Charles Edward Hubbard

Charles Edward Hubbard (23 May 1900 – 8 May 1980) was a British botanist, specialising in agrostology – the study of grasses. He was considered "the world authority on the classification and recognition of grasses" in his time.
He is indicated by the author abbreviation C.E.Hubb. when citing a botanical name.
Biography.
Charles Edward Hubbard was born on 23 May 1900 in Appleton, a hamlet on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where his father, also named Charles Edward Hubbard, was the head gardener at Appleton House to Maud of Wales, the Queen of Norway. He was schooled at Sandringham, and at King Edward VII Grammar School in King's Lynn, before joining the staff of the Royal Gardens at Sandringham in 1916. During his time there, he also spent five months at the Bygdøy Royal Estate near Oslo, and served for seven months in the Royal Air Force.
Kew Gardens.
In April 1920, Hubbard left the Sandringham Estate to join the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, initially working in the temperate house and arboretum. In September 1922, he gained a position in the herbarium, working at first under Stephen Troyte Dunn, and later under Otto Stapf. Hubbard published his first scientific paper in 1925, describing two new species in the genus "Stipa". In 1927, he married Madeleine Grace Witham, with whom he fathered a son, John.
At the request of the Government of Queensland, Hubbard travelled to Australia in 1930, in exchange for the Australian botanist W. D. Francis, who spent a year at Kew. He visited the herbaria in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, as well as examining every grass specimen in the Queensland Herbarium in Brisbane. He carried out field work around Rockhampton and the Fitzroy River in central Queensland, accumulating 15,000 specimens.
During the Second World War, the Kew herbarium was evacuated to Oxford and Hubbard moved with it, keeping his British herbarium at 9 Crick Road, the former residence of George Claridge Druce, while the Kew herbarium was housed in the basement of the Bodleian Library.
On 1 October 1957, Hubbard was promoted to Keeper of the Herbarium and Library at Kew, and rose to Deputy Director in April 1959. His first wife died in 1961. and in 1963, Hubbard married Florence Kate Hubbard, his second cousin by marriage. On 30 November 1965, he retired and moved to Hampton, Middlesex, close to Kew. He died on 8 May 1980. His personal herbarium was donated to University of Reading and is incorporated in the University of Reading Herbarium.
Works.
Hubbard published a long series of scientific articles, chiefly on the grasses of Europe and tropical Africa, but also covering the grasses of the West Indies, Mauritius, British Malaya, and Fiji. He is perhaps better remembered for his popular science book "Grasses: a Guide to their Structure, Identification, Uses and Distribution in the British Isles", published in 1954, with a second edition following in 1968.
Accolades.
Hubbard was the recipient of a number of awards, including the OBE (1954), CBE (1965), the Linnean Gold Medal (1967) and the Veitch Memorial Medal (1970). He was awarded a D.Sc. degree "" by the University of Reading (1960).
A number of botanical names commemorate Hubbard, including "Acacia hubbardiana", "Digitaria hubbardii", "Hubbardochloa" (and thus also the subtribe Hubbardochloinae), "Hubbardia" (and thus also the tribe Hubbardieae) and "Pandanus hubbardii".


Allophylus edulis

Allophylus edulis () is a plant species in the genus "Allophylus" endemic to the Guianas, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
Phytochemistry.
Quebrachitol, a cyclitol, and viridiflorol, a sesquiterpenoid, are found in "A. edulis".
Vernacular names.
This plant has several different common names in Portuguese: Chal-chal, aperta-goela, baga-de-morcego, chala-chala, chale-chale, cocum, fruta-de-paraó, fruta-de-passarinho, fruta-de-pavão, fruta-de-pavó, fruta-de-pombo, murta-branca, murta-vermelha, olho-de-pombo, pé-de-galinha, quebra-queixo, vacum, vacunzeiro.


Euonymus cochinchinensis

Euonymus cochinchinensis is a tree of tropical Asia in the staff vine family Celastraceae. The specific epithet "" refers to the species being native to Indo-China.
Description.
"Euonymus cochinchinensis" grows as a small tree up to tall. The flowers are greenish yellow. The fruits are obovoid to roundish in shape.
Distribution and habitat.
"Euonymus cochinchinensis" grows naturally in Hainan, Taiwan, Indo-China, Malesia and Papua New Guinea. Its habitat is coastal forests.


Glottiphyllum oligocarpum

Glottiphyllum oligocarpum is a species of succulent plant, of the family "Aizoaceae". It is indigenous to arid areas of the Little Karoo, in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Description.
It produces its leaves in two ranks (distichous), having many prostrate leaf-pairs per branch. Each leaf is covered with a white, waxy layer, which can be rubbed off. The leaf is thick with smoothly rounded margins. The stems branch until the plant forms a clump
The stalk-less fruits have soft, conical bases, and fall off the plant when they dry, becoming tumble fruits and spreading the seeds. The fruits have high valves and no awns with a maximum of eight locules.
This species resembles its close relative "Glottiphyllum nelii" which overlaps it in range, but mostly grows to the north in the Great Karoo. However "G.nelii" has shiny leaves, without any pale, waxy covering, and often has translucent lines along its leaf margins. "G.nelii" also has fewer branches and fewer leaves per branch.
Distribution.
This species occurs in open quartz flats, in the arid north-east of the Little Karoo (the "Steytlerville Karoo") and the south eastern corner of the Great Karoo.


Ribes niveum

Ribes niveum is a North American species of currant known by the common names snowy gooseberry, white-flowered gooseberry, or snow currant. It is native to the western United States (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada with isolated populations in Colorado and New Mexico).
"Ribes niveum" is a shrub up to 3 meters (10 feet) tall, with white or pale pink flowers and dark blue or dark purple berries. Berries are edible but rather sour.


Monocleales


Ptilidium californicum

Ptilidium californicum, the Pacific fuzzwort, is a rare liverwort of the western United States.
Technical description.
The plants are dioicous, small but medium-sized for a liverwort, from golden-green to golden, but more typically reddish-brown, or dilute purplish-red, or coppery red, resembling a dense fuzzy mat, occurring in small or large patches. Shoots are less than 1½ mm wide. Leaves are incubous (decurrent on the dorsal stem surface) and deeply bilobed, with each lobe divided 1–3 times, elongated, narrowly lanceolate, deeply divided. The lobe margins are entire, with 1 or 2 long, slender, cilia-like projections along the lobes margins and at lobe apices. The leaves are so closely overlapping that only a mass of ciliate projections is visible under a hand lens. The underleaves are prominent, wider than the stem but about or less than half the size of the leaves, 2–3 clefted, and with ciliate margins (even more finely divided into slender projections). The frequent perianths are plicate and narrowed to a ciliate mouth. Sporophytes are abundant from May to August.
Distribution, habitat, and ecology.
In the past, this plant has been reported from Russia and Japan, but recent literature calls it an endemic of the west coast of North America, ranging from southeastern Alaska to northern California.
This plant has a narrow environmental specificity; it is found in (and serves as an indicator species of) old-growth forest. It is typically epiphytic on bark at the base of standing mature to old-growth trees ("Abies concolor", "A. magnifica", and "Pseudotsuga menziesii") or recently fallen logs; rarely on other organic substrates such as decaying logs and stumps, or humus covering boulders. At the southern end of its range (Oregon and California) this species is distinctly restricted to middle elevation forests. Its elevational range is from .
The fire ecology of this plant is not known; however, fires in old-growth habitat might negatively affect "P. californicum" because of smoke, or from excessively opening the canopy. Severe fires that destroy old-growth trees would likely extirpate populations.
Conservation status and threats.
The plant is on the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Sensitive Species list, and has a NatureServe California State Rank of S3 and a Global Rank of G4.
The survival of "Ptilidium californicum" in the southern end of its range (i.e., northern California) depends upon the protection of the known sites as dispersal sources. The major threat facing "P. californicum" is loss of populations due to management activities that directly or indirectly impact the habitat or populations by disrupting stand conditions necessary for its survival. These include treatments such as the removal of colonized substrate, stand treatments that result in changes in microclimatic conditions or forest structure, or harvest of special forest products that may include individuals of this taxon. Spray paint used to mark 'leave,' 'take,' and 'wildlife' trees within project areas severely impact on this species. Liverwort diversity and abundance are strongly affected by forest age, and both components are much greater in old-growth forests. Therefore, the loss of old-growth habitats poses another threat to this species.
Field identification.
The leaves with many lobes divided into slender cilia make this species unmistakable.


Centranthus

Centranthus is a flowering plant genus comprising herbs and subshrubs native to Southern Europe. It is in the family Caprifoliaceae. There are about twelve species in the genus. Some "Centranthus" are known as introduced species in other parts of the world, including "Centranthus ruber" in the western United States and "Centranthus macrosiphon" in Western Australia.
Species include:


Encephalartos nubimontanus

Encephalartos nubimontanus is a species of cycad which is native to Limpopo, South Africa.
Description.
It is a cycad with an arborescent habit, with an erect or decumbent stem, up to 2.5 m tall and 35-40 cm in diameter, sometimes with secondary stems originating from basal suckers. The pinnate leaves, arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem, are 1–2 m long, supported by a stem about 23 cm long, which has a characteristic reddish ring at the base; they are composed of numerous pairs of lanceolate, leathery leaflets, up to 25 cm long, with a toothed margin and a pungent apex, arranged on the rachis at an angle of 70°.
It is a dioecious species, with male specimens presenting from 1 to 5 sub-conical, pedunculated, 25–40 cm long and 5–9 cm broad cones, and female specimens with 1-3 ovoid cones, 35–40 cm long and 18– wide 20 cm, light green color. The seeds are roughly ovoid, 3.5-3.8 cm long, covered with an orange-red sarcotesta.


Alvah Augustus Eaton

Alvah Augustus Eaton (November 20, 1865 – September 29, 1908) was an American botanist who described many species of pteridophytes, orchids and grass.
Early life.
Eaton was born in Seabrook, New Hampshire, and moved to a family farm in Salisbury, Massachusetts when he was twelve. He finished a four-year high school education within two years at Putnam School in Newburyport.
Career.
He worked as a teacher for a year in Seabrook, and for three more in California, along with farming. After returning to New England, he decided to become a florist due to pressure from poor health. He went on three field trips to Florida and one to Europe for the Ames Botanical Laboratory in Easton, Massachusetts.
He was a member of the Linnean Fern Chapter, precursor to the American Fern Society. He frequently contributed to the "Fern Bulletin" and developed an Herbarium for the Society. Until his death in 1908, he was curator of the herbarium.
Works.
Much of his work is documented at the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. The documents consist of sixteen notebooks written between approximately 1895 and 1906, four letters from 1899 to 1905, and a few undated manuscripts.


Calceolaria grandiflora

Calceolaria grandiflora is a species of plant in the Calceolariaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador.


Anubias heterophylla

Anubias heterophylla is a species belonging to the Aroid genus "Anubias". It was first described scientifically by Adolf Engler in 1879.
Synonyms.
The following names are synonyms of "A. heterophylla": "A. congensis" N.E. Brown, 1901, (including " A. congensis" var. "crassispadix" Engler, 1915), "A. affinis" De Wildeman, 1907, "A. engleri" De Wildeman, 1907, "A. bequaerti" De Wildeman, 1922, and "A. undulata" (trade name).
Distribution.
Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola (including Cabinda Province).
Description.
"Anubias heterophylla" has leaf blades that can be up to 38 cm long and 13 cm wide and are rather variable in form, ranging from elliptic/oval to lance- or spear-shaped. The leaf stems are generally longer than the blade and up to 66 cm long. The leaves are set on a creeping and rooting rhizome that is 5 to 17 mm thick. The spathe is 1.5 to 4.5 cm long and 2 to 4.5 times as long as wide, and has an up to 27 cm long peduncle. The spadix is 1.5 to 4.5 cm long and can be up to 2 times than the spathe. The upper part is covered with male flowers, of which the 4 to 6 stamens are fused into synandria, with the thecae on its sides. The lower part of the spadix is covered with female flowers that are reduced to the ovary and stigma.
Ecology.
The plant grows on rocky grounds at the edge of watercourses and on their damp banks. It flowers from July to January, fruiting from July to March.
Use.
"A. heterophylla" is reportedly used as a stomachic for children.
Cultivation.
This slow-growing plant is recommended in spacious aquariums and paludariums, where propagation by division of the rhizome is the general method. This plant grows best when only partially submerse and not crowded by other plants. It prefers a temperature range of 24 to 27 °C. It can be propagated by dividing the rhizome. Smaller plants can be cultivated successfully in an aquarium.


Rourea minor

Rourea minor is a large scandent shrub from the family Connaraceae. It has been recorded from Africa, tropical Asia and the Pacific.


Parkia pendula

"Parkia pendula" is a neotropical evergreen tree found throughout Central and South America. They are part of the "Parkia" genus, a group of flowering plants that are part of the legume family Fabaceae.
Habitat.
"Parkia pendula" can be found in primary and secondary forests, from altitudes of 20 to 500 meters above sea level. It prefers well-drained, subtropical environments, ideally thriving on hills or slopes with a 30% incline that experience more than 4000 mm of precipitation annually. They commonly grow alongside "Peltogyne purpurea", "Caryocar costaricense", and "Qualea paraensis".
An adult tree is very flood tolerant, capable of withstanding long-term submersion. Despite this, early seedlings can only survive a few weeks in flooded conditions, limiting the range of environments "Parkia pendula" can thrive in.
Range & distribution.
"Parkia pendula" can be found in a variety of countries, mainly Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It grows in many lowland forests, with a large reserve found in a national park in Espirito Santo, Brazil
Threats.
Insects, specifically certain species of beetles, deposit eggs inside the bud of "Parkia pendula", acting as a parasite on the seeds
. Despite this, there is no considerable impact on the persistence of the species and the IUCN lists it as a species of Least Concern.
Description.
"Parkia pendula" trees range from 15 to 50 meters in height and can be up to 1.2 meters in diameter. The bark is either whitish-grey or reddish-brown and plated, with many lenticels. The strong, fruity aroma of a blooming "Parkia pendula" can be attributed to monoterpenes in the flower, specifically the stereoisomers (Z) 𝛽-ocimene and (E) 𝛽-ocimene.
Unlike other "Parkia" species, "Parkia pendula" has a flattened and layered crown of leaves. The horizontal branches support alternating bipinnate leaves that come in about 15 to 27 pairs, narrowing to a maximum of 3 leaves whorled about a node. The leaves themselves are dark green and oblong, with curved distal ends.
Flowers.
The flowers produced by "Parkia pendula" grow as inflorescences, particularly pseudanthiums. They have yellowish-pink petals arranged radially. The heads are about to 3.4 cm in length and have a diameter of 4.5 to 4.9 cm. Each pseudanthium contains ~1300 small flowers densely packed around a spherical receptacle. The flowers themselves hang off of thin, woody stems known as peduncles approximately one meter below the crown of the tree. Flowers typically bloom from December to January in Costa Rica, and from January to August in Venezuela.
Fertile flowers have a gamosepalous calyx beneath their corolla and display five distinctive lobes. Each fertile flower has ten androgynous stamen evenly joined at their base, with a single style and several minuscule stigma. Though typically hermaphroditic and containing a single ovary, some flowers are functionally male and lack both ovaries and styles.
Some flowers can produce nectar in large quantities that adheres to the styles. Nectariferous flowers open less fully, despite having a larger diameter than fertile flowers. Nectar is typically produced at dusk after blooming and contains sugar (mainly fructose) concentrations of 20%. The nectar produced contains 14 amino acids, though by quantity proline constitutes 85%.
Fruit.
The fruit/seed pods of "Parkia pendula" are considered legumes. They are 8 to 30 cm long and 1.9 to 3.2 cm wide. Only a few flowers ever fertilize and develop into seed pods.
Seed pods have a variety of exteriors, whether they are shiny, smooth, dull, hairy, sticky, or some combination of those. The fruit pods are also colorful, ranging from olive or deep greens to reddish brown hues.
"Parkia pendula" typically fruits in February and July in Costa Rica, from January to November in Venezuela, and in May in Bolivia. Locals are known to harvest the fruits, typically picking them from trees throughout March and April. The collected fruit pods are left outside until they burst and the seeds can be scooped out.
Seeds.
The pods of "Parkia pendula" contain anywhere from 15 to 34 seeds. They have an elliptical shape and are 0.9 to 1 cm in length and 0.4 to 0.5 cm in width. Seeds weigh between 0.06 and 0.11 grams and there are said to be 9848 to 10100 seeds per kilogram of fruit pods.
The seed pod gum of "Parkia pendula" is extremely sticky due to a high concentration of sugars such as galactose and arabinose. In fact, there are recorded instances of small vertebrates getting caught in the gum and being fatally trapped due to their exposure to the elements and potential predators.
Seeds typically germinate 6 to 19 days after sowing, and anywhere from 36% to 58.5% of seeds actually germinate. Experiments conducted in Brazil showed that by cutting opposite the radicle emergence, scarring the seeds with an abrasive stone, or immersing in sulfuric acid for less than 30 minutes, germination rates would increase.
Reproduction.
The "Parkia pendula" tree exhibits mass flowering, typically with 150 to 200 capitula blooming in one night. The flowers open sequentially from the base to the tip. The capitula appear bright red due to the color of the anthers and filaments, then become yellow-red at dusk when nectar and pollen are produced. When the styles elongate, the plant takes on a purple-red hue, finishing the dramatic color shift all within one night. Flowers are usually shed afterwards within a span of 3 to 4 days.
Pollination.
Like other members of the Mimosoideae subfamily, "Parkia pendula" exhibits pollen aggregation, specifically polyads. It further differentiates itself from other members of Mimosoideae by having globose polyads rather than flattened polyads from pollen grain layering. "Parkia pendula" polyads are about 100 mm in diameter and composed of 32 pollen grains, with an outer exine that is grooved. The stigma for each fertile flower only contains a cavity for one polyad, but since the number of pollen grains matches the number of ovules, one polyad can fertilize all the ovules of a flower.
"Parkia pendula" is chiropterophilous, meaning it is largely pollinated by bats. While a dozen different species have been observed pollinating "Parkia pendula", the most common is "Phyllastomus discolor". Bats are attracted to the large quantity of nectar produced by nectariferous flowers. When bats land upside-down on the flowers, large quantities of pollen accumulate on the underside of their feet and spread to other flowers. However, some species, like "Glossophaga soricina", do not land on the flower and do not facilitate pollination.
The corolla is a key part of pollination, as its round shape and exposed arrangement allows it to be found by bats via echolocation. Typically bat-pollinated plants emit a sulfur scent, but "Parkia pendula" has no sulfur compounds in its flowers, further substantiating that bats find it by echolocation
Other pollinators include opossums, kinkajous, porcupines, ring-tailed coati, certain primates, and occasionally bees.
Seed dispersal.
"Parkia pendula" has a unique seed dispersal mechanism. The seed pods secrete an amber-colored gum, and after bursting, the seeds within get stuck on the gum. It then dries and washes away during precipitation.
Besides dehiscence, "Parkia pendula" also disperses seeds utilizing animals. Many primates and parrots feed on the gum due to the high concentration of proteins, carbohydrates, and magnesium. These animals will consume and defecate the seeds later on. Additionally, members of the ant species "Pachycondyla crassinoda" have also participated in seed dispersal.
Taxonomy.
The genus "Parkia" was established by Robert Brown in 1826, notably different from other members of their subfamily Mimosideae due to their fertile flowers having a calyx with five lobes and ten stamen. The genus contains three subsections: "Parkia", "Platyparkia", and "Sphaeroparkia"; "Parkia pendula" is a part of "Platyparkia", along with "Parkia paraenesis" and "Parkia platycephala".
Uses.
The wood from "Parkia pendula" is moderately heavy, with a density of 0.57 g/cm3. Processed wood typically has a white or yellow color, with a thick textured grain. It is resistant to fungal infections, but porous enough for preservatives, so it is commonly used in furniture and carpentry.
Due to its high growth rate and capability to attract wild animals while fixing copious amounts of nitrogen, "Parkia pendula" is perfectly suited to afforestation. It can be planted in degraded, barren environments and serve as a dependable foundation for establishing a forest.
The seed pod gum is also notably used to catch birds.
Medicinal use.
"Parkia pendula" has been known to treat dysentery, headaches, inflammation, itching, and fevers. The bark has commonly been used by locals to treat stomach aches. Research has been conducted examining the use of lectin as a histochemistry marker to distinguish meningothelial tumors and as treatment for cutaneous wounds in normal and immunocompromised mice. PPeL, the lectin produced when "Parkia pendula" seeds are purified, binds to cell surface carbohydrates in oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates, expressing cytoplasmic staining which can be used to characterize tumor cell types.


Bonnetia chimantensis

Bonnetia chimantensis is a species of flowering plant in the Bonnetiaceae family. It is found only in Venezuela, occurring in the Canaima National Park, where mining and tourism are threatening habitats at lower elevations.


Desmoncus orthacanthos

Desmoncus orthacanthos is a spiny, climbing palm native to tropical South America. Stems grow clustered together, and are 2–12 m long and 1.5–2 cm in diameter. Stems, leaf sheaths and often leaves are covered with black spines up to 6 cm long.
"Desmoncus orthacanthos" is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. The stems are used for basket weaving.


Pythium myriotylum

Pythium myriotylum is a soil-borne oomycete necrotroph that has a broad host range, this means that it can infect a wide range of plants.
Hosts and symptoms.
"Pythium myriotylum" is a causal agent of soft root rot in economically important crops including peanuts, tomato, rye, wheat, oats, cucumber, soybean, sorghum, tobacco, cabbage, and maize. "Pythium myriotylum" causes pre-emergence damping off, it infects the seed and causes it to rot before plant growth. This causes the plant seedling to become shriveled, soft, and brown. In a study done on soybeans, some symptoms that were seen were rotting of roots, diseased seedlings in the field, plus rotting and blight of seedlings. "Pythium myriotylum" can also cause post-emergence damping off in peanuts, resulting in discoloration of the seedlings and roots along with a water-soaked appearance in certain areas, these symptoms usually result in the death of the seedlings.
Disease cycle.
"Pythium myriotylum" causes disease through direct penetration of the host with appressoria. The oomycete helps invade and colonize the host by secreting cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs) this breaks down the plant cell wall. "P. myriotylum" has an asexual reproductive cycle that consists of mycelium that produce sporangia. These sporangia germinate by producing zoospores with two flagella that help with zoospore movement. The zoospores are released during wet conditions so that they can move through the soil to infect new hosts. It also has a sexual reproductive system where mating occurs between the oogonium and antheridium. This produces a thick-walled structure called an oospore. "Pythium myriotylum" has an over-wintering stage through the oospore, also known as, the survival structure. This is the initial innoculum that germinates after its resting period. It is difficult to break the dormancy of "P. myriotylum" oospores.
Environment.
"Pythium myriotylum" is a soil-borne necrotrophic oomycete. A disease caused by "Pythium myriotylum" is increased in warm regions, or in summer months. It thrives in high humid conditions. It prefers wet soil conditions in places of low altitude because this is where the water will sit for long periods of time. In lower altitudes, it can also contaminate irrigation water supplies and spread rapidly to other crops, especially hydroponically grown crops.


Erigeron sumatrensis

Erigeron sumatrensis (syn. "Conyza sumatrensis") is an annual herb probably native to South America, but widely naturalised in tropical and subtropical regions, and regarded as an invasive weed in many places. In the British Isles it is known as Guernsey fleabane. Other common names include fleabane, tall fleabane, broad-leaved fleabane, white horseweed, and Sumatran fleabane.
Description.
When fully grown (in summer or autumn), "Erigeron sumatrensis" reaches one to two metres in height. Flowers are white rather than purple-pink. Its leaves are like dandelion leaves, but longer, thinner and more like primrose leaves in colour and texture. Its seeding heads are like dandelions, but straw coloured and smaller. In certain countries the plant has started to exhibit resistance to herbicides.
Distribution.
It probably originates from South America, but is now naturalised in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It poses a significant threat to wildlife conservation areas and other reserves. In Britain, of the non-native former "Conyza" species, it is the second most abundant (after "Erigeron canadensis") and is typically found in London and the South East of England. It was first recorded in London by Brian Wurzell in 1984,
and noted in France at Saint-Sozy (Dordogne) in 2006.


Manoao

Manoao is a monotypic genus in the family "Podocarpaceae." The single species, M. colensoi, known as manoao (Māori), silver pine, Westland pine, or white silver pine, is endemic to New Zealand. Before 1996 it was classified in genus "Dacrydium" or "Lagarostrobos", but has recently been recognised as a distinct genus; some botanists still treat it in "Lagarostrobos" on the basis that it is not phylogenetically distinct from that genus. In molecular phylogenetic analyses "Manoao" was found to be related to "Parasitaxus" (a parasitic and monotypic genus from New Caledonia) and "Lagarostrobos" (a single species from Tasmania when narrowly defined), but their exact relationships are unresolved.
"Manoao colensoi" is a slow-growing evergreen tree up to in height, in shady, wet areas of New Zealand. It is a source of fine, straight and durable timber.
Distribution.
"M. colensoi" can be found in the North Island from Te Paki southwards to Mt Ruapehu. However it is common only in the central North Island. It is also found in the western South Island.


Chalmasia

Chalmasia is a genus of green algae in the family Polyphysaceae.


Fusispermoideae


Alfaroa hondurensis

Alfaroa hondurensis is a species of plant in the Juglandaceae family. It is endemic to Honduras.


Acaciella angustissima var. suffrutescens

Acaciella angustissima" var. "suffrutescens is a perennial shrub native to Arizona, United States. "Acaciella angustissima" var. "suffrutescens" range map in the U.S.


Acrocomia crispa

Acrocomia crispa, the Cuban belly palm or corojo, a palm species which is endemic to Cuba. Formerly placed in its own genus, "Gastrococos", recent work found that that genus was nested within "Acrocomia". It is a tall, spiny palm with a trunk that is slender at the base, but swollen in the middle, giving it the name "Cuban belly palm" in English.
Description.
"Acrocomia crispa" is a single-stemmed palm tree with pinnately-compound leaves. Stems are tall, with a distinct, "spindle-shaped" bulge halfway up the stem. Trunks are densely spiny, but becomes smooth and grey as the trunk ages. Trees have 10-20 leaves which are up to with leaflets which are approximately opposite.
Taxonomy.
The species was first described by as "Cocos cripsa" by Carl Sigismund Kunth in 1816 based on an incomplete specimen collected by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland. In 1866 Sebastián Alfredo de Morales described "Gastrococcus armentalis" based on a distinct type species. Although Morales was able to examine the specimen that Kunth's species was based on, he concluded that the two collections represented different species. In 1912, based on Charles Fuller Baker's description, Odoardo Beccari published a formal description "Acrocomia crispa", in which he included Kunth's "C. cripsa".


Boswellia frereana

Boswellia frereana is a species of plant native to Somaliland where the locals call it "Dhidin" or "Maydi" (other spellings include: Meydi, Meyti, Maidi, Maieti, and Mayeti) or the king of all frankincense. It is also known as the Yigaar (or Yegaar) tree and by the common name for all frankincense, Luban. The epithet is named after William Edward Frere, Member of Council at Bombay.
Other than its aromatic uses, the locals also use it for medicinal purposes; they make it into a paste called "malmal" and apply it on the joints to treat inflammation and arthritis. It is reported to be cultivated in Yemen, but this could be based on an 1870 record by Dr. G. Birdwood citing that "B. frereana" was seen in Sir Robert Playfair's garden in Aden (Yemen). Playfair had brought "B. frereana" from Somalia and cultivated it in his garden in Aden. Although rumored to also grow in Oman, scientific and botanical evidence does not confirm that "B. frereana" either grows or is cultivated there. "B. frereana" resin, however, is very rarely found in Omani markets in the larger cities as a less expensive and more palatable chewing resin compared to the native Omani frankincense, "B. sacra", which is known more for its medicinal and aromatic properties.
In the West "B. frereana" is called "Coptic Frankincense" as this is the type and grade used by the Coptic Church of Egypt. 80% of "B. frereana" production is sold to Saudi Arabia where it is traditionally brought home by Muslim pilgrims. The remaining 20% is sold all around the world.


Rhus republicensis

Rhus republicensis is an extinct species of flowering plant in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. The species is known from fossil leaves found in the early Eocene deposits of northern Washington state in the United States. The species was first described from fossil leaves found in the Klondike Mountain Formation. "R. republicensis" likely hybridized with the other Klondike Mountain formation sumac species "Rhus boothillensis", "Rhus garwellii", and "Rhus malloryi".
Distribution and paleoenvironment.
"Rhus republicensis" is known from specimens which are recovered from an outcrop of the early Eocene, Ypresian Klondike Mountain Formation in Republic. The Klondike Mountain Formation preserves an upland temperate flora which was first interpreted as being microthermal, however further study has shown the flora to be more mesothermal in nature. The plant community preserved in the Klondike Mountain formation is a mixed conifer–broadleaf forest with large pollen elements of birch and golden larch, but also having notable traces of fir, spruce, cypress, and palm.
Taxonomy.
The species was described from a type specimen, the holotype leaf, number SR 10-29-20 A&B, plus a pair paratype specimens, SR 92-05-05 and SR 97-03-15 A&B. The type series specimens are currently preserved in the paleobotanical collections of the Stonerose Interpretive Center in Republic, Washington. The specimens were studied by paleobotanists Soon Flynn and Kathleen Pigg of Arizona State University with Melanie DeVore of Georgia College and State University. They published their 2019 type description for "R. republicensis" in the "International Journal of Plant Sciences". The etymology of the chosen specific name "republicensis" is a reference to Republic, Washington where the collecting site is located. In addition to "Rhus republicensis" Flynn "et al" also provided descriptions of the coeval species "Rhus boothillensis" and "Rhus garwellii" and gave a redescription of "Rhus malloryi" in the 2019 paper. They noted that the Klondike Mountain Formation preserves a number of "Rhus" specimens which appear to be hybrids of the named species.
Description.
"Rhus republicensis" leaves are pinnately compound on a long petiole, with a possible total length of for full leaves. The subopposite leaflets are sessile on the rachis between the flared wings that bracket the midvein. The leaflets are obovoid to ovoid in outline, tapering from the wide middle to both the base and apex. They have a width of and a length to width ratio of up to 3.1∶1. The midveins of the leaflets are narrow and pass all the way to the leaflet apex, with smaller secondary veins branching off the midvein at acute angles. The narrow secondaries are spaced on the midvein unevenly and group closer together near the leaflet tip, while usually branching once near the leaflet margin. The branches of the secondaries enter a tooth or the sinus between two teeth. The teeth are rounded on their tips with convex basal and apical sides running towards variable sinuses. The teeth become more developed and closer spaced towards the tip of the leaflet. The leafy wings of the rachis have secondary veins that angle steeply towards the leaf tip and occasionally forking.


Draba brachycarpa

Draba brachycarpa, the shortpod draba, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, found in central and eastern North America.


Diplacus fremontii

Diplacus fremontii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Frémont's monkeyflower. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in mountain and desert habitat, especially moist or disturbed areas. It was formerly known as "Mimulus fremontii".
Description.
"Diplacus fremontii" is an annual herb with a thin stem growing 1 to 20 centimeters tall. The oval leaves are up to 3 centimeters long, the ones higher on the plant hairy in texture. The tubular base of the flower is encapsulated in a wide, ribbed, hairy calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The corolla of the flower is reddish-purple with a darker pink throat with a yellow spot. There are occasionally all-yellow flowers. The flower is one to two centimeters in length.


Sesuvium edmonstonei

Sesuvium edmonstonei, commonly known as Galapagos carpet weed, is a species of plant in the family Aizoaceae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador).
Description.
"Sesuvium edmonstonei" is a low-growing perennial plant. The stems, which are fleshy and covered with scales, are sometimes woody at the base. The succulent leaves are oblancolate and grow in opposite pairs; they are simple, entire and up to long. The flowers grow in the leaf axils, each having a five-lobed white calyx, no petals, and many stamens. The fruits that follow are ovoid capsules, with lids, containing black seeds with wrinkled cuticles. The plants develop orange and red hues in the cool season.
Distribution and habitat.
This succulent plant is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. It is found on Darwin Island, Española Island, Fernandina Island, Floreana Island, Genovesa Island, Isabela Island, Rábida Island, San Cristóbal Island, Santa Cruz Island, Santiago Island and Wolf Island. It spreads in sheets across both rocky and sandy ground.


Muellerina eucalyptoides

Muellerina eucalyptoides, commonly known as creeping mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic arial shrub in the family Loranthaceae. The species is
endemic to Australia. "M. eucalyptoides" is pendulous in habit, unlike other "Muellerina" species, but has the long epicortical runners of all "Muellerina" species.
The leaves are opposite with indistinct venation. Mainly flowering in summer, the inflorescence is terminal, racemose with usually 3–4 opposite pairs of triads of flowers, with the central flower sessile, and the lateral flowers having pedicels. Corolla curved in bud, free, 5-merous. Stamens are unequal, with anthers dorsifixed and versatile. The fruit is pear-shaped.
Taxonomy.
"Muellerina" is a member of Santalales, the mistletoe order, placed within the family Loranthaceae. The name "Muellerina" was first published by Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem in 1895, where one New Zealand species, "Muellerina raoullii", and two Australian species ("Muellerina celastroides" and "M. eucalyptifolia" - now "M. eucalyptoides") are given. Further Australian "Muellerina" species are listed in van Tieghem.
Another article by van Tieghem further discussing the relationships of Loranthaceae genera is van Tieghem.
"Muellerina eucalyptoides" was first described as "Loranthus eucalyptoides" by de Candolle in 1830, and revised in 1962 to "Muellerina eucalyptoides" by
Ecology.
"Muellerina eucalyptoides" hosts the butterflies: imperial Jezebel ("Delias harpalyce"), common Jezebel ("Delias nigrina"), dark purple azure ("Ogyris abrota"), Genoveva azure ("Ogyris genoveva"), golden or Sydney azure ("Ogyris ianthis"), mistletoe emperor moth ("Opodiphthera loranthi") and the mistletoe moth ("Comocrus behri").
An inventory of host plants for "Muellerina eucalyptoides" spp. is given by Downey

Anacardiaceae
"Schinus areira" *
Apocynaceae
"Nerium oleander" *
Casuarinaceae
"Allocasuarina littoralis",
"Allocasuarina torulosa",
"Allocasuarina verticillata",
"Casuarina glauca"
Celastraceae
"Euonymus japonicus" *
Cupressaceae
"Callitris endlicheri"
Fabaceae
"Chamaecytisus palmensis" *
Fagaceae
"Quercus humilis" *,
"Quercus robur" *
Loranthaceae
"Lysiana exocarpi",
"Muellerina celastroides",
"Muellerina eucalyptoides"
Magnoliaceae
"Magnolia grandiflora"*
Meliaceae
"Melia azedarach"
Mimosaceae
"Acacia adunca",
"Acacia baileyana",
"Acacia binervata",
"Acacia decurrens",
"Acacia ferominens",
"Acacia floribunda",
"Acacia fulva",
"Acacia implexa",
"Acacia linifolia",
"Acacia mearnsii",
"Acacia melanoxylon",
"Acacia paradoxa",
"Acacia prominens"
Myrtaceae
"Angophora bakeri",
"Angophora costata",
"Angophora floribunda",
"Angophora hispida",
"Angophora subvelutina",
"Callistemon lanceolatus",
"Callistemon viminalis",
"Corymbia calophylla", "Corymbia ficifolia",
"Corymbia maculata",
"Eucalyptus acmenoides",
"Eucalyptus agglomerata",
"Eucalyptus amplifolia",
"Eucalyptus andrewsii",
"Eucalyptus bancroftii",
"Eucalyptus baueriana",
"Eucalyptus baxteri",
"Eucalyptus blakelyi",
"Eucalyptus bridgesiana",
"Eucalyptus camaldulensis",
"Eucalyptus crebra",
"Eucalyptus cypellocarpa",
"Eucalyptus dalrympleana",
"Eucalyptus dealbata",
"Eucalyptus dwyeri",
"Eucalyptus eugenioides",
"Eucalyptus eximia",
"Eucalyptus globoidea", "Eucalyptus goniocalyx",
"Eucalyptus grandis",
"Eucalyptus gummifera",
"Eucalyptus haemastoma",
"Eucalyptus intermedia",
"Eucalyptus laevopinea",
"Eucalyptus longifolia",
"Eucalyptus mannifera",
"Eucalyptus melanophloia",
"Eucalyptus melliodora",
"Eucalyptus moluccana",
"Eucalyptus muelleriana",
"Eucalyptus notabilis",
"Eucalyptus obliqua",
"Eucalyptus ovata",
"Eucalyptus paniculata",
"Eucalyptus parramattensis",
"Eucalyptus parvula",
"Eucalyptus pauciflora",
"Eucalyptus pilularis",
"Eucalyptus piperita",
"Eucalyptus polyanthemos",
"Eucalyptus prava",
"Eucalyptus propinqua",
"Eucalyptus punctata",
"Eucalyptus racemosa",
"Eucalyptus radiata", "Eucalyptus resinifera",
"Eucalyptus rossii",
"Eucalyptus saligna",
"Eucalyptus scoparia",
"Eucalyptus siderophloia",
"Eucalyptus sideroxylon",
"Eucalyptus sieberi",
"Eucalyptus sparsifolia",
"Eucalyptus squamosa",
"Eucalyptus tereticornis",
"Eucalyptus umbra",
"Eucalyptus viminalis",
"Eucalyptus wardii",
"Eucalyptus willisii",
"Kunzea ambigua",
"Kunzea ericoides",
"Leptospermum trinervium",
"Leptospermum laevigatum",
"Leptospermum polygalifolium",
"Melaleuca ericifolia",
"Melaleuca linariifolia",
"Melaleuca styphelioides"
Platanaceae
"Platanus orientalis" *
Rosaceae
"Crataegus monogyna" *,
"Crataegus oxyacantha" *,
"Photinia serrulata" *,
"Prunus armeniaca" *,
"Prunus avium" *,
"Prunus domestica" *,
"Prunus persica" *,
"Pyrus communis" *
Santalaceae
"Exocarpos cupressiformis"
Sterculiaceae
"Brachychiton populneus"
Ulmaceae
"Ulmus procera" *


Black cumin

Black cumin can refer to the seeds of either of two quite different plants, both of which are used as spices:


Bamboo vine

Bamboo vine is a common name for several plants species in the genus "Smilax" and may refer to:


Crinum thaianum

Crinum thaianum, Common name Thai Onion plant or Water onion, is an emergent plant species endemic to coastal plain of southern Thailand in Ranong and Phang Nga Provinces. Its natural habitat is along the banks of running streams, where its roots and bulb are submerged but the flowering holds the umbel of large, showy flowers above the surface. This natural habits make it a wonderful addition for tropical aquaria, and it is sold in many lands to be used in decorating displays of tropical fish. In nature, however, the species is threatened and diminishing in numbers due to habitat destruction.
Description.
Long, up to 60 inches (150 cm) (or longer), tough, ribbon-like bright green leaves grow from a bulb that looks much like an onion. White lily-like flowers may form on a long stalk emerging above the water's surface.
Cultivation.
"Crinum thaianum" is cultivated as an aquatic ornamental to decorate aquaria. It requires water temperatures of 72-86 degrees F (22-30 degrees C) and is popular in home aquaria because it is easy to keep, tolerant of temperature swings and lighting variations, and because its leaves are tough enough to withstand the attention of herbivorous fish. Propagation is from daughter bulbs. It likes a rich substrate and additional CO2 encourages growth with space to spread and grow. It does well in a warm outside pond.
Status and Threat.
"Crinum thaianum" is not under protection by any legislation in Thailand and also not protected by CITES. The habitats of this species are also not under protection.
This species has remaining only 1% and found population very high fragmented and rapidly decreasing. In some habitats, it is already extinct due to collecting the bulb for commercial purposes, dredging under flooding control schemes, and land use changes. Currently, Crinum thaianum has been listed as Endangered under IUCN Redlist and Thailand Data Redlist. It is really urgent required for special management and conservation plan to reduce decrease and extinction.


Areca palm

Areca palm is a common name for several plants and may refer to:


Tetrasporaceae

In taxonomy, the Tetrasporaceae are a family of green algae, specifically of the Tetrasporales.


Kallymeniaceae

Kallymeniaceae is a red algae family in the order Gigartinales.
Genera.
The following genera are accepted within Kallymeniaceae:<ref name="WoRMS">


Podocarpus smithii

Podocarpus smithii is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in Queensland, Australia.


Campsidium

Campsidium is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Bignoniaceae. It has only one species, Campsidium valdivianum.
Its native range is Southern South America.


Micromitrium

Micromitrium is a genus of haplolepideous mosses (Dicranidae) in the monotypic family Micromitriaceae . The genus "Micrometrium" was previously placed in family Pottiaceae in order Pottiales.
Species.
The genus contains the following species:


Dialyceras coriaceum

Dialyceras coriaceum is a tree in the family Sphaerosepalaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar.
Distribution and habitat.
"Dialyceras coriaceum" is known only from populations in the northeastern regions of Sava, Analanjirofo and Atsinanana. Its habitat is humid evergreen forests from sea-level to altitude. Some populations are within protected areas.
Threats.
"Dialyceras coriaceum" is threatened by cyclones and shifting patterns of agriculture. Because lemurs disperse the tree's seeds, threats to the lemur would in turn affect the tree's reproduction.


Encephalartos poggei

Encephalartos poggei is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is referred to by the common name Kananga cycad. It is native to Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire.
Description.
It is a cycad with an erect stem, up to 2 m tall and 20–30 cm in diameter. The leaves, pinnate, 70–150 cm long, are arranged in a crown at the apex of the stem and are supported by a 7-20 cm long petiole, without thorns and covered with a greyish tomentum; each leaf is composed of 18-60 pairs of lanceolate, leathery leaflets, on average 8-15 cm long, of glaucous green color.
It is a dioecious species with male specimens that have 1-3 cones, sub-cylinders, 16–20 cm long and 3–7 cm broad, greenish to orange yellow in color, and female specimens with 1-3 ovoid cones, 17–23 long cm and with a diameter of 9-12 cm, initially green, yellow when ripe.
The seeds are coarsely ovoid, 20–33 mm long, covered with a red-brownish sarcotesta.
Range.
It occurs in:


Coccothrinax alta

Coccothrinax alta (palma plateada, palma de abanico, Tyre palm) is a palm which is native to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Like other members of the genus, "C. alta" is a fan palm. Trees are 2–6 m tall, with some individuals getting up to 11 m. Flowers are light yellow, and fruit are purple-black when ripe. It is found on lower elevations, but to 350 m above sea level.
It is found on limestone substrates in northern Puerto Rico, and on volcanic substrates on the islands off eastern Puerto Rico. It has been recorded from Puerto Rico proper, Vieques and Culebra; Saint Croix, St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and Guana Island, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.
George Proctor (in Acevedo-Rodríguez & Strong, 2005) considers this to be a valid species on the basis of its shorter, more slender trunk, fewer stamens and much smaller fruit. Rafaël Govaerts follows Read (1979) and considers it a synonym of "Coccothrinax barbadensis".


Panicum socotranum

Panicum socotranum is a species of grass in the family Poaceae.
It is found only on Socotra island off the coast of East Africa, politically in Yemen.


Zamia

Zamia is a genus of cycad of the family Zamiaceae, native to Mexico, the West Indies, and Central and South America as far south as Bolivia. The range of one species ("Z. integrifolia", extends into the contiguous United States, i.e. Georgia and Florida.
The genus comprises deciduous shrubs with aerial or subterranean circular stems, often superficially resembling palms. They produce spirally arranged, pinnate leaves which are pubescent, at least when young, having branched and simple, transparent and coloured hairs. The articulated leaflets lack a midrib, and are broad with subparallel dichotomous venation. Lower leaflets are not reduced to spines, though the petioles often have prickles. The emerging leaves of many "Zamia" species are striking, some emerging with a reddish or bronze cast ("Z. roesli" is an example). "Zamia picta" is even more distinctive, being the only truly variegated cycad (having whitish/yellow speckles on the leaves).
"Zamia" sporophylls are born in vertical rows in cones, and the megasporophyll apices are faceted or flattened, not spinose. The fleshy seeds are subglobular to oblong or ellipsoidal, and are red, orange, yellow or rarely white. The endosperm is haploid, derived from the female gametophyte. The embryo is straight, with two cotyledons that are usually united at the tips and a very long, spirally twisted suspensor.
The sperm of the genus are large, as is typical of cycads, and "Zamia roezlii" is an example; its sperm are approximately 0.4 mm long and can be seen by the unaided eye.
All the species of "Zamia" produce leafy crowns of foliage that make them choice garden specimens and most varieties branch heavily in age to produce handsome clumps. With a few exceptions, most "Zamia" species are found in warm, humid, tropical rainforest habitats, growing in the forest understory. However, many species are still fairly adaptable, performing quite well in cultivation, especially in subtropical areas. All species need good drainage and protection from the cold.
At least one species, "Z. pseudoparasitica", grows as an epiphyte in the branches of trees.
The name "Zamia" comes from the Greek "azaniae", meaning "a pine cone".
Species.
Accepted species:


Camissonia pubens

Camissonia pubens is a species of evening primrose known by the common name hairy suncup. It is native to the desert and steppe of western Nevada and eastern California. It is an annual herb covered in glandular hairs generally made up of one or more erect, slender stems up to a third of a meter tall. The leaves are up to about 4 centimeters long and are lance-shaped with wavy, toothed edges. The nodding inflorescence produces flowers with yellow petals each a few millimeters long and sometimes dotted with red near the bases. The fruit is a straight or coiling capsule up to 5 centimeters long.


Peltandra primaeva

Peltandra primaeva is an extinct species of monocot in the family Araceae known from a Ypresian age Eocene fossil found in western North Dakota, USA.
The species was described from a single leaf specimen found at the White Butte locality, USNM number 14048. This locality is placed 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 the type locality.
The holotype specimen, number "USNM 43184", is preserved in the National Museum of Natural History collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The single specimen was studied by paleobotanist Leo J. Hickey of the Yale University Geology Department. Hickey published the 1977 type description for "P. primaeva" in the Geological Society of America memoir 150, "Stratigraphy and Paleobotany of the Golden Valley Formation (Paleogene) of Western North Dakota". Hickey chose the specific name "primaeva", noting the species to be the first and only megafossil record for the genus "Peltandra" described.
The holotype of "Peltandra primaeva" is a distal leaf portion displaying a short slightly pointed tip. The preserved section shows a distinct pattern of veins running parallel to the margin with reticulation in the veins forming abaxially. The only modern member of Araceae to show this structuring is "Peltandra", hence the placement in the genus. Unlike the modern species "P. primaeva", it has between eight and ten veins parallel to the margin and forms a costal zone which is larger than in modern species. The preservation of the fossil suggests the leaf would have been chartaeous, thin and paper-like, in life.


Cyclogramma

Cyclogramma is a genus of ferns in the family Thelypteridaceae, subfamily Thelypteridoideae, in the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). Other sources sink "Cyclogramma" into a very broadly defined genus "Thelypteris".
Species.
, the "Checklist of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World" accepted the following species:


Campanula seraglio

Campanula seraglio, known as the Serail bellflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae. It is native to northeastern Turkey.
Distribution.
This species is found on rocky mountainous crevices at elevations of 1,600m.
Status.
It is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Human disturbance from eco-tourism poses a threat to the species. This species is situated in a national park.


Tillandsia

Tillandsia is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to mid Argentina. Their leaves, more or less silvery in color, are covered with specialized cells (trichomes) capable of rapidly absorbing water that gathers on them.
Sometimes they are also commonly known as airplants because of their natural propensity to cling wherever conditions permit: telephone wires, tree branches, barks, bare rocks, etc. Their light seeds and a silky parachute facilitate this spread. Most "Tillandsia" species are epiphytes – which translates to 'upon a plant'. Some are aerophytes, which have a minimal root system and grow on shifting desert soil. Due to their epiphytic way of life, these plants will not grow in soil but live on the branches of trees, in deserts and on other substrates that will not be saturated with water for very long.
Description.
They are perennial herbaceous plants which exhibit a multitude of physiological and morphological differences making this a diverse genus. Having native habitats that vary from being epiphytic and saxicolous, species have certain adaptations, such as root systems designed to anchor to other plants or substrates, and modified trichomes for water and nutrient intake. Some of the species, like the majority of bromeliaceae, grow as funnel bromeliads, with a compressed stem axis. The leaves are then close together in rosettes, and cover the lower areas of the leaves, forming a funnel for collecting water.
These leaf rosettes, a common physical characteristic in "Tillandsia" species, collect nutrients and water. The flowers typically involve bright, vibrant colors, with blooms or inflorescences produced on a stalk or several stalks. The flower's color varies greatly; red, yellow, purple and pink flowers exist in this genus, and multicolored flowers are known. The bright colors attract pollinators. An air plant's foliage may also change color when it blooms, also attracting pollinators. The hermaphrodite flowers are threefold with double perianth. The three free sepals are symmetrical and pointed. The seeds have a "parachute" similar to the dandelion.
Common pollinators of this genera include moths, hummingbirds and, more recently recognized, bats.
Range.
They have naturally been established in diverse environments such as equatorial tropical rain forests, high elevation Andes mountains, rock dwelling (saxicolous) regions, and Louisiana swamps, such as Spanish moss ("T. usneoides"), a species that grows atop tree limbs. But there are also species that live lithophytic, so on rocks (but also roofs and even telephone wires).
The green species with their claim to a cool-humid climate live mostly more in the shade terrestrial or in the lower levels of the forests. In contrast, almost all gray species live in precipitation-poor areas with high humidity. They prefer the full sun and can therefore be found in the upper floors of the woods, on rocks or (rarely) on the ground. Many of the gray species are epiphytes. Some species are more or less xeromorphic.
Cultivation.
Tillandsias, like other bromeliads, can multiply through pollination and seed formation. Since Tillandsia are not self-fertile, the pollen must come from another plant of the same species. Tillandsia, depending on the species, may take months or years to flower. After flowering, the plant forms offsets and dies.
Generally, the thinner-leafed varieties grow in rainy areas and the thick-leafed varieties in areas more subject to drought. Most species absorb moisture and nutrients through the leaves from rain, dew, dust, decaying leaves and insect matter, aided by structures called trichomes. Air plants are growing rapidly in popularity as a low maintenance household plant. Due to their minimal root system and other adaptations, they generally do not require frequent watering, no more than four times a week, allowing the plant to completely dry before watering again.
The amount of light required depends on the species; overall, air plants with silver dusting and stiff foliage will require more sunlight than air plants with softer foliage. They generally need a strong light. In summer outside, however, they prefer the light shade of a tree at the hottest hours. Plants are commonly seen mounted, placed in a terrarium, or simply placed in seashells as decorative pieces. For so-called "aerial" species (the majority of the common species in culture except "Tillandsia cyanea"), that is to say those whose roots are transformed into crampons without any power of absorption, watering is done by the leaves in the form of frequent sprays, or brief soaking of the plant in a container full of water. It is imperative to use non-calcareous water. Rainwater recovered from the flow of a mossy or green roof is best for this purpose, if available.
Ecology.
Species of "Tillandsia" photosynthesize through a process called CAM cycle, where they close their stomata during the day to prevent water loss and open them at night to fix carbon dioxide and release oxygen. This allows them to preserve water, necessary because they are epiphytes. They do not have a functional root system and instead absorb water in small amounts through their leaves via small structures called trichomes. Species of "Tillandsia" also absorb their nutrients from debris and dust in the air.
Any root system found on "Tillandsia" has grown to act as a fragile stabilizing scaffold to grip the surface they grow on. As soon as they have been soaked with water, the green assimilation tissue below the suction scales becomes visible again, the plant is therefore "greened". Now the plant can absorb more light. When the sun dries the plants, they turn white. Thanks to this special survival trick, plants without roots can absorb fog droplets as well as rainwater and thus cover their water needs.
More than one-third of a tropical forest's vascular plants are "Tillandsia". Their contribution to the environment's carrying capacity allows for terrestrial fauna like earthworms to thrive in the treetops.
Temperature is not critical, the range being from to . Frost hardiness depends on the species. "T. usneoides", for example, can tolerate night-time frosts down to about . For most species, the ideal growth temperature is between 20 °C and 25 °C, with a minimum of 10 °C and a maximum of 30 °C. Few are resistant to −10 °C, but some, usually from higher elevation areas, are hardy enough to withstand light and brief freezes and live outdoors year round in areas with mild winters.
Taxonomy.
The genus "Tillandsia" was named by Carl Linnaeus after the Swedish physician and botanist Dr. Elias Tillandz (originally Tillander) (1640–1693). Some common types of "Tillandsia" include ball moss ("T. recurvata") and Spanish moss ("T. usneoides"). The genus contains around 650 species, where 635 are considered epiphytic are traditionally divided into seven subgenera:
Four species are protected under CITES II:


Elaeocarpus hedyosmus

Elaeocarpus hedyosmus is a species of flowering plant in the Elaeocarpaceae family used as a medicinal plant. It is one of three recently described species that is endemic to Sri Lanka.
Taxonomic Revision.
In 2001, botanist Sue Zmarzty revised the "Elaeocarpus" section of "Elaeocarpus" species found on southern India and Sri Lanka. According to that revision, nine species are recognised, which includes three new species - "E. hedyosmus" , "E. variabilis" and "E. taprobanicus" . The revision also includes one new variety of the species "E. serratus" var. "weibelii" as well.
"Elaeocarpus hedyosmus" is described through specimens previously considered to be "E. amoenus" sensu "auctt.". Original syntypes of "E. amoenus" included three different species, and in the revision by Meijer's in 1995, lectotypification means that this name must be restricted to a distinct, less well-known species that is endemic to island of Sri Lanka.
"Elaeocarpus variabilis" is described through specimens previously considered to be "E. glandulosus" sensu "auctt.". The species was also synonymized as "E. oblongus" sensu "auct." previously, until it gives the full species validity. This suggested the species "E. glandulosus" must be applied to a northern species in India and also dry parts of Sri Lanka. It may be probably "E. hygrophilus" described in Merrill's in 1951 by his observations.


Begonia balangcodiae

Begonia balangcodiae is an endemic species of "Begonia" discovered in Sagubo, Kapangan, Benguet, Philippines. The species was allied to "B. esculenta" Merr., from which it is distinguished by its cordate leaf base and white tepals, while the latter's leaf base is not cordate and has a vermilion-colored tepals. On the same hand, this species resembles that of "B. leucosticta" Warburg, differing from the latter on cordate leaf base versus subcordate leaf base, and larger tepals ranging in size from 12–18 mm long in pistillate flowers versus the latter's 3–5 mm. Additionally, this species is similar to "B. negrosensis" Elmer, in that it has lanceolate, glabrous leaf compared to that of latter's obovately oblong and sparsely hairy leaves, and white to greenish tepals, versus that of latter's pinkish tepals.
Habitat.
"Begonia balangcodiae" is found on soil slopes in the mossy forest of Barangay Sagubo, Municipality of Kapangan, Province of Benguet, Luzon, Philippines growing at an elevation of up to 1200 m above sea level.
Etymology.
This species was named in honor of Professor Teodora D. Balangcod and her family for their hospitality, and her many research contribution for the flora preservation and ecological conservation in the Cordillera Administrative Region.


Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil

Anadenanthera colubrina" var. "cebil is a mimosa-like timber tree native to Caatinga and Cerrado vegetation in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Peru. It has also been introduced to Mauritius. It grows up to tall, with a trunk diameter of . The tree's mimosa-like leaves range in length from about . The flowers are cream-colored and arrive in the spring. The seed pods are fairly straight and contain about 8 to 15 seeds each. The seeds are flat, average each about in diameter and have an average mass of about each. The tree's wood has a density of about .
Uses.
Gum.
Gum from the tree can be used in the same way as gum arabic.
Honey.
This tree is used as a honey plant.
Medicine.
The tree is a medicinal plant. The bark is the most-used part of the tree for this. Small amounts of roasted, powdered seeds are snuffed for headaches and colds.
Ornamental tree.
The tree is an ornamental plant, and it is especially useful as an urban tree.
Tannin.
The tree's bark contains about 15.38% tannin. The seed pods contain 3% tannin and the heartwood contains 1.8%.
Wood.
The wood is very hard and it dulls cutting tools. The heartwood is quite durable. The tree's wood is used for outdoor construction, marine applications, railroad ties and implement handles.
Alkaloids.
Bufotenin and dimethyltryptamine have been isolated from the seeds and seed pods, 5-MeO-DMT from the bark of the stems.
Conservation.
"A. colubrina" var. "cebil" is very much sought for its wood and bark (for medicinal purposes) and so it is being destructively cut down by industry. Since the tree is beautiful and useful, calls are being made to plant trees near communities that use them, so that sustainable harvesting of the tree can be accomplished.
Propagation.
The seeds can be placed between a folded damp paper towel in a sealable plastic sandwich bag for a few days until the seeds sprout. They can then be planted deep in well-drained containers. Once watered, is important to let the growing medium dry out well, before watering again.


Primula auricula

Primula auricula, often known as auricula, mountain cowslip or bear's ear (from the shape of its leaves), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, that grows on basic rocks in the mountain ranges of central Europe, including the western Alps, Jura mountains, the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Tatra Mountains.
Description.
It is an evergreen perennial growing to tall by wide. The leaves are obovate and stalkless, with a cartilaginous edge, all growing in a basal rosette, and sometimes covered in a mealy white bloom. The yellow flowers grow in clusters on long stalks.
The specific epithet "auricula" means "ear-shaped", and refers to the shape of the leaves.
Taxonomy.
A recent study split the species into two, "Primula lutea" and "P. auricula", with the former being found further south and east (Apennines, Carpathians, Balkans, and the southern and eastern Alps). Prior to this study, "P. lutea" had been considered synonymous with "P. auricula". Other synonyms of "P. auricula" include "P. balbisii" and "P. ciliata".
Cultivation.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Auriculas.
The term "auricula" is also used collectively for plants which have been developed from a hybrid between "P. auricula" and "P. hirsuta". Thousands of cultivars are available in a wide range of colours, and several societies are devoted to their cultivation and display.
"Primula auricula" is depicted on the obverse side of Austrian € 0.05 euro coins.


Podocarpus salignus

Podocarpus salignus, the willow-leaf podocarp, is a species of coniferous evergreen tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in Chile, from 35 to 42° south latitude, where it is threatened by habitat loss. Growing up to in height and in diameter, the trunk is straight and cylindrical, with reddish-gray bark. The arching branches bear long, narrow, willow-like leaves, and red fleshy oval fruits where male and female plants are grown together. In Chile it is known as "Mañío de hojas largas" (long-leaved).
Cultivation and uses.
This tree is grown in gardens and parks of Chile, and has been introduced to the British Isles. It requires heavy rainfalls or high humidity, but withstands temperatures down to . It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The wood is of good quality, yellowish colored, straight grained, and highly moisture resistant. It is used in furniture and construction.


Achyranthes margaretarum

Achyranthes margaretarum is a species of plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. It is endemic to Phillip Island, close to Norfolk Island in the south west Pacific Ocean, where it was discovered during the 1980s after rabbits had been eradicated from the island. This provides dramatic evidence of the value of the eradication program. It is considered critically endangered due to its very small population size - fewer than 20 mature individuals were known, in a single location on Phillip Island, in 2003. In 2009 Mills identified 22 plants on Phillip Island, including planted specimens, only nine higher than 50 cm.
This plant is similar to "Achyranthes arborescens", an endemic from neighbouring Norfolk Island, but is a smaller, more compact shrub growing up to 2m tall with a 2m spread. "A. margaretarum" also differs in having small, rather fleshy, bronze-green leaves with yellow veins; small, erect inflorescences carrying just a few maroon-coloured flowers; and small top-shaped (rather than cylindrical) fruit.


Rehia

Rehia is a genus of plants in the grass family. The only known species is Rehia nervata, native to Brazil (Amapá, Pará, Maranhão) and to the Guianas (Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana).


Paeonia officinalis

Paeonia officinalis, the common peony, or garden peony, is a species of flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to mainly mountainous areas of Southern Europe and introduced in Central and Western Europe and North America.
"Paeonia officinalis" was first used for medicinal purposes, then grown as an ornamental. Many selections are now used in horticulture, though the typical species is uncommon. "Paeonia officinalis" is still found wild in Europe.
The cultivar 'Rubra Plena' (deep crimson double flowered) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Description.
It is a herbaceous perennial growing to tall and wide, with leaves divided into 9 leaflets, and bowl-shaped deep pink or deep red flowers, in diameter, in late spring (May in the Northern Hemisphere).
Distribution.
The common peony is native to Europe in Spain, northern Portugal and southern France, Italy, Switzerland, western Romania and the Balkan peninsula and possibly northern Greece (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1998, Lupo Osti 2006, Aghababian 2011, GRIN 2014). It is widely cultivated elsewhere, but considered a native endemic of Europe.
There are six known subspecies:
Taxonomy.
Many synonyms exist for "Paeonia officinalis", i.e. "Moutan officinalis", "Paeonia anemoniflora", "P. barrii", "P. baxteri", "P. commutata", "P. elegans", "P. feminea", "P. festiva", "P. fimbrata", "P. foemina", "P. fulgens", "P. fulgida", "P. hirsuta", "P. lanceolata", "P. lobata", "P. mollis", "P. nemoralis", "P. paradoxa" var. "fimbrata", "P. peregrina" var. "officinalis", f. "officinalis", "P. porrigens", "P. promiscua", "P. pubens", "P. rubens", "P. sessiliflora", "P. splendens", "P. subternata", "P. versicolor".
Genetics.
The common peony is an allotetraploid with two double sets of chromosomes from different parents (2n+2m=20), so it is a hybrid or nothospecies. One of the parents is most likely "Paeonia peregrina. The other parent is one of the group of very closely related species, Paeonia parnassica, P. arietina and P. humilis. Both these parents are tetraploids themselves. "P. officinalis" has by far the most extensive range and is one of the more abundant species in the Mediterranean region.


Silene vulgaris

Silene vulgaris, the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus "Silene" of the family "Caryophyllaceae". It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it is a common wildflower in meadows, open woods, and fields.
Gastronomy.
The young shoots and the leaves may be used as food in some countries of the Mediterranean region. The tender leaves may be eaten raw in salads. The older leaves are usually eaten boiled or fried, sauteed with garlic as well as in omelettes.
Crete and Cyprus.
In Crete it is called Agriopapoula (Αγριοπάπουλα) and the locals eat its leaves and tender shoots browned in olive oil.
In Cyprus it is very widely eaten, so much that it has, in recent years, come back into being cultivated and sold in shops in bunches. Two of the common Cypriot names are "Tsakrostoukkia" and "Strouthouthkia" (στρουθούθκια).
Italy.
In Italy the leaves of this plant may be used also as an ingredient in risotto. It is commonly known as "sculpit", "stridolo", or by the obsolete scientific name "Silene inflata", as well as "s-ciopetin", or "grixol" in Veneto, and "nenkuz", or "sclopit" in Friuli.
Spain (La Mancha).
Formerly in La Mancha region of Spain, where "Silene vulgaris" leaves are valued as a green vegetable, there were people known as "collejeros" who picked these plants and sold them. Leaves are small and narrow, so it takes many plants to obtain a sizeable amount.
In La Mancha the "Silene vulgaris" leaves, locally known as "collejas", were mainly used to prepare a dish called "gazpacho viudo" (widower gazpacho). The ingredients were flatbread known as "tortas de gazpacho" and a stew prepared with "Silene vulgaris" leaves. Other dishes prepared with these leaves in Spain include "potaje de garbanzos y collejas", "huevos revueltos con collejas" and "arroz con collejas".


Dasyochloa pulchella


Torricelliaceae

The Torricelliaceae are a family of trees native to Madagascar and southwest Asia. It contains three genera, "Aralidium", "Melanophylla" and "Torricellia". Under the APG II system, each of these genera was placed in its own family, but with the proviso that "Some of the families are monogeneric and could possibly be merged when well-supported sister-group relationships have been established." Such a relationship was established for these three genera in 2004. In the APG III system, these three genera constitute the family Torricelliaceae.


Dendrobium fellowsii

Dendrobium fellowsii, commonly known as the native damsel orchid, is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid in the family Orchidaceae and has upright pseudobulbs, up to five leaves and groups of up to five pale green or yellowish flowers with a deep purple labellum. It grows in tropical North Queensland.
Description.
"Dendrobium fellowsii" is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb that has upright, cylindrical dark purplish pseudobulbs long and wide.
There are between two and five dark green leaves long and wide. The flowering stems are long and bear between two and seven resupinate, pale green or yellowish flowers long and wide. The dorsal sepal is egg-shaped, long and about wide.
The lateral sepals are triangular, long, about wide and spread widely apart from each other. The petals are narrow egg-shaped, long and about wide. The labellum is deep purple, about long and wide with three lobes. The side lobes are relatively large and curve upwards and the middle lobe is broad with two parallel ridges. Flowering occurs from October to January.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Dendrobium fellowsii" was first formally described in 1870 by Ferdinand von Mueller from a specimen collected near Rockingham Bay by John Dallachy. The description was published in "Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae" and the specific epithet ("fellowsii") honours Thomas Howard Fellows.
Distribution and habitat.
The native damsel orchid grows on trees or shrubs with stringy or flaky bark, in deep gullies or around the edges of large granite sheets in rainforest between the Mount Finnigan in the Cedar Bay National Park and Townsville in Queensland and in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Conservation.
This orchid is classed as "vulnerable" under the Queensland Government Nature Conservation Act 1992.


Podochilus

Podochilus is a genus of about 65 species of small, moss-like epiphytic orchids, distributed across China, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia (Indochina, Indonesia, Philippines, etc.,) New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands.
List of species.
The following is a list of species of "Podochilus" accepted by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as at January 2019:


Mesangiospermae

Mesangiospermae (core angiosperms) is a clade of flowering plants (angiosperms), informally called "mesangiosperms". They are one of two main groups of angiosperms. It is a name created under the rules of the "PhyloCode" system of phylogenetic nomenclature. There are about 350,000 species of mesangiosperms. The mesangiosperms contain about 99.95% of the flowering plants, assuming that there are about 175 species not in this group and about 350,000 that are. While such a clade with a similar circumscription exists in the APG III system, it was not given a name.
Phylogeny.
Besides the mesangiosperms, the other groups of flowering plants are Amborellales, Nymphaeales, and Austrobaileyales. These constitute a paraphyletic grade called basal angiosperms. The order names, ending in -ales are used here without reference to taxonomic rank because these groups contain only one order.
Mesangiospermae includes the following clades:
Name.
The mesangiosperms are usually recognized in classification systems that do not assign groups to taxonomic rank. The name Mesangiospermae is a branch-modified node-based name in phylogenetic nomenclature. It is defined as the most inclusive crown clade containing "Platanus occidentalis", but not "Amborella trichopoda", "Nymphaea odorata", or "Austrobaileya scandens". It is sometimes written as /Mesangiospermae even though this is not required by the PhyloCode. The "clademark" slash indicates that the term is intended as phylogenetically defined.
Description.
In molecular phylogenetic studies, the mesangiosperms are always strongly supported as a monophyletic group. There is no distinguishing characteristic which is found in all mature mesangiosperms but which is not found in any of the basal angiosperms. Nevertheless, the mesangiosperms are recognizable in the earliest stage of embryonic development. The ovule contains a megagametophyte, also known as an embryo sac, that is bipolar in structure and contains 8 cell nuclei. The antipodal cells are persistent, and the endosperm is triploid.
History.
The oldest known fossils of flowering plants are fossil mesangiosperms from the Hauterivian stage of the Cretaceous period.
Molecular clock comparisons of DNA sequences indicate that the mesangiosperms originated between 140 and 150 Mya (million years ago) near the beginning of the Cretaceous period. This was about 25 Ma (million years) after the origin of the angiosperms in the mid-Jurassic.
By 135Mya, the mesangiosperms had radiated into 5 groups: Chloranthales, Magnoliids, Monocots, Ceratophyllales, and Eudicots. The radiation into 5 groups probably occurred in about 4 million years.
Because the interval of this radiation (about 4 million years) is short in proportion to its age (about 145 million years), it had long appeared that the 5 groups of mesangiosperms had arisen simultaneously. The mesangiosperms were shown as an unresolved pentatomy in phylogenetic trees. In 2007, two studies attempted to resolve the phylogenetic relationships among these 5 groups by comparing large portions of their chloroplast genomes. These studies agreed on the most likely phylogeny for the mesangiosperms. In this phylogeny, the monocots are sister to the clade [Ceratophyllales + eudicots]. However, this result is not strongly supported. The approximately unbiased topology test showed that some of the other possible positions of the monocots had more than 5% probability of being correct. The major weakness of these 2 studies was the small number of species whose DNA was being used in the phylogenetic analysis, 45 in one study and 64 in the other. This was unavoidable, because complete chloroplast genome sequences are known for only a few plants.


Radula perrottetii

Radula perrottetii ( オオケビラゴケ) is a species of plant in genus "Radula", a genus of liverworts. It is endemic in Japan. It contains the small molecule perrottetinene a cannabinoid and other metabolites of scientific interest including Marchantin A.


Nepenthes barcelonae

Nepenthes barcelonae is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Philippine island of Luzon. It is known from a single mountain in the Sierra Madre range of Aurora Province, where it grows in stunted submontane forest.
The specific epithet "barcelonae" honours Julie F. Barcelona, who discovered the species in February 2014 together with Danilo Tandang and Pieter B. Pelser."."
"Nepenthes" "barcelonae" inhabits stunted submontane forest at altitudes of 1500-1700 m a.s.l. in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Luzon, Philippines. The specific type locality was not included in the species description to prevent pressures upon wild populations by hobbyists. Four species of "Nepenthes" have been described from the northern Visayas and Luzon (at the time of the species description), of which two are found on Luzon; the closely allied "Nepenthes ventricosa", which is widespread across the island, and "Nepenthes alzapan". Under Criterion B2ab(iii) of IUCN 2014, the species was assessed informally as Critically Endangered by the authors - it occurred in a single location, with an area of occupancy and extent of occurrence less than 10km². It is additionally threatened by poaching, and the encroachment of habitat degradation, namely in the form of slash-and-burn agriculture and illegal logging operations, which were present at lower elevations.


Campanula troegerae

Campanula troegerae is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. It is native to north-eastern Turkey. It can be found in the provinces of Artvin and Erzurum.
Distribution.
This species is found on rocky mountainous areas at elevations between .
Status.
It is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Habitat destruction from agriculture poses a major threat to the species.


Polygala nuttallii

Polygala nuttallii is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family (Polygalaceae). It is endemic to the United States.


Rheum australe

Rheum australe, synonym "Rheum emodi", is a flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae. It is commonly known as Himalayan rhubarb, Indian rhubarb and Red-veined pie plant. It is a medicinal herb used in the Indian Unani system of medicine, and formerly in the European system of medicine where it was traded as "Indian rhubarb". The plant is found in the sub-alpine and alpine Himalayas at an altitude of 4000 m.
Description.
The plant has a 1.5-2m high stem. Its stem is stout, red, and streaked green and brown. The large leaves are heart-shaped or roundish with a heart-shaped base, and greenish-red in colour. The basal leaves can be up to 60 cm wide.
It has dark reddish-purple or yellow flowers in late spring to summer, in densely-branched clusters, in a inflorescence up to 30 cm long. The inflorescence enlarges greatly when in fruit.
Similar species.
According to the 2003 key in the "Flora of China", this species is distinguished from other entire-leaved rhubarbs in China with leaves having a wavy or crisped margin; "R. wittrockii", "R. rhabarbarum", "R. webbianum" and "R. hotaoense", by having less than 1 cm-sized fruit, purple-red flowers, and the surface of the rachis of panicle being densely pubescent. It is the only rhubarb in this group to have purple-red flowers as opposed to various shades of white.
Karyotypy.
A 1947 study found plants of "R. emodi" a chromosome count of 2"n"=22, but the same study found plants labelled as "R. australe" to be 2"n"=44. It is possible that this karyotypic diversity indicates the existence of one or more cryptic species, because the polyploid forms would essentially be reproductively isolated.
Distribution.
Native to India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Sikkim.
Ecology.
It grows on grassy or rocky slopes, crevices and moraines, forest margins, near streams and between boulders in speciﬁc zones. "Impatiens glandulifera" in the Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand, India.
Cultivation.
It is said to be quite hardy and readily propagated.
Chemical constituents.
Hydroxyanthracene derivatives are mainly emodin, chrysophanol and their glycosides. Other hydroxyanthracene derivatives are rhein, aloe emodin and physcion and their glycosides.


Dotyophycus

Dotyophycus is a genus of red algae, from the family Liagoraceae, characterised by a "terete, dichotomously divided, calcified thallus." It can be recognised by its reproductive features, particularly the gonimoblast that follows fertilization and the absence of sterile cells in mature cystocarp. Visually it is distinguished by its "almost creamy-white" appearance derived from its outer mucilage and calcification.


Helodium

Helodium is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Thuidiaceae.
The species of this genus are found in Eurasia and Northern America.
Species:


Chorizanthe procumbens

Chorizanthe procumbens is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name prostrate spineflower. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in scrub and chaparral habitat. It is variable in appearance, up to 25 centimeters long or much shorter, usually growing prostrate along the ground. It is often yellowish green in color but there are grayish and reddish forms. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers with each minute white or yellow flower surrounded by spine-tipped bracts.


Sydney Margaret Stent

Sydney Margaret Stent (11 October 1875 - 19 April 1942) was a South African botanist. Stent's main interest was grasses


Dioscorea orangeana

Dioscorea orangeana, is a tuberous vining flowering plant in the genus "Dioscorea", endemic the Forêt d’Orangea near Antsiranana in Madagascar, from which it derives its name. The tuber is possibly edible, and unlike most other "Dioscorea" species, the tuber has many finger-like lobes as opposed to a single tuber. Because the plant is new to science and the possible harvesting by local populations, the conservation status of "Dioscorea orangeana" is of great concern.
Taxonomy.
"Dioscorea orangeana" belongs to the genus "Dioscorea" referring to the plants producing edible roots known as yams.


Jensenobotrya

Jensenobotrya lossowiana is the only species of genus Jensenobotrya, in the family Aizoaceae. It is a succulent plant endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. It grows at Dolphin Head in Spencer Bay where it obtains moisture from the saline mists. It is threatened by habitat loss.
"Jensenobotrya" is named after Emil Jensen and the Greek "botrya" (bunch of grapes), because the leaves look like grapes. The vernacular name "druiwetrosvygie" means 'bunch of grapes mesemb'.


Digitalis cedretorum

Digitalis cedretorum is a species of flowering plant in family Plantaginaceae that is native to Morocco. In the World Flora Online it is listed as a synonym of "Digitalis subalpina".
It was first described as "Digitalis lutea" subsp. "cedretorum" in 1936 by the French botanist Louis Emberger. Another French botanist, René Maire, raised it to an independent species four years later, 1940. It was first collected in a cedar woodland on a granite-derived substrate, at 2,500 metres in altitude in the eastern Atlas Mountains, north of a town called Masker.


Pakaraimaea

Pakaraimaea is a genus of trees in the family Cistaceae.
The genus contains a single species, Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, from South America. The species is found in the western highlands of Guyana and in adjacent Bolivar State in Venezuela. It maintains strong ectomycorrhizal associations with a wide variety of fungal species. The trees can sometimes be seen forming large stands in the western Guyanas.
As of APG IV, the species has been moved out of the Dipterocarpaceae (formerly in subfamily Pakaraimoideae) and is now placed within an expanded Cistaceae due to molecular evidence showing that it is sister to the remainder of Cistaceae.


Nepenthes campanulata

Nepenthes campanulata (; from Late Latin "campānulātus" "bell-shaped"), the bell-shaped pitcher-plant, is a tropical pitcher plant native to Borneo. It has also been reported from Palawan, the Philippines, though further field work is needed to confirm this identification.
Forest fires destroyed the only known population of "N. campanulata" in 1983 and it was uncertain whether the species had survived elsewhere or was in fact extinct. It was rediscovered in 1997, several hundred kilometres from the type locality. "Nepenthes campanulata" is listed as Vulnerable on the 2014 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
"Nepenthes campanulata" has no known natural hybrids. No infraspecific taxa have been described.
Discovery and naming.
"Nepenthes campanulata" was first collected on 9 September 1957, on Mount Ilas Bungaan by A.J.G. 'Doc' Kostermans, the head of the Botanical Division of the Forestry Research Institute at Bogor, on the same expedition in which he collected the type material of "N. mapuluensis". Kostermans wrote the following account of his discovery:
I was working for the Forestry Department at that time in Sangkulirang and when I had finished I wanted to find out about a flowering rock, Ilas Bungaan, upriver. After 10 days walking I saw the yellowish rock for the first time. When we were there we discovered that the yellow colour was that of the leaves of a "Nepenthes" completely covering the steep face of the 50 m high rock. We cut a tree that fell to the rock and acted as a ladder and climbed up. The "Nepenthes" was not in flower or fruit, but we found caves in the rock and in the caves a couple of boat-like coffins with sculptured dog-head ends which contained decapitated skeletons.
"Nepenthes campanulata" was described by Shigeo Kurata in 1973 based on a single specimen, "Kostermans 13764", deposited at the herbarium of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. An isotype labelled "spec. nov.!" is held at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Two more isotypes are deposited at the New York Botanical Garden. According to Kurata, the collector stated that the species was endemic to this single location "presumably owing to its habitat which is noted as sand and limestone walls at an altitude of 300 m".
The type material of "N. campanulata" lacks floral structures and these remained unknown until the species' rediscovery in 1997.
Description.
"Nepenthes campanulata" produces short, cylindrical, climbing stems 20 to 50 cm tall and up to 4 mm thick. Leaves are coriaceous and sessile. The lamina is spathulate-lanceolate in morphology, up to 12 cm long, and 2 cm across. The apex of the lamina is rounded and slightly peltate. The base of the lamina is amplexicaul. Two to three longitudinal veins are present on each side. Pennate veins are inconspicuous. Tendrils are very short and stiff, rarely exceeding 4 cm in length.
Unlike most other species in the genus, "N. campanulata" produces only one type of pitcher. As the specific epithet suggests, these are campanulate or bell-shaped. The yellow-green pitchers grow to 10 cm in height and 5.5 cm in diameter. They typically lack fringed wings, instead bearing a pair of ribs running down the front. Inside the pitchers, the glandular region covers only the lowest quarter of the inner surface. The opening or mouth of the pitcher is circular and positioned horizontally. The peristome is greatly reduced and bears a row of tiny teeth. The pitcher lid is elliptic to oblong and has no appendages. An unbranched, 1 mm long spur is inserted at the base of the lid. "N. campanulata" is wholly glabrous.
Plants spread by means of subterranean runners. Mature plants often form large clumps with numerous growth points.
Distribution and habitat.
The population of "N. campanulata" from which the type specimen originated was destroyed as a result of forest fires in 1983. All known populations were completely killed off in late 1991 or early 1992. "Nepenthes campanulata" was at this time thought to have become extinct. However, the species was rediscovered in 1997 by Ch'ien Lee on the limestone cliffs of Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, more than 400 km from the type locality.
In July 2013, a taxon closely resembling "N. campanulata" was observed and photographed growing on the limestone cliffs of the Saint Paul formation, Palawan, the Philippines. Charles Clarke and Ch'ien Lee consider these plants likely to represent "N. campanulata", or at least a close relative.
"Nepenthes campanulata" is a lowland species, growing lithophytically at elevations of 100–300 m above sea level. It inhabits damp, mossy areas on cliff faces and appears to be endemic to limestone substrates.
Taxonomy.
In his description of "N. campanulata", Kurata suggested that it may be closely related to "N. inermis", a Sumatran endemic. However, other taxonomists disagree with this hypothesis. These two species are similar in general stature as well as pitcher morphology. However, they are not only separated by great geographical distance, but also occur in completely different habitats; "N. campanulata" is a lowland species endemic to limestone substrates, whereas "N. inermis" usually grows as an epiphyte at elevations of 1500 to 2600 m.