Picea mariana

Picea mariana, the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and is that province's most numerous tree. The range of the black spruce extends into northern parts of the United States: in Alaska, the Great Lakes region, and the upper Northeast. It is a frequent part of the biome known as taiga or boreal forest.
The Latin specific epithet "mariana" means “of the Virgin Mary”.
Description.
"P. mariana" is a slow-growing, small upright evergreen coniferous tree (rarely a shrub), having a straight trunk with little taper, a scruffy habit, and a narrow, pointed crown of short, compact, drooping branches with upturned tips. Through much of its range it averages tall with a trunk diameter at maturity, though occasional specimens can reach tall and diameter. The bark is thin, scaly, and grayish brown. The leaves are needle-like, long, stiff, four-sided, dark bluish green on the upper sides, paler glaucous green below. The cones are the smallest of all of the spruces, long and broad, spindle-shaped to nearly round, dark purple ripening red-brown, produced in dense clusters in the upper crown, opening at maturity but persisting for several years.
Natural hybridization occurs regularly with the closely related "P. rubens" (red spruce), and very rarely with "P. glauca" (white spruce).
It differs from "P. glauca" in having a dense cover of small hairs on the bark of young branch tips, an often darker reddish-brown bark, shorter needles, smaller and rounder cones, and a preference for wetter lowland areas. Numerous differences in details of its needle and pollen morphology also exist but require careful microscopic examination to detect. From true firs, such as "Abies balsamea" (balsam fir), it differs in having pendulous cones, persistent woody leaf-bases, and four-angled needles, arranged all round the shoots.
Due to the large difference between heartwood and sapwood moisture content, it is easy to distinguish these two wood characteristics in ultrasound images, which are widely used as a nondestructive technique to assess the internal condition of the tree and avoid useless log breakdown.
Older taxonomic synonyms include "A. mariana", "P. brevifolia", or "P. nigra".
Ecology.
Growth varies with site quality. In swamp and muskeg it shows progressively slower growth rates from the edges toward the centre. The roots are shallow and wide spreading, resulting in susceptibility to windthrow. In the northern part of its range, ice pruned asymmetric black spruce are often seen with diminished foliage on the windward side. Tilted trees colloquially called "drunken trees" are associated with thawing of permafrost.
In the southern portion of its range it is found primarily on wet organic soils, but farther north its abundance on uplands increases. In the Great Lakes region it is most abundant in peat bogs and swamps, also on transitional sites between peatlands and uplands. In these areas it is rare on uplands, except in isolated areas of northern Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Most stands are even-aged due to frequent fire intervals in black spruce forests. It commonly grows in pure stands on organic soils and in mixed stands on mineral soils. It is tolerant of nutrient-poor soils, and is commonly found on poorly drained acidic peatlands. It is considered a climax species over most of its range; however, some ecologists question whether black spruce forests truly attain climax because fires usually occur at 50 to 150 year intervals, while "stable" conditions may not be attained for several hundred years.
The frequent fire return interval, a natural fire ecology, perpetuates numerous successional communities. Throughout boreal North America, "Betula papyrifera" (paper birch) and "Populus tremuloides" (quaking aspen) are successional hardwoods that frequently invade burns in black spruce. Black spruce typically seeds in promptly after fire, and with the continued absence of fire, eventually dominates the hardwoods.
Black spruce is a pioneer that invades the sphagnum mat in filled-lake bogs, though often preceded slightly by "Larix laricina" (tamarack). Black spruce frequently out-competes shade-intolerant tamarack in the course of bog succession. However, as the peat soil is gradually elevated by the accumulation of organic matter, and the fertility of the site improves, balsam fir and northern white cedar ("Thuja occidentalis") eventually replace black spruce and tamarack. On drier sites following fires, black spruce can take over stands of faster growing jack pine ("Pinus banksiana") by virtue of its ability to grow in partially shaded conditions which inhibit pine seedlings. But black spruce seedlings are themselves intolerant to the low light and low moisture conditions under mature spruce stands. Balsam fir and northern white cedar, both more understory-tolerant species with deeper taproots, survive and eventually succeed the spruce in the absence of fire.
The spruce budworm, a moth larva, causes defoliation, which kills trees if it occurs several years in a row, though black spruce is less susceptible than white spruce or balsam fir. Trees most at risk are those growing with balsam fir and white spruce.
Cultivation.
Numerous cultivars have been selected for use in parks and gardens. The cultivar "P. mariana" 'Nana' is a dwarf form which has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Uses and symbolism.
Black spruce is the provincial tree of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The timber is of low value due to the small size of the trees, but it is an important source of pulpwood and the primary source of it in Canada. Fast-food chopsticks are often made from black spruce.
However, it is increasingly being used for making cross laminated timber by companies such as Nordic Structures, which allows the high strength due to the tight growth rings to be assembled into larger timbers.
Along with red spruce, it has also been used to make spruce gum and beer.


Gastrolobium coriaceum

Gastrolobium coriaceum is a shrub species in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to the south west of Western Australia.
The species has an upright form, growing up to 2 metres high. It produces orange flowers between September and October (spring) in the species' native range. The species is found in the area around Mount Manypeaks near Albany and eastwards along the south coast to Fitzgerald River National Park, with a separate population located to the west in the Whicher Range.


Chaetomorpha melagonium

Chaetomorpha melagonium is a species of green algae of the family "Cladophoraceae".
There is confusion as to whether there are two forms of this species - one attached and one unattached.
Description.
The attached form is unbranched growing solitary or in a small group to 60 cm long. The filaments are attached at the base and are stiff and straight. In colour they are dark green with a glaucus sheen. Remarkably rigid and wiry. The cells are so large they can seen with naked eye.
Habitat.
Rock pools of the low littoral. Never abundant, but widespread.
Distribution.
Widespread around the British Isles, along the Atlantic shores of Europe, Murman Sea, Greenland, Canadian Arctic.


Dryandra ser. Ilicinae

Dryandra" ser. "Ilicinae is an obsolete series within the former genus "Dryandra" (now "Banksia" ser. "Dryandra"). It was first published by Carl Meissner in 1856, but was discarded by George Bentham in 1870. It was reinstated with a new circumscription by Alex George in 1996, but was ultimately discarded again in 2007 when Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele sunk "Dryandra" into "Banksia".
According to Meissner.
This taxon was first published by Meissner in his 1856 chapter on the Proteaceae in A. P. de Candolle's "Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis".. Meissner's arrangement followed that of Robert Brown in segregating a single species into the genus "Hemiclidia", and dividing the remaining species into three sections according to what were perceived to be variations in the number of seed separators. Meissner then further divided "D." sect. "Eudryandra" into eight unranked groups signified by the symbol "§". The first of these, Dryandra § Ilicinae, was defined as comprising four species with leaves resembling those of "Ilex" (Holly). The placement and circumscription of "D." § "Ilicinae" in Meissner's arrangement thus looks like this:
According to Bentham.
Along with many of Meissner's infrageneric taxa, which were overly reliant on leaf characters, Bentham discarded "D." § "Ilicinae" in his 1870 arrangement. The species that Meissner placed there were placed together in "D." ser. "Armatae", except for "D. floribunda" (now "Banksia sessilis") which Bentham placed in "D." ser. "Floribundae".
According to George.
When Alex George published his revision of "Dryandra" in 1996, he recycled number of previously published infrageneral names, including Meissner's "Ilicinae". George gave it series rank and placed it within "D." subg. "Dryandra". It was circumscribed as containing three species: "D. praemorsa" (now "B. undata"), "D. quercifolia" (now "B. heliantha") and "D. anatona" (now "B. anatona").
George's placement and circumscription of "D." ser. "Ilicinae", as amended in 1999 and 2005, may be summarised as follows:
Recent developments.
Since 1998, Austin Mast has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence data for the subtribe Banksiinae. His analyses have provided compelling evidence of the paraphyly of "Banksia" with respect to "Dryandra"; that is, it seems that "Dryandra" arose from within the ranks of "Banksia". Early in 2007, Mast and Kevin Thiele initiated a rearrangement of "Banksia" by sinking "Dryandra" into it as "B." ser. "Dryandra". This transfer necessitated the setting aside of George's infrageneric arrangement of "Dryandra"; thus "D." ser. "Armatae" is no longer current. Mast and Thiele have foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of "Dryandra" is complete.


Andreaeobryopsida


Zhang Wenhao

Zhang Wenhao (; born 1964), also known as Wen-Hao Zhang, is a Chinese plant physiologist and nutritionist at the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Career.
In 1991, Zhang and Stephen Tyerman studied sodium azide and concluded that by combining it with oxygen and using both on the hydraulic conductivity of the cell cortex will increase volumes of pressure relaxation.
In 1999 he and Tyerman studied "Triticum aestivum" and how mercuric chloride effects on hydraulic conductivity in that plant. During the experiment it was revealed that the inhibition of formula_1 and depolarization of formula_2 which is caused by formula_3 was similar to hypoxia.
In 2001 he, Tyerman, and Peter Ryan have studied the same species again and how malic acid which is found on the tip or extreme end of a root is tolerant against aluminum. During the same study he also discovered that when Al3+ is activated its permeability is higher than malate2− and contained anion channel antagonists such as niflumate and diphenylamine-2-carboxylic acid.
In 2009 he along with Chinese colleagues studied nitric oxide in combination with nitrate reductase in both cold and freezing temperature on a plant species called "Arabidopsis thaliana". He discovered that when combining this with both nia1nia2 and nitric oxide associated leaves the cold doesn't bother the plants as much, but it does bother its seedings. He also discovered proline in wild plants and used nitrate reductase inhibitor with nitric oxide scavenger and donor to prove that there is positive correlation between them when it comes to freezing temperature.
In June 2010 he along with American and Japanese colleagues had studied acid soils and discovered that certain species of crop plants are resistant to soluble aluminum. The way how they do, he explained, is that the genes of ALMT and MATE families encode membrane proteins which produce anion efflux called TaALMT1 across the cell membrane.


Encephalartos schaijesii

Encephalartos schaijesii is a species of cycad endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is only found near Kolwezi in Shaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It occurs in Miombo woodlands.
Description.
It is a cycad with a more or less underground stem, up to 25 cm high and with a diameter of 20-30 cm, often with secondary stems originating from shoots that arise at the base of the main stem.
The leaves, pinnate, erect, 80–120 cm long, are arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem and are supported by a 2 cm long petiole; each leaf is composed of 48-58 pairs of lanceolate leaflets, with a spiny green glaucous margin, inserted on the rachis at an angle of 70-75 °.
It is a dioecious species with male specimens that have a single cone, 15–17 cm long and 4–4.5 cm wide, of greenish-yellow color, and female specimens also with a single cylindrical-ovoid cone, erect, long 29–32 cm and 12–15 cm in diameter, gray to greenish in color.


Ganonema

Ganonema is a genus of red algae, from the Liagoraceae family, characterised by its dichotomously-branched, multiaxial thalli, with terete axes." It is closely related to "Liagora", but can be distinguished in two important respects. Its vegetative structure is distinct, as the basal cells of its cortical fascicles are isodiametric, whereas the cells of "Liagora" are elongate. Also, its reproductive development features "the occasional production of carpogonial branches in clusters and the production of spermatangia in dense heads."


Ribes acerifolium

Ribes acerifolium is a North American species of currant known by the common names mapleleaf currant and maple-leaved currant. It is native to the Canadian Province of British Columbia as well as to the northwestern United States (Washington, Idaho, Oregon).
"Ribes acerifolium" is a trailing shrub up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall, with red or pink flowers and black berries.


Nepenthes malimumuensis

Nepenthes malimumuensis is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Pantaron Range on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, where it grows at elevations of 1000–1020 m above sea level.
The species was compared to "N. sumagaya". "Nepenthes malimumuensis" can be distinguished from "N. sumagaya" by its upper pitcher wings, that are reduced to ribs or not apparent, having four-five nerves on either side of the midrib, and the lid appendage is reduced to a keel, whereas the latter's upper pitcher wings are occasionally present in some pitchers close to peristome, having 1-2 nerves on either side of the midrib, and lid appendage are occasionally present.
Etymology.
The specific epithet "malimumuensis" denotes that the species was discovered from Mt. Malimumu.


Passiflora smilacifolia

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


Glottiphyllum cruciatum

Glottiphyllum cruciatum is a rare species of succulent plant, of the family "Aizoaceae". It is indigenous to arid areas near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape, South Africa.
The plant has many synonyms including "Glottiphyllum angustum".
Description.
This species has upturned, fleshy leaves that are broadened at the base, and born in pairs. The two leaves in a leaf-pair are a very similar size, unlike many other species of "Glottiphyllum". The leaf-pairs grow in a decussate arrangement (each leaf-pair at right angles to the previous one, rather than all in the same two distichous rows).
The stems spread horizontally along the ground and the plant eventually can form large mats.
The seed capsules have very high tops, and their stalks disintegrate quickly after the seeds have been released. This species most resembles its close relative, "Glottiphyllum surrectum", which is found further to the west, in the western Little Karoo.
Distribution.
The species is restricted to a small part of the central Little Karoo, near the town of Oudtshoorn in South Africa. Here, it co-occurs with its two relatives, "Glottiphyllum linguiforme" and the very widespread "Glottiphyllum depressum".
It is under threat due to Ostrich farming removing its habitat. It is believed that only 250 plants remain on a small one hectare reserve in South Africa.
Cultivation.
All "Glottiphyllum" plants can be grown in small pots in a lean soil with sand and clay and very good drainage. They require very sunny exposure, and need moderate watering in summer and not at all in winter.


Strobilanthes callosa

Strobilanthes callosa Nees "(Synonym: Carvia callosa (Nees) Bremek)" is a shrub found mainly in the low hills of the western ghats all along the west coast of India. Its standardized Hindi language name is maruadona (मरुआदोना) by which it is called in the state of Madhya Pradesh where it is also found. In the state of Maharashtra in the Marathi language and other local dialects and in the neighboring state of Karnataka the shrub is locally known as karvi, sometimes spelled in English as karvy.
This shrub belongs to the genus "Strobilanthes" which was first scientifically described by Nees in the 19th century. The genus has around 350 species, of which at least 46 are found in India. Most of these species show an unusual flowering behaviour, varying from annual to 16-year blooming cycles, on the national scale there is often confusion about which plant is flowering.
Description.
It is a large shrub, sometimes attaining 6–20 ft in height and 2 inches in diameter and flowers between July and September but what makes it most famous is that it takes nearly a decade for the bloom cycle to happen. Its leaves are home to several insects including caterpillars and snails which feed on it. The shrub has an interesting life cycle, it comes alive green every year with the coming of Monsoon, but once the rainy season is over, all that is left is dry and dead-looking stems. This pattern repeats itself for seven years, but in the eighth year the plant bursts into mass flowering.
Plants that bloom at long intervals like "Strobilanthes callosa" are known as plietesials, the term plietesial has been used in reference to perennial monocarpic plants “of the kind most often met with in the Strobilanthinae” (a subtribe of Acanthaceae containing "Strobilanthes" and allied genera) that usually grow gregariously, flower simultaneously following a long interval, set seed, and die. Other commonly used expressions or terms which apply to part or all of the plietesial life history include gregarious flowering, mast seeding, and supra-annual synchronized semelparity (semelparity = monocarpy).
In 1953 Sharfuddin Khan describing the plant in the former Hyderabad State wrote:
In 1956 during the Reorganisation of the Indian States based along linguist lines, the above-mentioned state of Hyderabad was split up between Andhra Pradesh, Bombay state (later divided into states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960 with the original portions of Hyderabad becoming part of the state of Maharashtra) and Karnataka.
Eight year bloom cycle and mass flowering.
The "Strobilanthes callosa" bush typically takes seven years to grow. It is only in its eighth year that it bursts into bloom. At that time the pink and white buds bear bright purple (purplish blue) flowers in a mass flowering which covers many forest areas with a colorful lavender blush of buds with a tinge of pink with its profusion of violet blooms, after this once in a lifetime mass flowering the bush finally dies out. The flowers are rich in pollen and nectar and attract a wide range of species of butterflies, birds and insects including honey bees and carpenter bees that come to feed on their nectar.
Typically the lifespan of a single "Strobilanthes callosa" bloom lasts between 15 and 20 days and its mass blooming usually extends from mid-August to September-end.
After the mass flowering, the shrub is covered with fruits which are dry by the next year. With the coming of the monsoon and the first rains in the next year, the dried fruits absorb moisture and burst open with a pop, the hillsides where "Strobilanthes callosa" grows are filled with these loud popping sounds of dried seed pods bursting open somewhat explosively dehiscing their seeds for dispersal and soon new plants germinate taking root in the wet forest floor.
Masting.
Some species of "Strobilanthes" including this one are examples of a mass seeding phenomenon termed as masting which can be defined as "synchronous production of seed at long intervals by a population of plants", strict masting only occurs in species that are monocarpic (or semelparous) -- individuals of the species only reproduce once during their lifetime, then die.
Distribution.
"Strobilanthes callosa" which is mostly peculiar to the hills of the Western Ghats (Sahyadris) in India can be seen growing wild around Mumbai, Tansa, Khandala, Bhimashankar, Malshej Ghat, Basgadh, Anjaneri, Dhodap, Salher-Mulher (Nashik region), Mulshi, Aurangabad (common on the Kannad and Ajanta ghats), Konkan etc. in the state of Maharashtra, parts of the state of Madhya Pradesh, parts of the state of Gujarat and in large areas of and Uttara Kannada Ghats in the state of Karnataka among other places all along the Western Ghat hills on the west coast of India.
Medicinal uses.
While the leaves of "Strobilanthes callosa" are poisonous, toxic and unfit for human consumption it is used as a traditional medicine herb by the local adivasi tribals and villagers for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Its leaves are crushed and the juice obtained is believed to be a sure cure for stomach ailments.
The plant has been the subject of scientific research which confirms its use in folk medicine as a valid anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial herbal drug with anti-rheumatic activity.
Related species include "Strobilanthes cusia" BREMEK (大青葉, Da Ching Yeh, タイセイヨウ), used in Chinese and Japanese herbal medicine, and "Strobilanthes forrestii" Diels (Wei Niu Xi), used in Chinese herbal medicine.
Other uses.
"Strobilanthes callosa" has sturdy stems which along with its leaves is generally used by the local adivasi tribals and villagers as thatching material to build their huts.
Immediately after its mass flowering the Karvi honey collected by wild bee honey hunters is a popular local delicacy, it is much thicker and darker than other varieties.""'
Control methods.
The following Western Ghats forestry report from the year 1908 of Ankola high forests in coastal Karnataka (then under Bombay Presidency), provides methods to clear and control this shrub, when required, from spreading uncontrollably into unwanted areas:
Common in the hills near Mumbai.
The Karvi bush as it is locally known grows in abundance in the western ghat hills near the metropolis of Mumbai including throughout the Sanjay Gandhi National Park as in other parts of its natural range. In Sanjay Gandhi National Park its latest bloomings took place in 2000, then in 2008, and it is scheduled to bloom there again in 2016. Termed by nature enthusiasts as 'nature's miracle', its maximum bloom can be seen on some of the inner paths and trails that lie undisturbed in the park. It survives best on vast slopey expanses on the hillsides with Kanheri caves area of the national park being one of the best places to observe large blooming expanses.
In the state of Maharashtra in the neighborhood of Mumbai the mass flowering of Karvi has been observed to occur in the same year as Mumbai in Khandala and one year earlier in Bhimashankar and Malshej, beyond Kalyan.
Local conservation NGOs like the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and World Wide Fund for Nature - India (WWF-India) bring groups of city-dwelling people from Mumbai and elsewhere, sometimes in collaboration with other organizations, for regular nature walks in the nature trails of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and organize special trips every eight years when the rare Karvi flowers are in full bloom.
Near Mumbai, the Karvi is also found in Karnala, the Yeoor hills, Tungareshwar and some parts of Goregaon including Film City.


Nelumbo aureavallis

Nelumbo aureavallis is an extinct species of flowering plants in the lotus family known from Ypresian age Eocene fossils found in western North Dakota, USA.
The species was described from two leaf specimens with reference to four others. The leaves were found at the AMNH fossil localities 14088, 14089, 14091a and 14099, all of which are in the Camels Butte member of the Golden Valley Formation. The Camels Butte member outcrops at a number of sites in western North Dakota, and is designated as the type locality.
The holotype specimen, number "USNM 43231", and paratype, number "USNM 43229, are both preserved in the National Museum of Natural History collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The pair of specimens were studied by paleobotanist Leo J. Hickey of the Yale University Geology Department. Dr Hickey published the 1977 type description for "N. aureavallis" in the Geological Society of America memoir 150, "Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of the Golden Valley Formation (Early Tertiary) of Western North Dakota". In the type description the etymology for the specific name "aureavallis", "of Golden Valley" was not explicitly specified. Dr Hickey noted the extreme similarity between modern "Nelumbo" species leaves and those of "N. aureavallis".
The leaves of "Nelumbo aureavallis" are up to in diameter with a smooth, slightly wavy margin. The leaf stalk attached to the leaf in the center, from which between thirty-five and forty thick primary veins extend towards the margin. Each of the primary veins branches from one to three times. The secondary veins form a transverse pattern and this, combined with the large number of primaries, distinguish "N. aureavallis" from extinct Nymphaeaceae genera and warrant its inclusion in "Nelumbo". Preserved with, but not attached to the holoype leaf, is a flower bud which is very similar to modern lotus flowers. While not attached, the close proximity to the leaf and the noted similarity allowed for the tentative inclusion of the bud in "N. aureavallis".


Garnieria

Garnieria is a monotypic plant genus in the family Proteaceae. Molecular hylogenetic studies indicate that it is nested in the larger Australian genus "Persoonia" where it may be included. It is endemic to New Caledonia where the type specimen was collected at Prony Bay in 1868–1870 by Benjamin Balansa. The only species is Garnieria spathulifolia.
Description.
The plant grows as a shrub up to 2 m in height, sometimes a small tree up to 4 m. Its shiny leaves are dark green above, paler below. The fruits are green at first, becoming dark crimson to brown. The flowers are white and scented.


Passiflora brachyantha

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


Hygrophila madurensis

Hygrophila madurensis is a critically endangered aquatic plant in the family Acanthaceae. It is endemic to Nallakulam in the Alagar Hills of the Eastern Ghats in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India.
"Balakrishnan and Subramaniam (1958)" described the genus "Santapaua" with only one species, namely "S. madurensis". "Karthikeyan and Moorthy (2010)" merged the genus Santapaua with Hygrophila giving this species the name, "Hygrophila madurensis".


Grammitis diminuta

 Grammitis diminuta is a fern in the family Polypodiaceae. The specific epithet comes from Latin "diminutio" (to decrease or diminish), with reference to the tapered frond base.
Description.
The plant is an epiphytic fern. It has a stout, erect rhizome with light brown, lanceolate scales. Its simple fronds combine a short stipe with a narrowly elliptic lamina 3–15 cm long and 0.4–0.8 cm wide.
Distribution and habitat.
The fern is endemic to Australia’s subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea; it is confined to the cloud forest on the upper slopes and summits of Mounts Lidgbird and Gower.


Bryum dixonii

Bryum dixonii, commonly known as Dixon's threadmoss, is a moss endemic to Scotland. The species occupies montane habitats, and although rare it has a wide distribution including the central and north-west Highlands, and the islands of Skye, Rùm and St Kilda. Originally discovered on Ben Narnain, Argyll, in 1898 by Hugh N. Dixon, it was not seen again until 1964 when found by Ursula Duncan at Juanjorge in Glen Clova in Angus. As of 2000 there was no species action plan for its protection.


Triplaris americana

Triplaris americana is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by many common names, including ant tree or pau-formiga ("ant tree"), guacamayo, guayabo zancón, hormiguero, palo de Santa María, tachí, vara santa, pau-de-novato, formigueiro, "taxizeiro", and devil tree. It is native to Central and South America, occurring from Panama to Brazil. It is also cultivated as an ornamental for its showy pink flowers.
The ant tree grows up to 30 meters in height, with a trunk up to 30 centimeters in diameter and ochrea up to 12 centimeters in length. Its smooth bark is a mottled gray color. The leaves are oval to oblong and measure up to 40 centimeters long by 20 wide, with undersides that are sometimes woolly with brown fibers. The male flowers are around 2 millimeters long, while the female flowers are up to 5 centimeters long. This tree is dioecious, and has a skewed sex ratio with many more female plants than male.
This tree grows in riparian habitat types, and is a colonizer of disturbed habitat. It has been introduced to areas outside its native range, including Hawaii and southern Africa.
This species of tree is a myrmecophyte and it has a mutualistic relationship with ants, including "Pseudomyrmex triplarinus". This kind of ant lives within the tree, feeding on substances produced by it and defending it against invaders. This tree is known as a "novice tree" ("pau-de-novato") because only one unfamiliar with the tree would touch it, soon discovering that the ants are aggressive and venomous.
This tree is considered a noxious weed in southern Africa. The fruits are dispersed on the wind and the seedlings easily take hold and become invasive, growing in the local habitat and displacing native plants.


Aerangis modesta

Aerangis modesta is a species of epiphytic orchid native to Madagascar and to the Comoro Islands.


Amauropelta macra

Amauropelta macra, synonym Thelypteris macra, is a species of fern in the family Thelypteridaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Black nightshade

Black nightshade is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
Plants named Black nightshade


Utricularia australis

Utricularia australis is a medium-sized, perennial species of aquatic bladderwort. This species has a vast geographic range, being found throughout Europe, in tropical and temperate Asia including China and Japan in the east, Central and Southern Africa, Australia and the North Island of New Zealand. The specific epithet "australis" is Latin for "southern" and reflects the fact that the discovery of this species was made in Australia in 1810.


Potinara

Potinara, abbreviated Pot in the horticultural trade, is the nothogenus comprising those intergeneric hybrids of orchids which have "Brassavola", "Cattleya", "Laelia" and "Sophronitis" as parent genera.
It can easily be imagined that a combination of all the desirable qualities of the four genera would be an outstandingly handsome thing. However, plants in which all the desired qualities show up occur in only a small proportion of the offspring, and the percentage of plants homozygous for all qualities even less often. A rather extensive breeding program would be necessary to achieve the ideal results. Many lovely combinations do occur in Potinara crosses, although relatively few have been made.
The search for a way to breed large red hybrids has been given a new boost with the discovery of "Cattleya milleri". It is hoped that this species will not offer the genetic difficulties that have plagued hybridists using Sophronitis. Some encouraging results have already been achieved.
History.
In 2008, the genus "Sophronitis" was merged into "Cattleya", making such nothogenera as Potinara, Sophrolaeliocattleya and Sophrocattleya no longer current, but only of historical interest. At the same time, several species of "Cattleya" which had been widely used in hybridization were moved into the new genus "Guarianthe". Two species of "Brassavola", "B. digbyana" and "B. glauca" had also been moved into the new genus "Rhyncholaelia" earlier in the decade. As a result, greges which were once classified in Potinara are now found in several genera and nothogenera.


Cayratia clematidea

Cayratia clematidea, known as the native grape or slender grape, is a common Australian vine in the grape family. Growing in or on the edges of rainforest, from the Shoalhaven River gorges north to Queensland. Tendrils form opposite the leaf.
Description.
"Cayratia clematidea" has compound leaves with a terminal leaflet. Usually five toothed leaflets. 1 to 8 cm long. 5 mm to 40 mm wide. Small greenish flowers occur in summer. The grape is shiny black, 5 to 7 mm in diameter.


Grewioideae

Grewioideae is a subfamily of the family Malvaceae and was first described by Hochreutiner. The group is named after its type genus, "Grewia", which is named for the English scientist Nehemiah Grew (1641-1712). It contains a number of genera that were previously placed in the defunct family Tiliaceae.
Description.
Within the Malvaceae, this subfamily has its inflorescences opposite the leaves, the corollas are usually clawed, and there is a nectar-bearing hair carpet at the base of the petals and there are numerous dithecal stamens. The fruit is fleshy or capsular with spines, and the seeds are winged. The group is thought to have originated about 42 (± 15) million years ago.
Taxonomy.
Ulrike Brunken & Alexandra Muellner divide the Grewioideae into two clades, the Grewia clade, Grewieae Endl. and the Apeiba clade, Apeibeae Benth., on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence.
Tribes and genera.
The subfamily includes the following genera - accepted by Bayer & Kubitzki (2003)


Passiflora serratifolia

Passiflora serratifolia is a species of "Passiflora" from Suriname.


Eucalyptus tenera

Eucalyptus tenera, commonly known as the glazed mallee or sand mallee, is a species of mallee that is endemic to Western Australia. It has smooth bark, narrow lance-shaped to elliptical leaves, flower buds in groups of seven to eleven, lemon yellow flowers and cup-shaped to barrel-shaped fruit.
Description.
"Eucalyptus tenera" is a mallee that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth greyish to brownish bark. Young plants and coppice regrowth have glossy green, linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves that are long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of glossy green on both sides, narrow lance-shaped to elliptical, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils in groups of seven to eleven on a flattened, unbranched peduncle , the individual buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are elongated, long and wide with a horn-shaped operculum that is at least three times as long as the floral cup. Flowering has been recorded in November and the flowers are lemon yellow. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped to barrel-shaped capsule long and wide with the valves at rim level.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Eucalyptus tenera" was first formally described in 1992 by Lawrie Johnson and Ken Hill from specimens collected by Ian Brooker near Bencubbin in 1984. The specific epithet ("tenera") is from the Latin "tener" meaning "delicate", in comparison to the related "E. eremophila" and "E. tephroclada".
Distribution and habitat.
Glazed mallee occurs over a wide are of the western and northern wheatbelt between Coorow, Chiddarcooping Rock and Lake King. It grows with other mallee species in wandoo woodland.
Conservation status.
This eucalypt is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.


Downingia montana

Downingia montana is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common name Sierra calicoflower. This showy wildflower is native to California, where it lives in the meadows and pine forests of the high mountains. Its range may extend into Oregon. This annual grows an erect stem, which may branch or not, with a few sparse small, pointed leaves. Atop the stem is usually one tubular flower. The upper lip is made up of two narrow, pointed lobes usually a shade of lavender, and the lower lip is the same color, with a central field of white and two prominent projections which may be colored yellow and dark purple. The lower lip has three lobes, each of which may have a tooth. The fruit is a capsule one to four centimeters long.
Taxonomy.
The Latin specific epithet "montana" refers to mountains or coming from mountains.


Deutzia gracilis

Deutzia gracilis, the slender deutzia, is a species of flowering plant in the hydrangea family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub with opposite, simple leaves, and slender, arching stems. The flowers are white, borne in spring and summer.
The compact cultivar 'Nikko', growing to tall by broad, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Jepsonia heterandra

Jepsonia heterandra is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name foothill jepsonia. It is endemic to the foothills of the central section of the Sierra Nevada in California, where it grows in woodland and forest. This is a small perennial plant growing two or three leaves from a branching caudex. The flat, green leaves are round or kidney-shaped with frilly lobes along the edges. Flowering occurs in fall. The plant produces an inflorescence of several pinkish flowers on a tall peduncle. The fruit is a red-striped green or pink capsule.


Freiston Shore

Freiston Shore is a settlement in the Borough of Boston, in Lincolnshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Freiston, and approximately east from Boston.
History.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Freiston's sandy shore on The Wash was developed as a sea bathing resort. By the mid-19th century there were horse races and other attractions on the beach. However, the process of coastal accretion caused a salt marsh to develop, leaving hotels without customers. Since the mid-20th century, more marsh has been enclosed behind sea banks for use as arable land.
During the Second World War, defences were constructed around Freiston Shore as a part of British anti-invasion preparations of World War II. A number of pillboxes, gun emplacements and coastal lights were constructed. The remains of these fortifications can be seen today including a Ruck machine gun post, of a type once to have been widespread in Lincolnshire.
Following the Second World War, land reclamation led to the village becoming inland by about half a mile. The original sea bank, with its pillboxes and some of the Freiston shore light railway, can still be seen. A direct path from the village to the marsh on The Wash still exists.
Sea defence policy.
In 2000 the process of land reclamation was reversed when part of the sea bank was deliberately breached, and the land behind opened to the tides as part of a policy of managed realignment. This took the pressure off the remaining sea defences with the aim of prolonging their life, while of tidal salt marsh was re-established to help soak up wave energy, this acting as a further sea defence.
Nature conservation.
This new marsh, together with another, designed to be managed as a brackish marsh with lagoons, now forms an RSPB reserve. Freiston Shore is home to pied avocets, common redshanks, ringed plovers, northern wheatears and marsh harriers in spring and summer. In the autumn and winter migrating waders such as common redshanks, ruddy turnstones, dunlins, and waterfowl such as dark-bellied brent goose and Eurasian wigeon, can be seen.


Diospyros maingayi

Diospyros maingayi is a tree in the family Ebenaceae. It grows up to tall. The twigs dry black. Inflorescences bear up to four flowers. The fruits are oblong to ellipsoid, up to long. The tree is named for British botanist A. C. Maingay. Habitat is peat swamp and other lowland forests. "D. maingayi" is found in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.


Lemma (botany)


Riccardia elegans

Riccardia elegans is a species of plants in the liverwort family Aneuraceae.


Allochrusa

Allochrusa is a genus in the carnation family. It contains the following species:


Tempskya

Tempskya is an extinct genus of tree-like fern that lived during the Cretaceous period. The genus is known from several petrified specimens from various locations across the Northern Hemisphere. Specimens have also been recovered in Argentina and Australia.
Description.
Specimens of "Tempskya" could grow to be up to 14.75 feet (4.5 meters) tall. Its trunk was actually a large collection of stems surrounded by adventitious roots. The false trunk could be up to 50 cm in diameter. Thin leaves have been discovered for the first time on "T. wyomingense" specimens; the more commonly seen fossilized leaf bases show that they covered the upper part of the trunk.
Hypothesized growth pattern.
Examination of cross sections of various "Tempskya" specimens shows that those with the largest trunks have the smallest number of stems, and vice versa. From this, a possible growth pattern of "Tempskya" has been suggested: at the sporeling stage, "Tempskya" would consist of a single stem, which would begin to branch off distally. A "mantle" of adventitious roots would then develop around the stems to support them. Later on, many of the stems would begin to decay, while the adventitious roots would still provide support and absorb water for the grown plant. This growth pattern has also been hypothesized for "Psaronius".
Taxonomy.
"Tempskya" was originally described in 1824 as "Endogenites erosa" before being described as "Tempskya" by August Carl Joseph Corda in 1845. The four species originally described by Corda were, in order: "T. pulchra", "T. macrocaula", "T. microrrhiza", and "T. schimperi".
"Tempskya" is the sole member of the family Tempskyaceae. The family has been placed in the order "Filicales", which is now split into a number of orders of leptosporangiate ferns.
Fossil sites.
"Tempskya" finds were thought to be exclusive to the Northern Hemisphere until specimens were discovered in Argentina and Australia (in 2003 and 2005, respectively). "Tempskya" fossils have also been discovered in the Czech Republic (2002) and Japan (1986). "Tempskya" were frequently found fluvial deposited in gravel pits in Germany. Its origin is not clear, in part they came certainly from Czech sites.


Najas minor

Najas minor, known as brittle naiad or brittle waternymph, is an annual aquatic plant, a submersed herb. It is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa from the Netherlands to Morocco east to Japan and the Philippines, including China, Siberia, Central Asia, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine, Germany, France Italy and a host of other countries. It is now introduced to North America and considered a weedy invasive species in the eastern half of the United States from Florida to Oklahoma to New Hampshire to Ontario to South Dakota. This plant prefers calm waters, such as ponds, reservoirs, and lakes, and is capable of growing in depths up to 4 meters.
Identification.
"Najas minor" grows in dense clusters and has highly branched stems. These stems fragment easily and this plant is capable of propagation from stem fragments or from small seeds which grow along its stem. The small flowers are located in clusters along the leaf axils. The leaves of the plant are opposite, unbranched, strap-shaped, and are around 4.5 centimeters in length. The leaves have serrations which are visible to the naked eye. This plant is similar in morphology to coontail or slender naiad.
Distribution.
"Najas minor" is distributed widely in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Canada, the United States, Japan, China, Europe. This species is also reported from tropical Asia (Thailand), but the report is now recognized as an identification error.
Invasive spread and control.
Brittle naiad was introduced to the United States, where it is considered an invasive species or noxious weed, in the 1900s. Brittle naiad in the United States is established in the Mid-Atlantic States. Established populations are found as far west as Oklahoma and Ontario, Canada in the north. The presence of this plant is a problem because its dense growth covers wide areas, inhibiting the growth of native species of aquatic macrophytes. The thick, clustering growths of brittle naiad can make fishing access or the operation of a boat difficult in a pond or lake. Brittle naiad may spread to new areas by stem fragments carried on a boat's hull, deck, propeller, or trailer. Control measures for brittle naiad include the use of aquatic herbicides, but application of chemicals may not destroy the seeds. Grass carp are another widely used control measure and have been known to readily consume brittle naiad plants. Mechanical harvesting of brittle naiad is difficult, as the brittle stems readily break and are easily disbursed throughout the system. As with most invasive species, prevention of an infestation is easier than eradication.


Solanum grandiflorum

Solanum grandiflorum is an evergreen tree or treelet native to the wet lowland forests of the Amazon Basin; currently reported in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru at 150–1600 meters above sea level.


Plagiochila

Plagiochila is a large, common, and widespread genus of liverworts in order Jungermanniales. It is a member of the family Plagiochilaceae within that order. There may be anywhere from 500 to 1300 species, most of them from the tropics; the exact number is still under revision. The genus also has a wide distribution in temperate and arctic areas.


Passiflora trochlearis

Passiflora trochlearis is a species of plant in the family Passifloraceae. It is endemic to the coastal lowlands of Ecuador. It is named after its purple trochlea which stands out from its light green androgynophore.


Strychnos elaeocarpa

Strychnos elaeocarpa is a species of plant in the Loganiaceae family. It is endemic to Cameroon. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Aeonium glandulosum

Aeonium glandulosum is a species of subshrub of the family Crassulaceae endemic to the Madeira archipelago (Madeira Island, Porto Santo Island and Desertas Islands).
Description.
It is a biennial or perennial glandular-pubescent sub-shrub with a very short stem, hidden by the leaves, occasionally stoloniferous. It has rosette shaped leaves, flat and plate-like but becomes centrally dome-shaped when the flowering season approaches, in diameter. It has loose inflorescences, with pedicels that become distally curved. Petals are , pale yellow and occasionally tinged with red.
Distribution.
The species is endemic to Madeira Island, Porto Santo Island, Desertas Islands and Bugio Island and is commonly found on sea clifs in northern shores or rocky peaks from sea level up to in altitude.


Hirtella enneandra

Hirtella enneandra is a species of plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It is endemic to Colombia.


Eucalyptus cernua

Eucalyptus cernua, commonly known as the red-flowered moort or the yellow-flowered moort, is a eucalypt that is native to Western Australia.
Description.
The mallee typically grows to a height of but can reach as high as . It has smooth mottled grey to brown coloured bark that can become black over greenish yellow new bark. It has no lignotuber and a single stem. The concolorous glossy green adult leaves are arranged alternately. The leaf blade has a lanceolate shape that is in length and wide with a base tapering to petiole. It blooms between October and December and produces crimson-red flowers. Each axillary unbranched inflorescence is often down-turned and in length and occurs groups of seven per umbel.
Taxonomy.
The species was first formally described by the botanists Ian Brooker and Stephen Hopper in 2002 and "Taxonomy of species deriving from the publication of Eucalyptus subseries Cornutae Benth. (Myrtaceae)" as published in the journal "Nuytsia".
The specific epithet is taken from the Latin word "cernuus" meaning "nodding, towards earth" in reference referring to the downward facing inflorescences.
The species was previously thought to have been "Eucalyptus nutans".
Distribution.
It has a limited range along the south coast of Western Australia in the Goldfields-Esperance region near Ravensthorpe particularly in the Fitzgerald River National Park.
Cultivation.
It is used for ornamental plantings, shade and honey production. When cultivated it can tolerate arid area, is slow growing and requires little maintenance.


Hoodia gordonii

Hoodia gordonii, also known as Bushman's hat, is a leafless spiny succulent plant supposed to have therapeutic properties in folk medicine. It grows naturally in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The species became internationally known and threatened by collectors, after a marketing campaign falsely claimed that it was an appetite suppressant for weight loss. The flowers smell like rotten meat and are pollinated mainly by flies. The indigenous San people of the Namib desert call this plant ǁhoba (pronounced – the initial sound is a lateral click) – and the Afrikaans name ghaap is used to refer to all species of "Hoodia".
Potential properties.
The genus became internationally known and threatened by collectors, after a marketing campaign falsely claimed that it was an appetite suppressant for weight loss. Folk medicine practitioners indigenous to Southern Africa believed the plant to be an appetite suppressant and to have other medicinal properties, such as treating indigestion and small infections.
In 1977, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) isolated the ingredient in hoodia—now known as P57—which may be responsible for its putative appetite-suppressant effect, and patented it in 1996. The CSIR then granted United Kingdom-based Phytopharm a license, and they collaborated with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to isolate active ingredients from the extracts and look into synthesizing them for use as an appetite suppressant. Pfizer released the rights to the primary ingredient in 2002. Paul Hutson, associate professor in the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy, told the "Wisconsin State Journal", "For Pfizer to release something dealing with obesity suggests to me that they felt there was no merit to its oral use." Pfizer states that development on P57, the active ingredient of hoodia, was stopped due to the difficulty of synthesizing it. Jasjit Bindra, lead researcher for hoodia at Pfizer, states there were indications of unwanted effects on the liver caused by other components, which could not be easily removed from the supplement, adding, "Clearly, hoodia has a long way to go before it can earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Until safer formulations are developed, dieters should be wary of using it."
In 2002, CSIR officially recognized the San tribespeople’s rights over hoodia, allowing them to take a percentage of the profits and any spin-offs resulting from the marketing of hoodia. "H. gordonii" is a protected plant which may only be wild-harvested by individuals and the few companies which have been granted a license.
Research.
According to a 2006 review, no published scientific evidence supported hoodia as an appetite suppressant in humans. One review suggested that any weight loss effects from consuming hoodia dietary supplements may simply be secondary symptoms of potentially serious adverse effects that may occur from using it. The United States Federal Trade Commission recommends against the use of such diet products marketed with exaggerated claims for losing body weight through the use of dietary supplements, skin patches or creams.
Authentication.
As "H. gordonii" and the whole genus "Hoodia" are threatened with extinction if international trade is not monitored, the genus is listed under CITES at Appendix II, and it is illegal to export plant material in any form from Africa without a CITES certificate being issued by proper authorities.
In the USA, the Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and United States Customs and Border Protection regulate the importation and re-exportation of species such as "H. gordonii". Current U.S. laws stipulate that not only must a CITES certificate accompany shipments, but also the importers must possess a permit issued by the USDA to import terrestrial plants. A CITES re-export certificate is needed to re-export "H. gordonii".
The primary testing methods for authenticating "H. gordonii" are:
As of 2007, four independent labs are conducting tests to verify "H. gordonii" in consumer products. They are: Advanced Laboratories, Inc. in Smithfield, North Carolina, Alkemist Pharmaceuticals, Chromadex Labs of Irvine, California, and the University of Mississippi. The American Herbal Products Association completed work in 2009 establishing the "de facto" industry standard for authentication in response to scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission of the hoodia industry and complaints by consumers of fraudulent hoodia products being marketed.
Media coverage.
The BBC reported on the "H. gordonii" plant in 2003. On November 21, 2004, "60 Minutes" aired a report on the effectiveness of the plant as a natural appetite suppressant.
The media coverage and heavy marketing by nutritional supplement companies have created such a demand for "Hoodia" spp. plants that a protected status was imposed in several countries, such as Namibia. Many products claiming to contain "Hoodia" spp. do not actually contain the active ingredient alleged to suppress appetite. An ongoing review of hoodia pills by Alkemists Pharmaceuticals found at least half of the products advertised as containing hoodia contained none.
In March 2006, "Consumer Reports" investigated the dietary supplement and concluded, "This weight loss drug lacks the clinical evidence for the "Consumer Reports" experts to recommend this product."
Marketing and spam.
Lack of scientific evidence or regulatory approvals have not stopped dietary supplement companies from marketing "H. gordonii" supplements with claims that it can reduce appetite and cause weight loss. Goen Technologies Corporation's TrimSpa unit began marketing it under the brand name X32 with celebrity spokesperson Anna Nicole Smith, though the FDA has notified Trimspa in a Warning Letter that it has not demonstrated that claims for their product are scientifically supportable. Health Canada has not approved any hoodia products for sale. However, they are sold in natural health stores. Goen Technologies was sued by the state of New Jersey for misleading consumers. The Trimspa brand was the subject of a lawsuit in California, which claims it does not contain any of hoodia's active ingredient.
In December 2004, Unilever entered into an agreement with Phytopharm to start marketing "H. gordonii" commercially in the form of shakes and diet bars, although as of April 2007, no products have yet surfaced on the consumer market from that venture. In 2008 Unilever pulled out of deal with Phytopharm to continue commercial development of hoodia. A document on Unilever's website entitled "Sustainable Development 2008: An Overview", and signed by Paul Polman, CEO, contains the following statement: "Innovation also carries uncertainties and does not always lead to a positive outcome. During 2008, having invested 20 million [pounds] in R&D, Unilever abandoned plans to use the slimming extract hoodia in a range of diet products. We stopped the project because our clinical studies revealed that products using hoodia would not meet our strict standards of safety and efficacy." Page 12.
Between March and June 2006, millions of e-mail spam and forum messages were sent out concerning hoodia, ostensibly offering hoodia extracts for weight control purposes. The Federal Trade Commission logged numerous complaints of consumer fraud associated with hoodia.
In October 2009, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee joined colleagues from several other counties in a lawsuit against three companies that allegedly make false claims that their diet supplements contain extract from the African hoodia plant. The lawsuit, filed in Solano County, stated that Dex L-10 by Delmar Labs, Breakthrough Engineered Nutrition and Geopharma produce products with packaging and advertising that claim to contain "H. gordonii" when they contained little or none of it.


Xanthophyllum lineare

Xanthophyllum lineare is a tree in the family Polygalaceae. The specific epithet "" is from the Latin meaning "line", referring to the linear shape of the leaves.
Description.
"Xanthophyllum lineare" grows up to tall with a trunk diameter of up to . The smooth bark is brown or blackish. The flowers are pinkish or red. The light brown fruits are round and measure up to in diameter.
Distribution and habitat.
"Xanthophyllum lineare" is endemic to Borneo and known only from Sabah. Its habitat is forests from to altitude.


Eucryphia glutinosa

Eucryphia glutinosa, the brush bush or nirrhe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cunoniaceae, native to moist woodland habitats in Chile. It is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, growing to tall by wide, with glossy dark green leaves turning red in autumn. Single (or occasionally double) four-petalled, fragrant white flowers with prominent stamens appear in late summer.
The Latin specific epithet "glutinosa" means “sticky, glutinous”.
The hardiest of its genus, it is a popular subject for cultivation in parks and gardens, valued for its foliage and late flowering. It requires moist, acidic soil with roots shaded from the sun. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit


Sedum stenopetalum

Sedum stenopetalum is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name wormleaf stonecrop, or golden constellation. It is native to western North America from British Columbia and Alberta to northern California to Wyoming. It can be found in many types of rocky habitat, such as cliffs, talus, and steep ridges. It is a succulent plant producing mats or clumps of lance-shaped, linear, or three-lobed leaves each under 2 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a short, erect array of one to many flowers with lance-shaped petals up to a centimeter long. The petals are yellow, sometimes with red veins.


Glumiflorae

Glumiflorae (gluma = husk + florae = flowers) is a descriptive botanical name. It was used in the Wettstein system for an order of flowering plants. The order consisted of one family only:
The APG II system, used here, assigns the grass family to the order "Poales". Other names for the order including the grass family are "Glumaceae" and "Graminales".
However, this name "Glumiflorae" was used in the Hutchinson system (first edition, first volume, 1926) for a taxon (above the rank of order) that included the grass family.


Arjona (plant)

Arjona is a genus of flowering plants in the family Schoepfiaceae.


Habenaria floribunda

Habenaria floribunda is a species of orchid widespread across much of Latin America, the West Indies and Florida.


Microtropis sabahensis

Microtropis sabahensis is a species of plant in the family Celastraceae. It is a tree endemic to Borneo where it is confined to Sabah.


Aurantioideae

Aurantioideae (sometimes known as Citroideae) is the subfamily within the rue and citrus family (Rutaceae) that contains the citrus. The subfamily's center of diversity is in the monsoon region of eastern Australasia, extending west through South Asia into Africa, and eastwards into Polynesia.
Notable members include citrus (genus "Citrus"), bael ("Aegle marmelos"), curd fruit ("Limonia acidissima"), species of genus "Murraya" such as curry tree ("M. koenigii") and orange jessamine ("M. paniculata"), and the small genus "Clausena".
Description and systematics.
Aurantioideae are smallish trees or large shrubs, or rarely lianas. Their flowers are typically white and fragrant. Their fruit are very characteristic hesperidia, usually of rounded shape and colored in green, yellowish or orange hues.
The subfamily can be divided into two tribes, the ancestral Clauseneae and the more advanced Citreae. Several genera have been recently reassigned from the latter to the former, but the arrangement of subtribes leaves much to be desired. The tribes, with subtribes listed in phylogenetic sequence and genera listed alphabetically, are:
Tribe Citreae
Tribe Clauseneae


Weinmannia descendens

Weinmannia descendens is a species of plant in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to Peru.


Centropogon steinii

Centropogon steinii is a species of plant in the family Campanulaceae. 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.


Potamogeton amplifolius

Potamogeton amplifolius, commonly known as largeleaf pondweed or broad-leaved pondweed, is an aquatic plant of North America. It grows in water bodies such as lakes, ponds, and rivers, often in deep water.
This perennial plant grows from rhizomes and produces a very slender, cylindrical, sometimes spotted stem up to a meter or so long. The leaves take two forms. Submersed leaves are up to 20 centimeters long by 7 wide and may be folded along their midribs. The submersed leaves have more veins than do those of other pondweed species, up to 49. Floating leaves are up to 10 centimeters long by 5 wide, leathery in texture, and borne on long petioles. The inflorescence is a spike of many flowers rising above the water surface on a thick peduncle.


Diospyros quaesita

Diospyros quaesita or calamander is a species of tree endemic to Sri Lanka. in Sinhala, this tree is called "kalu mediriya". This large tree occurs in the evergreen forests of lowland wet zones. This tree is found in 25 forest sites.
The tree provides very valuable ebony product. This is classified as a super luxury class wood. However, there are no edible parts in this tree. Its heartwood is used in medicine to heal wounds.


Omega hydroxy acid

Omega hydroxy acids (also known as ω-hydroxy acids) are a class of naturally occurring straight-chain aliphatic organic acids "n" carbon atoms long with a carboxyl group at position 1 and a hydroxyl at terminal position "n" where "n" > 3. The C16 and C18 omega hydroxy acids 16-hydroxy palmitic acid and 18-hydroxy stearic acid are key monomers of cutin in the plant cuticle. The polymer cutin is formed by inter-esterification of omega hydroxy acids and derivatives of them that are substituted in mid-chain, such as 10,16-dihydroxy palmitic acid. Only the epidermal cells of plants synthesize cutin.
Omega hydroxy fatty acids also occur in animals. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) microsome ω-hydroxylases such as CYP4A11, CYP4A22, CYP4F2, and CYP4F3 in humans, Cyp4a10 and Cyp4a12 in mice, and Cyp4a1, Cyp4a2, Cyp4a3, and Cyp4a8 in rats metabolize arachidonic acid and many arachidonic acid metabolites to their corresponding omega hydroxyl products. This metabolism of arachidonic acid produces 20-hydroxyarachidonic acid (i.e. 20-hydroxyeicosatetraeonic acid or 20-HETE), a bioactive product involved in various physiological and pathological processes; and this metabolism of certain bioactive arachidonic acid metabolites such as leukotriene B4, 5-hydroxyicosatetraenoic acid, and 5-hydroxyicosatetraenoic acid produces 20-hydroxylated products which are 100- to 1,000-fold weaker than, and therefore represents the inactivation of, their respective precursors.


Martensia jejuensis

Martensia jejuensis is a species of red algae.


Shawshank tree

The Shawshank tree was a white oak located near Malabar Farm State Park in Monroe Township, Richland County, Ohio, United States, near Lucas, that was featured in the 1994 motion picture "The Shawshank Redemption". The tree was at least tall and approximately 180 to 200 years old. It played a central role in the film's plot and was one of the most popular tourist sites connected to it. The tree was split by lightning on July 29, 2011, and was eventually knocked down by strong winds on or around July 22, 2016.
History.
The tree was a major tourist attraction for fans of the film, although located on private property at Malabar Farm. It formed part of "The Shawshank Trail" which features many of the film's iconic locations and attracts up to 35,000 visitors annually. The farm where the tree was located is sometimes used as a venue for weddings.
On July 29, 2011, half of the tree fell due to trunk rot from ants after being hit by lightning. News of the event was widely shared, appearing in news outlets in the United Kingdom and India. The tree's fate was uncertain at the time, and officials were pessimistic about its chances of survival, but it was found to be alive. The tree was further damaged in July 2016 due to strong winds. The event caused a major increase in Internet traffic to the Mansfield and Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau website and general interest in the Shawshank Trail. The remaining portions of the tree were cut down on April 9, 2017, by the property's current owner. The remains of the tree were turned into "The Shawshank Redemption" merchandise including rock hammers and magnets that were first sold during the 2017 Shawshank Hustle, an annual 7k featuring filming sites along the race route.
Role in film.
Though the film is set in Maine, much of the filming took place in Mansfield, Ohio, and nearby locations. The oak appears near the end of "The Shawshank Redemption" when Red (played by Morgan Freeman) follows clues left by Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) to its location. Red finds a box buried at the base of a stone wall in the shade of the oak. The box contains a letter from Andy and cash to buy a bus ticket to join him in Mexico. In the film, Andy describes the tree as "like something out of a Robert Frost poem".
The oak has been described as among the most iconic trees in film history.


Takhtajan system

A system of plant taxonomy, the Takhtajan system of plant classification was published by Armen Takhtajan, in several versions from the 1950s onwards. It is usually compared to the Cronquist system. It admits paraphyletic groups.
Systems.
The first classification was published in Russian in 1954,and came to the attention of the rest of the world after publication of an English translation in 1958 as "Origien of Angiospermous Plants". Further versions appeared in 1959 ("Die Evolution der Angiospermen") and 1966 ("Sistema i filogeniia tsvetkovykh rastenii"). The latter popularised Takhtajan's system when it appeared in English in 1969 (Flowering plants: Origin and dispersal). A further revision appeared in 1980.
1997 system.
As published in "Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants"
2009 system.
As published in "Flowering Plants"


Crocoideae

Crocoideae is one of the major subfamilies in the family Iridaceae.
It contains plants which are widely distributed in the Old World, mainly in Africa, but there are species like some members of the genera "Romulea" and "Gladiolus" which are native to Europe and Asia. Some examples are "Romulea bulbocodium", "Romulea columnae" and "Gladiolus italicus".
Like the rest of Iridaceae, the members of the subfamily have the typical sword-shaped leaves. The rootstock is usually a corm. The blooms which sometimes have scent are collected in inflorescence and contain six tepals. The nectar is produced mostly in the base of the bloom from the glands of the ovary, which is where the flower forms a tube-like end. In some species there is no such end and the plant only provides pollen to pollinating insects.
The ovary is 3-locular. It contains many seeds with different vision in the different members. Sometimes the seed has a fine delicate coat like "Gladiolus" and in other cases it is black and with a hard coat as "Babiana". It is often pellet-like, sometimes circular or semi-circular.
Many species of this group are among the best-known ornamental plants in the gardens or in pots. Some good examples are "Freesia", "Ixia", "Crocosmia", "Gladiolus" and other popular flowers.


Grevillea miqueliana

Grevillea miqueliana, commonly known as oval-leaf grevillea, is a shrub that is endemic to mountainous areas of eastern Victoria in Australia. It grows to between 1.5 and 2.5 metres in height. The species was first formally described by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, his description published in "Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Victoria" in 1855. The species epithet honours Dutch botanist Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811-1871).
There are currently three recognised subspecies:
On the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries' "Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria" subsp. "cincta" is listed as "Endangered in Victoria" while both subsp. "miqueliana" and subsp. "moroka" are listed as "Vulnerable in Victoria".


Tanacetum microphyllum

Tanacetum microphyllum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. It is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.
The plant has been used for centuries in Spanish traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic. Compounds isolated from extracts of the plant include santin, ermanin, centaureidin, and hydroxyachillin.


Geosiris

Geosiris is a genus in the flowering plant family Iridaceae, first described in 1894. It was thought for many years to contain only one species, "Geosiris aphylla", endemic to Madagascar. But then in 2010, a second species was described, "Geosiris albiflora," from Mayotte Island in the Indian Ocean northwest of Madagascar.
"Geosiris aphylla" is sometimes called the "earth-iris." It is a small myco-heterotroph lacking chlorophyll and obtaining its nutrients from fungi in the soil. The genus name is derived from the Greek words "geos", meaning "earth", and "iris", referring to the Iris family of plants.
Its rhizomes are slender and scaly, and stems are simple or branched. The leaves are alternate, but having no use, are reduced and scale-like. The flowers are light purple.
In 1939, F. P. Jonker assigned "Geosiris" to its own family Geosiridaceae in Orchidales, and this was adopted in the Cronquist system, with a note that the family was closely related to Iridaceae or Burmanniaceae. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has since subsumed the family into Iridaceae; it is currently placed in the monotypic subfamily Geosiridoideae.


Calophyllum bicolor

Calophyllum bicolor is a species of flowering plant in the family Calophyllaceae. It is found in Australia and New Guinea.


Hemidesmus indicus

Hemidesmus indicus, Indian sarsaparilla is a species of plant that is found in South Asia. It is a slender, laticiferous, twining, sometimes prostrate or semi-erect shrub. Roots are woody and aromatic. The stem is numerous, slender, terete, thickened at the nodes. The leaves are opposite, short-petioled, very variable, elliptic-oblong to linear-lanceolate. The flowers are greenish outside, purplish inside, crowded in sub-sessile axillary cymes. It occurs over the greater part of India, from the upper Gangetic plain eastwards to Assam and in some places in central, western and South India.
The root is a substitute for sarsaparilla (the dried root of the tropical species of "Smilax", Smilacaceae; in India "Smilax aspera" , and "Smilax ovalifolia" ). It should be distinguished from Mexican Sarsaparilla "Smilax" "aristolochiifolia" and Jamaican Sarsaparilla "Smilax ornata" .
Names.
Hindi: ()
or (); Tamil: () or (); ; , Kannada: (); Sinhala: (); क्षीरिणी Kshirini, कराला Karala, اُشبا Punjabi; Konkani: "dukshiri".
In Ayurveda it goes by the name of "ananthamoola" (अनंत मूल), also known locally in Southern India as "naruneendi" or "nannari", (Sanskrit meaning: "endless root"). It is also known as "anant vel" (अनंतवेल)/"maeen mool" (माईन मूळ) in Marathi. In southern states of India (particularly Tamil Nadu), sarsaparilla roots are called "maahali" or "mahani kizhangu". It is also called the false sarsaparilla.
Traditional uses.
"Hemidesmus indicus" is used to make beverages like nannari sharbat, and also used in traditional medicine. It is administered in the form of powder, infusion or decoction as syrup. It is one of the Rasayana plants of Ayurveda. In southern states of India (particularly Tamil Nadu), the pickled roots are served along with rice dishes. It is sometimes confused with another Ayurvedic herb called white . The alcoholic extract of Hemidesmus indicusR.Br. possesses a significant antinociceptive activity. The extracts from the root are used in syrup with sugar and a dash of lemon (Sharbat) and served at most small refreshment shops in South India.
Chemical constituents.
The roots of "H. indicus" contain hexatriacontane, lupeol, its octacosanoate, α-amyrin, β-amyrin, its acetate and sitosterol. It also contains new coumarino-lignoid-hemidesminine, hemidesmin I and hemidesmin II50, six pentacyclic triterpenes including two oleanenes, and three ursenes. The stem contains calogenin acetylcalogenin-3-0-β-D-digitoxopyrannosyl-0-β-D-digitoxopyronsyl-0-β-D-digitoxopyranoside. It also afforded 3-keto-lup-12-en-21 28-olide along with lupanone, lupeol-3-β-acetate, hexadecanoic acid, 4-methoxy-3-methoxybenzalaldehyde and 3-methoxy-4-5methoxybenzalaldehydglycosides-indicine and hemidine. The leaves contain tannins, flavonoids, hyperoside, rutin and coumarino. Leucoderma lignoids such as hemidesminine, hemidesmin I and hemidesmin II are rare group of naturally occurring compounds present in leaves.


Eriogonum gracillimum

Eriogonum gracillimum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name rose and white buckwheat. It is endemic to California but is common and widespread in many areas there. This is a spindly annual herb reaching anywhere from 5 to 50 centimeters in height. Most of the leaves are basal with a few scattered on the thin branched stem and are generally one to four centimeters long and somewhat woolly, with edges rolled under. Along the thread-thin branches of the stem appear small clusters of flowers which hang on short stalks in bell-shaped involucres. The two-millimeter-wide flowers are bright rose and white in color.


Breynia cernua

Breynia cernua grows naturally in Australia and Malesia as a shrub up to in height.
"Breynia cernua" presumably is dependent on leafflower moths ("Epicephala" spp.) for its pollination, like other species of tree in the genus "Breynia".


Cinchona officinalis

Cinchona officinalis is a South American tree in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to wet montane forests in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, between 1600–2700 meters above sea level.
Description.
Cinchona officinalis is a shrub or tree with rugose bark and branchlets covered in minute hairs. Stipules lanceolate or oblong, acute or obtuse, glabrous. Leaves lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, usually about . long and . wide; acute, acuminate, or obtuse tip; base rounded to attenuate; coriaceous, glabrous above and often lustrous; glabrous beneath or puberulent or short-pilose, especially on the veins. Inflorescences in terminal panicles, many-flowered; hypanthium with short coarse hairs; reddish calyx, glabrous or nearly so, with triangular lobes; pink or red corolla, sericeous, the lobes ovate, acute, the corolla tube being about 1 cm. long. Fruit and oblong capsule, 1.5–2 cm. long, almost glabrous.
Vernacular names.
English: quinine, red cinchona, cinchona bark, Jesuit’s bark, loxa bark, Jesuit’s powder, countess powder, Peruvian bark.
Spanish: quina, cascarilla, cargua cargua, corteza coja.
French: quinquina, écorce du Pérou.
Uses.
"Cinchona officinalis" is a medicinal plant, one of several "Cinchona" species used for the production of quinine, which is an anti-fever agent. It is especially useful in the prevention and treatment of malaria. Other alkaloids that are extracted from this tree include cinchonine, cinchonidine and quinidine.


Ottelia alismoides

Ottelia alismoides, commonly known as duck lettuce, is a species of aquatic plant native to Asia and northern Australia.


Acantholimon gabrieljaniae

Acantholimon gabrieljaniae, or Gabrielyan's prickly thrift, is a species of leadwort that is endemic to Armenia. It is found only in the Sevan floristic region, and is only known from its type specimen. It may be related or synonymous to "A. bracteatum". It grows on limestone slopes at elevations around 2,000 m. It is threatened by nomadic livestock farming, which can degrade and destroy its habitat. The type specimen was found in the Sevan National Park, and so is afforded some protection.


Pineapple gall adelgid

The Pineapple gall adelgid ("Adelges abietis") is a type of conifer-feeding insect that forms pineapple-shaped plant galls on its host species, commonly Norway and Sitka spruce. The adelgids (genus "Adelges") are pear-shaped, soft-bodied green insects with long antennae, closely related to the aphid. "Adelges" lays up to one hundred eggs at a time, one on each needle. "Adelges abietis" (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the most common species; synonyms are "A. gallarum-abietis", "Chermes abietis" and "Sacciphantes abietis".
The pineapple or pseudocone gall is a type of insect-formed gall, or abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue, that develops as a chemically induced distortion of needles, observed mostly on Norway spruce and Sitka spruce.
Terminology and distribution.
Prominent in appearance, the pineapple or pseudocone gall is often confused with the actual cone of the tree, due to their superficial resemblance. Pineapple galls are distinguishable by their small size, position on the base of budding twigs, and habit of the branch growing on and extending past the gall.
The pineapple gall adelgid is endemic to Europe, belonging to the 'woolly adelgid' group; it is also widely distributed in the north-eastern United States. Spruce gall aphid, eastern spruce pineapple gall adelges and eastern spruce gall aphid are alternative names. This insect belongs to the superfamily Aphidoidea, and family Adelgidae. It is the primary pest of Norway Spruce. Another similar species, the Cooley spruce gall adelgid, is indigenous to North America. This adelgid usually affects Colorado Blue, Sitka, Englemann, and Oriental spruces.
The eastern spruce gall adelgid ("Adelges abietis" Linnaeus) is an introduced species that feeds only on spruce. At least in 1985, the species was found in Canada from Ontario eastward and in adjacent parts of the United States.
Physical appearance of the pineapple gall.
The gall is formed from the swelling of the bases of the needles punctured by the feeding activity and activated by the saliva of the insect. The unilarval chambers are set in a woody core. The stem and needles of the host can continue growing beyond the position of the gall.
Sitka and Norway spruce are the main hosts, but "A. abietis" galls can be found on Colorado blue, white, and red spruces.
The yellowish green galls pass through pink and then reddish-brown colour phases. On average, they measure 1.5 to 3.0 cm in length.
Similar galls are produced by other aphids: on Sitka spruce, by the Cooley spruce gall adelgid, "Gilletteela cooleyi", some generations of which migrate to Douglas fir ("Pseudotsuga taxifolia"); and on spruce by "Cnaphalodes sp"., which is heteroecious with larch. The Cooley spruce gall adelgids form a larger gall, long, which usually covers the entire tip of infested new growth.
Life-cycle.
Only females of the pineapple gall adelgid are known. In spring, the newly hatched nymphs formed from over-wintered eggs feed at the bases of the growing needles; the induced swellings eventually coalesce to form the pseudocone structure, each cell of which contains about twelve nymphs. The nymphs overwinter under wax threads at the base of buds. They die shortly afterwards, leaving the eggs, which resemble white, cottony twigs, protected beneath their bodies.
In late summer (July–September) the fully developed nymphs emerge from the galls and crawl out onto the needles, where they molt and develop wings. These adult adelgids may fly to other susceptible conifers, such as larch ("Larix"), pine ("Pinus") and silver fir ("Abies alba") or may continue the cycle on the same tree, as some are poor flyers. Several generations are raised on these secondary hosts, however no galls are formed. In July of the following year winged adelgid appear and fly to the spruces to breed there again, completing the life cycle.
Gall forming insects.
Some herbivorous insects create their own microhabitats by forming a highly distinctive plant structure called a gall, made up of plant tissue, but controlled by the insect. Galls act as both the habitat, and food sources for the maker of the gall. The interior of a bedeguar gall is formed from the bud, and is composed of edible nutritious and structural tissues. Some galls act as "physiologic sinks", concentrating resources in the gall from the surrounding plant parts. Galls may also provide the insect with some physical protection from predators.
Infestations of pineapple galls.
Galls interfere with the natural formation of twigs and cause curling, stunting and the eventual death of new growth. Heavy infestations give the trees a ragged, unsightly appearance. Thus galls prevent twig growth and, if they are abundant, may affect entire trees. Individual trees vary in susceptibility to attack; some appear immune, others suffer growth reduction, and some are eventually killed. By itself, gall growth rarely causes lasting damage, but tends to leave affected trees susceptible to other health problems, including infestation of disease causing organisms and other harmful insects. Trees growing on good sites are generally less susceptible to attack than those on poor sites.
Control.
Removal and destruction of newly formed galls will reduce adelgid populations. Although old galls can be unsightly, their removal will not affect adelgid populations because the organisms have already emerged from these galls. On small trees, galled shoot tips can be pruned, but generally, this is a pest that can be tolerated.
Biological control.
There are no known effective parasites or predators of "Adelges abietis". Specimen trees in gardens may be afforded a degree of protection by hanging up fat balls to encourage tits which will also feed on the adelgid gall formers.
Pesticides.
If control measures are required, spray with bifenthrin on a dry, mild day in late February to control the overwintering generation. Some insecticides can be applied early, preventing gall formation and insect colonization.


Maundiaceae


Dasypogonaceae

Dasypogonaceae is a family of flowering plants, one that has not been commonly recognized by taxonomists; the plants it contains were usually included in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae. If valid, Dasypogonaceae includes four genera with 16 species.
The 2016 APG IV system places the family in the order Arecales, after several studies revealed the family as a sister-family to Arecaceae.
The earlier APG III (2009), APG II (2003), and the 1998 APG system all accepted the validity of the family, assigning it to the clade commelinids, but leaving it unplaced as to order. The commelinids are monocots, the broad group to which, in any event, these plant clearly belong.
The family is endemic to Australia, and comprises 16 species in four genera. The best known representative is "Kingia australis".


Acer pectinatum

Acer pectinatum is an Asian species of maple. It is native to the Himalayas and nearby mountains in southwestern China, Myanmar, and the northeastern part of the Indian Subcontinent.
"Acer pectinatum" is a tree up to 8 meters tall, with brown bark. Leaves are non-compound, leathery, up to 10 cm wide and 8 cm across, toothless, usually with 5 lobes but sometimes 3, the lobes toothed along the edges.


Spondylomoraceae

Spondylomoraceae is a family of algae in the order Chlamydomonadales.


Anthodiscus chocoensis

Anthodiscus chocoensis is a species of plant in the Caryocaraceae family. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. It is threatened by habitat loss.


Acanthocalycium spiniflorum

Acanthocalycium spiniflorum is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae from Argentina.
It produces many spines and, in summer, trumpet-shaped flowers which may be purple, pink or white.
Under its synonym "Echinopsis spiniflora" this plant has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Sabatia quadrangula

Sabatia quadrangula, the fourangle rose gentian or four-angle rose-gentian, is a flowering plant native to the eastern United States. It is found in pine savannas, flatwoods, shrub bog borders, ditches, and granite outcrops from Virginia south to the Florida panhandle and west to Alabama.


Cercidoideae

Cercidoideae is a subfamily in the pea family, Fabaceae. Well-known members include "Cercis" (redbuds), including species widely cultivated as ornamental trees in the United States and Europe, "Bauhinia", widely cultivated as an ornamental tree in tropical Asia, and "Tylosema esculentum" (Marama bean), a traditional food crop in Africa. The subfamily occupies a basal position within the Fabaceae and is supported as monophyletic in many molecular phylogenies. At the 6th International Legume Conference, the Legume Phylogeny Working Group proposed elevating the tribe Cercidae to the level of subfamily within the Leguminosae (Fabaceae). The consensus agreed to the change, which was fully implemented in 2017. It has the following clade-based definition:
The most inclusive crown clade containing "Cercis canadensis" and "Bauhinia divaricata" but not "Poeppigia procera" , "Duparquetia orchidacea" , or "Bobgunnia fistuloides"
Many genera show unique palynology.
Genera.
Cercidoideae comprises the following genera organized into tribes:
Phylogeny.
Molecular phylogenetics suggest the following relationships:


Radula (plant)

Radula is a genus of liverwort, and is the only genus in family Radulaceae.
It is a leafy liverwort. The appearance of the plants are as a scaly, green surface on the trunk of a tree, log or rock in a sheltered, moist out-door environment. The leaves are rounded, overlapping and consist of two unequal lobes. The smaller lobe is folded beneath the larger one. The oldest fossil species is "Radula cretacea" from the Cenomanian aged Burmese amber of Myanmar, belonging to the subgenus "Odontoradula." Molecular evidence suggests that the genus arose during the Triassic, around 227.8 Ma, and the crown group began to diversify during the Early Jurassic, around 176.3 Ma.
Species include:


Dendrobium smillieae

Dendrobium smillieae, commonly known as the bottlebrush orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid with large, spongy pseudobulbs, thin, bright green leaves which are shed after their first year and crowded flowers in a bottlebrush-like arrangement. The flowers are white, to cream-coloured or pink and the labellum has a shiny, dark green tip. This orchid species is found in some of the Torres Strait Islands, and through Cape York Peninsula to Townsville, Queensland. It is also found in New Guinea and eastern Indonesia (Sulawesi and Maluku).
Description.
"Dendrobium smillieae" is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with crowded, ribbed, greenish or yellowish spindle-shaped pseudobulbs long and wide. The psudobulbs have leaves during their first year, but are leafless at maturity. The leaves are bright green, thin, often twisted, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in crowded, bottlebrush-like groups long on the end of the pseudobulbs. The flowers are white, greenish, cream-coloured or pink, more or less tube-shaped and long. The sepals and petals are blunt, long and do not open widely. The labellum is about long, wide with a shiny, dark green tip. Flowering occurs from August to November.
A white variety is found in the Sepik swamps in New Guinea.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Dendrobium smillieae" was first formally described in 1867 by Ferdinand von Mueller from a specimen collected near Rockingham Bay by John Dallachy. The description was published in "Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae". The specific epithet ("smillieae") honours E.J. Smillie.
Distribution and habitat.
The bottlebrush orchid is widespread and common, growing on trees and sometimes on rocks, in woodland, forest and rainforest margins. It prefers trees which are exposed to sunlight and commonly grows on trees such as "Lophostemon suaveolens" (swamp turpentine or swamp box) which have loose papery bark. The roots of the orchid penetrate below the bark and form large mats which are well protected beneath the bark. It is found in New Guinea, including on the Bismarck Archipelago, on the Aru Islands, on some Torres Strait Islands and on the Cape York Peninsula as far south as Townsville.
Ecology.
The flowers of this orchid produce nectar and are pollinated by the yellow honeyeater ("Stomiopera flava") also known in Queensland as the canary honeyeater. The bird hovers in front of the flowers while feeding on the nectar.


Cervantesia

Cervantesia is a genus of plants in the family Santalaceae. It contains 5 species distributed from Colombia to Bolivia.


Lewisia cantelovii

Lewisia cantelovii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae known by the common name Cantelow's lewisia. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the northeastern mountain ranges from the Klamath Mountains to the northern Sierra Nevada. It grows in rocky, moist mountain habitat. This is a perennial herb growing from a short, thick taproot and caudex unit. It produces a basal rosette of thick, fleshy, blunt-tipped spoon-shaped leaves with serrated edges. The inflorescence is a very slender erect stem up to 45 centimeters tall topped with a spreading panicle of flowers and glandular, toothed bracts. Each flower has 5 to 7 oval petals each one half to one centimeter long. The petals are white or very pale pink with sharp dark pink veins. At the center of the flower are five stamens tipped with dark pink anthers.


Pseudopenicillus

Pseudopenicillus is a genus of green algae in the family Udoteaceae.


Branched bur-reed

Branched bur-reed is a common name for several plants in the genus "Sparganium" and may refer to:


Annona coriacea

Annona coriacea (araticum in Portuguese) is a fruit tree native to Brazil. Its original habitat includes the ecoregions of Cerrado, Caatinga, and Pantanal. There, it is typically found in scrublands and savannahs, though it is sometimes grown in orchards. Its wood is used in constructions and toys. This plant is cited in Flora Brasiliensis by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius.
"A. coriacea" typically reaches 3-6 meters tall and has a globose crown. It has simple leaves and terminal flowers that produce edible fruits, which are densely hairy when young. The heavily fragrant flowers are primarily pollinated by beetles at night.
This tree is susceptible to attack by the Mediterranean fruit fly.


Arenaria balearica

Arenaria balearica, the mossy sandwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and mainland Italy. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1768.


Pittosporum stenophyllum

Pittosporum stenophyllum is a species of plant in the Pittosporaceae family. It is endemic to New Caledonia.


Bretschneidera

Bretschneidera sinensis, the sole species in genus Bretschneidera, is a rare, tall tree with large inflorescences. It is found in south and east of China, Taiwan, northern Thailand and northern Vietnam. It is threatened by habitat loss. Because of its relatively recent discovery in Taiwan and Thailand, it is possible that it could also be found in Laos and northern Myanmar. It was named in honor of Emil Bretschneider.
In Thailand it is known as "Chompoo Phu Kha" () and is found only on Doi Phu Kha National Park in the Luang Prabang Range where it flowers in February and March.
The taxonomic position of genus "Bretschneidera" is enigmatic, and it has also been placed in its own family, Bretschneideraceae.


Acanthocalyx

Acanthocalyx is a genus of about three species of plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, sometimes included in Morinaceae, native to Sino-Himalayan
Region.


Sedum brevifolium

Sedum brevifolium is a slowly spreading succulent plant in the genus "Sedum".


Dilleniidae

Dillenidae is a botanical name at the rank of subclass.
Circumscription of the subclass will vary with the taxonomic system being used; the only requirement being that it includes the family Dilleniaceae. A well-known system that uses this name is the Cronquist system, and in the original 1981 version of the system the circumscription was:
Recent molecular systematic studies have shown that this group is polyphyletic. The APG II system does not use formal botanical names above the rank of order but assigns the plants involved to various orders in the asterids and rosids clades.


Castanopsis pierrei

The tree Castanopsis pierrei is in the family Fagaceae. It is found in Thailand and Cambodia. It provides fuel, food and crop-shading.
Description.
A shrub, or small tree, growing some 5-10m tall. It has leaves with an entire margin, and spiny capsules. The capsules have 1 to 3 nuts each, with the acorn measuring some 3–5 cm.
Habitat.
"C. pierrei" occurs in open formations at low elevations, below 200m. In Thailand it also grows at low altitude, below 100m, in evergreen forest, often near streams.
It is found in Northeastern, Southeastern and Peninsular Thailand. In Northern Thailand it is found growing in natural hillside evergreen forest.
In Cambodia it is especially common in Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces. It also occurs besides roads in Phnom Penh.
In the southern Cardamon Mountains and the Botum-Sakor peninsula, the tree occurs in both the short and tall Evergreen sandstone forest.
The major timber-extraction forest type, the tall forest occurs on more fertile and clay-rich soils of hill slopes from 10 to 600m elevations. Mixed within the tall forest, with sharp boundaries at times, sometimes gradational, the short evergreen sandstone forest is found on shallow or poor soils, such as the thin soils over sandstone rock, pebble layers, or deep sand soil with a thin humus layer.
Vernacular names.
In Cambodia it is known as "khaôhs ba:y kriëm" ("khaôhs"="oak", "ba:y kriëm"="rice-crust", Khmer).
Uses.
In Northern Thailand, the tree is used to shade crops in the shifting fallow agriculture of the area, and it provides firewood.
The floury fruits, cooked under ashes, are appreciated in Cambodia and the wood is regarded as a good firewood.


Statice limonium

Statice limonium may refer to:


Daviesia buxifolia

Daviesia buxifolia, the Box-leaf Bitter-pea is a shrub found in south eastern Australia. Usually found on poor soils in dry eucalyptus mountain sites, growing to 2 metres tall.


Quararibea santaritensis

Quararibea santaritensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is found only in Panama.


Arrojadoa dinae

Arrojadoa dinae is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitat is dry savanna. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The main threats are deforestation for Eucalyptus plantations used for charcoal production. Collection of
the plant and fires can impact on its reproductive capacity.
Sources.
Species 2017: e.T40885A121437076.


Schoepfia multiflora

Schoepfia multiflora is a species of plant in the Olacaceae family. It is endemic to Jamaica.


Anubias barteri

Anubias barteri is a West African species of "Anubias", first described in 1860 by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott. It occurs in south-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon and on Bioko.
Description.
The form of the leaf varies widely between varieties; in "A. barteri" var. "barteri" (known as the "broadleaf "Anubias""), the leaves are leathery, and may grow to . The rhizome remains above the substrate, tethered to litter like rocks and wood.
Cultivation.
This plant grows well partially and fully submersed. In strong light, the leaves grow more quickly and remain more compact, but it tolerates a range of lighting. It prefers a temperature range of . It can be propagated by dividing the rhizome or by separating side shoots. If buried beneath a substrate, the rhizome may rot.
Varieties.
The species has the following varieties:


Humiriaceae

Humiriaceae (or, alternatively Houmiriaceae ) is a family of evergreen flowering plants. It comprises 8 genera and 56 known species. The family is exclusively Neotropical, except one species found in tropical West Africa.


Spodiopogon sibiricus

Spodiopogon sibiricus is a species of perennial grass in the family Poaceae.
It is native to Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan.
Culms are solitary, erect, 70–200 cm in height, 2–4 mm in diameter, and unbranched.


Orcuttia pilosa

Orcuttia pilosa is a rare species of grass known by the common name hairy Orcutt grass.
Distribution.
It is endemic to the Central Valley of California, where it grows only in vernal pools, a rare and declining type of habitat. Many known occurrences of the plant have been extirpated as land in the heavily agricultural Central Valley has been altered, and it was federally listed as an endangered species in 1997. In that year there were 25 known remaining populations of the grass, only 12 of which were considered stable.
Description.
"Orcuttia pilosa" is a small, densely hairy annual bunchgrass forming tufts up to about 20 centimeters tall when growing erect. The inflorescence is a crowded cluster of overlapping hairy spikelets.