1.
Gippsland
–
Gippsland is an economic rural region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-eastern part of that state. Gippsland is generally broken down into the East Gippsland, South Gippsland, West Gippsland, the area was originally inhabited by Indigenous Australians of the Gunai nation and part of West Gippsland by the Bunurong nation. Before permanent European settlement, the area was visited by sealers and wattle bark gatherers and his business partner Robert Massie joined him in 1837. Both had worked for the Van Diemens Land Company at Circular Head, samuels brothers Hugh and Thomas arrived at Bass shortly after, where they established a successful farming venture. Further European settlement followed two separate expeditions to the area, angus McMillan led the first European expedition between 1839 and 1840, naming the area Caledonia Australis. Following these expeditions, the area was officially named Gippsland, a chosen by Strzelecki in honour of the New South Wales Governor, George Gipps. The township of Bass was surveyed and settled in the early 1860s, Gippsland is traditionally subdivided into four or five main sub–regions or districts, West Gippsland South Gippsland the Latrobe Valley East Gippsland. Sometimes a fifth region, Central Gippsland, is added to refer to the zone between the Gippsland Lakes and Yarram. The climate of Gippsland is temperate and generally humid, except in the region around Sale. In the Strzelecki Ranges annual rainfall can be as high as 1,500 millimetres, in lower levels east of the Snowy River, mean annual rainfall is typically about 900–950 millimetres and less variable than in the coastal districts of New South Wales. Mean maximum temperatures in lower areas range from 24 °C in January to 15 °C in July, in the highlands of the Baw Baw Plateau and the remote Errinundra Plateau, temperatures range from a maximum of 18 °C to a minimum of 8 °C. However, in winter, mean minima in these areas can be as low as −4 °C, the soils in Gippsland are generally very infertile, being profoundly deficient in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium. Apart from frequently flooded areas, they are classed as Spodosols, Psamments, consequently, heavy fertilisation is required for agriculture or pastoral development. Despite this, parts of Gippsland have become highly productive dairying and vegetable-growing regions, a few alluvial soils have much better native fertility, and these have always been intensively cultivated. In the extreme northeast is a section of the Monaro Tableland used for grazing beef cattle. Gippsland possesses very few deposits of metallic minerals, however, the deep underground gold mines operated at Walhalla for a fifty-year period between 1863-1913. Like the rest of Australia, the seas around Gippsland are of low productivity as there is no upwelling due to the warm currents in the Tasman Sea. Nonetheless, towns such as Marlo and Mallacoota depended for a time on the fishing of abalone, whose shells could fetch very high prices because of their use for pearls
Gippsland
–
John Longstaff's Gippsland, Sunday night, 20 February 1898, depicting the "
Red Tuesday " bushfires that ravaged Gippsland
Gippsland
–
Waterfront at
Port Albert.
Gippsland
–
Old growth forests in
East Gippsland
2.
Taxonomy (biology)
–
Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms on the basis of shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. The exact definition of taxonomy varies from source to source, but the core of the remains, the conception, naming. There is some disagreement as to whether biological nomenclature is considered a part of taxonomy, the broadest meaning of taxonomy is used here. The word taxonomy was introduced in 1813 by Candolle, in his Théorie élémentaire de la botanique, the term alpha taxonomy is primarily used today to refer to the discipline of finding, describing, and naming taxa, particularly species. In earlier literature, the term had a different meaning, referring to morphological taxonomy, ideals can, it may be said, never be completely realized. They have, however, a value of acting as permanent stimulants. Some of us please ourselves by thinking we are now groping in a beta taxonomy, turrill thus explicitly excludes from alpha taxonomy various areas of study that he includes within taxonomy as a whole, such as ecology, physiology, genetics, and cytology. He further excludes phylogenetic reconstruction from alpha taxonomy, thus, Ernst Mayr in 1968 defined beta taxonomy as the classification of ranks higher than species. This activity is what the term denotes, it is also referred to as beta taxonomy. How species should be defined in a group of organisms gives rise to practical and theoretical problems that are referred to as the species problem. The scientific work of deciding how to define species has been called microtaxonomy, by extension, macrotaxonomy is the study of groups at higher taxonomic ranks, from subgenus and above only, than species. While some descriptions of taxonomic history attempt to date taxonomy to ancient civilizations, earlier works were primarily descriptive, and focused on plants that were useful in agriculture or medicine. There are a number of stages in scientific thinking. Early taxonomy was based on criteria, the so-called artificial systems. Later came systems based on a complete consideration of the characteristics of taxa, referred to as natural systems, such as those of de Jussieu, de Candolle and Bentham. The publication of Charles Darwins Origin of Species led to new ways of thinking about classification based on evolutionary relationships and this was the concept of phyletic systems, from 1883 onwards. This approach was typified by those of Eichler and Engler, the advent of molecular genetics and statistical methodology allowed the creation of the modern era of phylogenetic systems based on cladistics, rather than morphology alone. Taxonomy has been called the worlds oldest profession, and naming and classifying our surroundings has likely been taking place as long as mankind has been able to communicate
Taxonomy (biology)
–
Title page of
Systema Naturae, Leiden, 1735
Taxonomy (biology)
–
Evolution of the
vertebrates at class level, width of spindles indicating number of families. Spindle diagrams are typical for
Evolutionary taxonomy
Taxonomy (biology)
–
The same relationship, expressed as a
cladogram typical for
cladistics
Taxonomy (biology)
–
Type specimen for
Nepenthes smilesii, a tropical
pitcher plant.
3.
Plant
–
Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. The term is generally limited to the green plants, which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae. This includes the plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae. Green plants have cell walls containing cellulose and obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts and their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic and have lost the ability to produce amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize. Plants are characterized by sexual reproduction and alternation of generations, although reproduction is also common. There are about 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, green plants provide most of the worlds molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of Earths ecologies, especially on land. Plants that produce grains, fruits and vegetables form humankinds basic foodstuffs, Plants play many roles in culture. They are used as ornaments and, until recently and in variety, they have served as the source of most medicines. The scientific study of plants is known as botany, a branch of biology, Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things were traditionally divided, the other is animals. The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle, who distinguished between plants, which generally do not move, and animals, which often are mobile to catch their food. Much later, when Linnaeus created the basis of the system of scientific classification. Since then, it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups, however, these organisms are still often considered plants, particularly in popular contexts. When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a group of organisms or taxon. The evolutionary history of plants is not yet settled. Those which have been called plants are in bold, the way in which the groups of green algae are combined and named varies considerably between authors. Algae comprise several different groups of organisms which produce energy through photosynthesis, most conspicuous among the algae are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that may roughly resemble land plants, but are classified among the brown, red and green algae. Each of these groups also includes various microscopic and single-celled organisms
Plant
–
Green algae from
Ernst Haeckel 's
Kunstformen der Natur, 1904.
Plant
–
Had'n
Plant
–
Dicksonia antarctica, a species of
tree fern
Plant
–
A petrified log in
Petrified Forest National Park.
4.
Fern
–
A fern is a member of a group of about 10,560 known extant species of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i. e. having certain tissue that conducts water and they have branched stems and leaves like other vascular plants. These are megaphylls, which are more complex than the simple microphylls of clubmosses, most ferns are Leptosporangiate ferns, sometimes denominated the true ferns, they produce what are called fiddleheads that uncoil and expand into fronds. Ferns as defined herein are the ferns sensu lato, being all of the Monilophytes, the Pteridophytes traditionally denominate all seedless vascular plants, of which the Monilophytes predominate, although some recent authors have used it to refer strictly to the Monilophytes alone. The fern Osmunda claytoniana is a paramount example of evolutionary stasis, paleontological evidence indicates it has remained unchanged, even at the level of fossilized nuclei and chromosomes, for at least 180 million years. Ferns are not of major importance, but some are gathered for food or medicine, grown for food, medicine, or as ornamentals. They have been the subject of research for their ability to remove some pollutants from the atmosphere. Some fern species are significant weeds and they also play certain roles in mythology and art. Ferns are vascular plants differing from lycophytes by having true leaves and they differ from seed plants in their mode of reproduction—lacking flowers and seeds. Like all land plants, they have a life cycle referred to as alternation of generations, characterized by alternating diploid sporophytic, the diploid sporophyte has 2n paired chromosomes, where n varies from species to species. The haploid gametophyte has n unpaired chromosomes, i. e. half the number of the sporophyte, the gametophyte of ferns is a free-living organism, whereas the gametophyte of the gymnosperms and angiosperms is dependent on the sporophyte. The life cycle of a typical fern proceeds as follows, A diploid sporophyte produces haploid spores by meiosis. A spore grows into a haploid gametophyte by mitosis, the gametophyte typically consists of a photosynthetic prothallus. The gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis, a mobile, flagellate sperm fertilizes an egg that remains attached to the prothallus. The fertilized egg is now a diploid zygote and grows by mitosis into a diploid sporophyte, like the sporophytes of seed plants, those of ferns consist of stems, leaves and roots. Stems, Fern stems are often referred to as rhizomes, even though they grow underground only in some of the species, epiphytic species and many of the terrestrial ones have above-ground creeping stolons, and many groups have above-ground erect semi-woody trunks. These can reach up to 20 metres tall in a few species, leaf, The green, photosynthetic part of the plant is technically a megaphyll and in ferns, it is often referred to as a frond. New leaves typically expand by the unrolling of a tight spiral called a crozier or fiddlehead fern and this uncurling of the leaf is termed circinate vernation
Fern
Fern
–
Gametophyte (
thalloid green mass) and sporophyte (ascendent frond) of
Onoclea sensibilis
Fern
–
Ferns at the Royal Melbourne Botanical Gardens
Fern
–
Tree ferns, probably
Dicksonia antarctica, growing in Nunniong, Australia
5.
Leptosporangiate fern
–
Leptosporangiate ferns are the largest group of living ferns, including some 11000 species worldwide. They constitute the subclass Polypodiidae, but are considered to be the class Pteridopsida or Polypodiopsida. There are approximately 8465 species of living ferns, compared with about 2070 for all other ferns. Almost a third of leptosporangiate fern species are epiphytes and these ferns are called leptosporangiate because their sporangia arise from a single epidermal cell and not from a group of cells as in eusporangiate ferns. The sporangia are typically covered with a called the indusium. Many leptosporangiate ferns have an annulus around the sporangium, which ejects the spores, leptosporangiates include the vast majority of extant ferns. Only groups that branched off early from the lineage, which retain a eusporangium, are not included. Multiple attempts have been made to classify ferns, the classification scheme proposed by Smith et al.2006 is the most widely accepted. More recent analyses by and Christenhusz et al.2011 and Christenhusz & Chase 2014 offer additional insight into the group and it was formerly unclear about the relationship between Equisetopsida, Psilotopsida, and Marattiopsida, but recent studies have shown that Equisetopsida is most likely sister to Psilotopsida. There has been some challenge to recent molecular studies, claiming that these provide a view of the phylogenetic order because they do not take into account fossil representatives
Leptosporangiate fern
–
Polypodiopsida/Pteridopsida ~ Modern Ferns
6.
Cyatheales
–
The order Cyatheales, which includes the tree ferns, is a taxonomic division of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic, some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms, but others have rhizomes. Some species have scales on the stems and leaves, while others have hairs, however, most plants in the Cyatheales are tree ferns and have trunk-like stems up to 10 metres tall. It is unclear how many times the form has evolved. In general, any fern that grows with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level can be called a tree fern, however, the plants formally known as tree ferns comprise a group of large ferns belonging to the families Dicksoniaceae and Cyatheaceae in the order Cyatheales. Like all ferns, tree ferns reproduce by means of spores developed in sporangia on the undersides of the fronds, the fronds of tree ferns are usually very large and multiple-pinnated, but at least one type has entire fronds. The fronds of tree ferns also exhibit circinate vernation, meaning the young emerge in coils that uncurl as they grow. Unlike flowering plants, tree ferns do not form new tissue in their trunk as they grow. Rather, the trunk is supported by a mass of roots that expands as the tree fern grows. Some genera — for example Dicksonia and Cibotium, and some Cyathea — can be transplanted by severing the top portion from the rest of the trunk, if the transplanted top part is kept moist it will regrow a new root system over the next year. The success rate of transplantation increases if the roots are dug up intact, if the crown of the Tasmanian tree fern Dicksonia antarctica is damaged, it will die because all new growth occurs there. But other clump-forming tree fern species, such as D. squarrosa and D. youngiae, Tree ferns often fall over in the wild, yet manage to reroot from this new prostrate position and begin new vertical growth. The number of tree species is likely to be around a thousand. While many ferns are able to achieve a widespread distribution because of their spore reproduction and this makes their species much more susceptible to the effects of local deforestation. Why species are not more widespread is unknown, especially considering they have sufficient height to have a chance of getting spores into the wind stream. Where feral pigs are a problem, as in some Hawaiian rainforests, they knock over tree ferns to root out the starchy pith. Outside of the Cyatheales a few ferns in other groups could be considered tree ferns, a few species in the genera Blechnum, Leptopteris, Sadleria and Todea could also be considered tree ferns in a liberal interpretation of the term. In the molecular phylogenetic classification of Smith et al. in 2006, eight families, Thyrsopteridaceae, Loxsomataceae, Culcitaceae, Plagiogyriaceae, Cibotiaceae, Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae, and Metaxyaceae, were recognized
Cyatheales
–
Tree fern (Cyatheales)
Cyatheales
–
Dicksonia antarctica at Kew
Cyatheales
–
Tree fern frond ("
fiddlehead ") by the
Akatarawa River,
New Zealand: These unopened fronds are edible, but must be roasted first to remove
shikimic acid.
Cyatheales
–
A lone tree fern next to the
Peak Tram line on
Hong Kong Island
7.
Dicksoniaceae
–
The Dicksoniaceae is a family of tropical, subtropical and warm temperate ferns. Most of the 5-6 genera in the family are terrestrial ferns or have very short compared to tree ferns of the family Cyatheaceae. However, some of the species can reach several metres in height. A number of others are epiphytes and they are found mostly in tropical regions in the Southern Hemisphere, as far south as southern New Zealand. Species in the family are characterized by large pinnate fronds. The family includes species of tree ferns, which grow a single trunk. All members of the family have long, tapering hairs composed of cells arranged end to end, the ferns of family Dicksoniaceae are generally regarded as more primitive than those of the family Cyatheaceae, having originated in the early Jurassic period. Only 3 extant genera are recognised in this family, Calochlaena Dicksonia Lophosoria Cyatheales Classification of Ferns and Allies Large. Pryer, E. Schuettpelz, P. Korall, H. Schneider & P. G. Wolf 2006, archived from the original on 2008-02-26
Dicksoniaceae
–
Dicksoniaceae
8.
Dicksonia
–
Dicksonia is a genus of tree ferns in the order Cyatheales. It is regarded as related to Cyathea, but is considered primitive, dating back at least to the Jurassic. The fossil record includes stems, pinnules, and spores, the genus contains 20-25 species, distributed from Mexico to Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, St. Helena, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and the Philippines. New Guinea has the greatest diversity, with five species, an easily cultivated species of Dicksonia is D. antarctica, the soft tree fern. The genus was first described by Charles Louis LHéritier de Brutelle in 1788, the name honors James Dickson, a prominent nurseryman and botanist. Dicksonia antarctica, Soft Tree Fern, Tasmanian Tree Fern, Dicksonia grandis, New Guinea Dicksonia herbertii, Northeastern Queensland, Australia Dicksonia hieronymi, New Guinea. Southern Mexico through Central America and Northern South America to Bolivia, Dicksonia squarrosa, Rough Tree Fern, Slender Tree Fern, New Zealand Tree Fern, Wheki. Large, M. F. and J. E. Braggins Tree Ferns, list of the American Dicksonia Species. Scientific Authority of Germany, Bonn 2001, community, Care and propagation of Tree ferns Fern Files, Dicksonia LHéritiers original diagnosis of the genus online on Project Gutenberg
Dicksonia
–
Dicksonia
9.
Binomial nomenclature
–
Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name, more informally it is also called a Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the genus to which the species belongs, for example, humans belong to the genus Homo and within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. The formal introduction of system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus. But Gaspard Bauhin, in as early as 1623, had introduced in his book Pinax theatri botanici many names of genera that were adopted by Linnaeus. Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. Similarly, both parts are italicized when a binomial name occurs in normal text, thus the binomial name of the annual phlox is now written as Phlox drummondii. In scientific works, the authority for a name is usually given, at least when it is first mentioned. In zoology Patella vulgata Linnaeus,1758, the original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica, the parentheses indicate that the species is now considered to belong in a different genus. The ICZN does not require that the name of the person who changed the genus be given, nor the date on which the change was made, in botany Amaranthus retroflexus L. – L. is the standard abbreviation used in botany for Linnaeus. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica, Rothmaler transferred it to the genus Hyacinthoides, the ICN does not require that the dates of either publication be specified. Prior to the adoption of the binomial system of naming species. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature and these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, and second, to be a diagnosis or description, such polynomial names may sometimes look like binomials, but are significantly different. For example, Gerards herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort, The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort, is aptly termed Phalangium Ephemerum Virginianum, Soon-Fading Spiderwort of Virginia. The Latin phrases are short descriptions, rather than identifying labels, the Bauhins, in particular Caspar Bauhin, took some important steps towards the binomial system, by pruning the Latin descriptions, in many cases to two words. The adoption by biologists of a system of binomial nomenclature is due to Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné. It was in his 1753 Species Plantarum that he first began using a one-word trivial name together with a generic name in a system of binomial nomenclature. This trivial name is what is now known as an epithet or specific name
Binomial nomenclature
–
Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), a Swedish botanist, invented the modern system of binomial nomenclature.
10.
MHNT
–
The Muséum de Toulouse, sometimes known as MHNT or Muséum dHistoire Naturelle de la ville de Toulouse, is a museum of natural history in Toulouse, France. It is located in the Busca-Montplaisir, and houses a collection of more than 2.5 million items, the museum was founded in 1796 by the naturalist Philippe-Isidore Picot de Lapeyrouse. It was at that time housed in the old buildings of the monastery of the carmelite friars and it was opened to the public in 1865 in its present location and under the directorship of Édouard Filhol. Toulouse museum was the first museum in the world to open a gallery of prehistory, thanks to the collaboration of Émile Cartailhac, Jean-Baptiste Noulet, today the museum is housed in a 2007 building designed by the architect Jean-Paul Viguier. The permanent exhibition has five linked themes, Sequence 1, Feeling the Earths power, nature of the solar system and its formation. Nature of the Earth – plate tectonics, seismic and volcanic activity and erosion, Sequence 2, Doing away with our notions of hierarchy The nature of life – biodiversity, classification, and organization. Sequence 3, Getting to grips with the huge scale, Earth history from 3.8 billion years ago. The prehistoric collection includes mostly artefacts excavated in France and they also contain comparative material from other parts of Europe and other continents. The herbarium contains historic specimens collected by Benjamin Balansa, the bird collection of MHNT contains more than 30,000 specimens of which 20,000 are eggs. There are approximately 8,500 bird mounts and 1,500 scientific bird skins, other bird items are circa 2,000 skeletons and skulls and 5,300 eggs. The collection focuses on Europe, but there are also exotic species, most are documented on card or computer system. The bird mount collection of Victor Besaucèle with 5,000 specimens is one of the most important historic collections in Europe. Other collectors represented are R. Bourret, G. Cossaune, M. Gourdon, Hammonville, A. Lacroix and it contains his personal collections, supplemented by those of other ornithologists notably Georges Guichard, Henri Heim de Balsac and Rene de Naurois. It includes all the species, that is to say approximately 1,000 species and nearly 15,000 eggs and is one of the most complete. The specimens of the collection of paleontology amount to tens of thousands and they date from the Paleoarchean to the Eocene. Henri Gaussen was a Toulouse-based phytogeographer and botanist, the botanic garden which honours his name is attached to the Museum and is part of the Earth and Life Science Research and Training Paul Sabatier University. A second botanical area The Museum Gardens extends over 3 hectares and it is notable for potagers du monde and a shade house which recreates the conditions required by shade plants. Part of this article is a translation of the French Wikipedias article François Bon, Sébastien Dubois, le Muséum de Toulouse et linvention de la préhistoire Toulouse Editions Muséum de Toulouse ISBN 978-2-906702-18-9 Official website
MHNT
–
Entry hall of the Muséum de Toulouse 43°35′37.89″N 1°26′57.42″E / 43.5938583°N 1.4492833°E / 43.5938583; 1.4492833
MHNT
–
Multiple view of bone
Azilian harpoon head, from about 10,000 years ago
MHNT
11.
Species
–
In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is defined as the largest group of organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. While this definition is often adequate, looked at more closely it is problematic, for example, with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, or in a ring species, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear. Other ways of defining species include similarity of DNA, morphology, all species are given a two-part name, a binomial. The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs, the second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet. For example, Boa constrictor is one of four species of the Boa genus, Species were seen from the time of Aristotle until the 18th century as fixed kinds that could be arranged in a hierarchy, the great chain of being. In the 19th century, biologists grasped that species could evolve given sufficient time, Charles Darwins 1859 book The Origin of Species explained how species could arise by natural selection. Genes can sometimes be exchanged between species by horizontal transfer, and species may become extinct for a variety of reasons. In his biology, Aristotle used the term γένος to mean a kind, such as a bird or fish, a kind was distinguished by its attributes, for instance, a bird has feathers, a beak, wings, a hard-shelled egg, and warm blood. A form was distinguished by being shared by all its members, Aristotle believed all kinds and forms to be distinct and unchanging. His approach remained influential until the Renaissance, when observers in the Early Modern period began to develop systems of organization for living things, they placed each kind of animal or plant into a context. Many of these early delineation schemes would now be considered whimsical, animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently, one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa. In the 18th century, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus classified organisms according to shared physical characteristics and he established the idea of a taxonomic hierarchy of classification based upon observable characteristics and intended to reflect natural relationships. At the time, however, it was widely believed that there was no organic connection between species, no matter how similar they appeared. However, whether or not it was supposed to be fixed, by the 19th century, naturalists understood that species could change form over time, and that the history of the planet provided enough time for major changes. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, in his 1809 Zoological Philosophy, described the transmutation of species, proposing that a species could change over time, in 1859, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace provided a compelling account of evolution and the formation of new species. Darwin argued that it was populations that evolved, not individuals and this required a new definition of species. Darwin concluded that species are what appear to be, ideas
Species
–
John Ray
Species
–
Carl Linnaeus believed in the fixity of species.
12.
Evergreen
–
In botany, an evergreen is a plant that has leaves throughout the year, always green. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage during the winter or dry season. There are many different kinds of plants, both trees and shrubs. Deciduous trees shed their leaves, usually as an adaptation to a cold or dry/wet season, evergreen trees do lose leaves, but each tree loses its leaves gradually and not all at once. Most warm temperate climate plants are also evergreen, in cool temperate climates, fewer plants are evergreen, with a predominance of conifers, as few evergreen broadleaf plants can tolerate severe cold below about −30 °C. In areas where there is a reason for being deciduous, being evergreen is usually an adaptation to low nutrient levels, deciduous trees lose nutrients whenever they lose their leaves. In warmer areas, species such as pines and cypresses grow on poor soils. In Rhododendron, a genus with many broadleaf evergreens, several species grow in forests but are usually found on highly acidic soil where the nutrients are less available to plants. In taiga or boreal forests, it is too cold for the matter in the soil to decay rapidly, so the nutrients in the soil are less easily available to plants. These conditions favour the growth of more evergreens and make it difficult for deciduous plants to persist. In addition, the shelter provided by existing evergreen plants can make it easier for younger evergreen plants to survive cold and/or drought
Evergreen
–
A
Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves.
Evergreen
–
A
Southern Live Oak in winter.
13.
Tree fern
–
The order Cyatheales, which includes the tree ferns, is a taxonomic division of the fern class, Polypodiopsida. No clear morphological features characterize all of the Cyatheales, but DNA sequence data indicate the order is monophyletic, some species in the Cyatheales have tree-like growth forms, but others have rhizomes. Some species have scales on the stems and leaves, while others have hairs, however, most plants in the Cyatheales are tree ferns and have trunk-like stems up to 10 metres tall. It is unclear how many times the form has evolved. In general, any fern that grows with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level can be called a tree fern, however, the plants formally known as tree ferns comprise a group of large ferns belonging to the families Dicksoniaceae and Cyatheaceae in the order Cyatheales. Like all ferns, tree ferns reproduce by means of spores developed in sporangia on the undersides of the fronds, the fronds of tree ferns are usually very large and multiple-pinnated, but at least one type has entire fronds. The fronds of tree ferns also exhibit circinate vernation, meaning the young emerge in coils that uncurl as they grow. Unlike flowering plants, tree ferns do not form new tissue in their trunk as they grow. Rather, the trunk is supported by a mass of roots that expands as the tree fern grows. Some genera — for example Dicksonia and Cibotium, and some Cyathea — can be transplanted by severing the top portion from the rest of the trunk, if the transplanted top part is kept moist it will regrow a new root system over the next year. The success rate of transplantation increases if the roots are dug up intact, if the crown of the Tasmanian tree fern Dicksonia antarctica is damaged, it will die because all new growth occurs there. But other clump-forming tree fern species, such as D. squarrosa and D. youngiae, Tree ferns often fall over in the wild, yet manage to reroot from this new prostrate position and begin new vertical growth. The number of tree species is likely to be around a thousand. While many ferns are able to achieve a widespread distribution because of their spore reproduction and this makes their species much more susceptible to the effects of local deforestation. Why species are not more widespread is unknown, especially considering they have sufficient height to have a chance of getting spores into the wind stream. Where feral pigs are a problem, as in some Hawaiian rainforests, they knock over tree ferns to root out the starchy pith. Outside of the Cyatheales a few ferns in other groups could be considered tree ferns, a few species in the genera Blechnum, Leptopteris, Sadleria and Todea could also be considered tree ferns in a liberal interpretation of the term. In the molecular phylogenetic classification of Smith et al. in 2006, eight families, Thyrsopteridaceae, Loxsomataceae, Culcitaceae, Plagiogyriaceae, Cibotiaceae, Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae, and Metaxyaceae, were recognized
Tree fern
–
Tree fern (Cyatheales)
Tree fern
–
Dicksonia antarctica at Kew
Tree fern
–
Tree fern frond ("
fiddlehead ") by the
Akatarawa River,
New Zealand: These unopened fronds are edible, but must be roasted first to remove
shikimic acid.
Tree fern
–
A lone tree fern next to the
Peak Tram line on
Hong Kong Island
14.
Native plant
–
Native plants are plants indigenous to a given area in geologic time. This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for years in an area. Some native plants have adapted to limited, unusual environments or very harsh climates or exceptional soil conditions. Although some types of plants for these reasons exist only within a limited range. Research has found that insects depend on native plants, an ecosystem consists of interactions of plants, animals, and microorganisms with their physical and climatic conditions. Native plants form a part of an environment, or plant community. That could be a case if a plant exists because a certain animal pollinates the plant, some native plants rely on natural conditions, such as occasional wildfires, to release their seeds or to provide a fertile environment in which their seedlings can become established. As societies move plants or introduce them to new locations for cultivation as crops or ornamentals, some of them may become invasive species, besides ecological damage, these species can also damage agriculture, infrastructure, and cultural assets. Government agencies and environmental groups are directing increasing resources to addressing these species, non-native species can have profound effects on ecosystems by changing ecosystem structure, function, species abundance, and community composition. To prevent erosion of the sand dunes at the western edge of the Los Angeles International Airport in 1975. Unfortunately, the mix was representative of coastal sage scrub. As a result, the El Segundo blue butterfly became an endangered species, the rich diversity of unique species across many parts of the world exists only because bioregions are separated by barriers, particularly large rivers, seas, oceans, mountains and deserts. Humans, migratory birds, ocean currents, etc. can introduce species that have never met in their evolutionary history, humans are moving species across the globe at an unprecedented rate. Those working to address invasive species view this as a risk to indigenous species. The term nativar is becoming accepted as cultivars of native plants. The use of nativars is a widely disputed practice among native plant activists, the identification of local plant communities provides a basis for their work. Returning Essential Wildflowers to America’s Landscapes, Project Milkweed, Xerces Society Milkweeds are the required host plants for caterpillars of the monarch butterfly, mary M. Walker, Native Plant Societies of the United States and Canada. Introduced birds of the world, The worldwide history, distribution, New York, Universe Books, New York City, Sydney, Reed ISBN 0-589-50260-3 Vermeij, Geerat J.1991
Native plant
–
Wild Perennial
Lupin (Lupinus perennis)
15.
Rhizome
–
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a modified subterranean stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks and rootstocks, Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and are diageotropic or grow perpendicular to the force of gravity. The rhizome also retains the ability to new shoots to grow upwards. If a rhizome is separated into pieces, each piece may be able to rise to a new plant. The plant uses the rhizome to store starches, proteins, and these nutrients become useful for the plant when new shoots must be formed or when the plant dies back for the winter. This is a known as vegetative reproduction and is used by farmers and gardeners to propagate certain plants. This also allows for lateral spread of grasses like bamboo and bunch grasses, examples of plants that are propagated this way include hops, asparagus, ginger, irises, Lily of the Valley, cannas, and sympodial orchids. Some rhizomes which are used directly in cooking include ginger, turmeric, galangal, stored rhizomes are subject to bacterial and fungal infections, making them unsuitable for replanting and greatly diminishing stocks. However, rhizomes can also be produced artificially from tissue cultures, the ability to easily grow rhizomes from tissue cultures leads to better stocks for replanting and greater yields. The plant hormones ethylene and jasmonic acid have found to help induce and regulate the growth of rhizomes. Ethylene that was applied externally was found to affect internal ethylene levels, knowledge of how to use these hormones to induce rhizome growth could help farmers and biologists producing plants grown from rhizomes more easily cultivate and grow better plants. The poplars are an example of trees that propagate using a rhizome, the Pando colony in Utah is a famous example, which has been living for about 80,000 years. In general, rhizomes have short internodes, they send out roots from the bottom of the nodes, a stem tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome or stolon that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. In general, a tuber is high in starch, for example, the common potato, the term tuber is often used imprecisely, and is sometimes applied to plants with rhizomes. Some plants have rhizomes that grow above ground or that lie at the surface, including some Iris species. Rhizomes generally form a layer, but in Giant Horsetails. Many rhizomes have culinary value, and some, such as zheergen, are consumed raw. Aspen Corm Mycorrhiza Media related to Rhizomes at Wikimedia Commons
Rhizome
–
Lotus rhizome
Rhizome
–
An
antique spurge plant;
Euphorbia antiquorum, sending out rhizomes
Rhizome
–
Turmeric rhizome and spice
Rhizome
–
Stolons growing from nodes in
corm of
Crocosmia.
16.
Stipe (botany)
–
In botany, a stipe is a stalk that supports some other structure. The precise meaning is different depending on which group is being described. In the case of ferns, the stipe is only the petiole from the rootstock to the beginning of the leaf tissue, the continuation of the structure within the lamina is then termed a rachis. In flowering plants, the term is used in reference to a stalk that sometimes supports a flowers ovary. In orchids, the stipe or caudicle is the support of the pollinia. It is a band or strap connecting the pollinia with the viscidium. A stipe is also a structure found in organisms that are studied by botanists and it may be the stem-like part of the thallus of a mushroom or a seaweed, and is particularly common among brown algae such as kelp. The stipe of a kelp often contains a region of cells that, like the phloem of vascular plants. Rachis Stipe, the supporting the fruiting body of some fungi
Stipe (botany)
–
The long stipe of a
Helicteres flower
Stipe (botany)
–
An orchid's stipe
Stipe (botany)
–
Hexagonal stipe bases of Cyathea medullaris
Stipe (botany)
–
The stipe of a brown alga
17.
Frond
–
A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds, other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the large leaves of cycads and palms. Frond is commonly used to identify a large, compound leaf, fronds have particular terms describing their components. Like all leaves, fronds usually have a stalk connecting them to the main stem, the blades may be simple, pinnatifid, pinnate, or further compound. If compound, a frond may be once, twice. If a frond is pinnate, each segment of the blade is called a pinna, the stalk bearing the pinna a petiolule. If a frond is divided into pinnae, the frond is called once pinnate, in some fronds the pinna are further divided into segments, creating a bipinnate frond. The segments into which each pinna are divided are called pinnules, rarely, a frond may even be tripinnate, in which case the pinnule divisions are known as ultimate segments. Pinnae may be arranged along the rachis either directly opposite one another or alternating up the stem, the arrangement may change from the base of a blade to the tip, as in the example of Blechnum shown below. Some fronds are not pinnately compound, but may be palmate or bifurcate, some ferns, like members of the group Ophioglossales have a unique arrangement. Fern fronds often bear sporangia, where the spores are formed, usually on the underside of the pinnae. The sporangia are typically clustered into a sorus, associated with each sorus in many species is a membranous protective structure called an indusium, which is an outgrowth of the blade surface that may partly cover the sporangia. Some fern species feature frond dimorphism, in fertile and sterile fronds differ in appearance. Fern fronds, as with all leaves, arise from the stem, either directly, the stem of a typical fern is subterranean or horizontal on the surface of the ground. Many fern fronds are initially coiled into a fiddle-head or crozier, although cycad, fronds may bear hairs, scales, glands, and, in some species, bulblets for vegetative reproduction
Frond
–
A fern (Dryopteris decipiens) with simple (lobed or pinnatifid) blades, the dissection of each blade not quite reaching to the rachis.
Frond
–
A growing fern frond unfurling.
Frond
–
Unfurling fiddlehead fern frond
Frond
–
Adaxial (left) and abaxial (right) surfaces of a pinnate fern frond (Blechnum appendiculatum). Sori are evident on the abaxial surface.
18.
Root
–
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. Roots can also be aerial or aerating, that is growing up above the ground or especially above water, furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either. Therefore, the root is best defined as the non-leaf, non-nodes bearing parts of the plants body, however, important internal structural differences between stems and roots exist. The fossil record of roots – or rather, infilled voids where roots rotted after death – spans back to the late Silurian and their identification is difficult, because casts and molds of roots are so similar in appearance to animal burrows. They can be discriminated using a range of features, the first root that comes from a plant is called the radicle. In response to the concentration of nutrients, roots also synthesise cytokinin, Roots often function in storage of food and nutrients. The roots of most vascular plant species enter into symbiosis with fungi to form mycorrhizae. In its simplest form, the root architecture refers to the spatial configuration of a plant’s root system. This system can be complex and is dependent upon multiple factors such as the species of the plant itself, the composition of the soil. The configuration of root systems serves to support the plant, compete with other plants. Roots grow to specific conditions, which, if changed, can impede a plants growth. For example, a system that has developed in dry soil may not be as efficient in flooded soil, yet plants are able to adapt to other changes in the environment. Root architecture plays the important role of providing a supply of nutrients and water as well as anchorage. The main terms used to classify the architecture of a system are, Branch magnitude. Root angle, the angle of a lateral root’s base around the parent root’s circumference, the angle of a lateral root from its parent root. Link radius, the diameter of a root, all components of the root architecture are regulated through a complex interaction between genetic responses and responses due to environmental stimuli. These developmental stimuli are categorised as intrinsic, the genetic and nutritional influences, or extrinsic, the main hormones and respective pathways responsible for root architecture development include, Auxin – Auxin promotes root initiation, root emergence and primary root elongation. Cytokinins – Cytokinins regulate root apical meristem size and promote lateral root elongation, gibberellins – Together with ethylene they promote crown primordia growth and elongation
Root
–
Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant
Root
–
Large, mature tree roots above the soil
Root
–
The cross-section of a
barley root
Root
–
Roots of trees
19.
Epiphyte
–
An epiphyte is a plant that grows harmlessly upon another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, and sometimes from debris accumulating around it. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that epiphytes grow on plants for physical support. An epiphytic organism that is not a plant is called an epibiont, epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone or in the tropics. Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their water and soil requirements. Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, epiphyte is one of the subdivisions of the Raunkiær system. The term epiphytic derives from the Greek epi- and phyton, epiphytic plants are sometimes called air plants because they do not root in soil. However, there are aquatic species of algae, including seaweeds. The best-known epiphytic plants include mosses, orchids, and bromeliads such as Spanish moss, 89% of epiphyte species are flowering plants. The second largest group are the ferns, with about 2800 species. In fact, about one third of all ferns are epiphytes, the third largest group is clubmosses, with 190 species, followed by a handful of species in each of the spikemosses, other ferns, Gnetales, and cycads. Epiphytic organisms usually derive only physical support and not nutrition from their host, parasitic and semiparasitic plants growing on other plants are not true epiphytes, but are still epiphytic in habit. Some epiphytic plants are trees that begin their lives high in the forest canopy. Over decades they send roots down the trunk of a host tree eventually overpowering and replacing it, the strangler fig and the northern rātā of New Zealand are examples of this. Epiphytes that end up as free standing trees are also called hemiepiphytes, epiphytic plants use photosynthesis for energy and obtain moisture from the air or from dampness on the surface of their hosts. Roots may develop primarily for attachment, and specialized structures may be used to collect or hold moisture, the first important monograph on epiphytic plant ecology was written by A. F. W. Assemblages of large epiphytes occur most abundantly in moist tropical forests, in Europe there are no dedicated epiphytic plants using roots, but rich assemblages of mosses and lichens grow on trees in damp areas, and the common polypody fern grows epiphytically along branches. Rarely, grass, small bushes or small trees may grow in suspended soils up trees, epiphytic plants attached to their hosts high in the canopy have an advantage over herbs restricted to the ground where there is less light and herbivores may be more active. Epiphytic plants are important to certain animals that may live in their water reservoirs, such as some types of frogs
Epiphyte
–
Near
Orosí, Costa Rica
Epiphyte
–
A clinging root of an
orchid.
Epiphyte
–
An epiphytic bromeliad
Epiphyte
–
Epiphytes on a tree near
Santa Elena, Costa Rica
20.
Moss
–
Mosses are small flowerless plants that typically grow in dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are poorly developed. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores and they are typically 0. 2–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 50 cm in height, mosses are commonly confused with lichens, hornworts, and liverworts. Lichens may superficially look like mosses, and have names that include the word moss. This contrasts with the pattern in all plants, where the diploid sporophyte generation is dominant. Mosses are now classified on their own as the division Bryophyta, the main commercial significance of mosses is as the main constituent of peat, although they are also used for decorative purposes, such as in gardens and in the florist trade. Traditional uses of mosses included as insulation and for the ability to absorb liquids up to 20 times their weight, botanically, mosses are non-vascular plants in the land plant division Bryophyta. They are small plants that absorb water and nutrients mainly through their leaves and harvest carbon dioxide. They differ from plants in lacking water-bearing xylem tracheids or vessels. As in liverworts and hornworts, the gametophyte generation is the dominant phase of the life cycle. This contrasts with the pattern in all plants, where the diploid sporophyte generation is dominant. Mosses reproduce using spores, not seeds, and have no flowers, Moss gametophytes have stems which may be simple or branched and upright or prostrate. Their leaves are simple, usually only a layer of cells with no internal air spaces. They do not have roots, but have threadlike rhizoids that anchor them to their substrate. Mosses do not absorb water or nutrients from their substrate through their rhizoids and they can be distinguished from liverworts by their multi-cellular rhizoids. Spore-bearing capsules or sporangia of mosses are borne singly on long, unbranched stems, thereby distinguishing them from the polysporangiophytes, the spore-bearing sporophytes are short-lived and dependent on the gametophyte for water supply and nutrition. Also, in most mosses, the capsule enlarges and matures after its stalk elongates
Moss
Moss
–
Chloroplasts and accumulated starch granules in
Bryum capillare
Moss
–
A patch of moss showing both gametophytes (the low, leaf-like forms) and sporophytes (the tall, stalk-like forms)
Moss
–
"Muscinae" from
Ernst Haeckel 's
Kunstformen der Natur, 1904
21.
Spore
–
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the cycles of many plants, algae, fungi. Bacterial spores are not part of a sexual cycle but are resistant structures used for survival under unfavourable conditions, spores are usually haploid and unicellular and are produced by meiosis in the sporangium of a diploid sporophyte. Under favourable conditions the spore can develop into a new organism using mitotic division, producing a multicellular gametophyte, two gametes fuse to form a zygote which develops into a new sporophyte. This cycle is known as alternation of generations, the term spore derives from the ancient Greek word σπορά spora, meaning seed, sowing, related to σπόρος sporos, sowing, and σπείρειν speirein, to sow. Spores germinate to give rise to haploid gametophytes, while seeds germinate to give rise to diploid sporophytes, vascular plant spores are always haploid. Vascular plants are either homosporous or heterosporous, plants that are homosporous produce spores of the same size and type. Spores can be classified in several ways, In fungi and fungus-like organisms, spores are often classified by the structure in which meiosis, since fungi are often classified according to their spore-producing structures, these spores are often characteristic of a particular taxon of the fungi. Sporangiospores, spores produced by a sporangium in many such as zygomycetes. Zygospores, spores produced by a zygosporangium, characteristic of zygomycetes, ascospores, spores produced by an ascus, characteristic of ascomycetes. Basidiospores, spores produced by a basidium, characteristic of basidiomycetes, aeciospores, spores produced by an aecium in some fungi such as rusts or smuts. Urediniospores, spores produced by a uredinium in some such as rusts or smuts. Teliospores, spores produced by a telium in some such as rusts or smuts. Oospores, spores produced by an oogonium, characteristic of oomycetes, carpospores, spores produced by a carposporophyte, characteristic of red algae. Tetraspores, spores produced by a tetrasporophyte, characteristic of red algae, chlamydospores, thick-walled resting spores of fungi produced to survive unfavorable conditions. Parasitic fungal spores may be classified into internal spores, which germinate within the host, meiospores, spores produced by meiosis, they are thus haploid, and give rise to a haploid daughter cell or a haploid individual. Examples are the cells of gametophytes of seed plants found in flowers or cones. Microspores, meiospores that give rise to a male gametophyte, megaspores, meiospores that give rise to a female gametophyte
Spore
Spore
–
Spores produced in a sporic life cycle.
Spore
–
Asci of
Morchella elata, containing
ascospores
Spore
–
Microscopic view of dehisced fern sporangia (no spores are visible)
22.
Soil
–
Soil is a mixture of minerals, organic matter, gases, liquids, and countless organisms that together support life on Earth. Soil is called the Skin of the Earth and interfaces with the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the term pedolith, used commonly to refer to the soil, literally translates ground stone. Soil consists of a phase of minerals and organic matter, as well as a porous phase that holds gases. Accordingly, soils are often treated as a system of solids, liquids. Soil is a product of the influence of climate, relief, organisms, Soil continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness soil has been considered as an ecosystem by soil ecologists. Most soils have a dry bulk density between 1.1 and 1.6 g/cm3, while the particle density is much higher. Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic, Soil science has two basic branches of study, edaphology and pedology. Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things, pedology is focused on the formation, description, and classification of soils in their natural environment. In engineering terms, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose material that lies above the solid geology. Soil is commonly referred to as earth or dirt, technically, as soil resources serve as a basis for food security, the international community advocates its sustainable and responsible use through different types of soil governance. Soil is a component of the Earths ecosystem. The worlds ecosystems are impacted in far-reaching ways by the carried out in the soil, from ozone depletion and global warming, to rainforest destruction. Following the atmosphere, the soil is the next largest carbon reservoir on Earth, as the planet warms, soils will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere due to its increased biological activity at higher temperatures. Thus, soil carbon losses likely have a positive feedback response to global warming. Since soil has a range of available niches and habitats. A gram of soil can contain billions of organisms, belonging to thousands of species, mostly microbial, Soil has a mean prokaryotic density of roughly 108 organisms per gram, whereas the ocean has no more than 107 procaryotic organisms per milliliter of seawater. Since plant roots need oxygen, ventilation is an important characteristic of soil and this ventilation can be accomplished via networks of interconnected soil pores, which also absorb and hold rainwater making it readily available for plant uptake
Soil
–
A represents soil; B represents
laterite, a
regolith; C represents
saprolite, a less-weathered regolith; the bottom-most layer represents
bedrock.
Soil
–
Loess field in Germany.
Soil
–
Surface-water-
gley developed in
glacial till, Northern Ireland.
Soil
–
Iron-rich soil near Paint Pots in
Kootenay National Park,
Canada
23.
Ornamental plant
–
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as houseplants, for cut flowers and specimen display. The cultivation of these, called floriculture, forms a branch of horticulture. Commonly, ornamental plants are grown for the display of aesthetic features including, leaves, scent, overall foliage texture, fruit, stem and bark, and aesthetic form. In some cases, unusual features may be considered to be of interest, such as the prominent thorns of Rosa sericea, in all cases, their purpose is for the enjoyment of gardeners, visitors, and the public institutions. Similarly certain trees may be called ornamental trees and this term is used when they are used as part of a garden, park, or landscape setting, for instance for their flowers, their texture, form, size and shape, and other aesthetic characteristics. In some countries trees in utilitarian landscape use such as screening, for plants to be considered to be ornamental, they may require specific work and activity by a gardener. Ornamental plants and trees are distinguished from utilitarian and crop plants, such as used for agriculture and vegetable crops. This does not preclude any type of plant being grown both for ornamental qualities in the garden, and for utilitarian purposes in other settings. Thus lavender is typically grown as a plant in gardens. The term ornamental plant is used here in the sense that it is generally used in the horticultural trades. The term largely corresponds to garden plant, though the latter is less precise. Ornamental plants are plants which are grown for display purposes, rather than functional ones, Ornamental plants are the keystone of ornamental gardening, and they come in a range of shapes, sizes and colors suitable to a broad array of climates, landscapes, and gardening needs. Some ornamental plants are grown for showy foliage and their foliage may be deciduous, turning bright orange, red, and yellow before dropping off in the fall, or evergreen, in which case it stays green year-round. Other ornamental plants are cultivated for their blooms, flowering ornamentals are a key aspect of many gardens, with many flower gardeners preferring to plant a variety of flowers so that the garden is continuously in flower through the spring and summer. Media related to Ornamental plants at Wikimedia Commons
Ornamental plant
–
Ornamental pettunia plant
Ornamental plant
–
Meillandine
Rose in clay pot
24.
Royal Horticultural Society
–
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England, as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UKs leading gardening charity and claims to be the world’s largest gardening charity, the RHS quotes its charitable purpose as The encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches. The current Director General is Sue Biggs, the charity promotes horticulture through flower shows such as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, RHS Tatton Park Flower Show and RHS Cardiff Flower Show. It also supports training for professional and amateur gardeners, the creation of a British horticultural society was suggested by John Wedgwood in 1800. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements, Wedgwood discussed the idea with his friends, but it was four years before the first meeting, of seven men, took place, on 7 March 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. Banks proposed his friend Thomas Andrew Knight for membership, the proposal was accepted, despite Knights ongoing feud with Forsyth over a plaster for healing tree wounds which Forsyth was developing. Knight was President of the society from 1811–1838, and developed the societys aims, in 2009, more than 363,000 people were members of the society, and the number increased to more than 414,000 in 2013. Membership and fellowship of the society were previously decided by election, Fellowship may be secured through a suggested £5,000 donation each year. Members and Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MRHS and FRHS, respectively. The Royal Horticultural Societys four major gardens in England are, Wisley Garden, near Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor Garden in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in Harrogate, the Societys first garden was in Kensington, from 1818–1822. In 1821 the society leased part of the Duke of Devonshires estate at Chiswick to set up an experimental garden, from 1827 the society held fêtes at the Chiswick garden, and from 1833, shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables. In 1861 the RHS developed a new garden at South Kensington on land leased from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, the Chiswick garden was maintained until 1903–1904, by which time Sir Thomas Hanbury had bought the garden at Wisley and presented it to the RHS. RHS Garden Wisley is thus the societys oldest garden, Rosemoor came next, presented by Lady Anne Berry in 1988. Hyde Hall was given to the RHS in 1993 by its owners Dick, Dick Robinson was also the owner of the Harry Smith Collection which was based at Hyde Hall. The most recent addition is Harlow Carr, acquired by the merger of the Northern Horticultural Society with the RHS in 2001 and it had been the Northern Horticultural Societys trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1949. In 2013, more than 1.63 million people visited the four gardens, in 2015, the RHS announced plans for a fifth garden at Worsley New Hall, Greater Manchester, under the name RHS Garden Bridgewater. The RHS is well known for its flower shows which take place across the UK. The most famous of these shows being the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and this is followed by the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire
Royal Horticultural Society
–
London flower show in Lawrence Hall
Royal Horticultural Society
–
RHS logo
25.
Award of Garden Merit
–
The Award of Garden Merit is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society. It is based on assessment of the performance under UK growing conditions. The Award of Garden Merit is a mark of quality awarded, since 1922, awards are made annually after plant trials intended to judge the plants performance under UK growing conditions. Trial reports are available as booklets and on the RHS website. Awards are reviewed annually in case plants have become unavailable horticulturally, the AGM should not be confused with the RHS Award of Merit, given to plants deemed of great merit for exhibition i. e. for show, not garden, plants. The AGM was reviewed in 1992, to increase its usefulness, field trial results gained weight in the assessments and existing AGM plants were reviewed in the light of more recent experience. The AGMs were to be reviewed at 10 year intervals from 1992, the 2012/13 review, with advice from experts such as RHS plant committees, specialist societies, Plant Heritage National Collection holders and others, resulted in many changes. Nearly 1,900 plants lost their AGMs and more than 1,400 plants gained awards, the AGM symbol represents a cup-shaped trophy with handles
Award of Garden Merit
–
Trials field at
Wisley showing some of the hundreds of varieties assessed for the Award of Garden Merit
Award of Garden Merit
–
Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit
26.
Old growth
–
Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the biodiversity of the forested ecosystem. The concept of tree structure includes multi-layered canopies and canopy gaps, greatly varying tree heights and diameters. Old-growth forests are valuable, and logging of these forests has been a point of contention between the logging industry and environmentalists. Old-growth forests tend to have trees and standing dead trees, multi-layered canopies with gaps that result from the deaths of individual trees. Depending on the forest, this may take anywhere from a century to several millennia, hardwood forests of the eastern United States can develop old-growth characteristics in one or two generations of trees, or 150–500 years. In British Columbia, Canada, old growth is defined as 120 to 140 years of age in the interior of the province where fire is a frequent and natural occurrence. In British Columbia’s coastal rainforests, old growth is defined as more than 250 years. In Australia, eucalypt trees rarely exceed 350 years of age due to frequent fire disturbance, Forest types have very different development patterns, natural disturbances and appearances. Levels of biodiversity may be higher or lower in old-growth forests compared to that in second-growth forests, depending on circumstances, environmental variables. Logging in old-growth forests is an issue in many parts of the world. Excessive logging reduces biodiversity, affecting not only the old-growth forest itself, a forest in old-growth stage has a mix of tree ages, due to a distinct regeneration pattern for this stage. New trees regenerate at different times from other, because each one of them has different spatial location relative to the main canopy. The mixed age of the forest is an important criterion in ensuring that the forest is a stable ecosystem in the long term. A climax stand that is uniformly aged becomes senescent and degrades within a relatively short time-period to result in a new cycle of forest succession, thus, uniformly aged stands are a less stable ecosystem. Forest canopy gaps are essential in creating and maintaining mixed-age stands, also, some herbaceous plants only become established in canopy openings, but persist beneath an understory. Openings are a result of death due to small impact disturbances such as wind, low-intensity fires. Because old-growth forest is structurally diverse it provides higher-diversity habitat than forests in other stages, thus, sometimes higher biological diversity can be sustained in old-growth forest, or at least a biodiversity that is different from other forest stages. The characteristic topography of much old-growth forest consists of pits and mounds, mounds are caused by decaying fallen trees, and pits by the roots pulled out of the ground when trees fall due to natural causes, including being pushed over by animals
Old growth
–
Old-growth
European Beech forest in
Biogradska Gora National Park,
Montenegro
Old growth
–
Coast Redwoods in old-growth forest in
Muir Woods National Monument,
Marin County,
California.
Old growth
–
Tongass National Forest,
Alaska
Old growth
–
The
northern spotted owl primarily inhabits old growth forests in the northern part of its range (Canada to southern Oregon) and landscapes with a mix of old and younger forest types in the southern part of its range (Klamath region and California).
27.
Gunns
–
Gunns Limited was a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. It has operations in forest management, woodchipping, sawmilling and veneer production, the company was placed in liquidation in March 2013. Founded in 1875 by brothers John and Thomas Gunn, it is one of Australias oldest companies and it has over 900 square kilometres of plantations, mainly eucalyptus trees. It is Tasmania’s largest private land-owner, the move to expand its base into mainland operation began with the acquisition of Auspine in 2007. In September 2010, Gunns announced that it will end logging of old growth forests, in November 2011, the Gunns Mitre 10 stores were re-branded as Becks Home Timber and Hardware, owned by the Danks Brothers Hardware Group, subsidiary of Woolworths Limited. Gunns was placed into administration on 25 September 2012, after it was unable to raise further capital or restructure the business. In 2009, the company was awarded a contract to operate a new processing facility at Portland. The woodchipping mill was sold off to Australian Bluegum Plantations in 2012. In South Australia the company managed blue gum plantations on Kangaroo Island, in Jamestown Gunns was a major customer of Morgan Sawmill. Gunns bought the Tarpeena softwood sawmill from the now failed Forest Enterprises Australia, which was later sold onto Timberlink. Gunns operated sawmills across the state and it operated a total of three woodchipping mills in Tasmania alone in Longreach, near Bell Bay, Triabunna and Hampshire, near Burnie. The company was forced to close all three of these mills and most of its sawmills in 2011. After being placed into administration in 2012, the Longreach mill was reopened. In 2008, operations at a sawmill in Scottsdale were restructured, the sackings broke an agreement with the federal government, leading to the cancellation of substantial funding assistance. In the same year, around 135 workers at another Auspine sawmill at Tonganah lost their jobs after a softwood timber contract had gone to a competitor, Gunns operates three hardwood sawmills in Western Australia. Their nationwide product line of timber flooring includes the hardwood, Jarrah, the timber is reddish-brown when hewn and is, renowned for its beauty, warmth and durability. Their environmental initiatives include achieving certification under International standard ISO14001,2004, Gunns supplies local trade and retail markets from its distribution yard in Welshpool, near Perth. The company has been the focus of criticism from environmentalists, primarily for its four woodchip mills which produce 4 million tonnes of chips for export annually
Gunns
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Anti-pulpmill rally (April 2007)
Gunns
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Gunns Limited
Gunns
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The proposed mill site taken from Kayena, Tasmania
Gunns
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Some members of the "Gunns 20" at a protest rally, December 2004 (Bob Brown centre, Peg Putt right)
28.
Pith
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Pith, or medulla, is a tissue in the stems of vascular plants. Pith is composed of soft, spongy parenchyma cells, which store, in eudicots, pith is located in the center of the stem. In monocots, it also into flowering stems and roots. The pith is encircled by a ring of xylem, the xylem, while new pith growth is usually white or pale in color, as the tissue ages it commonly darkens to a deeper brown color. In trees pith is generally present in young growth, but in the trunk, in some plants, the pith in the middle of the stem may dry out and disintegrate, resulting in a hollow stem. A few plants, such as walnuts, have distinctive chambered pith with numerous short cavities, the cells in the peripheral parts of the pith may, in some plants, develop to be different from cells in the rest of the pith. This layer of cells is called the perimedullary region of the pithamus. An example of this can be observed in Hedera helix, a species of ivy, the term pith is also used to refer to the pale, spongy inner layer of the rind - more properly called mesocarp or albedo - of citrus fruits and other hesperidia. The word comes from the Old English word piþa, meaning substance, akin to Middle Dutch pitt, the pith of the sola or other similar plants is used to make the pith helmet. The pith of the palm, although highly toxic to animals in its raw form, is an important human food source in Melanesia and Micronesia by virtue of its starch content. There is an easy, primitive process of extraction from sago pith that leaches away a sufficient amount of the toxins. The form of the starch after processing is similar to tapioca
Pith
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Elderberry shoot cut longitudinally to show the broad, solid pith (rough-textured, white) inside the wood (smooth, yellow-tinged). Scale in mm.
Pith
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The tiny centre dark spot (about 1 mm diameter) in this
yew wood is the pith
Pith
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Walnut shoot cut longitudinally to show the chambered pith found in this genus. Scale in mm.
29.
Starch
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Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as an energy store and it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as potatoes, wheat, maize, rice, and cassava. Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules, the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin, depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight. Glycogen, the store of animals, is a more branched version of amylopectin. In industry, starch is converted into sugars, for example by malting and it is processed to produce many of the sugars used in processed foods. Dissolving starch in water gives wheatpaste, which can be used as a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. The biggest industrial non-food use of starch is as an adhesive in the papermaking process, starch can be applied to parts of some garments before ironing, to stiffen them. The word starch is from a Germanic root with the strong, stiff. Amylum for starch is from the Greek αμυλον, amylon which means not ground at a mill, the root amyl is used in biochemistry for several compounds related to starch. Starch grains from the rhizomes of Typha as flour have been identified from grinding stones in Europe dating back to 30,000 years ago, starch grains from sorghum were found on grind stones in caves in Ngalue, Mozambique dating up to 100,000 years ago. Pure extracted wheat starch paste was used in Ancient Egypt possibly to glue papyrus, the extraction of starch is first described in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder around AD 77–79. Romans used it also in cosmetic creams, to powder the hair, persians and Indians used it to make dishes similar to gothumai wheat halva. Rice starch as surface treatment of paper has been used in production in China. In addition to starchy plants consumed directly,66 million tonnes of starch were being produced per year world-wide by 2008. In the EU this was around 8.5 million tonnes, with around 40% being used for applications and 60% for food uses. Most green plants use starch as their energy store, an exception is the family Asteraceae, where starch is replaced by the fructan inulin. In photosynthesis, plants use light energy to produce glucose from carbon dioxide, the glucose is used to make cellulose fibers, the structural component of the plant, or is stored in the form of starch granules, in amyloplasts
Starch
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Starch
Starch
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Starch, 800x magnified, under polarized light, showing characteristic
extinction cross
Starch
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Rice starch seen on light microscope. Characteristic for the rice starch is that starch granules have an angular outline and some of them are attached to each other and form larger granules
Starch
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Granules of wheat starch, stained with iodine, photographed through a light microscope
30.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
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A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
31.
Richard Flanagan
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Richard Miller Flanagan is an Australian novelist from Tasmania. Considered by many to be the finest Australian novelist of his generation, according to The Economist, each of his novels has attracted praise and received numerous awards. He also has written and directed feature films and he won the 2014 Man Booker Prize. Flanagan was born in Longford, Tasmania, in 1961, the fifth of six children and he is descended from Irish convicts transported during the Great Famine to Van Diemens Land. Flanagans father was a survivor of the Burma Death Railway and one of his three brothers is Australian rules football journalist Martin Flanagan, Flanagan grew up in the remote mining town of Rosebery on Tasmanias western coast. Flanagan left school at the age of 16 but returned to study in the University of Tasmania and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with First-Class Honours. The following year, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship at Worcester College, Oxford, Flanagan wrote four non-fiction works before moving to fiction, works he has called his apprenticeship. One of these was an autobiography of Australias greatest con man, John Friedrich, Friedrich killed himself in the middle of the books writing and it was published posthumously. Simon Caterson, writing in The Australian, described it as one of the least reliable but most fascinating memoirs in the annals of Australian publishing. His first novel, Death of a River Guide, is the tale of Aljaz Cosini, river guide, who lies drowning, reliving his life and it was described by The Times Literary Supplement as one of the most auspicious debuts in Australian writing. His next book, The Sound of One Hand Clapping, which tells the story of Slovenian immigrants, was a major bestseller, Flanagans first two novels, declared Kirkus Reviews, rank with the finest fiction out of Australia since the heyday of Patrick White. Goulds Book of Fish, Flanagans third novel, is based on the life of William Buelow Gould, a convict artist and it went on to win the 2002 Commonwealth Writers Prize. Flanagan has described these early novels as soul histories and his fourth novel was The Unknown Terrorist, which The New York Times called stunning. A brilliant meditation upon the post-9/11 world, as well as being a New Yorker Book of the Year and Observer Book of the Year, it won the Queensland Premiers Prize, the Western Australian Premiers Prize and the Tasmania Book Prize. His most recent novel is The Narrow Road to the Deep North, the life story of Dorrigo Evans, a flawed war hero and survivor of the Death Railway, it has been hailed by The Australian as beyond comparison. An immense achievement and a masterpiece by The Guardian and it won the 2014 Man Booker Prize. Some of his writings have proved controversial, the Selling-out of Tasmania, published after the death of former Premier Jim Bacon in 2004, was critical of the Bacon governments relationship with corporate interests in the state. Premier Paul Lennon declared, Richard Flanagan and his fictions are not welcome in the new Tasmania, Flanagans 2007 essay on logging company Gunns, then the biggest hardwood woodchipper in the world, Gunns
Richard Flanagan
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Richard Flanagan
32.
Wikispecies
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Wikispecies is a wiki-based online project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aim is to create a free content catalogue of all species. Jimmy Wales stated that editors are not required to fax in their degrees, Wikispecies is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and CC BY-SA3.0. Benedikt Mandl co-ordinated the efforts of people who are interested in getting involved with the project. Databases were evaluated and the administrators contacted, some of them have agreed on providing their data for Wikispecies, the board of directors of the Wikimedia Foundation voted by 4 to 0 in favor of the establishment of a Wikispecies. The project was launched in August 2004 and is hosted at species. wikimedia. org and it was officially merged to a sister project of Wikimedia Foundation on September 14,2004. On October 10,2006, the project exceeded 75,000 articles, on May 20,2007, the project exceeded 100,000 articles with a total of 5,495 registered users. On September 8,2008, the project exceeded 150,000 articles with a total of 9,224 registered users, on October 23,2011, the project reached 300,000 articles. On June 16,2014, the project reached 400,000 articles, on January 7,2017, the project reached 500,000 articles. Wikispecies has disabled local upload and asks users to use images from Wikimedia Commons, Wikispecies does not allow the use of content that does not conform to a free license
Wikispecies
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Screenshot of species.wikimedia.org home page on 3 May 2011
