Mānuka honey
Mānuka honey is a monofloral honey produced from the nectar of the mānuka tree, Leptospermum scoparium. The honey is sold as an alternative medicine. While components in mānuka honey are studied for their potential antibacterial properties in vitro, there is no conclusive evidence of medicinal or dietary value other than as a sweetener; the word mānuka is the Māori name of the tree. Mānuka honey is produced by European honey bees foraging on the mānuka or tea tree which grows uncultivated throughout New Zealand and southeastern Australia. Mānuka honey is markedly viscous; this property is due to the presence of a protein or colloid and is its main visually defining character, along with its typical dark cream to dark brown colour. Mānuka honey for export from New Zealand must be independently tested and pass the Mānuka Honey Science Definition test as specified by the Ministry for Primary Industries, The test comprises five attributes. Four are chemical and one is DNA Leptospermum scoparium; the honey must pass all five tests to be labeled as mānuka.
This testing came into effect on 5 January 2018. The MPI does not have a definition for mānuka sold in the New Zealand domestic market; the MPI Five attributes test is the only standard recognised by New Zealand legislation. The mānuka tree flowers at the same time as Kunzea ericoides, another Myrtaceae species called kānuka, which shares the same growing areas; some apiarists cannot differentiate these species, as both flowers have similar morphology and pollen differentiation between the two species is difficult. Therefore, melissopalynology as identification for the type of honey is valid only in association with other identification tests. In particular, L. scoparium honey is dark, whereas K. ericoides honey is pale yellow and clear, with a "delicate, sweet aromatic" aroma and a "sweet aromatic" flavour, is not viscous. Heather honey is viscous, but the plant flowers in late summer and its mountain distribution in north temperate Europe and central Asia does not correspond with that of Leptospermum scoparium.
Therefore, its harvest cannot be mistaken for that of manuka honey. Mānuka honey has a strong flavour, characterised as "earthy, herbaceous", "florid and complex", it is described by the New Zealand honey industry as having a "damp earth, aromatic" aroma and a "mineral bitter" flavour. Mānuka honey is under preliminary research for its potential antibacterial properties. Methylglyoxal, a component of mānuka honey, is under study for its potential activity against E. coli and S. aureus. Mānuka honey does not reduce the risk of infection following treatment for ingrown toenails; as a result of the high premium paid for mānuka honey, an increasing number of products now labelled as such worldwide are counterfeit or adulterated. According to research by UMFHA, the main trade association of New Zealand mānuka honey producers, whereas 1,700 tons of mānuka honey are made there annually representing all the world's production, some 10,000 tons of produce is being sold internationally as mānuka honey, including 1,800 tons in the UK.
In governmental agency tests in the UK between 2011 and 2013, a majority of mānuka-labelled honeys sampled lacked the non-peroxide anti-microbial activity of mānuka honey. Of 73 samples tested by UMFHA in Britain and Singapore in 2012-13, 43 tested negative. Separate UMFHA tests in Hong Kong found that 14 out of 56 mānuka honeys sampled had been adulterated with syrup. In 2013, the UK Food Standards Agency asked trading standards authorities to alert mānuka honey vendors to the need for legal compliance. There is a confusing range of systems for rating the strength of mānuka honeys. In one UK chain in 2013, two products were labelled "12+ active" and "30+ total activity" for "naturally occurring peroxide activity" and another "active 12+" in strength for "total phenol activity", yet none of the three was labelled for the strength of the non-peroxide antimicrobial activity specific to mānuka honey. There have been increasing turf disputes between producers operating close to large mānuka tree clumps, cases reported of many hives being variously sabotaged, poisoned, or stolen.
Apitherapy Beekeeping in New Zealand
Eudicots
The eudicots, Eudicotidae or eudicotyledons are a clade of flowering plants, called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicots by previous authors. The botanical terms were introduced in 1991 by evolutionary botanist James A. Doyle and paleobotanist Carol L. Hotton to emphasize the evolutionary divergence of tricolpate dicots from earlier, less specialized, dicots; the close relationships among flowering plants with tricolpate pollen grains was seen in morphological studies of shared derived characters. These plants have a distinct trait in their pollen grains of exhibiting three colpi or grooves paralleling the polar axis. Molecular evidence confirmed the genetic basis for the evolutionary relationships among flowering plants with tricolpate pollen grains and dicotyledonous traits; the term means "true dicotyledons", as it contains the majority of plants that have been considered dicots and have characteristics of the dicots. The term "eudicots" has subsequently been adopted in botany to refer to one of the two largest clades of angiosperms, monocots being the other.
The remaining angiosperms include magnoliids and what are sometimes referred to as basal angiosperms or paleodicots, but these terms have not been or adopted, as they do not refer to a monophyletic group. The other name for the eudicots is tricolpates, a name which refers to the grooved structure of the pollen. Members of the group have tricolpate pollen; these pollens have three or more pores set in furrows called colpi. In contrast, most of the other seed plants produce monosulcate pollen, with a single pore set in a differently oriented groove called the sulcus; the name "tricolpates" is preferred by some botanists to avoid confusion with the dicots, a nonmonophyletic group. Numerous familiar plants are eudicots, including many common food plants and ornamentals; some common and familiar eudicots include members of the sunflower family such as the common dandelion, the forget-me-not and other members of its family, buttercup and macadamia. Most leafy trees of midlatitudes belong to eudicots, with notable exceptions being magnolias and tulip trees which belong to magnoliids, Ginkgo biloba, not an angiosperm.
The name "eudicots" is used in the APG system, of 1998, APG II system, of 2003, for classification of angiosperms. It is applied to a monophyletic group, which includes most of the dicots. "Tricolpate" is a synonym for the "Eudicot" monophyletic group, the "true dicotyledons". The number of pollen grain furrows or pores helps classify the flowering plants, with eudicots having three colpi, other groups having one sulcus. Pollen apertures are any modification of the wall of the pollen grain; these modifications include thinning and pores, they serve as an exit for the pollen contents and allow shrinking and swelling of the grain caused by changes in moisture content. The elongated apertures/ furrows in the pollen grain are called colpi, along with pores, are a chief criterion for identifying the pollen classes; the eudicots can be divided into two groups: the basal eudicots and the core eudicots. Basal eudicot is an informal name for a paraphyletic group; the core eudicots are a monophyletic group.
A 2010 study suggested the core eudicots can be divided into two clades, Gunnerales and a clade called "Pentapetalae", comprising all the remaining core eudicots. The Pentapetalae can be divided into three clades: Dilleniales superrosids consisting of Saxifragales and rosids superasterids consisting of Santalales, Berberidopsidales and asteridsThis division of the eudicots is shown in the following cladogram: The following is a more detailed breakdown according to APG IV, showing within each clade and orders: clade Eudicots order Ranunculales order Proteales order Trochodendrales order Buxales clade Core eudicots order Gunnerales order Dilleniales clade Superrosids order Saxifragales clade Rosids order Vitales clade Fabids order Fabales order Rosales order Fagales order Cucurbitales order Oxalidales order Malpighiales order Celastrales order Zygophyllales clade Malvids order Geraniales order Myrtales order Crossosomatales order Picramniales order Malvales order Brassicales order Huerteales order Sapindales clade Superasterids order Berberidopsidales order Santalales order Caryophyllales clade Asterids order Cornales order Ericales clade Campanulids order Aquifoliales order Asterales order Escalloniales order Bruniales order Apiales order Dipsacales order Paracryphiales clade Lamiids order Solanales order Lamiales order Vahliales order Gentianales order Boraginales order Garryales order Metteniusales order Icacinales Eudicots at the Encyclopedia of Life Eudicots, Tree of Life Web Project Dicots Plant Life Forms
Binomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature called binominal nomenclature or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a binomen, binominal name or a scientific name; the first part of the name – the generic name – identifies the genus to which the species belongs, while the second part – the specific name or specific epithet – identifies the species within the genus. For example, humans belong within this genus to the species Homo sapiens. Tyrannosaurus rex is the most known binomial; the formal introduction of this system of naming species is credited to Carl Linnaeus beginning with his work Species Plantarum in 1753. 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; the application of binomial nomenclature is now governed by various internationally agreed codes of rules, of which the two most important are the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature for animals and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae and plants.
Although the general principles underlying binomial nomenclature are common to these two codes, there are some differences, both in the terminology they use and in their precise rules. In modern usage, the first letter of the first part of the name, the genus, is always capitalized in writing, while that of the second part is not when derived from a proper noun such as the name of a person or place. 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 binomial name is given, at least when it is first mentioned, the date of publication may be specified. In zoology "Patella vulgata Linnaeus, 1758"; the name "Linnaeus" tells the reader who it was that first published a description and name for this species of limpet. "Passer domesticus". The original name given by Linnaeus was Fringilla domestica; 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, although nomenclatorial catalogs include such information.
In botany "Amaranthus retroflexus L." – "L." is the standard abbreviation used in botany for "Linnaeus". "Hyacinthoides italica Rothm. – Linnaeus first named this bluebell species Scilla italica. The name is composed of two word-forming elements: "bi", a Latin prefix for two, "-nomial", relating to a term or terms; the word "binomium" was used in Medieval Latin to mean a two-term expression in mathematics. Prior to the adoption of the modern binomial system of naming species, a scientific name consisted of a generic name combined with a specific name, from one to several words long. Together they formed a system of polynomial nomenclature; these names had two separate functions. First, to designate or label the species, second, to be a diagnosis or description. In a simple genus, containing only two species, it was easy to tell them apart with a one-word genus and a one-word specific name; such "polynomial names" may sometimes look like binomials, but are different. For example, Gerard's herbal describes various kinds of spiderwort: "The first is called Phalangium ramosum, Branched Spiderwort.
The other... 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, more known by his Latinized name Carl Linnaeus, 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 specific name; the Bauhins' genus names were retained in many of these, but the descriptive part was reduced to a single word. Linnaeus's trivial names introduced an important new idea, namely that the function of a name could be to give a species a unique label; this meant. Thus Gerard's Phalangium ephemerum virginianum became Tradescantia virgi
Sawdust
Sawdust or wood dust is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, planing, routing and sanding. It is composed of fine particles of wood; these operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, portable power tools or by use of hand tools. Wood dust is the byproduct of certain animals and insects which live in wood, such as the woodpecker and carpenter ant. In some manufacturing industries it can be a significant fire hazard and source of occupational dust exposure. Sawdust is the main component of particleboard. Wood dust particulates. Research on wood dust health hazards comes within the field of occupational health science, study of wood dust control comes within the field of indoor air quality engineering. Two waste products and chips, form at the working surface during woodworking operations such as sawing and sanding; these operations both break out whole cells and groups of cells. Shattering of wood cells creates dust, while breaking out of whole groups of wood cells creates chips.
The more cell-shattering that occurs, the finer the dust particles. For example and milling are mixed cell shattering and chip forming processes, whereas sanding is exclusively cell shattering. A major use of sawdust is for particleboard. Sawdust has a variety of other practical uses, including serving as a mulch, as an alternative to clay cat litter, or as a fuel; until the advent of refrigeration, it was used in icehouses to keep ice frozen during the summer. It has been used in artistic displays, as scatter in miniature railroad and other models, it is sometimes used to soak up liquid spills, allowing the spill to be collected or swept aside. As such, it was common on barroom floors, it is used to make Cutler's resin. Mixed with water and frozen, it forms a slow-melting, much stronger form of ice. Sawdust is used in the manufacture of charcoal briquettes; the claim for invention of the first commercial charcoal briquettes goes to Henry Ford who created them from the wood scraps and sawdust produced by his automobile factory.
Cellulose, fibre starch, indigestible to humans, a filler in some low calorie foods, can be and is made from sawdust, as well as from other plant sources. While there is no documentation for the persistent rumor, based upon Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, that sawdust was used as a filler in sausage, cellulose derived from sawdust was and is used for sausage casings. Sawdust-derived cellulose has been used as a filler in bread; when cereals were scarce, sawdust was sometimes an ingredient in Kommissbrot. Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, Dr. Miklós Nyiszli, reports in Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account that the subaltern medical staff, who served Dr. Josef Mengele, subsisted on "bread made from wild chestnuts sprinkled with sawdust." Airborne sawdust and sawdust accumulations present a number of safety hazards. Wood dust becomes a potential health problem when, for example, the wood particles, from processes such as sanding, become airborne and are inhaled. Wood dust is a known human carcinogen.
Certain woods and their dust contain toxins. Breathing airborne wood dust may cause allergic respiratory symptoms and non-allergic respiratory symptoms, cancer. In the USA, lists of carcinogenic factors are published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. All these organisations recognize wood dust as carcinogenic in relation to the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses. People can be exposed to wood dust in the workplace by breathing it in, skin contact, or eye contact; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set the legal limit for wood dust exposure in the workplace as 15 mg/m3 total exposure and 5 mg/m3 respiratory exposure over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has set a recommended exposure limit of 1 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday; as with all airborne particulates, wood dust particle sizes are classified with regard to effect on the human respiratory system.
For this classification, the unit for measurement of particle sizes is the micrometre or micron, where 1 micrometre = 1 micron. Particles below 50 μm are not visible to the naked human eye. Particles of concern for human respiratory health are those <100 μm. Zhang has defined the size of indoor particulates according to respiratory fraction: Particles which precipitate in the vicinity of the mouth and eyes, get into the organism, are defined as the inhalable fraction, total dust. Smaller fractions, penetrating into the non-cartilage respiratory tract, are defined as respirable dust. Dust emitted in the wood industry is characterized by the dimensional disintegration of particles up to 5 μm, and, why they precipitate in the nasal cavity, increasing the risk of cancer of the upper respiratory tract; the parameter most used to characterize exposures to wood dust in air is total wood dust concentration, in mass per unit volume. In countries that use the metric system, this is measured in mg/m³ A study to estimate occupational exposure to inhalable wood dust by country, the level of exposure and type of wood dust in 25 member states of the European Union found that in 2000–2003, about 3.6 million workers were occupationally
Rosids
The rosids are members of a large clade of flowering plants, containing about 70,000 species, more than a quarter of all angiosperms. The clade is divided into 16 to 20 orders, depending upon circumscription and classification; these orders, in turn, together comprise about 140 families. Fossil rosids are known from the Cretaceous period. Molecular clock estimates indicate that the rosids originated in the Aptian or Albian stages of the Cretaceous, between 125 and 99.6 million years ago. The name is based upon the name "Rosidae", understood to be a subclass. In 1967, Armen Takhtajan showed that the correct basis for the name "Rosidae" is a description of a group of plants published in 1830 by Friedrich Gottlieb Bartling; the clade was renamed "Rosidae" and has been variously delimited by different authors. The name "rosids" is informal and not assumed to have any particular taxonomic rank like the names authorized by the ICBN; the rosids are monophyletic based upon evidence found by molecular phylogenetic analysis.
Three different definitions of the rosids were used. Some authors included the orders Vitales in the rosids. Others excluded both of these orders; the circumscription used in this article is that of the APG IV classification, which includes Vitales, but excludes Saxifragales. The rosids and Saxifragales form the superrosids clade; this is one of three groups that compose the Pentapetalae, the others being Dilleniales and the superasterids. The rosids consist of two groups: the eurosids; the eurosids, in turn, are divided into two groups: malvids. The rosids consist of 17 orders. In addition to Vitales, there are 8 orders in malvids; some of the orders have only been recognized. These are Vitales, Crossosomatales and Huerteales; the phylogeny of Rosids shown below is adapted from the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group website. The nitrogen-fixing clade contains a high number of actinorhizal plants. Not all plants in this clade are actinorhizal, however. Media related to Rosids at Wikimedia Commons
Auckland Botanic Gardens
Auckland Botanic Gardens is a 64-hectare botanical garden in Manurewa, South Auckland, New Zealand, owned by Auckland Council. The first purchase of land by the Auckland Regional Authority – predecessor of Auckland Regional Council – dates back to 1968. Developments started in 1973; the garden was opened to the public in 1982. In that same year the first Visitors Guide was published, it now holds more than 10,000 plants. The first concept for a botanical garden in the Auckland region started in 1926, when members of the Auckland District Horticultural Society suggested such an attraction for Auckland. In October, 1928, a report was forwarded to the Parks Committee of the City Council with recommendations; this was approved by the Committee. The Committee recommended to put aside part of the Auckland Domain for the purpose. "Since very little further has been done". In 1945 Churchill Park was considered. In the 1950s many sites were investigated for housing a botanic garden. In 1957 V. J. Chapman, professor of botany at Auckland University College, drew attention to the fact that Auckland, alone among New Zealand's chief cities, had no botanic garden.
He pointed out that the city could acquire 80 acres of land at the Tamaki property of the University. In 1960 an ad hoc committee was formed to try to find a suitable site and to secure its development as a botanic garden. In 1963 it became clear; the search continued. In 1964, an area of land in the Manurewa suburb was examined with positive results. On 9 February 1968 the Auckland Regional Authority acquired 42 hectares of land from the Nathan Estate in Manurewa, the Manukau City Council bought the remaining 40 hectares of the Estate, since the property was offered as a whole; the land was leased for grazing until 1970. Soil tests were carried out; these proved. A scientific advisory committee prepared the first master plan for the Gardens; this was adopted by Council in March 1972. On 19 February 1973 the Auckland City Councillor, Tom Pearce, turned the first sod. A nursery was established at the eastern end of the Hill Road frontage. In 1982 the Auckland Regional Authority bought 20.5 ha from Manukau City and accepted from it a gift of 2.2 ha to give the Gardens a northern frontage onto Orams Road.
23 February 1982 the Gardens were opened by David Bellamy. At that time the facilities included a visitor centre, the courtyard, the carpark and public toilets; the plant collections were confined to the southern parts of the Gardens. In 1983 the Sir John Logan Campbell Lecture Building was erected. In 1986 an entrance at Katote Place was constructed in memory of Mr. Harry Beaumont, a former member of both the Auckland Regional Authority and Manukau City Council, a strong promoter of the establishment of the Gardens; that same year the Unitec Horticultural Classroom and an associated demonstration home garden were opened. A review of the role and activities of the Gardens was undertaken in 1988-89 by a working party.1990 - onwards In the early 1990s a covered courtyard and the Friends Horticultural Reference library were opened. Redevelopment of garden collections were undertaken in the 2000s such as the Heritage Rose Garden, New Zealand Rose Garden and the South African garden. A new significant addition to the garden was the opening of the Threatened Native Plant Garden by the Prime Minister Helen Clark on 29 September 2001.
This was followed by another significant development of a new Children's Garden, formally opened by HRH The Prince of Wales on 10 March 2005. On the same year a new Visitor Centre building was opened. A biennial sculpture exhibition, showcasing selected large-scale public sculptures, commenced in 2007 running for 3 months over the summer season. Another round of garden redevelopment occurred in the late 2000s with a major revamp of the Edible Gardens into themed rooms and a second stage added to the Children's Garden. From 2010 onwards, a series of low-impact and water treatment/ stormwater design initiatives were added around the garden such as 2 living roof buildings, vegetated swales, rain gardens and riparian planting around the central lakes; this location was used in television series Power Rangers Dino Charge, turned into Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum and in 2016 changed to Amber Beach Dinosaur Zoo. In the first years after the opening in February 1982 the visitor numbers were stable around 100,000 visits per annum.
1988: 143,000. From 1988 to 1994 a rapid increase took place:. Annual visitation to the Gardens reached 969,000 people in 2009/2010 and has increased to around one million people each year since; the mission of Auckland Botanic Gardens is threefold: to contribute to the community's wellbeing and appreciation of plants. To reflect in the range of plants on display the region's benevolent climate, its diverse landscape and its ethnic mix. to meet the needs and interests of the community and to inspire and inform people about the importance of plants in their lives and to the environment. Research in the Botanic Gardens has been directed on identifying plants that are best suited to growing in local conditions. Three panels have been active, on natives, on trees and shrubs, on bulbs and perennials; as a result of this research a great number of Advisory Leaflets was published, together forming the dossier "Gardening in Auckland – Horticultural advice for Auckland gardeners" available at the visitor centre.
Much of the trials have been conducted in the Shrub Trial Garden. Here some extensive collections have been created of Hydrang
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant that has leaves throughout the year that are always green. This is true if the plant retains its foliage only in warm climates, contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage during the winter or dry season. There are many different kinds of both trees and shrubs. Evergreens include: most species of conifers, but not all live oak, "ancient" gymnosperms such as cycads most angiosperms from frost-free climates, such as eucalypts and rainforest trees clubmosses and relativesThe Latin binomial term sempervirens, meaning "always green", refers to the evergreen nature of the plant, for instance Cupressus sempervirens Lonicera sempervirens Sequoia sempervirens Leaf persistence in evergreen plants varies from a few months to several decades. Deciduous trees shed their leaves as an adaptation to a cold or dry/wet season. Evergreen trees do lose leaves, but each tree loses its leaves and not all at once. Most tropical rainforest plants are considered to be evergreens, replacing their leaves throughout the year as the leaves age and fall, whereas species growing in seasonally arid climates may be either evergreen or deciduous.
Most warm temperate climate plants are 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 −26 °C. In areas where there is a reason for being deciduous, e.g. a cold season or dry season, being evergreen is an adaptation to low nutrient levels. Deciduous trees lose nutrients. In warmer areas, species such as some pines and cypresses grow on disturbed ground. In Rhododendron, a genus with many broadleaf evergreens, several species grow in mature forests but are found on acidic soil where the nutrients are less available to plants. In taiga or boreal forests, it is too cold for the organic matter in the soil to decay so the nutrients in the soil are less available to plants, thus favouring evergreens. In temperate climates, evergreens can reinforce their own survival; these conditions favour the growth of more evergreens and make it more 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. Semi-deciduous Helen Ingersoll. "Evergreens". Encyclopedia Americana
