000 of his specimens. The H.L. Blomquist Garden of Southeastern Native Plants, part of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University, is named for him.
The Hugo L. Blomquist Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience is a distinguished professorship at Duke University.


Sonneratiaceae

Sonneratiaceae were a family of flowering plants placed in the order Myrtales by the Cronquist system. They consisted of two genera, "Sonneratia" and "Duabanga". These are now generally placed in their own monotypic subfamilies of the family Lythraceae, making Sonneratiaceae superfluous.
The family is named for French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat.


Mantoniella

Mantoniella is a genus of green algae in the family Mamiellaceae.


Dendrobium plicatile

Dendrobium plicatile is an orchid species of Asia. It was formerly treated as "Flickingeria fimbriata" in the (no longer accepted) genus "Flickingeria".
Distribution.
The orchid is native to Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Malesia, and other regions.
It is found in: Borneo, Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Himalayas East, India ( Assam), Jawa, Laos, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Nepal, Nicobar Islands, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam.
Description.
The plant reportedly has the Hepatoprotection properties, the ability to prevent damage to the liver.
From the stems, three phenanthrenes can be isolated, named plicatol A, B and C.
The plant also contains the norditerpenoids named flickinflimilins A and B and steroids.


Ammannia robusta

Ammannia robusta is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family known by the common name grand redstem. It is widespread across much of North America (from British Columbia and Ontario to Guatemala) with additional populations in southeastern Brazil.
"Ammannia robusta" grows in moist places, such as ditches and pond margins. It is an annual herb reaching up to 100 cm in height when growing erect. The leaves are up to 8 cm (3 inches) long and linear to lance-shaped. The leaves and stem are green to red. The inflorescences are clusters of up to five flowers in the leaf axils. The flowers are urn-shaped with light lavender petals about 5 mm long and protruding stamens with yellow anthers. The fruit is a spherical capsule about 5 mm wide containing several tiny seeds.


Hoodia ruschii

Hoodia ruschii is a species of stem succulent plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitats are rocky areas and cold desert.
Description.
"Hoodia ruschii" reaches about 1/2 meter in height and has stout, grayish green stems covered in sharp, hard spines. It bears deep reddish-brown flowers which are medium-sized.


Coriaria ruscifolia

Coriaria ruscifolia is a plant of the Coriariaceae family.
It is native to Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Description.
"Coriaria ruscifolia" is a deciduous shrub . It is poisonous except for the "fruit", which are actually petals.


Erythranthe tilingii

Erythranthe tilingii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Tiling's monkeyflower. It was formerly known as "Mimulus tilingii".
Distribution.
It is native to much of western North America, from Alaska to California to New Mexico to Montana. It grows in moist and wet habitats, such as streambanks and mountain meadows, and is generally found at high elevation.
Description.
"Erythranthe tilingii" is a rhizomatous perennial herb growing 2 to 35 centimeters tall. The oppositely arranged oval leaves may be several centimeters long and some are borne on short petioles. The yellow flower may be over 4 centimeters long, its narrow tubular throat opening into a wide, two-lipped mouth. The base of the flower tube is encapsulated in a calyx of sepals with uneven lobes.
"Erythranthe tilingii" is often nearly impossible to distinguish from its common relative, "Mimulus guttatus", as their characteristics can intergrade; one of the most notable differences is the arrangement of the flowers, which are axial in "M. tilingii" but in a raceme in "M. guttatus". By 2014 three species that were formerly been part of "E. tilingii" had been made their own separate species: "Erythranthe caespitosa", "Erythranthe corallina", "Erythranthe minor".


Arianis

Arianis () a fiery-colored plant growing wild in Ariana, as appeared in Pliny's (Natural History) 24, 17, 102, § 162.


Setaria dielsii

Setaria dielsii, commonly known as Diels' pigeon grass, is a species of grass native to Australia.
Description.
It is an annual grass that grows in tufts from 20 to 130 centimetres high. It has green flowers that occur in an open panicle.
Taxonomy.
This species was first published by Rudolf Albert Wolfgang Herrmann in 1910. Its only synonym is "Setaria buchananii", published by Albert Spear Hitchcock in 1927.
Distribution and habitat.
It occurs in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.


Alsophila engelii

Alsophila engelii, synonym Cyathea elongata, is a species of tree fern native to Venezuela and Colombia, where it grows in montane areas at an altitude of 2000–3000 m. The trunk is erect and up to 11 m tall. Fronds are pinnate and usually 2–3 m long. The rachis and stipe are brown, may be smooth to warty and have basal tan scales. Sori occur in small groups towards the base of the pinnule midvein and are covered by cup-like indusia.
The species was described in 1869, as "Cyathea elongata", with the name attributed to Georg Mettenius by Gustav Karsten. It could not be transferred to the genus "Alsophila" with the epithet "elongata" because "Alsophila elongata" (a synonym of "Cyathea poeppigii") already existed. Rolla Tryon proposed the replacement name "Alsophila engelii". The name commemorates Franz Engel, who collected the type material in Venezuela.


Zantedeschieae


Richardsiella

Richardsiella is a genus of plants in the grass family. The only known species in this genus is Richardsiella eruciformis, native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia.


Juglans mollis

Juglans mollis, the Mexican walnut, is a species of walnut native to Mexico. It was first described by Georg Engelmann. "Juglans mollis" is part of the genus "Juglans", and the family Juglandaceae.


Australian tree fern

Australian tree fern may refer to any species of tree fern native to Australia, most commonly referring to:


Pittosporum viridiflorum

Pittosporum viridiflorum (Cape cheesewood, , , , ) is a protected tree in South Africa.
Morphology.
The leaves are obovate with margin entire and wavy, conspicuous net veining, crowded at ends of branches. Often with a single mis-formed leaf. The midrib has a yellow colour and the leaf has a brilliant green colour when viewed against the light. Fruit borne in clusters at the end of branches, yellow becoming brown, dehiscent with four bright red seeds covered with a sticky exudate with a faintly sweet smell. The bark has brown lenticels.


Alsophila caudata

Alsophila caudata, synonym Cyathea caudata, is a species of tree fern native to the islands of Luzon and Mindanao in the Philippines, where it grows in montane forest. The trunk is erect and up to 4 m tall or more. Fronds are bi- or tripinnate and 1–2 m long. The stipe is warty and covered with dark, narrow, glossy scales. Sori are borne near the midvein of fertile pinnules and are protected by firm, brown indusia.
The closest relatives of "A. caudata" appear to be the smaller "Alsophila edanoi" and "Alsophila heterochlamydea". Further study is needed to determine whether all three should be retained as separate species.


Mexican weeping bamboo

The Mexican weeping bamboo, Otatea acuminata, is a clumping bamboo native to central and southern Mexico and Central America.
The plant produces thick stands of culms with long narrow leaves. The weight of the leaves cause the long thin culms to bend, or weep. The clump's vegetation can reach or more in height and width in its native habitat..
Cultivation.
"Otatea acuminata" and its cultivars are cultivated as an ornamental plant, often planted in subtropical and temperate climate gardens in full or partial sun. The plant is drought tolerant when established, but benefits from periodic watering and feeding. Mexican Weeping Bamboo is easily grown in pots, reaching around tall. When planted in the ground it can reach or more with regular water.
Mexican Weeping Bamboo is easy to propagate by dividing the root ball with a sharp spade. A particularly delicate look can be achieved by thinning the culms so that they are spaced or more apart. This allows dappled light to pass through the Mexican Weeping Bamboo, and the plant will sway gracefully in a gentle breeze.
"Otatea acuminata" is a fast-growing clumping bamboo which can spread in each direction yearly. It is well suited to the climate and soil in Southern California, and can be successfully grown and propagated with minimal effort. Unlike many other bamboo species, the leaves do not brown at the tips even under suboptimal growing conditions.
Subspecies and cultivars.
There are several subspecies and cultivars, including:


Chromulinales

Chromulinales is an order of Chrysophyceae. It was first identified and defined by Adolf Pascher (1881–1945) in 1910.


Passiflora loxensis

Passiflora loxensis is a species of plant in the family Passifloraceae. It is endemic to Ecuador.


Festuca abyssinica

Festuca abyssinica is a species of grass which is endemic to Africa.
Description.
The plant is perennial and caespitose with long culms. The ligule is long and is going around the eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades are filiform and are long and wide. The panicle is contracted, linear, inflorescenced and long. Spikelets are lanceolate, ovate, solitary, long, and have pedicelled fertile spikelets that carry 2–6 fertile florets which have a diminished apex. It also has a hairy callus and scaberulous palea keels.
The glumes are lanceolate, membranous, and keelless, have acute apexes, with the only difference being in size. The upper one is long while the other one is ovate and is long. Fertile lemma is long and is also chartaceous, elliptic and keelless with scaberulous surface. Lemma itself is muticous with acute apex. Flowers have a hairy ovary and three stamens that are long. The fruits are caryopses with an additional pericarp, which just like flowers is hairy as well. Hilum is linear.


Phragmipedium

Phragmipedium is a genus of the Orchid family (Orchidaceae) (Subfamily Cypripedioideae) and the only genus comprised in the tribe Phragmipedieae and subtribe Phragmipediinae. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek "phragma", which means "division", and "pedium", which means "slipper" (referring to the pouch). It is abbreviated 'Phrag' in trade journals.
About 20 species of these lady's slipper orchids are known from SW Mexico, Central and tropical South America.
All members of the genus "Phragmipedium" are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Taxonomy.
The genus "Phragmipedium " is divided into several sections :
The exact number of species is still being discussed among specialists : O. Gruss recognizes 20 species, compared to the 15 species accepted by Lucile M. McCook (see References).
Most "Phragmipedium" species are either terrestrial, epiphytic or lithophytic in habit. They show a unique shieldlike staminode, long, moustache-like petals and a 3-locular ovary. The large pouchlike lip is curved inwards at the margins. The acute leaves attain a length of about 80 cm. The stem lacks pseudobulbs and grows about 80 cm high, showing 2 to 3 flowers.
"Phragmipedium besseae" was first found in Peru by Elizabeth Locke Besse in 1981. Soon afterwards, the site was plundered and destroyed by orchid hunters. Luckily enough seed was preserved, to avert extinction. This orchid is unusual, because its flowers have a bright orange-red to almost strong salmon-red color (there is also a yellow variety), unseen in any lady's slipper orchid. The oval-shaped petals are wide. The narrow leaves are elliptic in shape. It has since been used extensively in hybridization.
"Phragmipedium caudatum" is considered a complex, i.e. it could contain several species or subspecies, based on differences in flower size and color. This orchid with a short stem is semi-terrestrial, semi-lithophytic to epiphytic, depending on the substrate . The cream-colored flowers are laced with greenish stripes. The lateral spiraling, drooping petals are red-tinted and very long, even reaching the soil. They grow on wet, moss-covered hillsides.
"Phragmipedium lindleyanum", named after John Lindley, forms a rosette of five long linear leaves with a yellow margin, reaching a length of 50 cm. The erect raceme can grow as high as 1 m. It is many-flowered and sometimes branched at the basis. The flowers open in succession, giving the orchid a long blooming period. The hoary flowers are green with brown veins. The glabrous, pouchlike lip is yellow, with red veins.
"Phragmipedium longifolium", described in 1852 by H.G. Reichenbach f. and J. v. Warscewicz, has long laceolate leaves without yellow margin, growing to a length of 60 cm. The inflorescence reaches a length of 1 m, with about 10 flowers, opening in succession. The long lateral petals are purplish green. The rather small glabrous labellum has a green color.
Allied genera include "Paphiopedilum", "Selenipedium", "Cypripedium" and the monotypic "Mexipedium".
There are many interspecific hybrids. Rare crossings have been made between "Phragmipedium" and "Paphiopedilum".
The genus Uropedium is generally included in "Phragmipedium".
Species.
The following species are recognized:
Hybrids.
The following hybrids are recognized:


Alexandrian laurel

Alexandrian laurel is a common name for several plants and may refer to:


Neostapfia colusana


Costesia

Costesia is a genus of moss in the family Gigaspermaceae. The genus contains a single species Costesia spongiosa known only from South America,


Solanum plastisexum

 Solanum plastisexum is a species of bush tomato from the Australian monsoon tropics that exhibits "breeding system fluidity" – that is, it has no stable sexual expression. After its first description in 2019, the describers suggested the common name of Dungowan bush tomato, in reference to Dungowan Station where it was collected.
The species is restricted to a small area in the central region of the Northern Territory of Australia on and around the Buchanan Highway. It confounded field botanists since at least the early 1970s because it does not conform to any one floral form and/or inflorescence type. Any given plant might consist of a fully andromonoecious inflorescence, a solitary bisexual flower, a solitary short-styled flower or an extended rachis of staminate flowers. It can therefore exhibit any of three breeding systems: andromonoecy, hermaphroditism or functional dioecy.
The describers commented that "Solanum plastisexum" is "a new species that serves as an example of for the diversity of sexual/reproductive form that has been increasingly recognised amongst plants – it is also evidence that attempts to recognise a “normative” sexual condition amongst the planet's living creatures is problematic. When considering the scope of life on Earth, the notion of a constant sexual binary consisting of distinct and disconnected forms is, fundamentally, a fallacy."


Chamaexeros

Chamaexeros is a genus of tufted perennial herbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae (formerly family Laxmanniaceae).
The genus contains 4 known species, all endemic to Western Australia:


Aponogeton crispus

Aponogeton crispus is an aquatic plant species.
Common names.
Ruffled/Crinkled or Wavy-edged Aponogeton; Kekatiya in Sri Lanka.
Origin.
Native to southern India and Sri Lanka, where it usually occurs in seasonal ponds, becoming dormant in the dry season, "Aponogeton crispus" is found naturally in both still and running waters.
Description.
It is a seasonally submerged aquatic plant with a round rhizome 2–3 cm and up to 5 cm in diameter. The leaves are light green to olive green-brown, 8 – 14 inches (20–35 cm) long and 2.5 inches (6 cm) broad, with a wavy margin and a petiole up to 18 inches (45 cm) long; wild plants tend to have longer and narrower leaves than the cultivated varieties. No floating leaves are formed. The flowers are produced on an erect stem up to 80 cm tall with an apical white (- pink) spike-like raceme up to 18 cm long; each flower is small, with a 2 mm perianth and six stamens. The flowers are scented, and a flowering spike will last 1 – 2 weeks. The seeds are elliptical, 5–6 mm long and 2 mm diameter.
Many plants sold in the aquarium trade are actually hybrids and many are sterile. The genuine plant never has leaves that float on the surface of the water.
It is a protected plant in Sri Lanka, where "A. crispus" is banned from exportation under Section 24 (1) of Forest Ordinance.
Cultivation and uses.
"Aponogeton crispus" is often cultivated as an aquarium plant and is probably the easiest and most robust of the aponogetons. It requires a mineral-rich substrate where carbon dioxide is easily available in the form of carbonic acid.
It prefers moderate to bright lighting from above, and will tolerate a wide temperature range, c. 15 – 32C. It does better planted in an established aquarium because of its liking for a nutrient rich environment. When these conditions are met a mass of leaves will be formed and flowering will often occur. It doesn't normally need a dormant period under aquarium conditions but will sometimes lose its larger leaves and can be rested in cooler water for about two months; hence it is often grown in removable pots. "A. crispus" is one of the aponogetons that eventually require a dry storage during a dormancy, of which the onset is recognized by the gradual ripening off and loss of leaves.
Propagation is by seed or by carefully splitting the rhizome. The seeds have two prolongations which in horizontal position get curved and stuck into marshy ground forming the initial roots.
Flowers can be pollinated with a soft brush and the resulting seeds sown in a propagater at normal room temperatures. They take several weeks to germinate. When both leaves and roots can be seen they can be potted in a peat-based compost and covered with water.


Cinnamodendron axillare

Cinnamodendron axillare is a species of flowering plant in the family Canellaceae. It is found in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.