Acacia mooreana

Acacia mooreana is a shrub belonging to the genus "Acacia" and the subgenus "Phyllodineae" that is endemic to south western Australia.
Description.
The erect, slender and pungent shrub typically grows to a height of . It has glabrous to sparsely haired and yellow-ribbed branchlets. Like most species of "Acacis" it has phyllodes rather than true leaves. The pungent and g;abrous, evergreen phyllodes have an inequilateral and obtriangular shape that are in length and a width of with a midrib near the abaxial margin. It blooms from May to September and produces yellow-cream flowers.
Taxonomy.
The species was first formally described by the botanist William Vincent Fitzgerald in 1904 in the work "Additions to the West Australian Flora" as published in the "Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society". It was reclassified by Leslie Pedley in 2003 as "Racosperma mooreanum" then transferred back to genus "Acacia" in 2006.
Distribution.
It is native to an area along the south coast in the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia where it is commonly situated along drainage lines or in swampy areas growing in sandy soils often over and around laterite. The bulk of the population is found from around Yallingup in the west to Boyanup in the north down to August in the south west to around Nannup in the south east where it is usually found as a part of "Eucalyptus" forest communities.


Eutypella parasitica

Eutypella" canker is a plant disease caused by the fungal pathogen Eutypella parasitica". This disease is capable of infecting many species of maple trees and produces a large, distinguishable canker on the main trunk of the tree. Infection and spread of the disease is accomplished with the release of ascospores from perithecia. Therefore, the best way to manage the "Eutypella" canker is to remove trees that have been infected. If infected, it can decrease the quality of wood cut for lumber and can thus have a negative economic impact.
Hosts and symptoms.
Eutypella canker infects many species of maple trees, most prevalently the sugar maple ("Acer saccharum"). Others commonly affected are the red maple ("Acer rubrum"), box elder ("Acer negundo"), striped maple ("Acer pensylvanicum"), Norway maple ("Acer platanoides"), sycamore maple ("Acer pseudoplatanus"), silver maple ("Acer saccharinum"), and black maple ("Acer nigrum"). Onset usually occurs with greater probability of younger maples since they are more susceptible.
Symptoms are similar to all species of maple and include a canker forming most commonly from the ground. The formation of the canker begins with a small pronounced necrosis of the bark and requires several years to expand. The canker enlarges as the tree ages by increasing its width and forming ringed callus around it. It is then capable of surrounding over half the trunk with a typical diameter of . Although the canker can become quite large, it normally does not kill the tree but does increase the risk of the trunk failing and being blown over by the wind. As for visible signs of the fungus, if the bark is peeled back at the center of the canker, a mat of white mycelium (fungal tissue) will be revealed.
Disease cycle.
"Eutypella parasitica" is characterized as an ascomycete fungus that produces fruiting bodies called perithecia. When conditions are favorable (moderate temperature and high humidity), the perithecium will produce sexual spores called ascospores which are dispersed primarily by the wind. If they land on the susceptible host they may enter through a wound and establish themselves in the xylem tissue of the host. Each year, the fungus kills the callus material formed by the tree and invades more cambium during the growing season. During the summer months, the fungus is also able to produce asexual spores called conidia that are dispersed by the wind to be used as secondary inoculum to infect other maple trees in the area. Upon dispersal, they potentially land on a susceptible host which induces the spore to germinate and produce mycelia. At the end of the season, the fungus produces perithecia. Then, the fungus can overwinter as perithecia or as mycelia in the host. Due to the slow development of the disease, these fruiting bodies are not produced until 5–8 years after initial infection. Once they are produced they can be visible with very close observation in the center of the canker, which can give it a speckled, gritty appearance.
Environment.
The main factors that contribute to the release of the ascospores are moisture and temperature. For the most part, as long as temperatures are above freezing spores can be released, but they are most likely to be released at moderate temperatures of . In the case of moisture, humidity alone is not enough to make the perithecia release the spores, as the perithecia themselves need to be wet. The temperate climates of North America and Europe are most conducive for Eutypella canker development.
Management.
The best way to lower infection is to control the probability of infection in the trees. Trees that are infected need to be cut down and removed optimally on a dry day, as do seedlings and saplings that are also found to be infected. This is done to eliminate the source of the inoculum that can infect other trees. If a tree has cankered branches, the infected branches need to be cut off close to the trunk without damaging the trunk. Cutting the branches flush to the trunk gets rid of the infected branches and also reduces the risk of infection since the tree can heal from this wound more easily. To ensure that the disease is eliminated and not going to spread elsewhere the removed branches and trees should be burned.
Importance.
Maple trees with Eutypella canker have a reduction in quality due to the deformity of the trunk. Therefore, if used for lumber products the cankered area will be wasted wood. This disease can then cause reduced economical value of lumber in areas of high infection. Also, aesthetics of the tree is diminished due to the symptoms of the pathogen. Although it can decrease the quality of the tree, the incidence is usually quite low. Infection rates are typically 2%–10% in a particular stand, but it has been recorded to infect over 20%.


Edgemont Memorial Park

Edgemont Park is a park in Montclair, New Jersey, in the United States of America. It shares a name with the nearby Edgemont Elementary School.
History.
A committee for park construction in 1906 decided to purchase the land for the park with a $100,000 bond issue, following a town referendum. The effort to buy the land was led by William B. Dickson, who backed a quarter of the bonds issued. The land which comprised the park was originally a golf course, built 10 years prior to the park's founding. Edgemont was originally named the Harrison Tract park. The memorial was dedicated in 1925.
Overview.
The park is surrounded by roads on three sides, and by the rears of residential lots on the remaining southern side. To the north is a street named after the park, Parkway, and to the West, Edgemont Road. Across this road is Edgemont Elementary School. On the East, Valley Road borders the park. In the eastern part of the park there is a pond with fountains, fed and flowing into Toney's Brook. The pond is artificial, created by a dam, and has severe growth of algae and scum. This scum has damaged the health of Toney's Brook downstream. An accessible children's playground is here.
Memorial.
The most prominent feature of the park is the pond and the small island with the World War I memorial on it. Edgemont Park is known for its World War I memorial, which is one of the landmarks of Montclair. The main memorial, created in 1924 by Charles Keck, is a tall obelisk with bronze sculptures of Winged Victory on top and the Billy Boys on the bottom. On the sides of the obelisk are etched the names of those who fell in the First World War, to whom the monument is dedicated. In front of the memorial there are small plaques that have the names of those who died in the Vietnam War and Korean War and World War II.


Hymenoxys quinquesquamata

Hymenoxys quinquesquamata is a North American species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common names rincon rubberweed or rincon bitterweed. It has been found only in the states of Arizona and New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Many of the populations lie in the Huachuca Mountains of Cochise County in Arizona.
"Hymenoxys quinquesquamata" grows in open areas, generally at the edges of pine-oak forests at elevations of . It is a perennial herb up to tall. One plant can produce sometimes as many as 50 flower heads in a branching array. Each head has 5–8 yellow ray flowers and 30–100 tiny yellow disc flowers.


Crossota norvegica

Crossota norvegica is a species of hydrozoan in the family Rhopalonematidae. It is closely related to "Crossota millsae" and is found in the Arctic Ocean at depths below . "Crossota norvegica" is also known as the deep red jellyfish. This species is described as “alien-like” and is known for its vibrant red hue. It is a small cnidarian, reaching only up to 2 cm in its body size.
Description.
Unlike other cnidarians, "Crossota norvegica" lives its entire life in the planktonic stage or the planula stage, instead of experiencing both the sessile stage and planula stage. Another unique trait off this species is that it does not develop into a polyp. Polyps typically produce the sexual reproduction gametes of cnidarians by budding. These polyps are stationary and non-moving forms of cnidarians (The Columbia Encyclopedia). Others will reproduce sexually in the medusa stage, where they are free-swimming cnidarians. During this stage they are typically very small, around 1-50mm in diameter. It is unclear whether or not this species is dioecius, meaning that it needs both a male and a female in order to reproduce. Alternatively, some hydrozoa, but not all, can be sequential hermaphrodites where they can produce and fertilize eggs on their own, without a partner. "Crossota norvegica" is closely related to the "Crossota millsae", in which both males and females have been found and described to reproduce together. As a part of the cnidarian family, they have ectodermal cells that contain nematocysts (cnidae). Some of these nematocysts have the ability to sting. Along the cnidae are spines that will produce an acid. When the cnidae comes into contact, the nematocysts get stuck into prey. Though these are a very common type of cnidae, not all cnidae have the ability to produce acid to stun prey.
Habitat and diet.
"Crossota norvegica" lives in temperatures ranging from 3.7˚C to 3.9˚C. This species has been found in waters deeper than 2,500 m. Its diet is currently unknown. Many Hydrozoa will feed on small zooplankton by use of their tentacles, whereas others eat phytoplankton.
Philatelic error.
"Crossota norvegica" appeared on a stamp issued by Canada in 2007 to commemorate the International Polar Year. Unfortunately, the name on the stamp was given as "Crossota millsaeare", a misspelling of "Crossota millsae".


Yucca angustissima

Yucca angustissima, the narrowleaf yucca, is a plant in the family Agavaceae, known as the "narrow-leaved yucca." It is native to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, but grown elsewhere as an ornamental.
"Yucca angustissima" is a low-lying species forming colonies of basal rosettes up to 3 m (10 feet) in diameter. Leaves are long and thin, up to 150 cm long but rarely more than 2 cm across. Flowers are white to cream or greenish-white, pendant, borne in racemes on stalks up to 2 m (7 feet) tall. Fruit is a dry capsule with black seeds.
"Yucca angustissima" is relatively abundant, and although it has local threats, its population appears to be stable overall.
Varieties.
Numerous varietal names have been proposed, but 4 are currently recognized:


Palaquium stellatum

Palaquium stellatum is a tree in the family Sapotaceae. The specific epithet "stellatum" means "star-like", referring to some of the indumentum hairs.
Description.
"Palaquium stellatum" grows up to tall. The bark is brownish. Inflorescences bear up to five flowers. The fruits are roundish, up to in diameter. The tree's timber is heavy and strong.
Distribution and habitat.
"Palaquium stellatum" is native to Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Its habitat is lowland mixed dipterocarp forests.


Penicillium herquei

Penicillium herquei is an anamorph, filamentous species of the genus of "Penicillium" which produces citreorosein, emodin, hualyzin, herquline B, janthinone, citrinin and duclauxin.


Coreopsis petrophila

Coreopsis petrophila is a Mexican species of flowering plants in the daisy family. It is native to the States of Jalisco, Durango, Nayarit, and Guerrero in western Mexico.
"Coreopsis petrophila" is a branching subshrub, growing largely on rocky slopes. Leaves are pinnately lobed with narrow lobes. Each major branch has a group of small yellow flower heads, each with both ray florets and disc florets.


Arapaho National Forest

Arapaho National Forest is a National Forest located in north-central Colorado, United States. The facility is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from the United States Forest Service office in Fort Collins, Colorado. It has a wildlife refuge which manages a protection for all birds and mammals. The combined facility of is denoted as ARP (Arapaho, Roosevelt, Pawnee) by the Forest Service. Separately, Arapaho National Forest consists of .
The forest is located in the Rocky Mountains, straddling the continental divide in the Front Range west of Denver. It was established on July 1, 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt and named for the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans which previously inhabited the Colorado Eastern Plains. The forest includes part of the high Rockies and river valleys in the upper watershed of the Colorado River and South Platte River. The forest is largely in Grand and Clear Creek counties, but spills over into neighboring (in descending order of land area) Gilpin, Park, Routt, Jackson, and Jefferson counties. There are local ranger district offices located in Granby and Idaho Springs.
Wildlife.
The ponds also produce many insects and other invertebrates (protein) needed by most female waterfowl for successful egg laying. These insects also serve as an essential food item for the growth of ducklings and goslings during the summer months.
The first waterfowl arrive in the spring when the ice vanishes in April. The peak migration occurs in late May when 5,000 or more ducks may be present. Canada geese have been reestablished in North Park and begin nesting during April. Duck nesting usually starts in early June and peaks in late June. The forest produces about 9,000 ducklings and 150 to 200 goslings each year. The Fish and Wildlife Service expects that when refuge lands are fully acquired and developed, waterfowl production should increase significantly.
There have been 198 bird species recorded in the forest. Primary upland nesting species include the mallard, pintail, gadwall, and American wigeon. A number of diving ducks, including the lesser scaup and redhead, nest on the larger ponds and adjacent wet meadows. Most species may be observed during the entire summer season. Fall migration reaches its height in late September or early October when up to 8,000 waterfowl may be present.
The wetlands also attract numerous marsh, shore, and water birds. Sora and Virginia rails are numerous but seldom seen. If they are present, Wilson's phalarope, American avocet, willet, sandpipers, Greater yellowlegs, and dowitchers will be easy to observe. Other less common species include great blue heron, black-crowned night heron, American bittern, and eared and pied-billed grebe.
The upland hills harbor sage grouse year around with a winter population of more than 200 birds. Golden eagles, several species of hawks, and an occasional prairie falcon circle the skies above in search of food. Their prey includes Richardson's ground squirrel, white-tailed prairie dog, and white-tailed jackrabbit.
Badger, muskrat, beaver, coyote, and pronghorn are commonly observed. It is also possible to see a raccoon, red fox, mink, long-tailed weasel, or porcupine. As many as 400 mule deer have wintered here and up to 200 elk are frequently seen during the winter months. Moose have recently been reintroduced into North Park and may occasionally be observed in the willow thickets along the Illinois River bottoms. There are no venomous snakes anywhere in this forest.
Wilderness areas.
There are six officially designated wilderness areas lying within Arapaho National Forest that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Four of them are partially in neighboring National Forests, and one of these also onto National Park Service land (as indicated).
In popular culture.
Most of the movie "Red Dawn" is set in Arapaho National Forest.
In the Anita Blake book series by Laurell K Hamilton's Affliction Arapaho National Forest plays a significant role.


Orthotrichum crassifolium

Orthotrichum crassifolium is a species of moss in the family Orthotrichaceae. It is sometimes placed in the genus "Muelleriella". It has a wide circumpolar distribution on subantarctic islands through the Southern Ocean, as well as the extreme south of South America and the northern end of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is tolerant of saline conditions and often occupies the supralittoral zone along rocky coastlines affected by sea spray.


Penicillium oxalicum

Penicillium oxalicum is an anamorph species of the genus "Penicillium" which was isolated from rhizosphere soil of pearl millet. "Penicillium oxalicum" produces secalonic acid D, chitinase, oxalic acid, oxaline and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase and occurs widespread in food and tropical commodities. This fungus could be used against soilborne diseases like downy mildew of tomatoes


Mount Olympus National Monument


Penicillium humicola

Penicillium humicola is a species of fungus in the genus "Penicillium".


Acarospora thelococcoides

Acarospora thelococcoides is a pruinose (dusty whitish) verruculose (warty) crustose lichen that grows in patches up to 10 cm across that grows on soil (terricolous), especially soils made from decomposed granite. It grows from San Benito, California to Baja California, and inland to . Each roundish areole becomes more pruinose toward the top with has a single round apothecium (or none) that is immersed with a dark brown disc, so as to appear like a collection of white rings. This appearance gives it the common name, soil eyes lichen.
The asci are saccate, with variable numbers of globose ascospores. Lichen spot tests are all negative, and it is UV-. It is an indicator of undisturbed soil habitats.


Trigonholaspis trigonarum

Trigonholaspis trigonarum is a species of mite in the family Macrochelidae.


Barbosella cogniauxiana

Barbosella cogniauxiana is a species of orchid.
It is native to the Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil (States of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná); and in eastern Argentina in Misiones state.


Nemanthus annamensis

Nemanthus annamensis, commonly known as the gorgonian wrapper, is a species of sea anemone found in central Indo-Pacific waters.
Description.
"Nemanthus annamensis" has a rather variably-shaped base and low, spreading column, widening slightly just below the oral disc. This bears 120 to 130 tentacles, the inner ones longer than the outer, and a slit-shaped mouth with two siphonoglyphs. The column and tentacles are white, yellowish or orange, variegated with dark patches, and the oral disc is semi-transparent.
Distribution and habitat.
"Nemanthus annamensis" is native to the Indo-Pacific area. It was first described from the Gulf of Tonkin: "annamensis" signifies "of Annam", a historical name for central and northern Vietnam. It has also been found in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya. It is known as the "gorgonian wrapper" because of its habit of attaching itself by its base and wrapping itself around the branches of gorgonians, the coral-like sea whips and sea fans ("illustration below").
Ecology.
"Nemanthus annamensis" has been found living in association with the crab "Lauridromia intermedia". Crabs in the family Dromiidae are often known as "sponge crabs" due to their habit of carrying bits of sponge, and occasionally other objects, on their carapace. In this instance, the crab was carrying a specimen of "Nemanthus annamensis", holding it in place with cheliped-like structures on the end of its fourth and fifth pairs of legs. The sea anemone was not attached to the crab's shell and seemed to be happy with being carried around as it extended its tentacles in a normal manner. It would seem that the crab uses the anemone as camouflage or takes advantage of the anemone's nematocysts as a defence against predators.
"Nemanthus annamensis" is a host of the parasite "Gastroecus caulleryi", a copepod.


Lake of the Ozarks State Park

Lake of the Ozarks State Park is a Missouri state park on the Grand Glaize Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks and is the largest state park in the state. This is also the most popular state park in Missouri, with over 2.5 million visitations in 2017.
The park includes of shoreline on the lake (which has a total of of shoreline—mostly privately owned); two swimming beaches with imported sand, 12 trails, the Ozark Caverns, a boat launch, and the Lee C. Fine Memorial Airport which has a runway. In addition there are campsites and cabins within the park.
One of the most famous aspects of the park is Party Cove which is a rowdy gathering spot that has been featured on the Playboy Channel and the front page of the New York Times Travel Section.
History.
The park's initial development began in 1934 with creation of a Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA), one of 46 nationally and three in Missouri established by the National Park Service to convert sub-marginal farm lands to recreational purposes. Missouri's largest RDA, now known as Lake of the Ozarks State Park, was established three years after the impoundment of the Osage River at Bagnell Dam. Three Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps were busy over sixteen camp periods constructing group camps, administrative buildings, roads, a landscaped public beach, and other facilities. In 1946, all RDAs were donated by the federal government to the state park system.
The following CCC-related buildings and national historic districts were individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 under their respective NRIS number and are included in the Emergency Conservation Work (E.C.W.) Architecture in Missouri State Parks, 1933–1942, Thematic Resources:


Lincoln Park (San Francisco)

Lincoln Park is a park in San Francisco, California. It was dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln in 1909 and includes about of the northwestern corner of the San Francisco Peninsula.
Lincoln Park is the western terminus of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States of America.
The land on which Lincoln Park stands was a cemetery in use in the late 1860s and possibly earlier. In 1902, golf enthusiasts laid out a three-hole course on part of the land. In 1909, the Board of Supervisors turned the land over to the Parks Commission, and cemetery relocation began. The golf course expanded to 14 holes by 1914, then to a full 18 holes in 1917. During this period of development some of the original tract were turned over to the federal government to be added to the neighboring Fort Miley Military Reservation.
The Lincoln Highway, with its western terminus at Lincoln Park, was conceived and mapped in 1913 as the first coast-to-coast road across America, traversing 14 states. The original western terminus marker of the highway was located at the north end of the plaza and fountain in front of the Legion of Honor. Today, a replica of the western terminus marker and an interpretive plaque are located at the southwest corner of the plaza, next to the bus stop. The replica marker was placed in 2002 during the revitalized Lincoln Highway Association's 10th Annual National Convention by the Association's California Chapter.
In 1923, the park was chosen as the site of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. The San Francisco Holocaust Memorial, designed by George Segal, was dedicated in the park in 1984.


Gymnopilus punctifolius

Gymnopilus punctifolius is a species of mushroom in the family Strophariaceae found in North America.
Taxonomy.
The fungus was originally described in 1903 by American mycologist Charles Horton Peck as "Cortinarius punctifolius". Alexander H. Smith transferred it to "Flammulina" in 1945. It was given its current name when Rolf Singer transferred it to "Gymnopilus" in 1951.
Description.
The cap is initially convex before flattening out, reaching in diameter. It color is dull purple-red with tones ranging from bluish green to greenish yellow to olive or brown. The cap's surface texture is smooth overall except for a central fibrillose patch sometimes present in young specimens. The cap margin, initially curled inward, often becomes wavy with age. The bitter-tasting greenish-yellow flesh is thick and firm, and lacks any distinct odor. Gills have an attached to sinuate attachment to the stipe when young, which often becomes deeply emarginate (notched near the stipe) later. They are broad and closely spaced, with intervening lamellae (short gills). Initially yellowish olive, the gills become pinkish cinnamon as the spores mature.
The spore print is reddish yellow. spores are thin-walled, oval with small warts on the surface, and measure 4–6 by 3.5–5 µm. Clamp connections are present in the hyphae.
The species is inedible.
Habitat and distribution.
"Gymnopilus punctifolius" fruit scattered or in groups on decaying coniferous wood, debris, and rich humus. It has been found in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Wyoming, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Mexico between August and September.
See also.
List of "Gymnopilus" species


Hebeloma pusillum

Hebeloma pusillum is a species of mushroom in the family Hymenogastraceae. It is found in Europe.


Penicillium daleae

Penicillium daleae is a species of the genus of "Penicillium" which was isolated from soil under conifers in Poland.


Artemisia aleutica

Artemisia aleutica, the Aleutian wormwood, is a rare species of flowering plant endemic to Alaska. It is known only from the western Aleutian Islands, where it is limited to Kiska and Hawadax Islands in the Rat Island group.
Only 2 populations are known.


Microstoma protractum

Microstoma protractum is a species of cup fungus in the family Sarcoscyphaceae. It was first described as a species of "Peziza" by Elias Magnus Fries in 1851. American mycologist Bessie B. Kanouse assigned it its current name in 1948. The fungus is found in Europe and North America, where it grows as a saprophyte on partially buried sticks and roots.


Metacrinus rotundus

Metacrinus rotundus, the Japanese sea lily, is a marine invertebrate, a species of stalked crinoid in the family Isselicrinidae. It is a species found off the west coast of Japan, and is living near the edge of the continental shelf, around 100-150m deep. This is the shallowest species among the extant stalked crinoids.
Description.
In appearance, the Japanese sea lily resembles a feather duster. It has a central mouth surrounded by a crown of many-branched feeding arms. These are jointed and can coil up or unroll to expose the feathery pinnules on either side to the current. Each pinnule has several rows of tube feet and a central ambulacral groove that leads to a groove on the arm that continues down to the mouth. The crown is supported by a tough stalk composed of calcareous ossicles bound together by ligaments. At the base of the stalk is a disc-like sucker and the sides of the stalk bear five whorls of cirri (clawed appendages). The stalk continues lengthening during the animal's life and may reach and the arms can grow to half that length.
Distribution and habitat.
The Japanese sea lily occurs off the western coast of Japan. It is usually found within the depth range . Abundant collection records are available from Sagami Bay and Suruga Bay. It is found attached by its stem to rocks, shells and other hard surfaces, using its cirri to anchor itself into position. It can move across the seabed using its arms but seldom does so.
Biology.
The Japanese sea lily is a filter feeder. It extends its arms towards the current, spreads its pinnules and gathers plankton and other particles floating past. These are transferred into the groove by its tube feet, wrapped in mucus and moved along the groove by the cilia that line it.
If the Japanese sea lily is damaged, it can regenerate its arms and even the whole crown can be regenerated above the stalk. In favorable locations, there may be a dense bed of sea lilies and it may form part of a rich micro-habitat with bivalve mollusks and brittle stars.
Like other sea lilies, gametes are produced in specialized areas of the pinnules and liberated into the sea. After fertilization the eggs hatch into barrel-shaped larvae that are planktonic for a few days before settling on the seabed, cementing themselves to hard surfaces, undergoing metamorphosis and developing into juvenile sea lilies


Boronia ericifolia

Boronia ericifolia, commonly known as Wongan Hills boronia, is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, densely branched shrub with trifoliate leaves and pink, white or creamy yellow flowers with four petals and eight stamens only known from near Wongan Hills and Moora.
Description.
"Boronia ericifolia" is an erect, densely branched shrub that grows to a height of with its branches and some flower parts covered with soft, downy hairs. The leaves are trifoliate, lacking a petiole and the end leaflet is long, wide. The side leaflets are shorter, long, wide. The flowers are borne in groups on a hairy peduncle long, the individual flowers on a hairy pedicel long. The four sepals are narrow triangular, long and densely hairy on the lower surface. The petals are pink, white or creamy yellow, long and hairy on the lower side. There are eight stamens. Flowering occurs mainly from June to October and the fruit, a glabrous capsule, matures between August and October.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Boronia ericifolia" was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham from a specimen collected by James Drummond and the description was published in "Flora Australiensis". The specific epithet ("ericifolia") is derived from the Latin words "erica" meaning "heath" or "heather" and "folium" meaning "leaf".
Distribution and habitat.
Wongan Hills boronia grows in woodland and heath in the Wongan Hills and Moora areas.
Conservation.
"Boronia ericifolia" is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.


Stirling Range National Park

Stirling Range National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately 337 km south-east of Perth.
Description.
It protects the Stirling Ranges, or Koikyennuruff, a range of mountains and hills over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbrook eastward past Gnowangerup. Notable features include Toolbrunup, Bluff Knoll - the tallest peak in the southwestern region, and a silhouette called The Sleeping Princess which is visible from the Porongurup Range. Popular recreational activities in the park include bushwalking, abseiling and gliding. Camping is permitted only in Moingup campsite within the park boundaries (fee applies). Other peaks which have tracks include Mt Trio, Talyuberlup Peak and Mt Magog. A premier walk known as The Stirling Ridge Walk is usually done over 2 days and includes Ellen Peak (the most Easterly peak) and Bluff Knoll.
History.
The traditional owners are the Mineng and Koreng groups of the Noongar peoples who have inhabited the region for tens of thousands of years. The noongar know the range as "Koi Kyenunu-ruff" which means "mist moving around the mountains". The area was important to Indigenous Australians with the surrounding lowlands providing many sources of food. The women gathered seeds, roots and fruit while men hunted kangaroos and other animals.
The first European to sight the range was Matthew Flinders in January 1802 while he was exploring of the southern coast of Australia. He named the range Mount Rugged.
Ensign Dale explored the area in 1832 and climbed Toolbrunup.
Stirling Range was named by the surveyor John Septimus Roe in 1835 after the Governor of the Swan River Colony, James Stirling, even though Stirling never actually visited the area.
Sandalwood cutters established a track through the park in about 1848. European settlers arrived in the late 1800s initially around Amelup and farmed much of the surrounding areas.
John Forrest climbed Toolbrunup in 1881 with Henry Samuel Ranford and made a cairn at the summit.
The boundaries of the park were first suggested by Jas Hope, the Chief Draftsperson of the Lands and Survey Department, in 1908 and approved by N.J. Moore who was the Minister of Lands at the time.
The National Park was gazetted in 1913 and the first park ranger was appointed in 1964.
The park was listed as a National Heritage place in 2006.
Environment.
The area is of great biogeographic and evolutionary interest and displays one of the richest floras in the world.
Flora.
The park provides an important refuge for a large diversity of Australia's native plants and animals. Despite the low soils fertility the area supports over 1,500 different plant species with over 87 of the species found only in the area of the park.
Five major vegetation communities are known in the park with thicket and mallee-heath at higher elevations and woodlands, wetlands and salt lake communities on the lower slopes and plains.
Fauna.
The park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of endangered short-billed black cockatoos and western whipbirds, and is visited by endangered long-billed black-cockatoos.
Many native mammals are found in the park including the western pygmy possum and the western grey kangaroo.
Deeper shaded gullies support a range ancient species including land snails, trapdoor spiders and giant earthworms that date back over millions of years.


Sebastiania gracilis

Sebastiania gracilis is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It was described in 1924. It is native to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


Hughes Tool Company

Hughes Tool Company was an American manufacturer of drill bits. Founded in 1908, it was merged into Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987.
History.
The company was established in December 1908 as Sharp-Hughes Tool Company when Howard R. Hughes Sr. patented a roller cutter bit that dramatically improved the rotary drilling process for oil drilling rigs. He partnered with longtime business associate Walter Benona Sharp to manufacture and market the bit. Following her husband's death in 1912, Sharp's widow Estelle Sharp sold her 50% share in the company to Howard Hughes Sr. in 1914. The company was renamed Hughes Tool Company on February 3, 1915.
After Hughes Sr. died of a heart attack in 1924, the younger Howard inherited the majority interest in the company, and then convinced his relatives to sell their shares to him as well. Legally emancipated at the age of 18, Howard began using the profits from Hughes Tool to fund his other ventures. Toolco paid Hughes an annual salary of $50,000, and Hughes charged all major expenses such as planes, automobiles, and houses, to the company. In 1937, Hughes used Hughes Tool to buy a controlling interest in TWA.
In 1932, Hughes formed Hughes Aircraft Company as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. Hughes Aircraft thrived on wartime contracts during World War II (though not on the only two contracts it received to actually build airplanes), and by the early 1950s was one of America's largest defense contractors and aerospace companies with revenues far outpacing the original oil tools business. In 1953, Hughes Aircraft became a separate company and was donated to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as its endowment. Hughes Aircraft's helicopter manufacturing business was retained by Hughes Tool Co. as its Aircraft Division until 1972.
At the end of Prohibition in the United States, Hughes agreed to construct a brewery on company property. Gulf Brewing Co. brewed Grand Prize beer for a number of years.
For a period of time in the 1940s to late-1950s, Hughes Tool owned the RKO companies, including RKO Pictures, RKO Studios, RKO Theatres, and the RKO Radio Network.
In 1946, Hughes gave Noah Dietrich "full charge at Toolco." Dietrich hired Fred Ayers to bring order to the production line, and Dietrich invested more than $5,000,000 of the company reserves modernizing the plant. Automation replaced handiwork, and the company standardized on drill bit sizes, while embarking on an advertising campaign. The company also opened plants in Ireland and West Germany, taking advantage of cheaper labor, and lower transportation costs to clients in Saudi Arabia and Russia. Profits for the next 8 years amounted to $285,000,000.
During the early 1960s, a wholly owned subsidiary Hughes Dynamics was created, that offered consulting and services in data processing, information technology, credit information processing, and advanced business techniques and management methods. After some $9.5 million of Hughes Tool money was invested in it, results were deemed not acceptable, and it was quickly shut down.
For a brief period in the early-1960s, Hughes Tool held a minority stake in Northeast Airlines. Hughes Tool's majority stake in TWA was sold off in 1966. Two years later, in 1968, Hughes Tool Company purchased the North Las Vegas Air Terminal.
In the late-1960s, Hughes Tool ventured into the hotel and casino business with the acquisition of the Sands, Castaways, Landmark, Frontier, Silver Slipper, and Desert Inn, all in Las Vegas. Hughes Tool also purchased KLAS-TV, Las Vegas' CBS affiliate. In the early-1970s, Hughes Tool ventured back into the airline industry with the takeover of the largest regional air carrier in the western United States: Air West, renamed Hughes Airwest following the purchase. Hughes Tool also briefly owned Los Angeles Airways, a small airline operating a commuter service with a fleet of helicopters.
In 1968, Hughes Tool purchased Sports Network Incorporated and renamed it the Hughes Television Network, with Dick Bailey continuing as president.
The huge main plant for Hughes Tool located in Houston, Texas, fronting Harrisburg Blvd., had grown to be one of the biggest oil tool manufacturers in the world. It had the latest, largest, and most automated equipment for foundries, forging, heat treating, and machining anywhere. At its peak during the Texas oil boom, it was a center for manufacturing, design, research, metallurgy, and engineering for oil field technologies. This included the drill bit (well) and tool joint product lines critical for oil and gas drilling, some of the first technologies for ram blast bits for drilling in mines, geothermal drilling, and a hydraulic powered jackhammer known as the Hughes Impactor. It also manufactured a line of truck and crane-mounted earth augering machines ("diggers") that were most commonly used to produce holes up to a depth of about for building and bridge foundations. It even had a fully functioning drilling simulator inside its main research lab where production or prototype drill bits could be tested on any kind of rock at temperatures and pressures normally encountered in actual drilling operations.
In 1972, Howard Hughes sold the Hughes Tool Company; it had been the consistently profitable part of his empire, and produced the profits that built all the rest from the very beginning. This became the "new" Hughes Tool Company while the remaining divisions of the business were placed in a new holding company, the Summa Corporation.
Hughes Tool Company merged with Baker International to form Baker Hughes Incorporated in 1987.


Feathery sea pen

The feathery sea pen ("Virgularia schultzei") is a species of sea pen in the family Virgulariidae.
Description.
Feathery sea pens stand upright in the sand like the quill of a feather. The central axis has flat branch-like extensions on which the polyps are clustered. They are usually white or cream. The peduncle is very long and the entire colony can retract into the sand if disturbed. This species may grow to 50 cm in height and is about 1 cm wide.
Distribution and habitat.
The Feathery Sea Pen is known from Luderitz in Namibia and round the southern African coast to central Mozambique in 6-222m under water.
It lives in sand and feeds on micro-plankton.


Hakea ednieana

Hakea ednieana, commonly known as Flinders Range hakea or yandena, is a shrub of the "Proteacea" family native to arid parts of central Australia.
Description.
"Hakea ednieana" is a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree typically growing to a height of with brown furrowed bark and white hairy smaller branches. The needle-shaped leaves are long and wide with short soft white hairs. The leaves are on a base long then spread or turn upward and divide into 1–14 final segments long and wide . The inflorescence consists of 35-100 cream-white flowers on a stalk with white soft hairs that is long. The pedicel is long with soft white hairs. The perianth has a slight bend, white soft hairs and long. The straight style is long. It produces white flowers from September to December. The red brown woody fruit are long and wide. The fruit are in clusters, occasionally with soft hairs or smooth, ending with a long beak and inconspicuous horns. The fruit seeds occupy much of the valve and are in length and wide with a wing that goes partially down one side.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Hakea ednieana" was first formally described by Ralph Tate in 1885 and published in "Transactions, proceedings and report, Royal Society of South Australia".
The specific epithet ("ednieana") honours John Ednie Brown who was once the Conservator of Forests in South Australia.
Distribution and habitat.
Flinders Range hakea is endemic to an area in western New South Wales and the Flinders Ranges and Far North of South Australia. The plant is often situated on and around rocky cliff faces and along water courses in stony or sandy soils. It is common in South Australia but rare in New South Wales.


Ponerorchis monantha

Ponerorchis monantha is a species of plant in the family Orchidaceae native from south-east Tibet to south-central and north-central China.
Taxonomy.
The species was first described by Achille Eugène Finet in 1902, as "Peristylus monanthus". It was later transferred to "Orchis" and to "Amitostigma". A molecular phylogenetic study in 2014, in which it was included as "Amitostigma monanthum", found that species of "Amitostigma", "Neottianthe" and "Ponerorchis" were mixed together in a single clade, making none of the three genera monophyletic as then circumscribed. "Amitostigma" and "Neottianthe" were subsumed into "Ponerorchis", with this species becoming "Ponerorchis monantha".


Schenkia sebaeoides

Schenkia sebaeoides, known as Āwiwi in Hawaiian and lavaslope centaury in English, is a rare species of flowering plant. It is endemic to low shrublands in the state of Hawaii in the United States. It is present on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Molokai, and Maui. At the time it was added to the endangered species list of the United States in 1991 it was known from seven populations for a total of fewer than 1000 individuals. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Until 2004 it was a member of genus "Centaurium"; it and several other species have since been transferred to other genera. This is the only plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae, that is native to Hawaii.
This is an annual herb, one of only 3% of Hawaiian flora that have annual life cycles. It often bears white flowers but pink flowers are not uncommon.
The number and size of populations fluctuates quite a bit, and there may be unknown small, ephemeral populations that exist for a season and then die away. The species likely has a large soil seed bank and when an area gets higher rainfall there is a greater germination rate. The plant is somewhat nondescript and resembles two species of common weeds, scarlet pimpernel ("Anagallis arvensis") and bitter herb ("Centaurium erythraea"), so it may grow unnoticed in some areas. Surveys occur every few years and find varying numbers of populations. 2010 estimates list three populations on Kauai with up to 52 plants total, four populations on Molokai with several thousand plants, two populations on Oahu with up to 130 plants, seven or eight populations on Maui with several thousand individuals, and only a few plants on Lanai in a single population. The global population is estimated at about 6000 during wet years.
This plant occurs in sand and volcanic and clay soils on bluffs and dunes in drier coastal areas. A major threat to the species is the invasion of introduced plant species such as "Casuarina equisetifolia", "C. glauca", "Prosopis pallida", and "Bryophyllum pinnatum". Each island has a different array of invasive flora, so management plans vary. "Casuarina" species are among the worst offenders because they spread so thickly they outcompete smaller plants. Many parts of its habitat are degraded by livestock including cattle and goats, which trample and compact the soil, and by off-road vehicles. This damage can lead to erosion. Plants occurring near trails may be trampled by hikers. Fire is a threat to some populations.


Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

The Imperial National Wildlife Refuge protects wildlife habitat along of the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California, including the last un-channeled section before the river enters Mexico. The Imperial Refuge Wilderness, a federally designated, , wilderness area is protected within the refuge. It also surrounds the Picacho State Recreation Area. This section of the Colorado River is popular for boating, hiking, fishing, camping, exploring old mining camps and wildlife watching.
The river and its associated backwater lakes and wetlands are a green oasis, contrasting with the surrounding desert mountains. It is a refuge and breeding area for migratory birds and local desert wildlife.
Wildlife.
Even though it is located in the Sonoran Desert, the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge is home to a mostly wetland environment. Wetland wildlife is most abundant in winter, when birds such as cinnamon teal and northern pintail use the refuge. During the summer months, permanent residents such as great egrets are abundant. The Colorado River plays a vital role in the lives of desert fauna. It is the only water source for many miles. Small animals such as the black-tailed jackrabbit and western whiptail lizard are plentiful. Desert bighorn sheep and mule deer also call the refuge home.
Birds.
A full list of birds found on the refuge can be found on the refuge website.
Forest in the Desert.
At one time, the banks of the Colorado River were lined with cottonwood and willow forests, sustained by the river’s natural periodic flooding. Animals depended on this green forest oasis for breeding, resting, feeding, and shade. Woodcutting during the steamboat era, clearing for agriculture, wild fire, exotic plants like salt cedar, and use of dams for flood prevention have devastated cottonwood and willow stands along the lower Colorado River. Some animals that depended on the riparian forests, such as the southwestern willow flycatcher ("Empidonax traillii extimus"), have become endangered.
Trails.
The Painted Desert Trail is a 1.3-mile self-guided trail for an opportunity to see desert plants and wildlife. The trail takes you through a rainbow of colors left by 30,000-year-old volcanic activity and features a panoramic view of the Colorado River valley.


Nitrobacter winogradskyi

Nitrobacter winogradskyi is a gram-negative nitrite-oxidizing bacteria from the genus of Nitrobacter.


Pachylaelaps regularis

Pachylaelaps regularis is a species of mite in the family Pachylaelapidae.


Allagoptera arenaria

Allagoptera arenaria, popularly known as seashore palm, is a fruit tree native to the Atlantic Coast of Brazil. It grows in coastal strand, just above the high tide mark, and is widely cultivated as an ornamental throughout South America.
"Allagoptera arenaria" is relatively short, reaching about tall. The plant is moneoecious, with male and female plants in distinct spirals in the same spike. The leaves emerge right out of the ground from a subterranean trunk that is rarely visible, and grow in a swirling pattern, spreading out on different and seemingly random planes. There are 6–15 bright green to silvery green pinnately compound (feather-like) leaves long, with each leaflet about long. Its fruits are yellowish green and shaped like small coconuts, about long and in diameter.
Etymology.
The generic name of the seashore palm, "Allogoptera", comes from the Ancient Greek words ('), meaning change, and ('), meaning wing, and refers to the swirled, changing pattern of the feathery leaves. The species name, "arenaria" comes from the Latin, for "sandy" or growing in sandy sites.
Uses.
"Allagoptera arenaria" is cultivated extensively in South America for the edible fruits which are eaten fresh or made into a drink or jam. The leaves are used to make baskets and other woven objects.
Horticulture.
"Allagoptera arenaria" is one of the best palms for beach and coastal situations in subtropical and tropical settings. It requires moderate to full sunlight and is used as a beach screen, being very tolerant of extreme coastal and beach exposure, as well as salt spray. In its native environment, the seashore palm is highly tolerant of poor soils that have good drainage, thriving in soils that are thoroughly moist. Considered a slow grower when it is young, the seashore palm propagates by seeds and responds well to fertilizer and water.


Eucalyptus trivalva

Eucalyptus trivalva, commonly known as Victoria Spring mallee or desert mallee, is a species of mallee or small tree that is endemic to arid areas of central Australia. It has rough, partly shed bark on some or all of the trunk, smooth bark above, lance-shaped to elliptical adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine or eleven, white flowers and cup-shaped, cylindrical or conical fruit.
Description.
"Eucalyptus trivalva" is a mallee or a tree that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has loose, rough, fibrous, grey to dark grey-brown bark on some or all of the lower stems, smooth coppery to grey or cream-coloured bark above and yellowish branchlets. Young plants and coppice regrowth have leaves that are dull bluish grey to glaucous, egg-shaped, long and wide. Adult leaves are the same shade of dull greyish to bluish green on both sides, lance-shaped to elliptical, long and wide, tapering to a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in leaf axils on an unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds on pedicels long. Mature buds are oval, to spindle-shaped, long and wide and yellowish green with a conical to rounded operculum. Flowering occurs between January and August and the flowers are white. The fruit is a woody cup-shaped, cylindrical or conical capsule long and wide with the valves at or below rim level.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Eucalyptus trivalva" was first formally described by the botanist William Blakely in 1936 in an article published in "Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia". The specific epithet ("trivalva") is taken from Latin words meaning "three" and meaning "valve", referring to the three-valved fruits produced by this species.
In 1988, George Chippendale changed the name to "Eucalyptus trivalvis", (meaning "three-valved", as distinct from "three valve") in "Flora of Australia" but the change is not accepted by the "Australian Plant Census".
Distribution.
Victoria Spring mallee is found in arid and semi-arid areas on sand plains, dunes and ridges in central Australia. In Western Australia it is found in central parts of the Goldfields-Esperance, Pilbara, and Mid West regions from around Newman in the north to Kalgoorlie in the south. In the Northern Territory it is found south from near Alice Springs and in South Australia in western parts in open mallee vegetation on gravelly sands and on rocky rises.


Eucalyptus carnei

Eucalyptus carnei, also known as the Carne's blackbutt, is a species of tree or mallee that is endemic to an area in central Western Australia. It has smooth grey bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, creamy white flowers, and cup-shaped to conical fruit.
Description.
"Eucalyptus carnei" is a tree or mallee that typically grows to a height of and forms a lignotuber. It has smooth, mostly grey bark, sometimes with up to of crumbly or flaky bark near the base of the trunk. Young plants and coppice regrowth have dull greyish, lance-shaped leaves long and wide. Adult leaves are dull grey-green on both sides, lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flower buds are arranged in groups of seven in leaf axils on a glaucous, unbranched peduncle long, the individual buds sessile or on a very short pedicel. Mature buds are not glaucous, but oval to spindle-shaped, long and wide with a conical operculum. The flowers are creamy white and appear between February and May. The fruit is a woody, cup-shaped or conical capsule long and wide with the valves either level with the rim or extending well beyond it.
Taxonomy.
"Eucalyptus carnea" was first formally described by the botanist Charles Austin Gardner in 1929 and the description was published in the "Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia". Gardner found the type specimen near Sandstone in 1927. The specific epithet honours Walter Mervyn Carne, a plant pathologist who was supervisor of fresh fruit and vegetable exports for the Victorian Department of Commerce and Agriculture from 1941 to 1950, and the first botanist to be elected to the position of president of the Royal Society of Western Australia.
This species is also a part of the "Eucalyptus" subgenus "Symphyomyrtus" section "Bisectae" subsection "Glandulosae" because the cotyledons are bisected, the buds have a scar on the operculum and the branchlets have oil glands in the pith. "Eucalyptus carnei" is closely related to only one other species, "E. stricklandii", and the two form the series "Stricklandianae".
Distribution.
Carne's blackbutt is found in stony skeletal soils, red sand and on rocky laterite. It is distributed through the Goldfields and Mid West regions of Western Australia from east of Meekatharra and Sandstone into the Great Victoria Desert.


Darwinia helichrysoides

Darwinia helichrysoides is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia.
The shrub typically grows to a height of and has a slender erect habit. It blooms between August and November and produces red and green flowers. Found in the uplands in a small area between Coorow and Dandaragan where the Geraldton Sandplain meets the Swan Coastal Plain where it grows in gravelly lateritic soils.


Carenochyrus titanus


Mycopan scabripes


Ledges State Park

Ledges State Park is a state park of Iowa, USA, located approximately south of the city of Boone. The park contains a sandstone gorge carved by Pea's Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River. The gorge is deep in places, with concretions jutting from the cliffs.
Background.
The area was designated one of the first of Iowa's state parks in 1924, and is today one of its most visited parks.
The lowland areas of the park are regularly flooded by the Des Moines River. In the 1970s, the state created a dam to form Saylorville Lake on the Des Moines River. This action has resulted in repeated flooding of low-lying areas of the park for decades. A group called The Iowa Citizens to Save Ledges State Park was organized in 1972 in protest of the proposed Saylorville Dam. Its primary objective was to alleviate and/or minimize the harmful effects on Ledges State Park by the Saylorville Lake Project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There were numerous conservation groups affiliated with the group, including the Ames Reservoir Environmental Study, the Iowa Conservation Commission, and the Iowa Wildlife Society.
The repeated flooding has radically changed the appearance of the lower Ledges—the timbered areas have been greatly reduced, are often covered with silt and, in general, look devastated. This is quite a change from the time when Farwell Brown and his fellow Boy Scouts camped in the Ledges in the 1920s among the lush growth in the lower Ledges. Camping and picnicking in the lower Ledges were popular recreations until the frequent floods made that area of the park less desirable. Many of the picnic areas and picnic houses in the park's flood plain have been decommissioned in the past decade. Annual flooding has made maintenance of the buildings cost prohibitive and seemingly pointless.
The park includes numerous stone buildings and bridges constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Also included in the facilities are numerous campsites, picnic tables, and stone shelters, many of which have been destroyed in three decades of regular flooding.
Although extensive flooding to the lowermost portions of Ledges does occur in floods such as in 1993 and 2008, Ledges is still a great place to visit, and even the largest floods on record only submerge a small portion of the park. The canyon road, a winding one lane path traverses through Pea's and Davis creeks at five points and offers views of sandstone walls buttressing bluffs, which were created by glacial melt through sandstone deposited under an inland sea millions of years ago. Evidence of the hard work of the Civilian Conservation Corps is seen in the miles of railroad-tied trails leading up to beautiful vistas overlooking the Des Moines River Valley and the canyon. The Sioux, Fox and Sauk tribes were all once residents of the Ledges State Park area and have numerous burial mounds in the area, and wildlife such as white-tailed deer, raccoon, beaver, woodchuck and many varieties of beautiful and sometimes rare birds such as the pileated woodpecker call the park home.
There is a flood pole located in the lowlands of the park which has recorded the various flood levels over the years.
Geology.
The sandstone of the cliffs was the remnant of the prehistoric sea that covered the Midwest approximately 300 million years ago. The cliffs themselves are the result of recent glaciation during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago, when meltwater carved quickly down through the rock.
Recreation.
Many hiking trails are located throughout the Ledges. Woodlands are located in the park containing mainly basswood, maple, oak, and hickory trees. Prairie and clearings are also located throughout the park. Canoeing and fishing is made possible as the Des Moines River runs along the west side of the park.
Rustic or modern campsites are available. Most sites are on a first-come, first-served basis but certain sites can be reserved.


Beartooth National Forest

Beartooth National Forest was established in Montana on July 1, 1908 by the U.S. Forest Service with from part of Yellowstone National Forest and all of Pryor Mountains National Forest. On February 17, 1932 the forest was divided between Absaroka National Forest and Custer National Forest and the name preserved as the Beartooth Ranger District of Custer National Forest.


Neisseria flavescens

In 1928, Neisseria flavescens was first isolated from cerebrospinal fluid in the midst of an epidemic meningitis outbreak in Chicago. These gram-negative, aerobic bacteria reside in the mucosal membranes of the upper respiratory tract, functioning as commensals. However, this species can also play a pathogenic role in immunocompromised and diabetic individuals. In rare cases, it has been linked to meningitis, pneumonia, empyema, endocarditis, and sepsis.
Morphology.
These bacteria are gram-negative and diplococcus, rendering them virtually indistinguishable from the other "Neisseria" species. Yet, "Neisseria flavescens" remains distinct due to its signature pigmented colonies, yellow-gold in color. And it is through this yellow-gold color that this bacteria earned its name, with "flavescens" precisely translating as "becoming a golden yellow." This pigmentation also indicates "N. flavescens"' similarity to saccharolytic "Neisseria" species, which also exhibit pigmentation. In addition, these pigmented species differ from meningococcus, which lack pigmentation.
Biochemical processes.
Similar to saccharolytic species, "N. flavescens" strains are capable of producing polysaccharides from sucrose and are colistin-susceptible. This bacteria is also catalase and oxidase positive. It is not capable of acid-production from glucose, maltose, fructose, sucrose, mannose, or lactose, in contrast to meningococcus, which are active-fermenters. Furthermore, fundamental differences between these two species are again shown, as serological testing reveals "N. flavescens"' lack of cross-agglutination. At the same time, biochemical testing distinguishes "Neisseria flavescens" from other gram-negative diplococci, with "N. flavescens" being DNase negative, weakly positive to Superoxol, and capable of prolyl aminopeptidase production in an enzyme-substrate test.
Molecular biology.
Though it shares many similarities with the saccharolytic species, "Neisseria flavescens" has a greater genetic relation to pathogenic "Neisseria" species, as molecular studies have shown. In addition, studies implicate that this species plays a role in penicillin-resistant strains of "Neisseria meningitidis". The increasing selective pressure from penicillin treatment has led to "N. meningitidis"' uptake of an altered penicillin-binding protein gene, penA, from "Neisseria flavescens" via transformation. This modified penicillin-binding protein, also known as "mecA", inhibits "Neisseria meningitidis"' transpeptidases from binding to the β-lactam portion of penicillin.
Disease.
Typically serving as a commensal, "Neisseria flavescens" has also played a pathogenic role, ever since its origin. Arising from an epidemic meningitis outbreak in Chicago, "N. flavescens" was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid of infected individuals. In particular, out of forty-seven total cases of meningitis, fourteen individuals were found to carry "N. flavescens", in contrast to carrying one of the typical four meningococci. Additionally, the mortality rate among these fourteen individuals was close to thirty percent, indicating that this bacterium's role as a possible causative agent for meningitis should not be overlooked. Since then, four other cases of meningitis have also found "Neisseria flavescens" to be the causative agent.
Along with meningitis, this organism has also been linked to sepsis following surgery. A patient presented with clinical signs typical of meningococcal-strains: fever, chills, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, and skin rash. To identify the causative agent, smears from skin lesions and blood cultures were obtained from the patient. Gram-negative, diplococci were present in the smear, narrowing the organism down to a "Neisseria" species. Ultimately, blood cultures revealed "N. flavescens" to be the culprit, due to observation of yellow-gold colony formation and no sugar fermentation.
In addition to blood and CSF, "Neisseria flavescens" can also act as a pathogen in the lower respiratory tract. Isolation via a transthoracic pulmonary fine-needle aspiration identified "N. flavescens" as the cause of pneumonia and empyema in a diabetic patient. More specifically, the aspirate was sent off to the respiration department, where it underwent acid fast and gram staining, inoculation, and biochemical testing to identify "N. flavescens". Next, 16S rRNA sequencing was done, further confirming that "Neisseria flavescens" was indeed the causative agent.
Lastly, this bacteria has also been the pathogen behind a case of endocarditis. Testing β-lactamase positive, "Neisseria flavescens" rendered penicillin an ineffective treatment for the patient and, instead, was targeted by cefotaxime.


Rubus velox

Rubus velox is a rare North American species of brambles in the rose family. It has been found only in Texas in the south-central United States.
The genetics of "Rubus" is extremely complex, so that it is difficult to decide on which groups should be recognized as species. There are many rare species with limited ranges such as this. Further study is suggested to clarify the taxonomy.


Caenopedina diomedeae

Caenopedina diomedeae is a species of sea urchins of the Family Pedinidae. Their armour is covered with spines. Caenopedina diomedeae was first scientifically described in 1939 by Ole Theodor Jensen Mortensen.


General C. C. Andrews State Forest

The General C. C. Andrew State Forest is a state forest located in Pine County, Minnesota. The forest is named in honor of major general Christopher Columbus Andrews, a Civil War veteran, and an early Minnesota state Forestry Commissioner and proponent for scientific forestry and forest management. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages the majority of the forest.
History and overview.
At the turn of the twentieth century the land where the forest is now located, along with the majority of Minnesota, was logged and opened to homesteading, however the sandy soil make the area unsuitable for agriculture. Many homesteads were abandoned and returned to the county up until the end of the Great Depression, when in 1939 the state purchased land for the General Andrews State Forest Nursery, a tree nursery. Four years later the land the nursery and the surrounding land were incorporated as a state forest.
Forest today and recreation.
Jack Pine and Red Pine dominate the rolling terrain and sandy soils of the forest, which are a result of the glacial outwash that occurred at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. Acres of Paper Birch, aspen, and Red Oak are also present. There is boating access and a pier on the Willow River, which runs through the forest.
Other outdoor recreational activities include mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding, as well as camping on a site adjacent to the Willow River. Trails include for hiking, available for Class I and II all-terrain vehicle use as well as dirt biking.


Quercus viminea

Quercus viminea, the Sonoran oak, or Mexican willow oak, is a North American species of oaks in the beech family. It is native to northwestern and west-central Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Nayarit, Jalisco), primarily in the Sierra Madre Occidental. The species range extends just north of the international border into Santa Cruz County in southern Arizona.
"Quercus viminea" is an evergreen or drought-deciduous tree up to 10 meters (33 feet) tall. Leaves are narrowly lance-shaped, up to 15 cm (6 inches) long.


Platypodium elegans

Platypodium elegans or the graceful platypodium is a large leguminous tree found in the Neotropics that forms part of the forest canopy. It was first described by Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel in 1837 and is the type species of the genus. The tree has been known to grow up to 30 metres in height and have a trunk with a diameter up to 1 m at breast height. Its trunk has large holes in it, sometimes making it possible to see through the trunk. The holes provide a habitat for giant damselflies and other insects both when alive and once the tree has died and fallen over. It has compound leaves each of which is made up of 10–20 leaflets. Three new chemical compounds have been isolated from the leaves and they form part of the diet of several monkeys and the squirrel "Sciurus ingrami". In Panama it flowers from April to June, the flowers contain only four ovules, but normally only one of these reaches maturity forming a winged seed pod around 10 cm long and weighing 2 g. During the dry season around a year after the flowers are fertilised, the seeds are dispersed by the wind and the tree loses it leaves. The seeds are eaten by agoutis and by bruchid beetle larvae. The majority of seedlings are killed by damping off fungi in the first few months of growth, with seedlings that grow nearer the parent trees being more likely to die. The seedlings are relatively unable to survive in deep shade compared to other species in the same habitat. Various epiphytes are known to grow on "P. elegans" with the cactus "Epiphyllum phyllanthus" being the most abundant in Panama. Despite having holes in its trunk which should encourage debris and seeds to collect, hemiepiphytes are relatively uncommon, meaning that animals are not attracted to it to feed and then defecate. It has no known uses in traditional medicine and although it can be used for timber, the wood is of poor quality.
Description.
"Platypodium elegans" is a large forest tree, which forms part of the forest canopy. It can grow up to 30 m in height, with mature trees having an average crown diameter of 16 m and a diameter at breast height (dbh) of 75–100 cm. Trees over 20 cm dbh grow at a rate of around 0.5 cm per year, as measured by how their dbh increases. Its trunk is fenestrated, having large and conspicuous holes in it, even so much so that it is possible to see through the trunk, meaning it can be mistaken for a strangler fig. The bark is soft and dark brown and contains a foul-smelling sap. It has compound leaves which grow up to 25 cm in length, each having 10–20 leaflets, which are 2.5–7.5 cm long, 1–3 cm wide, hairless on the upper side and positioned not quite opposite each other. Three new compounds have been isolated from the leaves of "P. elegans"; two "seco"-lupane triterpenes (canaric acid and dihydrocanaric acid), as well as a coumarin, 6,7,8-trimethoxycoumarin. The mature leaves are relatively tough, requiring more than 100 g/mm2 to be applied to them to puncture them. It is deciduous, losing its leaves during the dry season, when its seeds are dispersed. The diameter of the conducting vessels in the roots are on average 69 μm, up to 98 μm and in the shoots 57 μm up to 87 μm. The trees (over 20 cm dbh) are relatively stiff compared to other trees on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), having a Young's modulus of 180,000 kg/cm2.
In Panama, it flowers from April to June. It was first reported to flower only every other year, but this is now known to be incorrect, although seed production can vary considerably from year to year. The flowers of "P. elegans" contain four ovules, but normally only the most distal ovule develops into a seed, with other seeds being aborted before they mature. The pedicels are 8–12 mm long, the bracts around 2 mm long and the calyx around 4 mm long. After being fertilised a winged fruit (a samara) develops quickly, but it takes around one year for the seed to mature. The fruit remains on the tree whilst the seeds develop and is thought to photosynthesise during this time. The samaras dry out during the dry season, before detaching from the tree and being dispersed by the wind over 2–3 months. In Panama the seeds are dispersed between February and April, just under a year after the flowers formed. Each samara normally only contains one seed, but sometimes they contain two instead, which affects their dispersal. The samaras vary in size and shape between trees, but are generally similar on each individual tree. On average, they weigh around 2 g when dry, and are around 10 cm long but can grow up to 16 cm. Samaras containing two seeds are heavier, have a larger surface area and fall faster from the tree than those containing only one seed. Each seed weighs around one third of a gram, making them relatively large compared to other trees in its habitat, but seeds that are the result of self-fertilisation are significantly lighter (by 0.03 g). The cotyledons, of the seedlings remain underground after germination and only serve as a stored source of nutrients, they detach within 8 weeks of germination.
Taxonomy.
"Platypodium elegans" was first described by Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel in 1837 and it is the type species of the genus "Platypodium". In 1862 George Bentham described a variety, "Platypodium elegans" var. "major". In 1917 Henri François Pittier described "Platypodium maxonianum" from Chiriquí, Panama, noting that it differed from Vogel's description of "P. elegans" as it had larger leaves and fruits. He named the species after William Maxon, then a curator of the United States National Herbarium. "P. maxonianum" is now considered to be a synonym of "P. elegans". According to The Plant List, "P. elegans" is currently one of only two accepted species of "Platypodium", the other being "P. viride".
Vernacular names.
There are many common names for "P. elegans" in different languages. In English it is known as the graceful platypodium and similarly, in French as "platypodium graceiux". In Brazil it has several names: "amendoim-do-campo", "amendoim-bravo", "jacarandá-branco", "jacarandá-bana", "jacarandá-do-campo", "jacarandazinho", "jacarandá-tã", "faviero", "secupiruna" and "uruvalheira". Several names are also used in Panama: "carcuera", "costilla", "arbol soga", "canalua", "canaleto" and "tigre". In Paraguay it is known as "desconocido" and in Colombia as "lomo de caimán".
Distribution.
"Platypodium elegans" is found in the rainforests and savannah of the Neotropics, ranging from Panama in the North, to Paraguay in the South. It is also found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. It is not found in the central and northern parts of Brazil, but is found in the cerrado, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais and around São Paulo. On Barro Colorado Island (BCI) "P. elegans" is found at a moderate abundance in both old and young forest, each hectare may contain several mature trees, but it is not unusual to find isolated individuals. Generally, only large individuals are found, with saplings being rare, except in forest gaps.
Ecology.
Reproduction.
"Platypodium elegans" is pollinated by bees. In Panama pollen is moved on average between 368 and 419 m from the parent tree and commonly over 1 km away. The population that regularly share genes (termed the deme) is estimated to be between 25 and 50 hectares around each tree. 92% of seeds that mature result from flowers that have been pollinated with pollen from other individuals but self-fertilisation is actually much higher than this would suggest. The difference between these values is explained by the fact that many fruits are aborted after being fertilised, but before dispersal occurs. Hufford and Hamrick suggested that they abort fruit for two reasons; they could have a set amount of resources to invest in their seeds in one year but produce extra flowers which then compete between each other, with only some surviving to maturity. Alternatively, the tree may detect which fruits are the result of self-fertilisation and selectively abort them, but this is considered less likely. The seeds are dispersed by wind.
In Panama the seeds germinate at the start of the rainy season in May. Damping off fungi account for 64–95% of the deaths of seedlings during their first three months of growth, with deaths being more common for seedlings near their parents, as the Janzen-Connell hypothesis predicts. Falling leaf litter and digging mammals are also significant causes of seedling mortality. An artificial experiment found that if seedlings have their leaves removed or are placed in deep shade (0.08% of full sunlight) they die within 60 days, whereas around 80% of the seedlings of "Lacmellea panamensis" are able to survive these treatments. The seedlings are able to grow slowly in 0.8% sunlight, but the seedlings are at the low end of the spectrum in terms of being able to tolerate shade. Another experiment has shown that seedlings die faster if either their cotyledons or leaves are removed, those that have had their cotyledons removed die more quickly.
Habitat.
As in all legumes, the roots of "P. elegans" are colonised by nitrogen fixing bacteria, in this case from the genus "Bradyrhizobium". Genetic analysis of the bacteria has shown that different genotypes colonise the roots of the same tree and are strains of "Bradyrhizobium japonicum".
The epiphytic cactus "Epiphyllum phyllanthus" is particularly abundant in the canopies of "P. elegans" on BCI particularly growing in cavities in the trunk. Another cactus, "Rhipsalis baccifera", and the ferns "Niphidium crassifolium" and "Campyloneurum phyllitidis" are also found growing on "P. elegans". After rainfall, the bark stores around one third of a gram of water per cm² which epiphytes can then absorb, a moderate amount compared to other trees. Todzia found that despite having a trunk with deep invaginations that collect debris and which should encourage the germination of seeds, hemiepiphytes (plants which germinate on the tree and then send down roots into the soil) are relatively rare on "P. elegans" on BCI. It is thought that this is because its seeds are wind dispersed, and the tree therefore attracts relatively few animals which could deposit the seeds of hemiepiphytes whilst feeding on seeds. Todzia noted that "Hura crepitans" disperses it seeds explosively, yet is heavily laden with hemiepiphytes however. A survey of 20 trees on BCI with a diameter at breast height of 20 cm or more found that 75% had lianas growing on them.
Various invertebrates live in water-filled holes which form in ridges of the trunk of "P. elegans" when they die and fall over, and in tree hollows that exist when the tree is alive. Leaf litter collects in the water and as it decomposes animals feed on the debris. An experiment, where leaves of "P. elegans" were added to an artificial pool containing 650 ml of water in the rainforest, found that 17 species lived in them, with the mosquito "Culex mollis" being the most abundant. The pools contained a greater species diversity and abundance of animals than similar experiments using leaves of "Ceiba pentandra", "Dipteryx panamensis" and "Ficus yoponensis", species that also contain water pools in their trunks. Yanoviak suggested that this indicates that the leaves are a relatively higher-quality nutrient source than those of the other species. On BCI, Fincke found that trees had between 1 and 10 water-filled holes, more than any other tree species investigated, each containing on average 2 litres of water. Yanoviak found that the holes contained only 400 ml of water on average however. The pools are an important habitat for the larvae of giant damselflies. As a coloniser of new habitats, "P. elegans" may provide an ideal habitat for giant damselflies in secondary forest. The beetle "Microvelia cavicola" also lives in the water-filled holes, with the type specimen of the species being found in one.
Food.
The embryos of immature fruit are eaten by agoutis ("Dasyprocta punctata") once they have fallen to the forest floor. Mature seeds can be infected by fungi and are also eaten by bruchid beetle larvae. The squirrel, "Sciurus ingrami" eats the leaves of "P. elegans" on BCI, but not in Southeastern Brazil. Woolly spider monkeys in Brazil feed extensively on the leaves in October, prior to the beginning of their mating season. The leaves are thought to be low in tannins and other secondary metabolites which hinder protein digestion, making them an ideal food before the mating season. They also contain phytoestrogens which can change the monkey's estrogen levels, possibly affecting their fertility. Both young and mature leaves of "P. elegans" are eaten by howler monkeys, as the leaves mature, the protein content decreases, the cell wall content increases, but the proportion of non-structural carbohydrates remains equal. When fresh, the leaves contain between 100 and 200 mg of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) per 100 g, like humans some primates on BCI require in their diet, since they do not possess the gene for L-gulonolactone oxidase, the enzyme required to convert glucose to ascorbic acid.
Uses.
"Platypodium elegans" is not known to have any uses in traditional medicine. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute herbarium report its wood is used for timber, being described as "white, knotty, light and fragile". Pittier remarked in 1931 that the wood is little used in Panama however since the mature trunks are normally hollow and filled with an oily liquid.


Podoglyphiulus ceylanicus

Podoglyphiulus ceylanicus, is a species of round-backed millipede in the family Glyphiulidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.


Tylopilus ferrugineus

Tylopilus ferrugineus is a bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae native to North America. Originally described by Charles Christopher Frost in 1874 as "Boletus ferrugineus", it was placed in the genus "Tylopilus" by Rolf Singer in 1947.


Gamasellus montanus

Gamasellus montanus is a species of mite in the family Ologamasidae. It is found in Europe.


Meade National Forest

Meade National Forest was established in Maryland by the U.S. Forest Service on April 10, 1925 with from part of the Camp Meade Military Reservation. On December 2, 1927 the executive order for its creation was rescinded and the forest was abolished.


Pinguicula gypsicola

Pinguicula gypsicola is an insectivorous plant of the genus "Pinguicula" native to the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, a heterophyllous member of the section "Orcheosanthus". It grows in gypsum soils and forms stemless rosettes of upright, narrow leaves.
Morphology.
"Pinguicula gypsicola" is a perennial rosetted herb. It is heterophyllous, bearing upright, narrow carnivorous leaves with backward bending margins in the summer, and a tight rosette of small, hairy, non-carnivorous leaves in the winter. As is typical for "Pinguicula", the carnivorous leaves are densely covered with stalked mucilaginous and sessile digestive glands, which serve to trap and digest insect prey and absorb the resulting nutrient mixture to supplement their nitrate-low environment. The carnivorous leaves of this species are bright green to reddish and grow up to 6.5 cm. long.
The 2 cm flowers are purple and are born singly on 9 cm inflorescences. They bloom when the start of summer rains triggers summer growth in June or July.
Distribution and habitat.
"Pinguicula gypsicola" is known only from a few areas near its type location west of the city of San Luis Potosí. It grows in gypsum slopes accompanied by other xerophytic vegetation such as Cactaceae, "Agave stricta", "A. striata", "Selaginella cuspidata", "Dasylirion longissimum", "Dodonaea viscosa" and "Hechtia glomerata".
Botanical history.
"Pinguicula gypsicola" was first described in 1911 by Townshend Stith Brandegee (1843-1925), a botanist from California.


Pterostylis robusta

Pterostylis robusta, commonly known as the sharp-leaf greenhood, is a species of orchid endemic to south-eastern Australia. As with similar orchids, the flowering plants differ from those which are not flowering. The non-flowering plants have a rosette of leaves but the flowering plants have a single flower with leaves on the flowering spike. This greenhood has a relatively large green, white and reddish-brown flower with reddish-brown stripes with the labellum just visible inside the flower.
Description.
"Pterostylis robusta" is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of four to ten, dark green, egg-shaped leaves. Each leaf is 10–25 mm long and 10–16 mm wide. Flowering plants have a single flower 27–35 mm long and 10–12 mm wide borne on a spike 50–200 mm high with three to seven spreading stem leaves. The flowers are green, white and brownish with a reddish-brown tinge or stripes. The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column. The dorsal sepal curves forward with a sharp point 2–4 mm long. The lateral sepals are erect, held closely against the galea, have an erect, thread-like tip 20–30 mm long and a flat sinus with a small notch between their bases. The labellum is 12–15 mm long, 3–4 mm wide, dark brown or green and just visible inside the flower. Flowering occurs from April to August.
Taxonomy and naming.
"Pterostylis robusta" was first formally described in 1927 by Richard Sanders Rogers and the description was published "Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia". The specific epithet ("robusta") is a Latin word meaning "strong like oak" or "robust".
Distribution and habitat.
The sharp-leaf greenhood is most common in the higher rainfall areas of South Australia where it sometimes forms extensive colonies. In Victoria it grows in open forest in the north-west of the state but it is rare in New South Wales where it grows on sheltered ridges south from Wagga Wagga.


Kaburakia excelsa

Kaburakia excelsa, the giant flatworm or giant leaf worm, is a species of flatworm found on the lower shore and shallow water in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It occurs on the lower shore and shallow sub-littoral zone.
Description.
"Kaburakia excelsa" can grow to a length of at least . It is flat and nearly as broad as it is long. It has a pair of fleshy nuchal tentacles on the anterior end of the body near where the brain is located. These tentacles can be retracted. On them and near their base are a number of simple eyespots, and there are more of these above the brain and a row of them round the margin of the body. The marginal eyespots are difficult to see in living specimens but the gut can be discerned through the skin and has the branching form typical of this order of flatworms. The upper surface is tan with a few darker brown streaks and spots while the underside is paler and largely unspotted. This species has no suckers on the underside. It can be distinguished from other flatworms in the area by its much larger size, and is in fact one of the largest flatworms in the world.
Distribution and habitat.
This flatworm is native to the western seaboard of North America, its range extending from Sitka in Alaska to Newport Harbor in California. It is found on the lower shore and in the shallow sub-littoral zone, under rocks, on pilings, on the fouled hulls of boats and among mussels and rock-boring bivalves.
Ecology.
The diet of this flatworm is not known, but it will eat mussels in the laboratory. It moves away from light, and as it moves, wrinkles form along the margins. In Washington State, breeding takes place in March, and in the laboratory, this flatworm has bred between June and August and in December. The eggs are golden yellow and enclosed in capsules. About 150 are laid, and are packed closely in one or two layers, forming an egg plate that is stuck to a rock surface. They hatch in five or more weeks at and the development of the offspring is direct. Newly hatched young are pale brown with five to seven eyespots. By a week later, they have darkened in colour, the front end becoming browner and the hind end becoming reddish.


Neuwiedia griffithii

Neuwiedia griffithii is a species of orchid that occurs from Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia to northern Sumatra.


Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area

Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area is a state park located in Fayette County, Illinois, United States. The nearest town is Ramsey, Illinois, and the park is adjacent to U.S. Highway 51. The park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
Hunting, fishing, and boating.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) manages Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area (SRA) for a variety of active recreational uses, including boating, fishing, and hunting. The park centers on "Ramsey Lake", a long, artificial reservoir begun in 1947. The reservoir is named after Ramsey Creek, a tributary of the Kaskaskia River.
Before the creation of the state park, this parcel of property was called the "Old Fox Chase Grounds"; and Ramsey Lake occupies a valley named "Fox Hunt Hollow" in honor of the annual fox hunts that were hosted here by the Central Illinois Foxhunter's Association. Hunting today centers on whitetail deer, which are hunted by bow only, upland birds such as mourning doves, pheasants, quail, and wild turkey, and small game such as coyotes, raccoons, and squirrels.
Ramsey Lake is stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, and sunfish. There is a power limit on the lake (electric motors only). The state park also contains six small fishing ponds and 24 small vernal ponds and patches of non-fishing wetland managed for frogs and other amphibia.
Other outdoor recreation opportunities are provided by a network of state park trails, headed by the Equestrian Trail and the Old Fox Chase Grounds Trail.
Illinois Natural Area.
A disjunct land parcel, the "Ramsey Railroad Prairie", is managed by IDNR from the nearby state recreation area. Currently, the railroad prairie is a strip of land of in length and in width, running north-and-south adjacent to Township Road 750E. It is classified by IDNR as dry-mesic and mesic prairie.
Historically, the prairie grows on a strip of land originally granted to the Illinois Central Railroad in 1850 to construct what was planned to be the railroad's central Illinois main line from Centralia, Illinois to Peru, Illinois. The economic boom of the 1850s in Chicago caused the Illinois Central's Chicago spur line to supplant the railroad's original main line. The Centralia-Peru line was eventually de-emphasized and abandoned. The railroad prairie was dedicated as an Illinois Natural Area in October 1997.


Adenodolichos paniculatus

Adenodolichos paniculatus is a plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to tropical Africa. The specific epithet means "with panicles", referring to the plant's many-branched inflorescence.
Description.
"Adenodolichos paniculatus" grows as a shrub, from tall. The leaves consist of three to five ovate leaflets, glabrous above, glabrous or pubescent beneath and measuring up to long. Inflorescences feature panicles up to long with green or purple flowers. The fruits are elliptic pods measuring up to long.
Distribution and habitat.
"Adenodolichos paniculatus" is native to countries of tropical Africa, from Guinea in the west to Sudan in the east and south to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its habitat is in woodland and grassland at altitudes of .


Eremophila pterocarpa subsp. pterocarpa

Eremophila pterocarpa" subsp. "pterocarpa is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a common and widespread large shrub or small tree with grey leaves and sepals and orange, pink or yellow petals.
Description.
"Eremophila pterocarpa" subspecies "pterocarpa" is a shrub or small tree growing to high. The branches are prominently ribbed and the leaves are linear to lance-shaped, long and wide with a pointed end. The leaves and stems are covered with powder-like short, matted hairs. Most of the leaves have their bases twisted so that the leaves face horizontally.
The flowers are red to yellow, lack spots and are arranged singly in the leaf axils on a stalk which is long. There are 5 sepals which are narrow egg-shaped to triangular and of approximately equal lengths. The petals, which give the flowers their colour are long and joined in a tube with 5 lobes at the end. As with the leaves, the sepals and petals have a dusty covering of short, fine hairs. Flowering occurs between June and September and is followed by fruits which are flattened and dry with papery wings.
Taxonomy and naming.
The species was first formally described in 1904 by William Vincent Fitzgerald in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. When Robert Chinnock reviewed the genus, he recognised a subspecies - "E. pterocarpa" subsp. "acicularis" as well as the type subspecies "pterocarpa".
Distribution and habitat.
Subspecies "pterocarpa" occurs between the Cape Range, Shark Bay and Meekatharra areas where it grows in sandy clay or soils derived from limestone, in flats or salty sites.
Conservation.
Subspecies "pterocarpa" is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.


Melaleuca spathulata

Melaleuca spathulata is a shrub in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a well known garden shrub featuring dark green leaves against light-coloured foliage, many twisted branches and profuse heads of bright pink "pom pom" flower heads in spring or early summer.
Description.
"Melaleuca spathulata" is a shrub with light grey, papery bark which grows to a height of . Its branches are often twisted and mostly glabrous. The leaves are arranged alternately, well-spaced along the branchlets, long, wide, egg-shaped to spoon-shaped and tapering to a point. The leaves have a mid-vein and a number of indistinct parallel veins.
The flowers are a shade of pink to purple and are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering, and sometimes in the upper leaf axils. The spikes contain 2 to 9 groups of flowers in threes and are up to in diameter and long. The stamens are arranged in five bundles around the flowers and each bundle contains 2 to 5 (mostly 3) stamens. Flowering occurs between September and January and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules long in almost spherical clusters which are up to in diameter.
Taxonomy.
"Melaleuca spathulata" was first formally described in 1844 by Johannes Conrad Schauer in "Plantae Preissianae". The specific epithet ("spathulata") is from the Ancient Greek "σπάθη (spathê)" meaning "broad blade" or "paddle for stirring and mixing" referring to the spoon-like leaf shape.
Distribution and habitat.
"Melaleuca sieberi" occurs in and between the Gnowangerup, Pingrup, Albany and Bremer Bay districts in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Warren biogeographic regions. It grows in sandy, clayey and gravelly soils in winter-wet areas and on low ridges.
Conservation.
This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Use in horticulture.
"Melaleuca spathulata" is well known in cultivation because of its interesting foliage and attractive heads of flowers. It prefers a sunny, well-drained position but will also grow in heavier soils. It is frost hardy and pest resistant, having been grown for more than ten years in the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. It is cultivated from seed or from cuttings taken when the new growth is beginning to harden.


Penicillium chermesinum

Penicillium chermesinum is an anamorph fungus species of the genus of "Penicillium" which was isolated from soil from Nova Scotia in Canada."Penicillium chermesinum" produces plastatin, luteosporin, xanthomegnin, azaphilones, p-terphenyls and costaclavine.


Campodea redii

Campodea redii is a species of two-pronged bristletail in the family Campodeidae.


Scarabaspis inexpectatus

Scarabaspis inexpectatus is a species of mite in the family Eviphididae.


Lactuca sibirica

Lactuca sibirica, Siberian lettuce, is a species of wild lettuce native to Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, all parts of Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the northern half of China, the Korean peninsula, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and Japan. It is the host of the systemic rust fungi "Puccinia minussensis", which propagates with it along its ramets, resulting in complex host-parasite interactions.