1.
Senecio vulgaris
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Senecio vulgaris, often known by the common names groundsel and old-man-in-the-Spring, is a flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is an herb, native to Europe and widely naturalised as a ruderal species in suitable disturbed habitats worldwide. Senecio vulgaris is an herbaceous annual growing up to 16 inches tall. The inflorescences usually lack ray florets, the disc florets mostly hidden by the bracts giving the flowers an inconspicuous appearance. Senecio vulgaris is similar to Senecio viscosus but S. vulgaris does not have the glandular hairs. Leaves are pinnately lobed and +2.4 inches long and 1 inch wide, leaves are sparsely covered with soft, smooth, fine hairs. Lobes typically sharp to rounded saw-toothed, the hollow stems branch at the tops and from the base. Stems and leaves can both host the Cineraria leaf rust, there is a radiate form of Senecio vulgaris, which is the result of cross pollination with the closely related Oxford ragwort, Senecio squalidus. The seeds are achene, include a pappus and become sticky when wet, the average weight of 1000 seeds is 0.21 gram and experienced a 100% germination success before drying and storage and an 87% germination success after drying and 3 years of cool dry storage. In simple models for seed emergence prediction, soil thermal time did not predict the timing, roots The root system consists of a shallow taproot. This plant spreads by reseeding itself, vernacular names for S. Senecio vulgaris is considered to be native to Europe, northern Asia, and parts of North Africa. Its further distribution is less clear, individual research groups claim it is not native to areas they oversee, Florida, Washington, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Missouri. The United States Geological Survey reports that Common Groundsel is exotic to all 50 states and all Canadian provinces with the exception of Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, the seed of common groundsel is a good green food for canaries and finches and it is available all year round. Senecio vulgaris seed has been found in the droppings of sparrows, seed has also been found in cow manure. The ragwort flea beetle and ragwort seed fly have been approved and released for Senecio control in California, Australia and elsewhere. Fungus Most Senecio, including S. fischeri Powdery Mildew Erysiphales Podosphaera fusca - Black root rot Microascales some of the family Incertae sedis and other fungus that are not listed here. Senecio vulgaris has been listed as a weed, being both non-indigenous to most if not all of the Americas and having a reputation for being hepatotoxic to livestock. All species of the genus Senecio contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids a substance that when a human has chronic exposure can cause liver damage
2.
Taxonomy (biology)
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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
3.
Plant
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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
4.
Flowering plant
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The flowering plants, also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants, with 416 families, approx. 13,164 known genera and a total of c.295,383 known species, etymologically, angiosperm means a plant that produces seeds within an enclosure, in other words, a fruiting plant. The term angiosperm comes from the Greek composite word meaning enclosed seeds, the ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms in the Triassic Period, during the range 245 to 202 million years ago, and the first flowering plants are known from 160 mya. They diversified extensively during the Lower Cretaceous, became widespread by 120 mya, angiosperms differ from other seed plants in several ways, described in the table. These distinguishing characteristics taken together have made the angiosperms the most diverse and numerous land plants, the amount and complexity of tissue-formation in flowering plants exceeds that of gymnosperms. The vascular bundles of the stem are arranged such that the xylem and phloem form concentric rings, in the dicotyledons, the bundles in the very young stem are arranged in an open ring, separating a central pith from an outer cortex. In each bundle, separating the xylem and phloem, is a layer of meristem or active formative tissue known as cambium, the soft phloem becomes crushed, but the hard wood persists and forms the bulk of the stem and branches of the woody perennial. Among the monocotyledons, the bundles are more numerous in the stem and are scattered through the ground tissue. They contain no cambium and once formed the stem increases in diameter only in exceptional cases, the characteristic feature of angiosperms is the flower. Flowers show remarkable variation in form and elaboration, and provide the most trustworthy external characteristics for establishing relationships among angiosperm species, the function of the flower is to ensure fertilization of the ovule and development of fruit containing seeds. The floral apparatus may arise terminally on a shoot or from the axil of a leaf, occasionally, as in violets, a flower arises singly in the axil of an ordinary foliage-leaf. There are two kinds of cells produced by flowers. Microspores, which divide to become pollen grains, are the male cells and are borne in the stamens. The female cells called megaspores, which divide to become the egg cell, are contained in the ovule. The flower may consist only of parts, as in willow. Usually, other structures are present and serve to protect the sporophylls, the individual members of these surrounding structures are known as sepals and petals. The outer series is usually green and leaf-like, and functions to protect the rest of the flower, the inner series is, in general, white or brightly colored, and is more delicate in structure. It functions to attract insect or bird pollinators, attraction is effected by color, scent, and nectar, which may be secreted in some part of the flower
5.
Eudicots
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The eudicots, Eudicotidae or eudicotyledons are a monophyletic clade of flowering plants that had been called tricolpates or non-magnoliid dicots by previous authors. The close relationships among flowering plants with tricolpate pollen grains was initially seen in studies of shared derived characters. These plants have a trait in their pollen grains of exhibiting three colpi or grooves paralleling the polar axis. Later molecular evidence confirmed the basis for the evolutionary relationships among flowering plants with tricolpate pollen grains. 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 widely adopted in botany to refer to one of the two largest clades of angiosperms, monocots being the other. The remaining angiosperms are sometimes referred to as basal angiosperms or paleodicots, 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, or forms derived from it and these pollens have three or more pores set in furrows called colpi. In contrast, most of the seed plants produce monosulcate pollen. The name tricolpates is preferred by some botanists to avoid confusion with the dicots, numerous familiar plants are eudicots, including many common food plants, trees, and ornamentals. Most leafy trees of midlatitudes also belong to eudicots, with exceptions being magnolias and tulip trees which belong to magnoliids, and Ginkgo biloba. The name eudicots is used in the APG system, of 1998 and it is applied to a clade, a monophyletic group, which includes most of the dicots. 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
6.
Asterids
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In the APG IV system for the classification of flowering plants, the name asterids denotes a clade. Most of the taxa belonging to this clade had been referred to the Asteridae in the Cronquist system, the name asterids resembles the earlier botanical name but is intended to be the name of a clade rather than a formal ranked name, in the sense of the ICBN. The phylogenetic tree presented hereafter has been proposed by the APG IV project, genetic analysis carried out after APG II maintains that the sister to all other asterids are the Cornales. A second order that split from the base of the asterids are the Ericales, the remaining orders cluster into two clades, the lamiids and the campanulids. The structure of both of these clades has changed in APG III, in APG III system, the following clades were renamed, euasterids I → lamiids euasterids II → campanulids Asterids in Stevens, P. F. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website
7.
Asterales
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The order is a cosmopolite, and includes mostly herbaceous species, although a small number of trees and shrubs are also present. Asterales are organisms that seem to have evolved from one common ancestor, Asterales share characteristics on morphological and biochemical levels. Synapomorphies include the presence in the plants of oligosaccharide inulin, a nutrient storage molecule used instead of starch, under the Cronquist system of taxonomic classification of flowering plants, Asteraceae was the only family in the group, but newer systems have expanded it to 11. In the classification system of Dahlgren the Asterales were in the superorder Asteriflorae, the order Asterales currently includes 11 families, the largest of which are the Asteraceae, with about 25,000 species, and the Campanulaceae, with about 2,000 species. The remaining families count together for less than 500 species, the phylogenetic tree according to APG III for the Campanulid clade is as below. The core Asterales are Stylidiaceae, APA clade, MGCA clade, other Asterales are Rousseaceae, Campanulaceae and Pentaphragmataceae. All Asterales families are represented in the Southern Hemisphere, however, Asteraceae and Campanulaceae are cosmopolitan, less can be said about the Asterales themselves with certainty, although since several families in Asterales contain trees, the ancestral member is most likely to have been a tree or shrub. Because all clades are represented in the southern hemisphere but many not in the northern hemisphere, Asterales are angiosperms, flowering plants that appeared about 140 million years ago. Asterales contain about 14% of eudicot diversity, however few fossils have been found, of the Menyanthaceae-Asteraceae clade in the Oligocene, about 29 Mya. Fossil evidence of the Asterales is rare and belongs to rather recent epochs, an Oligocene pollen is known for Asteraceae and Goodeniaceae, and seeds from Oligocene and Miocene are known for Menyanthaceae and Campanulaceae respectively. The Asterales, by dint of being a super-set of the family Asteraceae, include some species grown for food, including the sunflower, lettuce, many are also used as spices and traditional medicines. Asterales are common plants and have many known uses, for example, pyrethrum is a natural insecticide with minimal environmental impact. Wormwood, derived from a genus that includes the sagebrush, is used as a source of flavoring for absinthe, despite the large number of species in order Asterales, they do not compare in economic benefit for mankind to the Poales or to the Fabaceae. The Asteraceae include many plant species in North America. W. S. Judd, C. S. Campbell, E. A. Kellogg, P. F. Stevens, plant Systematics, A Phylogenetic Approach, 2nd edition. In, Nature Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, Asterales - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online
8.
Asteraceae
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Asteraceae or Compositae is a very large and widespread family of flowering plants. The family currently has 32,913 accepted species names, in 1,911 genera and 13 subfamilies, in terms of numbers of species, the Asteraceae are rivaled only by the Orchidaceae. Many members have composite flowers in the form of flower heads surrounded by involucral bracts, when viewed from a distance, each capitulum may have the appearance of being a single flower. The name Asteraceae comes from the type genus Aster, from the Greek ἀστήρ, meaning star, Compositae is an older but still valid name which refers to the fact that the family is one of the few angiosperm ones to have composite flowers. Most members of Asteraceae are herbaceous, but a significant number are also shrubs, vines, the family has a worldwide distribution, from the polar regions to the tropics, colonizing a wide variety of habitats. It is most common in the arid and semiarid regions of subtropical, the Asteraceae may represent as much as 10% of autochthonous flora in many regions of the world. Asteraceae is an important family, providing products such as cooking oils, lettuce, sunflower seeds, artichokes, sweetening agents, coffee substitutes. Several genera are of importance, including pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, Echinacea, various daisies, fleabane, chrysanthemums, dahlias, zinnias. Asteraceae are important in medicine, including Grindelia, yarrow. A number of species are considered invasive, including, most notably in North America, dandelion, the name Asteraceae comes to international scientific vocabulary from New Latin, from Aster, the type genus, + -aceae, a standardized suffix for plant family names in modern taxonomy. The genus name comes from the Classical Latin word aster, star, Compositae, an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in only a few other angiosperm families. The study of family is known as synantherology. The vernacular name daisy, widely applied to members of family, is derived from its Old English name, dægesege, from dæges eage. This is because the open at dawn and close at dusk. Composite flowers have a distribution, and are found everywhere except Antarctica. They are especially numerous in tropical and subtropical regions, Compositae were first described in 1792 by the German botanist Paul Dietrich Giseke. Traditionally, two subfamilies were recognised, Asteroideae and Cichorioideae, the latter has been shown to be extensively paraphyletic, and has now been divided into 12 subfamilies, but the former still stands. The phylogenetic tree presented below is based on Panero & Funk updated in 2014, the diamond denotes a very poorly supported node, the dot a poorly supported node
9.
Senecioneae
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Senecioneae is the largest tribe of the Asteraceae, or the sunflower family, comprising approximately 150 genera and 3,000 species. Almost one-third of the species in this tribe are placed in the genus Senecio, plants in this tribe are responsible for more livestock poisonings than all other plants combined. The poisons are particularly pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Senecio and furanoeremophilanes in Tetradymia, a number of species are well known in horticulture. The traditional view of the tribe has been that of one huge genus Senecio plus many other genera which exhibit varying degrees of distinctiveness, which have since then been excluded. Many segregate genera have been recognized in recent studies, often with circumscriptions derived from selected representative species and it is yet unclear that the recognition of numerous segregate genera provides a better taxonomy than treating the variation patterns as infrageneric taxa. A respectable case can be made for maintaining Senecio as a concept, at least until revisionary studies at the species level are carried out. Most genera that have removed from Senecioneae in its broadest sense have come to rest within Liabeae or within a broadly circumscribed Heliantheae. Additional information may be found in B. G. Baldwin et al. H. Robinson, selection of genera compiled from several lists, Media related to Senecioneae at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Senecioneae at Wikispecies
10.
Carl Linnaeus
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Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who formalised the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature. He is known by the father of modern taxonomy. Many of his writings were in Latin, and his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus, Linnaeus was born in the countryside of Småland, in southern Sweden. He received most of his education at Uppsala University. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published a first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands and he then returned to Sweden, where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, at the time of his death, he was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message, Tell him I know no man on earth. The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, Swedish author August Strindberg wrote, Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a naturalist. Among other compliments, Linnaeus has been called Princeps botanicorum, The Pliny of the North and he is also considered as one of the founders of modern ecology. In botany, the abbreviation used to indicate Linnaeus as the authority for species names is L. In older publications, sometimes the abbreviation Linn. is found, Linnæus was born in the village of Råshult in Småland, Sweden, on 23 May 1707. He was the first child of Nicolaus Ingemarsson and Christina Brodersonia and his siblings were Anna Maria Linnæa, Sofia Juliana Linnæa, Samuel Linnæus, and Emerentia Linnæa. One of a line of peasants and priests, Nils was an amateur botanist, a Lutheran minister. Christina was the daughter of the rector of Stenbrohult, Samuel Brodersonius, a year after Linnæus birth, his grandfather Samuel Brodersonius died, and his father Nils became the rector of Stenbrohult. The family moved into the rectory from the curates house, even in his early years, Linnæus seemed to have a liking for plants, flowers in particular. Whenever he was upset, he was given a flower, which calmed him. Nils spent much time in his garden and often showed flowers to Linnaeus, soon Linnæus was given his own patch of earth where he could grow plants
11.
Type species
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A similar concept is used for suprageneric groups called a type genus. In botanical nomenclature, these terms have no standing under the code of nomenclature. In botany, the type of a name is a specimen which is also the type of a species name. The species name that has that type can also be referred to as the type of the genus name, names of genus and family ranks, the various subdivisions of those ranks, and some higher-rank names based on genus names, have such types. In bacteriology, a species is assigned for each genus. Every named genus or subgenus in zoology, whether or not currently recognized as valid, is associated with a type species. In practice, however, there is a backlog of untypified names defined in older publications when it was not required to specify a type, a type species is both a concept and a practical system that is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals. The type species represents the species and thus definition for a particular genus name. In the Glossary, type species is defined as The nominal species that is the type of a nominal genus or subgenus. The type species permanently attaches a formal name to a genus by providing just one species within that genus to which the name is permanently linked. The species name in turn is fixed, in theory, to a type specimen, for example, the type species for the land snail genus Monacha is Monacha cartusiana. That genus is placed within the family Hygromiidae. The type genus for that family is the genus Hygromia, the concept of the type species in zoology was introduced by Pierre André Latreille. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature states that the name of the type species should always be cited. It gives an example in Article 67.1, Astacus marinus Fabricius,1775 was later designated as the type species of the genus Homarus, thus giving it the name Homarus marinus. However, the species of Homarus should always be cited using its original name. 3, the type of the genus name Elodes is quoted as the type of the species name Hypericum aegypticum, Glossary of scientific naming Genetypes – genetic sequence data from type specimens. Holotype Paratype Principle of Typification Type Type genus
12.
Synonym (taxonomy)
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For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies. This name is no longer in use, it is now a synonym of the current scientific name which is Picea abies, unlike synonyms in other contexts, in taxonomy a synonym is not interchangeable with the name of which it is a synonym. In taxonomy, synonyms are not equals, but have a different status, for any taxon with a particular circumscription, position, and rank, only one scientific name is considered to be the correct one at any given time. A synonym cannot exist in isolation, it is always an alternative to a different scientific name, given that the correct name of a taxon depends on the taxonomic viewpoint used a name that is one taxonomists synonym may be another taxonomists correct name. Synonyms may arise whenever the same taxon is described and named more than once, independently. They may also arise when existing taxa are changed, as when two taxa are joined to one, a species is moved to a different genus. To the general user of scientific names, in such as agriculture, horticulture, ecology, general science. A synonym is a name that was used as the correct scientific name but which has been displaced by another scientific name. Thus Oxford Dictionaries Online defines the term as a name which has the same application as another. In handbooks and general texts, it is useful to have mentioned as such after the current scientific name. Synonyms used in this way may not always meet the strict definitions of the synonym in the formal rules of nomenclature which govern scientific names. Changes of scientific name have two causes, they may be taxonomic or nomenclatural, a name change may be caused by changes in the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, representing a change in taxonomic, scientific insight. A name change may be due to purely nomenclatural reasons, that is, based on the rules of nomenclature, the earliest such name is called the senior synonym, while the later name is the junior synonym. One basic principle of zoological nomenclature is that the earliest correctly published name, synonyms are important because if the earliest name cannot be used, then the next available junior synonym must be used for the taxon. Objective synonyms refer to taxa with the type and same rank. For example, John Edward Gray published the name Antilocapra anteflexa in 1855 for a species of pronghorn, however, it is now commonly accepted that his specimen was an unusual individual of the species Antilocapra americana published by George Ord in 1815. Ords name thus takes precedence, with Antilocapra anteflexa being a subjective synonym. Objective synonyms are common at the level of genera, because for various reasons two genera may contain the type species, these are objective synonyms
13.
Dendrosenecio
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Dendrosenecio is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is a segregate of Senecio, in which it formed the subgenus Dendrosenecio and its members, the giant groundsels, are native to the higher altitude zones of ten mountain groups in equatorial East Africa, where they form a conspicuous element of the flora. They have a giant rosette habit, with a leaf rosette at the apex of a stout woody stem. When they bloom, the form a large terminal inflorescence. Concomitantly, two to four branches are normally initiated. As a result, old plants have the appearance of candelabras the size of telephone poles, Dendrosenecio varies geographically between mountain ranges, and altitudinally on a single mountain. There has been disagreement among botanists as to which populations of Dendrosenecio warrant recognition as species, the following list, taken from Knox & Palmer will be used for articles about this genus. Dendrosenecio adnivalis E. B. Knox Dendrosenecio battiscombei E. B. Knox Dendrosenecio brassiciformis Mabb, Dendrosenecio cheranganiensis E. B. Knox Dendrosenecio elgonensis E. B. Knox Dendrosenecio erici-rosenii E. B. Knox Dendrosenecio johnstonii B. Nord. Dendrosenecio kilimanjari E. B. Knox Dendrosenecio meruensis E. B, in several of the ranges different species, or subspecies, are found at different heights. The mountains of central and eastern Africa are an almost ideal model system for studying speciation and adaptation in plants, the mountains rise far above the surrounding plains and plateaus, tall enough to reach above the tree line forming islands in the sky or isolated habitats. These predominantly volcanic peaks further simplify the model by their age and arrangement around the Lake Victoria basin, the species found on Mount Kenya are by far the best model for altitudinal variation. Keniensis but in the wetter environments, gridded Adaptive Speciation Studies Each mountain has a vertical gradient of precipitation and temperature fluctuations. Each mountain providing its own vertically placed array of isolated habitats, 3400-3800 meters Given the name Afro-alpine region by Hauman in 1955. Dendrosenecio keniensis grows in this region on Mount Kenya, a variety or subspecies of Dendrosenecio johnstonii live within this altitude range on all three of the tallest mountains. 3800-4500 meters The upper moorlands, this is where most of the D. brassica make their homes on all three of the mountains, living with tough dwarf shrubs, 4300-5000 meters Dendrosenecio woodlands, where each mountain has its own special variety. Dendrosenecio keniensis on Mount Kenya, Dendrosenecio kilimanjari on Mount Kilimanjaro,4500 meters-peak Populations of Dendrosenecio start to dwindle. Mount Kenya has the least vegetation in its parts due to its freezing temperatures. As they moved down that mountain, adapting to live in the different environment at the altitudes of Mount Kilimanjaro, they became a new species
14.
Senecio
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Senecio /sᵻˈniːʃi. oʊ/ is a genus of the daisy family that includes ragworts and groundsels. The scientific Latin genus name, Senecio, means old man, variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus Senecio is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. The traditional circumscription of Senecio is artificial, being polyphyletic, even in its new circumscription which is based on genetic data, despite the separation of many species into other genera, the genus still contains c. 1250 species and is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. As no morphological synapomorphies are known to determine which species belong to the genus or not, the genus has an almost worldwide distribution and evolved in the mid to late Miocene. Some species produce natural biocides to deter or even animals that would eat them. Senecio species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species — see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Senecio, pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been found in Senecio nemorensis and in Senecio cannabifolius var. integrilifolius. The flower heads are normally rayed with the heads borne in branched clusters, and usually completely yellow, in its current circumscription, the genus contains species that are annual or perennial herbs, shrubs, small trees, aquatics or climbers. The only species which are trees are the species belonging to Robinsonia occurring on the Juan Fernández Islands. The genus Senecio is distributed almost worldwide and it is one of the few genera occurring in all five regions with a Mediterranean climate. Furthermore, species are found in regions, including tropical alpine-like areas. Many genera and the tribe are in need of revision. Many species actually being placed in the genus need to be transferred to other or new genera, in its new delimitation the genus is still not monophyletic. Genera that have included are the following, Aetheolaena Culcitum Hasteola Iocenes B. Robinsonia The following genera contain species that are or have been included within Senecio, & Brettell Brachyglottis J. R. Forst. - Giant groundsels occurring in the high areas of East Africa Dorobaea Cass. Löve & D. Löve Pentacalia Cass, & Brettell Pojarkovia Askerova Psacaliopsis H. Rob. & Brettell Pseudogynoxys Cabrera Pseudojacobaea R. Mathur Roldana La Llave Sinosenecio B, jeffrey & Y. L. Chen Telanthophora H. Rob. Senecio ampullaceus — Texas ragwort, Texas squaw-weed, Texas groundsel, — Creeping groundsel Senecio antisanae Senecio arborescens Senecio aureus L
15.
Packera aurea
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Packera aurea, commonly known as golden ragwort or simply ragwort, is a perennial flower in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America, from Labrador to Minnesota, active compounds include, Pyrrolizidine alkaloids florosenine, otosenine, and floridanine. Eremophilane sesquiterpenes, such as trans-9-oxofuranoeremophilane, 8x-ethoxy-l0x-H-eremophilane, and caccalol, in contemporary times, P. aurea is not much used due to its saturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can cause liver veno-occlusive disease upon metabolism. If used, a PA-free extract would be required for use for more than a two-week course. Life root, as it was called by the Eclectics, was used as a uterine tonic and it is an ingredient in Lydia Pinkhams compound. The plant was an important treatment among the Native Americans and among the Eclectic medicine physicians for reproductive conditions, scudder wrote, The Senecio exerts a specific influence upon the reproductive organs of the female, and to a less extent upon the male. It relieves irritation and strengthens functional activity, hence it has acquired the reputation of a uterine tonic. It may be prescribed in all cases in which there is a condition of ovaries or uterus. It makes little difference whether it is amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea or menorrhagia, or whether it takes the form of increased mucous or purulent secretion, the remedy acts slowly, and sufficient time must be given. In the male we prescribe it in cases of fullness and weight in the perineum, dragging sensations in the testicle, in both male and female we sometimes use it with advantage in painful micturition with tenesmus. The Cinnabar Moth feeds mostly on ragwort and has been introduced as a measure in places where it has become a problem weed. USDA Plants Profile for Packera aurea (golden ragwort
16.
Senecio barbertonicus
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The fragrant yellow flowers,0.4 inches wide and 3 inches long, bloom July through September, are terminal and produce seeds with a dense tuft of bristles. Senecio barbertonicus is hardy to at least 25 °F and it is locally common in protected areas in eastern, central, and southwestern Swaziland in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North-West. Media related to Senecio barbertonicus at Wikimedia Commons Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal - Elsa Pooley ISBN 0-620-21500-3 The Succulent Senecios of South Africa, the Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything
17.
Senecio haworthii
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Senecio haworthii also known as Woolly senecio is a perennial dwarf shrub of the Senecio genus that grows in South Africa usually between the altitudes of 900 and 1200 meters. Its first description was written by Adrian Hardy Haworth, in Miscellanea naturalia,1803, p.189, Haworth stated that he had received the plant, introduced eight years before, from the Stockwell Botanical Garden of his friend Benjamin Robertson. The leaves are densely felted, so much so that the felt can be stripped off, dried. The plant is accordingly called tontelbos in Afrikaans, like most Richtersveld plants it does not do well in wet soil, but is not in general a demanding garden subject. Like in nature, Senecio haworthii needs well-drained sandy loams, rare water, media related to Senecio haworthii at Wikimedia Commons
18.
Jacobaea vulgaris
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Senecio jacobaea, is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere. In the western United States it is known as tansy ragwort, or tansy. The plant is considered to be biennial but it has the tendency to exhibit perennial properties under certain cultural conditions. The stems are erect, straight, have no or few hairs, the leaves are pinnately lobed and the end lobe is blunt. The many names that include the word stinking arise because of the unpleasant smell of the leaves, the hermaphrodite flower heads are 1. 5–2.5 centimetres diameter, and are borne in dense, flat-topped clusters, the florets are bright yellow. It has a flowering period lasting from June to November. Pollination is by a range of bees, flies and moths. Over a season, one plant may produce 2,000 to 2,500 yellow flowers in 20- to 60-headed, flat-topped corymbs, two subspecies are accepted, Jacobaea vulgaris ssp. vulgaris - the typical plant, with ray florets present. Jacobaea vulgaris ssp. dunensis - the ray florets are missing, Ragwort is abundant in waste land, waysides and grazing pastures. It can be found along road sides, and grows in all cool, Ragwort is native to the Eurasian continent. In Europe it is spread, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. In Britain and Ireland it is listed as a weed, in South America it grows in Argentina, in Africa in the north, and on the Asian continent in India and Siberia. It is widespread weed in New Zealand and Australia, in many Australian states ragwort has been declared a noxious weed. This status requires landholders to remove it from their property, by law, the same applies to New Zealand, where farmers sometimes bring in helicopters to spray their farms if the ragwort is too widespread. Ragwort is a plant for the larvae of Cochylis atricapitana, Phycitodes maritima. Ragwort is best known as the food of caterpillars of the cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae and they absorb alkaloids from the plant and become distasteful to predators, a fact advertised by the black and yellow warning colours. The red and black, day-flying adult moth is also distasteful to potential predators. The moth is used as a control for ragwort in countries in which it has introduced and become a problem, like New Zealand
19.
Kleinia neriifolia
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Kleinia neriifolia also known as Verode or Berode is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family. It is native endemic to the Canary Islands and it was formerly named Senecio kleinia. A succulent plant Kleinia neriifolia has articulated branches and thick, stubby, leaves growing clustered in crowded circles at the tops of the branches. Trunk a meter high, and lanceolate leaves up to 12 centimetres long, fragrant grey white flowers, blooms at any time between March and October. Deciduous, the fall at the beginning of the dry season. As with most arid habitat plants, reproduction is by reseeding only, Berode grows abundantly in the Tabaibal-Cardonal zone or the arid, subtropical with steep and eroded substrates which are more pronounced and dominant in the eastern archipelago. The vegetation can be compared with that of the areas of Sudan, Ethiopia, Arabia. The plant is used in gardens with dry conditions, the plant requires a minimum exposure of the sun. The minimum winter temperature it can endure is −2 °C, Kleinia neriifolia has been successfully cultivated as a houseplant and as landscaping. It is on a list of suggested fire safe landscaping, media related to Kleinia neriifolia at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Kleinia neriifolia at Wikispecies
20.
Senecio congestus
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Like many of the Senecio genus S. congestus can be an annual or biennial and perhaps rarely perennial, depending on the conditions. A villous broad leafed plant with a hollow stem and favoring mud flats like Marsh Groundsel. Leaves and stems, An erect plant standing 6 to 60 inches tall, S. congestus varies as much in stature as it does in the distribution and the persistence of its tomentum. Sparse to dense villous stems are more hollow towards the base, hairs that are white, light yellowish, basal and cauline leaf edges mostly toothless or with a few coarse teeth that sometimes wither before flowering. Flowers, Congested clusters of several to many yellow flower heads that sometimes appear tubular. A branched inflorescence, with 13 to more than 21 flower heads per stalk, the seeds have been shown to survive in the soil for more than a year but less than 5 years, the maximum longevity unknown. Roots, Fibrous and without a tap root, in the vicinity of the coast extensive moss carpets are present and Senecio congestus and Salicornia borealis are widespread. Senecio congestus is reported to be extirpated in Michigan, media related to Senecio congestus at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Senecio congestus at Wikispecies
21.
Genus
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A genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology. In the hierarchy of classification, genus comes above species. In binomial nomenclature, the name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. Felis catus and Felis silvestris are two species within the genus Felis, Felis is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by a taxonomist, the standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. Moreover, genera should be composed of units of the same kind as other genera. The term comes from the Latin genus, a noun form cognate with gignere, linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum, but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort is considered the founder of the modern concept of genera. The scientific name of a genus may be called the name or generic epithet. It plays a role in binomial nomenclature, the system of naming organisms. The rules for the names of organisms are laid down in the Nomenclature Codes. The standard way of scientifically describing species and other lower-ranked taxa is by binomial nomenclature, the generic name forms its first half. For example, the gray wolfs binomial name is Canis lupus, with Canis being the name shared by the wolfs close relatives. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany. Especially with these names, when the generic name is known from context. Because animals are typically only grouped within subspecies, it is written as a trinomen with a third name. Dog breeds, meanwhile, are not scientifically distinguished, there are several divisions of plant species and therefore their infraspecific names generally include contractions explaining the relation. For example, the genus Hibiscus includes hundreds of other species apart from the Rose of Sharon or common garden hibiscus, Rose of Sharon doesnt have subspecies but has cultivars that carry desired traits, such as the bright white H. syriaca Diana. Hawaiian hibiscus, meanwhile, includes several separate species, since not all botanists agree on the divisions or names between species, it is common to specify the source of the name using author abbreviations
22.
Family (biology)
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In biological classification, family is one of the eight major taxonomic ranks, it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks above the rank of genus. In vernacular usage, a family may be named one of its common members, for example, walnuts and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae. What does or does not belong to a family—or whether a family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no rules for describing or recognizing a family. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions of taxa, and there may be no broad consensus across the community for some time. Some described taxa are accepted broadly and quickly, but others only rarely, if at all, the naming of families is codified by various international codes. In zoological nomenclature, the names of animals end with the suffix -idae. The concept of rank at time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera. Carolus Linnaeus used the word familia in his Philosophia botanica to denote groups of plants, trees, herbs, ferns, palms. He used this term only in the section of the book. In zoology, the family as an intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes. He used families in some but not in all his orders of insects, families can be used for evolutionary, palaeontological and generic studies because they are more stable than lower taxonomic levels such as genera and species
23.
Contemporary Latin
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Contemporary Latin is the form of the Latin language used from the end of the 19th century through to the present. Various kinds of contemporary Latin can be distinguished, on the one hand there is its symbolic survival in areas like taxonomy and others as the result of the widespread presence of the language in the New Latin era. This is normally found in the form of words or phrases used in the general context of other languages. On the other hand, there is the use of Latin as a language in its own right as full-fledged means of expression, Living or Spoken Latin, being the most specific development of Latin in the contemporary context, is the primary subject of this article. The official use of Latin in previous eras has survived at a level in many mottos that are still being used. Old mottoes like E pluribus unum found in 1776 on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, similarly current pound sterling coins are minted with the Latin inscription ELIZABETH·II·D·G·REG·F·D. The official motto of the European Union, adopted as recently as 2000, is the Latin In varietate concordia, similarly to the multi-lingual European Union, the motto on the Canadian Victoria Cross is in Latin due to Canadas bilingual status. Some common phrases that are still in use in many languages have remained fixed in Latin, like the well-known dramatis personæ or habeas corpus. These names follow the nomenclature system and thus consist of a first part, identifying the galaxy. However, modern astronomers are not easily convinced to use such a system, symbols for many of those chemical elements of the periodic table known in ancient times reflect and echo their Latin names, like Au for aurum and Fe for ferrum. Latin has also contributed a vocabulary for specialised fields such as anatomy, Latin continues to be used to form international scientific vocabulary and classical compounds. In fact, more than 56% of the still used in English today derives ultimately from Latin. The Catholic Church has continued to use Latin, as in preceding centuries, two main areas can be distinguished. One is its use for the version of all documents issued by Vatican City. Although documents are first drafted in various vernaculars, the version is written in Latin by the specific Latin Letters Office. The other is its use for the liturgy, which has been diminished after the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, most recently a Latin edition of the 1979 USA Anglican Book of Common Prayer has appeared. Latin has also survived to some extent in the context of classical scholarship, some classical periodicals, like Mnemosyne or the German Hermes, to this day accept articles in Latin for publication. Harvard and Princeton also have Latin Salutatory commencement addresses every year, the Charles University in Prague and many other universities around the world conduct the awarding of their doctoral degrees in Latin
24.
Binomial nomenclature
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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
25.
Polyphyly
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A polyphyletic group is characterized by one or more homoplasies, phenotypes which have converged or reverted so as to appear to be the same but which have not been inherited from common ancestors. Alternatively, polyphyletic is used to describe multiple ancestral sources regardless of convergence, for example, warm-bloodedness evolved separately in the ancestors of mammals and the ancestors of birds. Other polyphyletic groups are protozoans, lipotyphla, and algae, as well as invertebrates, many biologists aim to avoid homoplasies in grouping species together and therefore it is frequently a goal to eliminate groups that are found to be polyphyletic. This is often the stimulus for major revisions of the classification schemes, in many schools of taxonomy, the existence of polyphyletic groups in a classification is discouraged. Monophyletic groups are considered by these schools of thought to be the most important grouping of organisms, on the other hand, polyphyletic groups can often be delimited in terms of clades, for example the flying vertebrates consist of the bat, bird, and pterosaur clades. Because polyphyletic groups can frequently be defined as a sum of clades, a stronger reason is that grouping species monophyletically facilitates prediction far more than does polyphyletic grouping. Predictive success is the touchstone by which theories are evaluated in all experimental sciences, species have a special status in systematics as being an observable feature of nature itself and as the basic unit of classification. It is usually assumed that species are monophyletic. However hybrid speciation arguably leads to polyphyletic species, hybrid species are a common phenomenon in nature, particularly in plants where polyploidy allows for rapid speciation. Funk, D. J. and Omland, K. E. Species-level paraphyly and polyphyly, Frequency, cause and consequences, with insights from animal mitochondrial DNA Annu
26.
Genome
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In modern molecular biology and genetics, a genome is the genetic material of an organism. The genome includes both the genes, the noncoding DNA and the material of the mitochondria and chloroplasts. The term genome was created in 1920 by Hans Winkler, professor of botany at the University of Hamburg, the Oxford Dictionary suggests the name is a blend of the words gene and chromosome. However, see omics for a thorough discussion. A few related -ome words already existed—such as biome, rhizome, Some organisms have multiple copies of chromosomes, diploid, triploid, tetraploid and so on. In classical genetics, in a sexually reproducing organism the gamete has half the number of chromosomes of the somatic cell, the halving of the genetic material in gametes is accomplished by the segregation of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Additionally, the genome can comprise non-chromosomal genetic elements such as viruses, plasmids, even in species that exist in only one sex, what is described as a genome sequence may be a composite read from the chromosomes of various individuals. Colloquially, the genetic makeup is sometimes used to signify the genome of a particular individual or organism. Both the number of pairs and the number of genes vary widely from one species to another. The only exception in humans is found in red blood cells which become enucleated during development. In 1976, Walter Fiers at the University of Ghent was the first to establish the complete sequence of a viral RNA-genome. The next year Fred Sanger completed the first DNA-genome sequence, Phage Φ-X174, the first genome sequence for an archaeon, Methanococcus jannaschii, was completed in 1996, again by The Institute for Genomic Research. The development of new technologies has made it easier and cheaper to do sequencing. The US National Institutes of Health maintains one of several databases of genomic information. Among the thousands of completed genome sequencing projects include those for rice, a mouse, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the fish. In December 2013, scientists first sequenced the genome of a Neanderthal. The genome was extracted from the toe bone of a 130, new sequencing technologies, such as massive parallel sequencing have also opened up the prospect of personal genome sequencing as a diagnostic tool, as pioneered by Manteia Predictive Medicine. A major step toward that goal was the completion in 2007 of the genome of James D. Watson
27.
Species
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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
28.
Synapomorphy
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In phylogenetics, apomorphy and synapomorphy refer to derived characteristic of a clade. Apomorphy implies a characteristic that is different from the form of an ancestor, i. e. an innovation, synapomorphy is a shared derived character or trait state that distinguishes a clade from other organisms. In other words, it is an apomorphy shared by members of a monophyletic group, and thus assumed to be present in their most recent common ancestor. The word synapomorphy, coined by German entomologist Willi Hennig, is derived from the Greek words σύν, syn = shared, ἀπό, apo = away from, a derived character is a character that is derived from an ancestral character over evolutionary history. Derived characters are used in determining phylogenetic relationships, the concept of synapomorphy is relative to a given clade in the tree of life. What counts as a synapomorphy for one clade may well be a character or plesiomorphy at a less inclusive or nested clade. For example, the presence of mammary glands is a synapomorphy for mammals in relation to tetrapods but is a symplesiomorphy for mammals in relation to one another, rodents and primates, for example
29.
Miocene
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The Miocene is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago. The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell and its name comes from the Greek words μείων and καινός and means less recent because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene Epoch and is followed by the Pliocene Epoch, the earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, with the climate slowly cooling towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event, the apes arose and diversified during the Miocene, becoming widespread in the Old World. By the end of this epoch, the ancestors of humans had split away from the ancestors of the chimpanzees to follow their own evolutionary path, as in the Oligocene before it, grasslands continued to expand and forests to dwindle in extent. In the Miocene seas, kelp forests made their first appearance, the plants and animals of the Miocene were fairly modern. The Miocene faunal stages from youngest to oldest are typically named according to the International Commission on Stratigraphy, Two subdivisions each form the lower, middle, continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Mountain building took place in western North America, Europe, both continental and marine Miocene deposits are common worldwide with marine outcrops common near modern shorelines. Well studied continental exposures occur in the North American Great Plains, India continued to collide with Asia, creating dramatic new mountain ranges. The Tethys Seaway continued to shrink and then disappeared as Africa collided with Eurasia in the Turkish–Arabian region between 19 and 12 Ma. The subsequent uplift of mountains in the western Mediterranean region and a fall in sea levels combined to cause a temporary drying up of the Mediterranean Sea near the end of the Miocene. The global trend was towards increasing aridity caused primarily by global cooling reducing the ability of the atmosphere to absorb moisture, climates remained moderately warm, although the slow global cooling that eventually led to the Pleistocene glaciations continued. Although a long-term cooling trend was well underway, there is evidence of a period during the Miocene when the global climate rivalled that of the Oligocene. The Miocene warming began 21 million years ago and continued until 14 million years ago, by 8 million years ago, temperatures dropped sharply once again, and the Antarctic ice sheet was already approaching its present-day size and thickness. Greenland may have begun to have large glaciers as early as 7 to 8 million years ago, life during the Miocene Epoch was mostly supported by the two newly formed biomes, kelp forests and grasslands. This allows for more grazers, such as horses, rhinoceroses, ninety five percent of modern plants existed by the end of this epoch. The higher organic content and water retention of the deeper and richer grassland soils, with long term burial of carbon in sediments, produced a carbon and this, combined with higher surface albedo and lower evapotranspiration of grassland, contributed to a cooler, drier climate. The expansion of grasslands and radiations among terrestrial herbivores correlates to fluctuations in CO2
30.
Alkaloid
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Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties, some synthetic compounds of similar structure are also termed alkaloids. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain oxygen, sulfur and, more rarely, other such as chlorine, bromine. Alkaloids are produced by a variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction, many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic and stimulant activities, and have used in entheogenic rituals or as recreational drugs. Although alkaloids act on a diversity of systems in humans and other animals. The boundary between alkaloids and other nitrogen-containing natural compounds is not clear-cut, Compounds like amino acid peptides, proteins, nucleotides, nucleic acid, amines, and antibiotics are usually not called alkaloids. Natural compounds containing nitrogen in the position are usually classified as amines rather than as alkaloids. Some authors, however, consider alkaloids a special case of amines, the name alkaloids was introduced in 1819 by the German chemist Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Meißner, and is derived from late Latin root Latin, alkali and the suffix Greek, -οειδής – like. However, the term came into use only after the publication of a review article by Oscar Jacobsen in the chemical dictionary of Albert Ladenburg in the 1880s. There is no method of naming alkaloids. Many individual names are formed by adding the suffix ine to the species or genus name, for example, atropine is isolated from the plant Atropa belladonna, strychnine is obtained from the seed of Strychnine tree. If several alkaloids are extracted from one plant then their names often contain suffixes idine, anine, aline, inine etc. There are also at least 86 alkaloids whose names contain the root vin because they are extracted from plants such as Vinca rosea. Alkaloid-containing plants have been used by humans since ancient times for therapeutic, for example, medicinal plants have been known in the Mesopotamia at least around 2000 BC. The Odyssey of Homer referred to a given to Helen by the Egyptian queen. It is believed that the gift was an opium-containing drug, a Chinese book on houseplants written in 1st–3rd centuries BC mentioned a medical use of Ephedra and opium poppies
31.
Larva
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A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a phase of their life cycle. The larvas appearance is very different from the adult form. A larva often has unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form and their diet may also be considerably different. Larvae are frequently adapted to separate from adults. For example, some such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments. By living in an environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators. Animals in the stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some species like barnacles, adults are immobile but their larvae are mobile, some larvae are dependent on adults to feed them. In many eusocial Hymenoptera species, the larvae are fed by female workers, in Ropalidia marginata the males are also capable of feeding larvae but they are much less efficient, spending more time and getting less food to the larvae. The larvae of species can become pubescent and do not develop further into the adult form. This is a type of neoteny and it is a misunderstanding that the larval form always reflects the groups evolutionary history. This could be the case, but often the stage has evolved secondarily. In these cases the form may differ more than the adult form from the groups common origin. Within Insects, only Endopterygotes show different types of larvae, several classifications have been suggested by many entomologists, and following classification is based on Antonio Berlese classification in 1913. There are four types of endopterygote larvae types, Apodous larvae - no legs at all and are poorly sclerotized. Based on sclerotization, three forms are recognized. Eucephalous - with well sclerotized head capsule, found in Nematocera, Buprestidae and Cerambycidae families
32.
Lepidoptera
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The Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. 180,000 species of Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies and it is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world. The term was coined by Linnaeus in 1735 and is derived from Ancient Greek λεπίδος, the Lepidoptera show many variations of the basic body structure that have evolved to gain advantages in lifestyle and distribution. Recent estimates suggest the order may have more species than earlier thought, and is among the four most speciose orders, along with the Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Lepidopteran species are characterized by more than three derived features, some of the most apparent being the scales covering their bodies and wings, the scales are modified, flattened hairs, and give butterflies and moths their extraordinary variety of colors and patterns. Almost all species have some form of wings, except for a few that have reduced wings or are wingless. Like most other insects, butterflies and moths are holometabolous, meaning they undergo complete metamorphosis, mating and the laying of eggs are carried out by adults, normally near or on host plants for the larvae. As they grow, these change in appearance, going through a series of stages called instars. Once fully matured, the larva develops into a pupa A few butterflies and many species spin a silk case or cocoon prior to pupating, while others do not. A butterfly pupa, called a chrysalis, has a hard skin, once the pupa has completed its metamorphosis, a sexually mature adult emerges. Accordingly, this is the most recognized and popular of insect orders with many involved in the observation, study, collection, rearing of. A person who collects or studies this order is referred to as a lepidopterist, in many species, the female may produce from 200 to 600 eggs, while in others, the number may approach 30,000 eggs in one day. The caterpillars hatching from eggs can cause damage to large quantities of crops. Many moth and butterfly species are of economic interest by virtue of their role as pollinators, the word Lepidoptera comes from the Latin word for scaly wing, from the Ancient Greek λεπίς meaning scale and πτερόν meaning wing. The origins of the common names butterfly and moth are varied, the English word butterfly is from Old English buttorfleoge, with many variations in spelling. Other than that, the origin is unknown, although it could be derived from the yellow color of many species wings suggesting the color of butter. The species of Heterocera are commonly called moths, the origins of the English word moth are more clear, deriving from the Old English moððe from Common Germanic. The Lepidoptera are among the most successful groups of insects, among the most northern dwelling species of butterflies and moths is the Arctic Apollo, which is found in the Arctic Circle in northeastern Yakutia, at an altitude of 1500 m above sea level
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Pyrrolizidine alkaloids
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Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are produced by plants as a mechanism against insect herbivores. More than 660 PAs and PA N-oxides have been identified in over 6,000 plants and it has been estimated that 3% of the world’s flowering plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Honey can contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, as can grains, milk, offal, to date, there is no international regulation of PAs in food, unlike those for herbs and medicines. Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids are hepatotoxic, that is, damaging to the liver, PAs also cause hepatic veno-occlusive disease and liver cancer. Disease associated with consumption of PAs is known as pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis, of concern is the health risk associated with the use of medicinal herbs that contain PAs, notably borage leaf, comfrey and coltsfoot in the West, and some Chinese medicinal herbs. Some ruminant animals, for cattle, showed no change in liver enzyme activities or any clinical signs of poisoning when fed plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Males react more sensitively than females and fetuses and children, PA is also used as a defense mechanism for some organisms such as Utetheisa ornatrix. Utetheisa ornatrix caterpillars obtain these toxins from their plants and use them as a deterrent for predators. PAs protect them from most of their natural enemies, the toxins stay in these organisms even when they metamorphose into adult moths, continuing to protect them throughout their adult stage. Many plants contain alkaloids, and in turn there are many insects which consume the plants. For example, male Queens utilize pyrrolizidine alkaloids to produce pheromones useful for mating, monocrotaline is the main PA found in Crotalaria species. The effect of PAs in humans, that is PAILDs, of epidemic proportions was recorded after a long field-level epidemiological investigation in the region of Ethiopia- Tigray. Http, //www. cdc. gov/nceh/stories/Ethiopia. html, Investigating Liver disease in Ethiopia Subhuti Dharmananda, safety issues affecting herbs, pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon, medicinal plants in Europe containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids
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Pseudanthium
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The individual flowers of a pseudanthium commonly are called florets. The real flowers are small and often greatly reduced. Pseudanthia are characteristic of the daisy and sunflower family, whose flowers are differentiated into ray flowers and disk flowers, the disk flowers in the center of the pseudanthium are actinomorphic and the corolla is fused into a tube. Flowers on the periphery are zygomorphic and the corolla has one large lobe, either ray or disk flowers may be absent in some plants, Senecio vulgaris lacks ray flowers and Taraxacum officinale lacks disk flowers. The pseudanthium has a whorl of bracts below the flowers, forming an involucre, in all cases, a pseudanthium is superficially indistinguishable from a flower, but closer inspection of its anatomy will reveal that it is composed of multiple flowers. Head This is an equivalent term for head and pseudanthium when used in the botanical sense. Capitulum Capitulum can be used as a synonym for pseudanthium and flower head, however its use is generally. At least one source defines it as a flower head. In addition to its use as a term meaning flower head it is also used to mean the top of the sphagnum plant. Calathid This is a rarely used term. It was defined in the 1966 book, The genera of flowering plants, however, on-line botanical glossaries do not define it and Google Scholar does not link to any significant usage of the term in a botanical sense. Possible pseudanthia of this type may occur in the following families, Hydatellaceae Lemnaceae Pandanaceae Triuridaceae Phyllanthaceae
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Annual plant
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An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seed, within one year, and then dies. Summer annuals germinate during spring or early summer and mature by autumn of the same year, winter annuals germinate during the autumn and mature during the spring or summer of the following calendar year. One seed-to-seed life cycle for an annual can occur in as little as a month in some species, oilseed rapa can go from seed-to-seed in about five weeks under a bank of fluorescent lamps. This style of growing is used in classrooms for education. Many desert annuals are therophytes, because their life cycle is only weeks. In cultivation, many plants are, or are grown as, annuals. Some perennials and biennials are grown in gardens as annuals for convenience, carrot, celery and parsley are true biennials that are usually grown as annual crops for their edible roots, petioles and leaves, respectively. Tomato, sweet potato and bell pepper are tender perennials usually grown as annuals, ornamental perennials commonly grown as annuals are impatiens, wax begonia, snapdragon, Pelargonium, coleus and petunia. Examples of true annuals include corn, wheat, rice, lettuce, peas, watermelon, beans, zinnia, summer annuals sprout, flower, produce seed, and die, during the warmer months of the year. The lawn weed crabgrass is a summer annual, winter annuals germinate in autumn or winter, live through the winter, then bloom in winter or spring. The plants grow and bloom during the season when most other plants are dormant or other annuals are in seed form waiting for warmer weather to germinate. Winter annuals die after flowering and setting seed, the seeds germinate in the autumn or winter when the soil temperature is cool. Winter annuals typically grow low to the ground, where they are sheltered from the coldest nights by snow cover. Some common winter annuals include henbit, deadnettle, chickweed, ironically, the property that they prevent the soil from drying out can also be problematic for commercial agriculture. In 2008, it was discovered that the inactivation of only two genes in one species of annual plant leads to the conversion into a perennial plant, researchers deactivated the SOC1 and FUL genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, which control flowering time. This switch established phenotypes common in plants, such as wood formation
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Perennial plant
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A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs. Tomato vines, for example, live several years in their natural habitat but are grown as annuals in temperate regions because they dont survive the winter. There is also a class of evergreen, or non-herbaceous, perennials, an intermediate class of plants is known as subshrubs, which retain a vestigial woody structure in winter, e. g. Penstemon. The local climate may dictate whether plants are treated as shrubs or perennials, for instance, many varieties of Fuchsia are shrubs in warm regions, but in colder temperate climates may be cut to the ground every year as a result of winter frosts. The symbol for a plant, based on Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, is. Perennial plants can be short-lived or they can be long-lived, as are some plants like trees. They include an assortment of plant groups from ferns and liverworts to the highly diverse flowering plants like orchids. Plants that flower and fruit only once and then die are termed monocarpic or semelparous, however, most perennials are polycarpic, flowering over many seasons in their lifetime. Perennials typically grow structures that allow them to adapt to living one year to the next through a form of vegetative reproduction rather than seeding. These structures include bulbs, tubers, woody crowns, rhizomes plus others and they might have specialized stems or crowns that allow them to survive periods of dormancy over cold or dry seasons during the year. Many perennials have developed specialized features that allow them to extreme climatic. Some have adapted to hot and dry conditions or cold temperatures. Those plants tend to invest a lot of resource into their adaptations and often do not flower, Many perennials produce relatively large seeds, which can have an advantage, with larger seedlings produced after germination that can better compete with other plants. Some annuals produce many seeds per plant in one season, while some perennials are not under the same pressure to produce large numbers of seeds. In warmer and more favorable climates, perennials grow continuously, in seasonal climates, their growth is limited to the growing season. In some species, perennials retain their foliage all year round, other plants are deciduous perennials, for example, in temperate regions a perennial plant may grow and bloom during the warm part of the year, with the foliage dying back in the winter
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Mediterranean climate
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A Mediterranean climate /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ or dry summer climate, is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by dry summers and mild, moist winters, Mediterranean climate zones are associated with the four large subtropical high pressure cells of the oceans, the Azores High, South Atlantic High, North Pacific High, and South Pacific High. These climatological high pressure cells migrate by latitude according to the angle of the Sun, shifting north-eastward in the summer. These semi-permanent high pressure systems play a role in the formation of the worlds subtropical and tropical deserts as well as the Mediterranean Basins climate. The Azores High is associated with the Mediterranean climate found in the Mediterranean Basin, the Sahara Desert, the South Atlantic High is similarly associated with the Namib Desert and Kalahari Desert, and the Mediterranean climate of the western part of South Africa. Under the Köppen climate classification, hot climates and cool dry-summer climates are often referred to as mediterranean. Under the Köppen climate system, the first letter indicates the climate group, temperate climates or C zones have an average temperature above 0 °C, but below 18 °C, in their coolest months. The second letter indicates the precipitation pattern, Köppen has defined a dry summer month as a month with less than 30 mm of precipitation and with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month. Some, however, use a 40 mm level, the third letter indicates the degree of summer heat, a represents an average temperature in the warmest month above 22 °C, while b indicates the average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C. Under the Köppen classification, dry-summer climates usually occur on the sides of continents. Under Trewarthas system, at least eight months must have average temperatures of 10 °C or higher, during summer, regions of mediterranean climate are dominated by subtropical high pressure cells, with dry sinking air capping a surface marine layer of varying humidity and making rainfall unlikely. In many Mediterranean climates there is a strong character to daily temperatures in the warm months. The majority of the regions with mediterranean climates have relatively mild winters, however winter and summer temperatures can vary greatly between different regions with a mediterranean climate. Or to consider summer, Athens experiences rather high temperatures in that season, in contrast, San Francisco has cool summers with daily highs around. In North America, areas with Csc climate can be found in the Olympic, Cascade, Klamath and these locations are found at high altitude nearby lower altitude regions characterized by a warm-summer mediterranean climate or hot-summer mediterranean climate. A rare instance of this occurs in the tropics, on Haleakalā Summit in Hawaii. In South America, Csc regions can be found along the Andes in Chile, the town of Balmaceda is one of the few towns confirmed to have this climate. Small areas with a Csc climate can also be found at elevations in Corsica
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Monophyly
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In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it consists of an ancestral species and all its descendants. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly, monophyletic groups are typically characterized by shared derived characteristics. Monophyly is contrasted with paraphyly and polyphyly, as shown in the second diagram, a paraphyletic group consists of all of the descendants of a common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups. These definitions have taken time to be accepted. When the cladistic school of thought became mainstream in the 1960s, indeed, taxonomists sometimes used terms without defining them, leading to confusion in the early literature, a confusion which persists. On the broadest scale, definitions fall into two groups, willi Hennig defined monophyly as groups based on synapomorphy. Some authors have sought to define monophyly to include paraphyly as any two or more groups sharing a common ancestor, however, this broader definition encompasses both monophyletic and paraphyletic groups as defined above. Therefore, most scientists today restrict the term monophyletic to refer to groups consisting of all the descendants of one common ancestor, however, when considering taxonomic groups such as genera and species, the most appropriate nature of their common ancestor is unclear. Assuming that it would be one individual or mating pair is unrealistic for sexually reproducing species, some argue that using a broader definition, such as a species and all its descendants, does not really work to define a genus. According to D. M. Glossary of scientific naming Clade Paraphyly Polyphyly Crown group Abbey, graphical explanation of basic phylogenetic terms. Carr, Steven M. Concepts of monophyly, polyphyly & paraphyly
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Hasteola
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Hasteola is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. - Russian Far East, northeastern China, Korea Hasteola praetermissa Poljakov - Russian Far East Hasteola robertiorum L. C. Anderson - Florida Hasteola robusta Pojark, - Japan, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin Hasteola suaveolens Pojark. - eastern United States Hasteola tschonoskii Pojark
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Lasiocephalus
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Lasiocephalus is a genus of South American flowering plants in groundsel tribe within the sunflower family. The genus was shown to be part of Senecio and predominantly occurs in tropical alpine-like regions, - Venezuela, Colombia Lasiocephalus gargantanus Cuatrec. - Colombia, Ecuador Lasiocephalus pichinchensis Cuatrec
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Barkleyanthus
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Its common names include willow ragwort, willow groundsel, Barkleys-ragwort, and jarilla. This plant is a producing a branching stem usually about one to two meters tall, but known to exceed 4 meters at times. The leaves are roughly lance-shaped and are arranged, sometimes more densely toward the ends of branches. They are up to 10 or 15 centimeters long, the inflorescence is often a wide array of several flower heads, but they may also be clustered in the leaf axils or branch tips. The head contains a few yellow ray florets, which are pistillate, and up to 25 or more disc florets. The fruit is a rough-textured, pyramidal or prism-shaped cypsela up to a centimeter long including its pappus of barbed white bristles. This plant is abundant in parts of its range, particularly in Mexico and it flowers year-round, especially in spring, and it may be in full flower at the end of the dry season. It is admired for its flower heads and is cultivated as an ornamental plant. The plant is used in Mexican traditional medicine to treat fever, in Chiapas it is used as an insecticide in corn supplies. Secondary metabolites isolated from the species include pyrrolizidine alkaloids, lactones, furoeremophilanes, and sesquiterpenes
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Media related to Senecio at Wikimedia Commons