1.
Sweet potato
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The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the morning glory family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are a root vegetable, in some parts of the English-speaking world, sweet potatoes are locally known by other names such as kumara, but people usually confused it with yam due to their similar appearances. The young leaves and shoots are eaten as greens. The sweet potato is only related to the potato and does not belong to the nightshade family Solanaceae. The plant is a perennial vine, bearing alternate heart-shaped or palmately lobed leaves. The edible tuberous root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose color ranges between yellow, orange, red, brown, purple, and beige and its flesh ranges from beige through white, red, pink, violet, yellow, orange, and purple. Sweet potato cultivars with white or pale yellow flesh are less sweet and moist than those with red, Ipomoea batatas is native to the tropical regions in the Americas. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of Convolvulaceae, I. batatas is the crop plant of major importance—some others are used locally. The genus Ipomoea that contains the sweet potato also includes several garden flowers called morning glories, some cultivars of Ipomoea batatas are grown as ornamental plants under the name tuberous morning glory, used in a horticultural context. To add to the confusion, a different crop plant, the oca, is called a yam in many parts of Polynesia, the United States Department of Agriculture requires that the label yam always be accompanied by sweet potato in U. S. retail sales of sweet potato. Although the sweet potato is not closely related botanically to the common potato, the first Europeans to taste sweet potatoes were members of Christopher Columbuss expedition in 1492. Later explorers found many cultivars under an assortment of local names, the Spanish combined this with the Quechua word for potato, papa, to create the word patata for the common potato. The first record of the sweet potato is found in the Oxford English Dictionary of 1775. In Argentina, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic the sweet potato is called batata, in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Central America, and the Philippines, the sweet potato is known as camote, derived from the Nahuatl word camotli. In New Zealand, the most common cultivar is the red cultivar called kumara, a derived from the Māori name kūmara. Kumara is particularly popular as a food, or in contemporary cuisine as kumara chips, often served with sour cream. Occasionally, shops in Australia will label purple cultivars as purple sweet potato to denote the difference to the other cultivars, about 95% of Australias production is of the orange cultivar named Beauregard, originally from North America, known simply as sweet potato. A reddish-purple cultivar, Northern Star, is 4% of production and is sold as kumara, the origin and domestication of sweet potato is thought to be in either Central America or South America
2.
Oxalis tuberosa
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Oxalis tuberosa is a perennial herbaceous plant that overwinters as underground stem tubers. These tubers are known as uqa in Quechua, Hispanicized oca, as New Zealand yam, the plant was brought into cultivation in the central and southern Andes for its tubers, which are used as a root vegetable. The plant is not known in the wild, but populations of wild Oxalis species that bear smaller tubers are known from four areas of the central Andean region. Oca was introduced to Europe in 1830 as a competitor to the potato, in New Zealand, oca has become a popular table vegetable and is simply called yam or New Zealand yam. It is now available in a range of colours, including yellow, orange, pink, apricot, grown primarily by Quechua and Aymara farmers, oca has been a staple of rural Andean diets for centuries. Of all Andean root and tuber crops, oca is currently only to potato in area planted within the Central Andean region. Oca is important to food security because of its role in crop rotations. Andean farmers cultivate numerous varieties of oca, oca diversity may be described with respect to morphological characters, local cultivar names, or molecular markers. Oca morphotypes are distinguished by foliar, floral, fruit, stem, the morphological diversity of oca tubers, in particular, is astounding. Tubers range from 25 to 150 mm in length by 25 mm in width, skin and flesh color may be white, cream, yellow, orange, pink, red, and/or purple, oca-growing communities often name varieties based primarily on tuber morphology and secondarily on flavor. For example, common names may include ushpa negra or puka panti, great inconsistency of nomenclature has been reported within and among communities. Numerous studies have additionally described oca diversity through molecular approaches to study protein, molecular markers, such as allozymes and inter-simple sequence repeats, show oca diversity to be low relative to other crops, probably because of its vegetative mode of propagation. While genetic differentiation corresponds well with folk classification, cluster analyses indicate that folk cultivars are not perfect clones, oca is one of the highest vegetable sources of carbohydrate and energy. They are a source of pro-vitamin A, and also contain potassium, vitamin B6. Yellow-orange coloured varieties indicate the presence of carotenoids, whilst red skins, oca is cultivated primarily for its edible stem tuber, but the leaves and young shoots can be eaten as a green vegetable also. Mature stems can be used similarly to rhubarb, Andean communities have various methods to process and prepare tubers, and in Mexico oca is eaten raw with salt, lemon, and hot pepper. The flavour is often slightly tangy, but there is a degree of difference in flavors between varieties and some are not acidic at all. Texture ranges from crunchy when raw or undercooked, to starchy or mealy when fully cooked, oca is fairly high in oxalates, concentrated in the skin, and the bioavailability of oxalate appears to be similar to spinach
3.
Dioscorea
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Dioscorea is a genus of over 600 species of flowering plants in the family Dioscoreaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. The vast majority of the species are tropical, with only a few extending into temperate climates. It is named after the ancient Greek physician and botanist Dioscorides and they are tuberous herbaceous perennial lianas, growing to 2–12 m or more tall. The leaves are arranged, mostly broad heart-shaped. The fruit is a capsule in most species, a berry in a few species. Several species, known as yams, are important agricultural crops in tropical regions, many of these are toxic when fresh, but can be detoxified and eaten, and are particularly important in parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. One class of toxins found in species is steroidal saponins. The genus includes the species and subspecies, The closely related genus Tamus is included in Dioscorea by some sources. For Dioscorea communis Caddick & Wilkin, see Tamus communis
4.
Tuber
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Tubers are enlarged structures in some plant species used as storage organs for nutrients. They are used for the plants perennation, to energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season. Stem tubers form from thickened rhizomes or stolons, common plant species with stem tubers include potato and yam. Some sources also treat modified lateral roots under the definition, these are encountered in sweet potato, cassava, the term originates from Latin tuber, meaning lump, bump, swelling. Some sources define the term tuber to mean only structures derived from stems, a stem tuber forms from thickened rhizomes or stolons. The top sides of the tuber produce shoots that grow into stems and leaves. They tend to form at the sides of the parent plant and are most often located near the soil surface, the underground stem tuber is normally a short-lived storage and regenerative organ developing from a shoot that branches off a mature plant. The offsprings or new tubers are attached to a parent tuber or form at the end of a hypogeogenous rhizome, some plants also form smaller tubers and/or tubercules which act like seeds, producing small plants that resemble seedlings. Stem tubers generally start off as enlargements of the section of a seedling. Tuberous begonia, yams, and Cyclamen are commonly grown stem tubers, mignonette vine produces aerial stem tubers on 12-to-25-foot-tall vines, the tubers fall to the ground and grow. Enlarged stolons thicken to develop into storage organs, the tuber has all the parts of a normal stem, including nodes and internodes. The nodes are the eyes and each has a leaf scar, the nodes or eyes are arranged around the tuber in a spiral fashion beginning on the end opposite the attachment point to the stolon. The terminal bud is produced at the farthest point away from the stolon attachment, internally, a tuber is filled with starch stored in enlarged parenchyma like cells. The inside of a tuber has the cell structures of any stem, including a pith, vascular zones. The tuber is produced in one growing season and used to perennate the plant, as the main shoot develops from the tuber, the base of the shoot close to the tuber produces adventitious roots and lateral buds on the shoot. The shoot also produces stolons that are long etiolated stems, the stolon elongates during long days with the presence of high auxins levels that prevent root growth off of the stolon. Before new tuber formation begins, the stolon must be a certain age, the enzyme lipoxygenase makes a hormone, jasmonic acid, which is involved in the control of potato tuber development. The stolons are easily recognized when potato plants are grown from seeds, as the plants grow, stolons are produced around the soil surface from the nodes
5.
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
6.
Herbaceous plant
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Herbaceous plants are plants that have no persistent woody stem above ground. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials, annual herbaceous plants die completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, and they then grow again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that die at the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant survive under or close to the ground from season to season. New growth develops from living tissues remaining on or under the ground, including roots, examples of herbaceous biennials include carrot, parsnip and common ragwort, herbaceous perennials include potato, peony, hosta, mint, most ferns and most grasses. Some relatively fast-growing herbaceous plants are pioneers, or early-successional species, others form the main vegetation of many stable habitats, occurring for example in the ground layer of forests, or in naturally open habitats such as meadow, salt marsh or desert. Some herbaceous plants can grow large, such as the Musa genus. The age of some herbaceous plants can be determined by analyzing annual growth rings in the secondary root xylem
7.
Vine
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A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine, but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent stems, lianas or runners. The word also can refer to such stems or runners themselves, in the United Kingdom, the term vine applies almost exclusively to the grapevine. The term climber is used for all climbing plants, certain plants always grow as vines, while a few grow as vines only part of the time. For instance, poison ivy and bittersweet can grow as low shrubs when support is not available, a vine displays a growth form based on long stems. This has been a successful growth form for plants such as kudzu and Japanese honeysuckle. There are some tropical vines that develop skototropism, and grow away from the light, growth away from light allows the vine to reach a tree trunk, which it can then climb to brighter regions. The vine growth form may also enable plants to large areas quickly. This is the case with periwinkle and ground ivy and it is also an adaptation to life in areas where small patches of fertile soil are adjacent to exposed areas with more sunlight but little or no soil. A vine can root in the soil but have most of its leaves in the brighter, exposed area, the evolution of a climbing habit has been implicated as a key innovation associated with the evolutionary success and diversification of a number of taxonomic groups of plants. It has evolved independently in several plant families, using many different climbing methods such as and it directs its stem into a crevice in the bark of fibrous barked trees where the stem adopts a flattened profile and grows up the tree underneath the host trees outer bark. The fetterbush then sends out branches that emerge near the top of the tree and these may be divided into woody vines or lianas, such as wisteria, kiwifruit, and common ivy, and herbaceous vines, such as morning glory. One odd group of vining plants is the fern genus Lygodium, the stem does not climb, but rather the fronds do. The fronds unroll from the tip, and theoretically never stop growing, they can form thickets as they unroll over other plants, rockfaces, gardeners can use the tendency of climbing plants to grow quickly. If a plant display is wanted quickly, a climber can achieve this, climbers can be trained over walls, pergolas, fences, etc. Climbers can be grown over other plants to provide additional attraction, artificial support can also be provided. Some climbers climb by themselves, others need work, such as tying them in, vines widely differ in size, form and evolutionary origin. Darwin classified climbing groups based on their climbing method and he classified five classes of vines including twining plants, leaf climbers, tendril bearers, root climbers and hook climbers. Vines are unique in that they have multiple origins and a wide range of phenotypic plasticity
8.
Starch
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Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants as an energy store and it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as potatoes, wheat, maize, rice, and cassava. Pure starch is a white, tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in water or alcohol. It consists of two types of molecules, the linear and helical amylose and the branched amylopectin, depending on the plant, starch generally contains 20 to 25% amylose and 75 to 80% amylopectin by weight. Glycogen, the store of animals, is a more branched version of amylopectin. In industry, starch is converted into sugars, for example by malting and it is processed to produce many of the sugars used in processed foods. Dissolving starch in water gives wheatpaste, which can be used as a thickening, stiffening or gluing agent. The biggest industrial non-food use of starch is as an adhesive in the papermaking process, starch can be applied to parts of some garments before ironing, to stiffen them. The word starch is from a Germanic root with the strong, stiff. Amylum for starch is from the Greek αμυλον, amylon which means not ground at a mill, the root amyl is used in biochemistry for several compounds related to starch. Starch grains from the rhizomes of Typha as flour have been identified from grinding stones in Europe dating back to 30,000 years ago, starch grains from sorghum were found on grind stones in caves in Ngalue, Mozambique dating up to 100,000 years ago. Pure extracted wheat starch paste was used in Ancient Egypt possibly to glue papyrus, the extraction of starch is first described in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder around AD 77–79. Romans used it also in cosmetic creams, to powder the hair, persians and Indians used it to make dishes similar to gothumai wheat halva. Rice starch as surface treatment of paper has been used in production in China. In addition to starchy plants consumed directly,66 million tonnes of starch were being produced per year world-wide by 2008. In the EU this was around 8.5 million tonnes, with around 40% being used for applications and 60% for food uses. Most green plants use starch as their energy store, an exception is the family Asteraceae, where starch is replaced by the fructan inulin. In photosynthesis, plants use light energy to produce glucose from carbon dioxide, the glucose is used to make cellulose fibers, the structural component of the plant, or is stored in the form of starch granules, in amyloplasts
9.
Temperate climate
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In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of Earth lie between the tropics and the polar regions. The temperatures in these regions are relatively moderate, rather than extremely hot or cold. The north temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle, the south temperate zone extends from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Antarctic Circle. In some climate classifications, the zone is often divided into several smaller climate zones. These include Humid subtropical climate, Mediterranean climate, oceanic, subtropical climates are located between 23. 5° and 35. 0° north or south latitude on the eastern or leeward sides of landmasses. This climate has long, generally hot, summers and short, mild winters and these climates may occur in southern Asia, the southeastern United States, parts of eastern Australia, and in eastern coastal South America. Mediterranean climates, occur between 30° and 42° north and south latitude, on the sides of landmasses. This climate has hot summers and short mild winters, however, seasonal rainfall is the opposite of that of the subtropical humid type. These climates occur near the rimlands of the Mediterranean Sea, in western Australia, in California, the oceanic climates occur in the higher middle latitudes, between 45° and 60° north and south latitude. They are created by the flow from the cool high latitude oceans to their west. This causes the climate to have cool summers and cool winters, annual rainfall is spread throughout the entire year. Regions with this climate include Western Europe, northwestern North America, the Continental climates occur in middle latitudes, between 35° or 40° to 55°. These climates are normally inland or on sides of landmasses. They feature warm to hot summers and cold winters, with a large temperature variation. Regions with this climate include northern temperate Asia, the northern United States, southern Canada, the vast majority of the worlds human population resides in temperate zones, especially in the northern hemisphere, due to its greater mass of land. The richest temperate flora in the world is found in southern Africa, geographical zone Habitat Köppen climate classification Middle latitudes Polar circle Subtropics
10.
Subtropics
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The subtropics are geographic and climate zones located roughly between the tropic circle of latitude at 23.5 latitude and temperate latitudes. Subtropical climates are characterized by warm to hot summers and cool to mild winters with infrequent frost. Subtropical climates can occur at elevations within the tropics, such as in the southern end of the Mexican Plateau and in Vietnam. Six climate classifications use the term to define the various temperature. A great portion of the deserts are located within the subtropics. Within savanna regimes in the subtropics, a wet season is seen annually during the summer, within Mediterranean climate regimes, the wet season occurs during the winter. Areas bordering warm oceans are prone to heavy rainfall from tropical cyclones. Plants such as palms, citrus, mango, lychee, the tropics have been historically defined as lying between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, located at 23. 45° north and south latitude respectively. The poleward fringe of the subtropics is located at approximately 40° north and south latitude respectively, northern fringes of the type can go further north due to moderating effects of ocean streams, like in parts of Southern Europe due to heat transported by the Gulf Stream. Several methods have used to define the subtropical climate. In the Trewartha climate classification, a subtropical region should have at least eight months with a temperature greater than 10 °C. According to the Troll-Paffen climate classification, there exists one large subtropical zone named the warm-temperate subtropical zone. According to the E. Neef climate classification, the zone is divided into two parts, Rainy winters of the west sides and Eastern subtropical climate. According to the Wilhelm Lauer & Peter Frankenberg climate classification, the zone is divided into three parts, high-continental, continental, and maritime. According to the Siegmund/Frankenberg climate classification, subtropical is one of six zones in the world. Heating of the earth near the equator leads to large amounts of upward motion and convection along the trough or Intertropical convergence zone. The upper-level divergence over the near-equatorial trough leads to air rising and moving away from the equator aloft, as the air moves towards the Mid-Latitudes, it cools and sinks, which leads to subsidence near the 30th parallel of both hemispheres. This circulation is known as the Hadley cell and leads to the formation of the subtropical ridge, many of the worlds deserts are caused by these climatological high-pressure areas, located within the subtropics
11.
Cultivar
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The term cultivar most commonly refers to an assemblage of plants selected for desirable characteristics that are maintained during propagation. More generally, cultivar refers to the most basic classification category of cultivated plants governed by the ICNCP, most cultivars have arisen in cultivation, but a few are special selections from the wild. Popular ornamental garden plants like roses, camellias, daffodils, rhododendrons, trees used in forestry are also special selections grown for their enhanced quality and yield of timber. Cultivars form a part of Liberty Hyde Baileys broader grouping. Cultivar was coined by Bailey and it is regarded as a portmanteau of cultivated and variety. A cultivar is not the same as a variety, a taxonomic rank below subspecies. In recent times, the naming of cultivars has been complicated by the use of statutory plant patents, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants offers legal protection of plant cultivars to people or organisations who introduce new cultivars to commerce. UPOV requires that a cultivar be distinct, uniform and stable, to be distinct, it must have characteristics that easily distinguish it from any other known cultivar. To be uniform and stable, the cultivar must retain these characteristics under repeated propagation, a cultivar is given a cultivar name, which consists of the scientific Latin botanical name followed by a cultivar epithet. The cultivar epithet is usually in a vernacular language, for example, the full cultivar name of the King Edward potato is Solanum tuberosum King Edward. The King Edward part of the name is the cultivar epithet, the origin of the term cultivar arises from the need to distinguish between wild plants and those with characteristics that have arisen in cultivation. This distinction dates back to the Greek philosopher Theophrastus, the Father of Botany, botanical historian Alan Morton notes that Theophrastus in his Enquiry into Plants had an inkling of the limits of culturally induced changes and of the importance of genetic constitution. In Species Plantarum, Linnaeus listed all the known to him. Most of the listed by Linnaeus were of garden origin rather than being wild plants. Over time there was an increasing need to distinguish between plants growing in the wild, and those with variations that had produced in cultivation. In the nineteenth century many garden-derived plants were given names, sometimes in Latin. In the twentieth century an improved international terminology was proposed for the classification and it is essentially the equivalent of the botanical variety except in respect to its origin. However, Bailey was never explicit about the etymology of the word, and it has suggested that it is a contraction of the words cultigen and variety
12.
Ipomoea
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Ipomoea is also a novel by John Rackham, published by Ace Books in 1969. Ipomoea is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae. It is a large and diverse group with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or kangkung, sweet potato, bindweed, moonflower, the most widespread common name is morning glories, but there are also species in related genera bearing the same common name. Those formerly separated in Calonyction are called moonflowers, the generic name is derived from the Greek words ιπς or ιπος, meaning worm or bindweed, and όμοιος, meaning resembling. It refers to their twining habit, human use of Ipomoea include, Most species have spectacular, colorful flowers and are often grown as ornamentals, and a number of cultivars have been developed. Their deep flowers attract large Lepidoptera - especially Sphingidae such as the hawk moth - or even hummingbirds. The genus includes food crops, the tubers of sweet potatoes, the sweet potato is one of the Polynesian canoe plants, transplanted by settlers on islands throughout the Pacific. Other species are used on a scale, e. g. the whitestar potato traditionally eaten by some Native Americans, such as the Chiricahua Apaches. Peonidin, a potentially useful as a food additive, is present in significant quantities in the flowers of the Heavenly Blue cultivars. As early as 1600 BCE, the Olmecs produced the balls used in the Mesoamerican ballgame, the root called John the Conqueror in hoodoo and used in lucky and/or sexual charms usually seems to be from I. jalapa. The testicle-like dried tubers are carried as amulets and rubbed by the users to gain good luck in gambling or flirting, kiribadu Ala is one of the many ingredients of chyawanprash, the ancient Ayurvedic tonic called the elixir of life for its wide-ranging properties. The leaves of I. batatas are eaten as a vegetable, other species were and still are used as potent entheogens. Seeds of Mexican morning glory were thus used by Aztecs and Zapotecs in shamanistic and priestly divination rituals, ergoline derivatives are probably responsible for the entheogenic activity. Ergine, isoergine, D-lysergic acid N-amide and lysergol have been isolated from I. tricolor, alexander Shulgin in TiHKAL suggests ergonovine is responsible, instead. It has verified psychoactive properties, though as yet other undiscovered lysergamides possibly are present in the seeds, though most often noted as recreational drugs, the lysergamides are also of medical importance. Ergonovine enhances the action of oxytocin, used to still post partum bleeding, ergine induces drowsiness and a relaxed state and might be useful in treating anxiety disorder. Whether Ipomoea species are a source of these compounds remains to be determined. In any case, in some jurisdictions certain Ipomoea are regulated, many herbivores avoid morning glories such as Ipomoea, as the high alkaloid content makes these plants unpalatable, if not toxic
13.
Okinawa Prefecture
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
14.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
15.
Konjac
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Konjac, also known as konjak, konjaku, konnyaku potato, devils tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm, or elephant yam, is a plant of the genus Amorphophallus. It is native to subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, from Japan. It is a plant, growing from a large corm up to 25 cm in diameter. The single leaf is up to 1.3 m across, bipinnate, the flowers are produced on a spathe enclosed by a dark purple spadix up to 55 cm long. The food made from the corm of this plant is known in English by its Japanese name, konnyaku. The two basic types of cake are white and black, noodles are made from konnyaku, known as shirataki. The corm of the konjac is often referred to as a yam. Wild forms grow naturally in Southeast Asia and China, konjac has been known in Japan since the sixth century as a medicinal food, and it has been eaten for 1500 years. During the Edo Period, beginning in the early 17th century, in 1846, the book Konnyaku Hyakusen was published and demonstrates its popularity in Japan at that time. Konjac is grown in China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and southeast Asia for its large starchy corms, used to create a flour and it is also used as a vegan substitute for gelatin. In Japanese cuisine, konjac appears in such as oden. It is typically mottled grey and firmer in consistency than most gelatins and it has very little taste, the common variety tastes vaguely like salt, usually with a slightly oceanic taste and smell. It is valued more for its texture than flavor, ito konnyaku is a type of Japanese food consisting of konjac cut into noodle-like strips. It is usually sold in bags with accompanying water. It is often used in sukiyaki and oden, Japanese konnyaku is made by mixing konjac flour with water and limewater. Hijiki is often added for the dark color and flavor. Without additives for color, konjac is pale white and it is then boiled and cooled to solidify. Konjac made in form is called shirataki and used in foods such as sukiyaki
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Corm
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The word cormous is used to describe plants growing from corms, in analogy to the use of the terms tuberous and bulbous to describe plants growing from tubers and bulbs. A corm consists of one or more internodes with at least one growing point, the tunic of a corm is formed from dead petiole sheaths, remnants of leaves produced in previous years. They act as a covering, protecting the corm from insects, digging animals, flooding, and water loss. The tunics of some species are thin, dry, and papery, at least in plants, however, in some families, such as Iridaceae. For example, some of the species of Watsonia accumulate thick, rot-resistant tunics over a period of some years. Other species, such as many in the genus Lapeirousia, have tunics of hard, internally a typical corm mostly consists of parenchyma cells rich in starch, above a circular basal node from which roots grow. Long-lived cormous plants vary in their long-term development, some regularly replace their older corms with a stack of younger corms, increased more or less seasonally. By splitting such a stack before the older corm generations wither too badly, other species seldom do anything of that kind, their corms simply grow larger in most seasons. Yet others split when multiple buds or stolons on a large corm sprout independently, corms can be dug up and used to propagate or redistribute the plant. Plants with corms generally can be propagated by cutting the corms into sections, suitably treated, each section with at least one bud usually can generate a new corm. Corms are sometimes confused with true bulbs, they are similar in appearance to bulbs externally. Corms are stems that are structured with solid tissues, which distinguishes them from bulbs. As a result, when a corm is cut in half it is solid, corms are structurally plant stems, with nodes and internodes with buds and produce adventitious roots. On the top of the corm, one or a few grow into shoots that produce normal leaves. Corms can form many small cormlets called cormels, from the areas of the new growing corms. They are used to propagate corm-forming plants, corms of a number of species of plants are replaced every year by the plant with growth of a new corm, this process starts after the shoot has developed fully expanded leaves. The new corm forms at the base just above the old corm. As the new corm is growing, short stolons are produced that end with the growing small cormels
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Taro
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Taro commonly refers to the plant Colocasia esculenta, the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the Araceae family which are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Thus, this describes the dasheen form of taro, another variety of taro is known as eddoe or Colocasia antiquorum. Other species of taro include giant taro, swamp taro, Colocasia esculenta is thought to be native to Southern India and Southeast Asia, but is widely naturalised. It is a perennial, tropical plant primarily grown as a vegetable for its edible starchy corm. It is a staple in African, Oceanic and South Indian cultures and is believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants. It is known by local names and often referred to as elephant ears when grown as an ornamental plant. Taro can be grown in fields where water is abundant or in upland situations where water is supplied by rainfall or supplemental irrigation. Taro is one of the few crops that can be grown under flooded conditions and this is due to air spaces in the petiole, which permit underwater gaseous exchange with the atmosphere. For a maximum dissolved oxygen supply, the water should be cool, warm, stagnant water causes basal rotting. For maximum yields, the water level should be controlled so that the base of the plant is always under water, flooded cultivation has some advantages over dry-land cultivation, higher yields, out-of-season production, and weed control. On the other hand, in flooded production systems requires a longer maturation period, investment in infrastructure, and higher operational costs. Like most root crops, taro and eddoes do well in deep, moist or even swampy soils where the rainfall exceeds 2,500 mm. Eddoes are more resistant to drought. The crop attains maturity within six to twelve months after planting in dry-land cultivation, the crop is harvested when the plant height decreases and the leaves turn yellow. These signals are less distinct in flooded taro cultivation. Harvesting is usually done by hand tools, even in mechanized production systems, first, the soil around the corm is loosened, and then, the corm is pulled up by grabbing the base of the petioles. The global average yield is 6.2 tones/hectare but varies according to the region, in Asia, average yields reach 12.6 tones/hectare. Taro contains oxalic acid which forms raphides and it is reduced to safe levels by steeping cubed taro roots in cold water overnight and disposing of the water. Calcium oxalate is highly insoluble and contributes to kidney stones and it has been recommended to consume calcium-rich foods like milk together with taro
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Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
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Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
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Monocotyledon
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Monocotyledons, commonly referred to as monocots, are flowering plants whose seeds typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. However, molecular research has shown that while the monocots form a monophyletic group or clade. Monocots have almost always recognized as a group, but with various taxonomic ranks. The APG III system of 2009 recognises a clade called monocots, the monocots include about 60,000 species. The largest family in this group by number of species are the orchids, about half as many species belong to the true grasses, which are economically the most important family of monocots. In agriculture the majority of the biomass produced comes from monocots and these include not only major grains, but also forage grasses, sugar cane, and the bamboos. Other economically important monocot crops include various palms, bananas, gingers and their relatives, turmeric and cardamom, asparagus and the onions and garlic family. Additionally most of the bulbs, plants cultivated for their blooms, such as lilies, daffodils, irises, amaryllis, cannas, bluebells. The monocots or monocotyledons have, as the name implies, a single cotyledon, or embryonic leaf, from a diagnostic point of view the number of cotyledons is neither a particularly useful characteristic, nor is it completely reliable. Nevertheless, monocots are sufficiently distinctive that there has rarely been disagreement as to membership of this group, however, morphological features that reliably characterise major clades are rare. Thus monocots are distinguishable from other angiosperms both in terms of their uniformity and diversity, although largely herbaceous, some arboraceous monocots reach great height, length and mass. The latter include agaves, palms, pandans, and bamboos and this creates challenges in water transport that monocots deal with in various ways. Some such as species of Yucca develop anomalous secondary growth, while palm trees, the axis undergoes primary thickening, that progresses from internode to internode, resulting in a typical inverted conical shape of the basal primary axis. The limited conductivity also contributes to limited branching of the stems, despite these limitations a wide variety of adaptive growth forms has resulted from epiphytic orchids and bromeliads to submarine Alismatales and mycotrophic Burmanniaceae and Triuridaceae. Other monocots, particularly Poales have adopted a life form. Leaves The cotyledon, the primordial Angiosperm leaf consists of a proximal leaf base or hypophyll, in moncots the hypophyll tends to be the dominant part in contrast to other angiosperms. Mature monocot leaves are narrow and linear, forming a sheathing around the stem at its base. There is usually only one leaf per node because the leaf base encompasses more than half the circumference, the evolution of this monocot characteristic has been attributed to developmental differences in early zonal differentiation rather than meristem activity
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Invasive species
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One study pointed out widely divergent perceptions of the criteria for invasive species among researchers and concerns with the subjectivity of the term invasive. Such invasive species may be either plants or animals and may disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular habitats and this includes non-native invasive plant species labeled as exotic pest plants and invasive exotics growing in native plant communities. It has been used in this sense by government organizations as well as groups such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The European Union defines Invasive Alien Species as those that are, firstly, outside their natural distribution area and it is also used by land managers, botanists, researchers, horticulturalists, conservationists, and the public for noxious weeds. The kudzu vine, Andean Pampas grass, and yellow starthistle are examples, an alternate usage broadens the term to include indigenous or native species along with non-native species, that have colonized natural areas. Deer are an example, considered to be overpopulating their native zones and adjacent suburban gardens, by some in the Northeastern, sometimes the term is used to describe a non-native or introduced species that has become widespread. However, not every introduced species has adverse effects on the environment, a nonadverse example is the common goldfish, which is found throughout the United States, but rarely achieves high densities. Scientists include species and ecosystem factors among the mechanisms that when combined, while all species compete to survive, invasive species appear to have specific traits or specific combinations of traits that allow them to outcompete native species. In some cases, the competition is about rates of growth, in other cases, species interact with each other more directly. Researchers disagree about the usefulness of traits as invasiveness markers, one study found that of a list of invasive and noninvasive species, 86% of the invasive species could be identified from the traits alone. Another study found invasive species tended to have only a subset of the presumed traits. Repeated patterns of movement, such as ships sailing to and from ports or cars driving up. An introduced species might become if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water. If these species evolved under great competition or predation, then the new environment may host fewer able competitors, allowing the invader to proliferate quickly. Ecosystems in which are being used to their fullest capacity by native species can be modeled as zero-sum systems in which any gain for the invader is a loss for the native, however, such unilateral competitive superiority is not the rule. For example, barbed goatgrass was introduced to California on serpentine soils, which have low water-retention, low nutrient levels, a high magnesium/calcium ratio, and possible heavy metal toxicity. Plant populations on these soils tend to low density, but goatgrass can form dense stands on these soils. Some species, like Kalanchoe daigremontana, produce allelopathic compounds, that might have an effect on competing species
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Nematode
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The nematodes or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. They are an animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments. Nematodes are classified along with insects and other moulting animals in the clade Ecdysozoa, Nematodes have successfully adapted to nearly every ecosystem from marine to fresh water, to soils, and from the polar regions to the tropics, as well as the highest to the lowest of elevations. They are found in part of the earths lithosphere, even at great depths below the surface of the Earth in gold mines in South Africa. They represent 90% of all animals on the ocean floor, the many parasitic forms include pathogens in most plants and animals. The location of towns would be decipherable, since for every massing of human beings there would be a corresponding massing of certain nematodes, trees would still stand in ghostly rows representing our streets and highways. In 1758, Linnaeus described some nematode genera, then included in Vermes, the name of the group Nematoda, informally called nematodes, came from Nematoidea, originally defined by Karl Rudolphi, from Ancient Greek νῆμα and -eiδἠς. It was treated as family Nematodes by Burmeister, at its origin, the Nematoidea erroneously included Nematodes and Nematomorpha, attributed by von Siebold. Along with Acanthocephala, Trematoda and Cestoidea, it formed the obsolete group Entozoa and they were also classed along with Acanthocephala in the obsolete phylum Nemathelminthes by Gegenbaur. In 1861, K. M. Diesing treated the group as order Nematoda, in 1877, the taxon Nematoidea, including the family Gordiidae, was promoted to the rank of phylum by Ray Lankester. In 1919, Nathan Cobb proposed that nematodes should be recognized alone as a phylum and he argued they should be called nema in English rather than nematodes and defined the taxon Nemates, listing Nematoidea sensu restricto as a synonym. Since Cobb was the first to all but nematodes from the group, some sources consider the valid taxon name to be Nemates or Nemata. The phylogenetic relationships of the nematodes and their close relatives among the protostomian Metazoa are unresolved, traditionally, they were held to be a lineage of their own but in the 1990s, they were proposed to form the group Ecdysozoa together with moulting animals, such as arthropods. The identity of the closest living relatives of the Nematoda has always considered to be well resolved. Morphological characters and molecular phylogenies agree with placement of the roundworms as a taxon to the parasitic Nematomorpha. Together with the Scalidophora, the Nematoida form the clade Cycloneuralia, the Cycloneuralia or the Introverta—depending on the validity of the former—are often ranked as a superphylum. Due to the lack of knowledge regarding many nematodes, their systematics is contentious, an earliest and influential classification was proposed by Chitwood and Chitwood—later revised by Chitwood—who divided the phylum into two—the Aphasmidia and the Phasmidia. These were later renamed Adenophorea and Secernentea, respectively, the Secernentea share several characteristics, including the presence of phasmids, a pair of sensory organs located in the lateral posterior region, and this was used as the basis for this division
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Dioscorea cayennensis subsp. rotundata
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Rotundata, the white yam, sometimes sold as Guinea yam or white ñame, is a subspecies of yam native to Africa. It is one of the most important cultivated yams, rotundata is grown in West Africa, including countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria
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Fufu
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Fufu is a staple food, common in many countries in Africa. It is often made with cassava and green Plantain Flour, other flours, such as semolina, maize flour or mashed plantains may take the place of cassava flour. In African cuisine Fufu, served alongside soup, usually groundnut soup, Soup is considered as a main dish or dinner in African cooking. An alternative method is to boil starchy food crops like cassava, yams or plantains and cocoyams, Fufu is eaten with the fingers, and a small ball of it can be dipped into an accompanying soup or sauce. Foods made in this manner are known by different names in different places, among the Baule and other Akan groups in Cote dIvoire, it is known as sakora, among the Dagombas of Northern Ghana as sakoro, and as couscous in the French-speaking regions of Cameroon. Portuguese traders introduced the cassava to Africa from Brazil in the 16th century, in Nigeria, Togo and Cameroon, fufu is white and sticky. The traditional method of eating fufu is to some of the fufu off in ones right hand fingers. The ball is then dipped in the soup before being eaten, a similar staple in the African Great Lakes region is ugali. It is usually made from flour, and is also eaten in Southern Africa. The name ugali is used to refer to the dish in Kenya, in Cuba, the dish retains its original African stem name, termed simply as fufú or with added descriptive extensions like fufú de platano or fufú de platano pintón. On other major islands, fufú goes by the names of mangú in the Dominican Republic, what distinguishes the Caribbean fufú from its West African relative is a firmer texture with stronger flavors. As it moves away from Cuba, the core is less a gelatinous dough. Puerto Rican mofongo in keeping with the creolized cuisine traditions of the Caribbean tends toward a fufú of much higher density, unlike the mushier Caribbean and West African fufús, mofongo is generally firmer and crustier. To prepare mofongo, green plantains are deep-fried once unlike twice fried tostones, next, they are mashed in a pilon with chopped garlic, salt, black pepper and olive oil. The resulting mash is then pressed and rounded into a hollowed crusty orb, meat, traditionally chicharrón, is then stuffed into the chunky ball of fried green plantains. A few recipes call for a meat or vegetable salsa criolla poured on top of the hot sphere, in the trendier mofongo relleno, typical of western Puerto Rico, seafood is all over, inside and outside. Traditional mofongo, as cited, comes seasoned and stuffed with meat. Because of its process of preparation and its sundry ingredients, poet and blogger Arose N Daghetto called the mofongo a type of fufú paella
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Dioscorea alata
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Dioscorea alata, known as purple yam and many other names, is a species of yam, a tuberous root vegetable. The tubers are usually vivid violet to lavender in colour, hence the common name. It is sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato, with its origins in the Asian tropics, D. alata has been known to humans since ancient times. Because it has naturalized throughout tropical South America, Africa, Australia. In English alone, aside from purple yam, other names include greater yam, Guyana arrowroot, ten-months yam, water yam, white yam, winged yam. For the Igbo people of southern Nigeria, it is called ji or ji abana, while for the Yoruba people of the southwestern Nigeria, malayo-Polynesian languages *qube / *ʔube can be reconstructed as the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word for D. Examples include Tagalog and Visayan ube or ubi, Malaysian and Indonesian ubi**, Malagasy ovy**, Fijian uvi, Tongan ʻufi, Samoan ufi**, as well as Māori, D. alata was one of the canoe plants that the Polynesians brought with them when they settled new islands. ** Not specific to D. alata Purple yam is used in a variety of desserts, as well as a flavor for ice cream, milk, Swiss rolls, tarts, cookies, cupcakes, cakes and other types of pastries. In the Philippines, it is known as ube and is eaten boiled, baked, or as a sweetened pudding called ube halayá. In Maharashtra, the chips are eaten during religious fasting. Purple yam is an ingredient in Undhiyu. Purple yam is a dessert in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Ube has more recently appeared in American restaurants as well and it is being used to make truffles, leche, flan, donuts, cupcakes, and other pastries. D. alata is valued for the starch that can be processed from it, in folk medicine, D. alata has been used as a moderate laxative and vermifuge, and for fever, gonorrhea, leprosy, tumors, and inflamed hemorrhoids. The color of purple varieties is due to various anthocyanin pigments, the pigments are water-soluble, and have been proposed as possible food coloring agents. D. alata is sometimes grown in gardens for its ornamental value, dioscorea alata is native to Southeast Asia, as well as surrounding areas. It persists in the wild in the United States in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and it is considered an invasive species, at least in Florida. Sri Lanka Rasa Valli Pudding Food Glossary, tarladalal. com Images from Forestry Images
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Chinese yam
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Chinese yam, also called cinnamon-vine, is a species of flowering plant in the yam family. This perennial climbing bine native to China now grows throughout East Asia and it is believed to have been introduced to Japan in the 17th century or earlier. Introduced to the United States as early as the 19th century for culinary and cultural uses, the plant was introduced to Europe in the 19th century during the European Potato Failure, where cultivation continues to this day for the Asian food market. The edible tubers, often called nagaimo or Chinese-potato, are cultivated largely in Asia and this species of yam is unique as the tubers can be eaten raw. The botanical names Dioscorea opposita and Dioscorea oppositifolia have been misapplied to Chinese yam. The name D. opposita is now a synonym of D. oppositifolia. Botanical works that point out the error may list, e. g. Dioscorea opposita auct. as a synonym of D. polystachya, furthermore, neither D. oppositifolia nor the prior D. Dioscorea polystachya vines typically grow 3–5 meters long, but can be longer. The leaves are up to 11 centimeters long and wide and they are lobed at the base and larger ones may have lobed edges. The arrangement is variable, they may be alternately or oppositely arranged or borne in whorls, in the leaf axils appear warty rounded bulbils under 2 centimeters long. New plants sprout from the bulbils or parts of them, the plant produces one or more spindle-shaped or cylindrical tubers. The largest may weigh 10 pounds and grow one meter underground, Dioscorea polystachya is more tolerant to frost and cooler climates than other yams, which is attributed to its successful introductions and establishment on many continents. In Chinese it is known as huáishān, shānyào, or huáishānyào, rarely, also referred to as shǔyù. In Japanese, it is known as nagaimo, furthermore, nagaimo is classified into ichōimo, or yamatoimo, depending on root shapes. In Japan, this species is sometimes mistakenly called Japanese mountain yam, in Korea it is called ma, sanwu, seoyeo, or sanyak and in Sri Lanka in Sinhala it is called wal ala. In Vietnam, the yam is called củ mài or khoai mài, when this yam is processed to become a medicine, the yam is called hoài sơn or tỳ giải. In the Ilocano of the northern Philippines it is called tuge, in Latin American countries its known as white name or white ñame. However, according to the American Cancer Society, the claims are false, Huáishān has also been used in traditional Chinese medicine. Dioscorea polystachya was introduced to the United States in the 1800s when it was planted as an ornamental or food crop and it and other introduced yam species now grow wild there
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Potato
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The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. The word potato may refer either to the plant itself or to the edible tuber, in the Andes, where the species is indigenous, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species. Potatoes were introduced to Europe in the half of the 16th century by the Spanish. It is the worlds fourth-largest food crop, following maize, wheat, the green leaves and green skins of tubers exposed to the light are toxic. Wild potato species can be throughout the Americas from the United States to southern Chile. Following centuries of breeding, there are now over a thousand different types of potatoes. However, the importance of the potato is variable and changing rapidly. As of 2007 China led the world in production, and nearly a third of the worlds potatoes were harvested in China. The English word potato comes from Spanish patata, the Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word is a compound of the Taíno batata and the Quechua papa. The 16th-century English herbalist John Gerard used the terms bastard potatoes and Virginia potatoes for this species, potatoes are occasionally referred to as Irish potatoes or white potatoes in the United States, to distinguish them from sweet potatoes. The name spud for a small potato comes from the digging of soil prior to the planting of potatoes, the word spud traces back to the 16th century. It subsequently transferred over to a variety of digging tools, around 1845, the name transferred to the tuber itself. It was Mario Peis 1949 The Story of Language that can be blamed for the false origin. Pei writes, the potato, for its part, was in disrepute some centuries ago, some Englishmen who did not fancy potatoes formed a Society for the Prevention of Unwholesome Diet. The initials of the words in this title gave rise to spud. Like most other pre-20th century acronymic origins, this is false, Potato plants are herbaceous perennials that grow about 60 cm high, depending on variety, with the leaves dying back after flowering, fruiting and tuber formation. They bear white, pink, red, blue, or purple flowers with yellow stamens, in general, the tubers of varieties with white flowers have white skins, while those of varieties with colored flowers tend to have pinkish skins. Potatoes are mostly cross-pollinated by insects such as bumblebees, which carry pollen from other potato plants, tubers form in response to decreasing day length, although this tendency has been minimized in commercial varieties
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Dioscorea bulbifera
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Dioscorea bulbifera is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Africa, southern Asia, India, Maldives, China, Japan, the Philippines and it is widely cultivated and has escaped to become naturalized in many regions. Dioscorea bulbifera is a vine with broad leaves and two types of storage organs. The plant forms bulbils in the axils of the twining stems. These tubers are small, oblong potatoes. Some varieties are edible and cultivated as a crop, especially in West Africa. The tubers of edible varieties often have a taste, which can be removed by boiling. They can then be prepared in the way as other yams, potatoes. The air potato is one of the most widely consumed yam species and it can grow up to 150 ft tall. Air potato can grow quickly, roughly 8 in per day. It typically climbs to the tops of trees and has a tendency to take over native plants, new plants develop from bulbils that form on the plant, and these bulbils serve as a means of dispersal. The aerial stems of air potato die back in winter, but resprouting occurs from bulbils, the primary means of spread and reproduction are by the bulbils. The smallest bulbils make control of air potato difficult due to their ability to sprout at a small stage. The vine produces white flowers, however, these are rarely seen when it grows in Florida. Air potato has been used as a remedy to treat conjunctivitis, diarrhea. Uncultivated forms, such as those growing wild in Florida. These varieties contain the steroid diosgenin, which is a material used in the manufacture of a number of synthetic steroidal hormones. There have been claims that even the forms are rendered edible after drying and boiling, leading to confusion over actual toxicity
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Bulb
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In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases that function as food storage organs during dormancy. A bulbs leaf bases, also known as scales, generally do not support leaves, at the center of the bulb is a vegetative growing point or an unexpanded flowering shoot. The base is formed by a stem, and plant growth occurs from this basal plate. Roots emerge from the underside of the base, and new stems, tunicate bulbs have dry, membranous outer scales that protect the continuous lamina of fleshy scales. Species in the genera Allium, Hippeastrum, Narcissus, and Tulipa all have tunicate bulbs, non-tunicate bulbs, such as Lilium and Fritillaria species, lack the protective tunic and have looser scales. The technical term geophyte encompasses plants that form underground organs, including bulbs as well as tubers. Some epiphytic orchids form above-ground storage organs called pseudobulbs, that superficially resemble bulbs, nearly all plants that form true bulbs are monocotyledons, and include, Amaryllis, Crinum, Hippeastrum, Narcissus, and several other members of the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. This includes onion, garlic, and other alliums, members of the Amaryllid subfamily Allioideae, lily, tulip, and many other members of the lily family Liliaceae. Two groups of Iris species, family Iridaceae, subgenus Xiphium, oxalis, in the family Oxalidaceae, is the only dicotyledon genus that produces true bulbs. Bulbous plant species cycle through vegetative and reproductive stages, the bulb grows to flowering size during the vegetative stage. Certain environmental conditions are needed to trigger the transition from one stage to the next, bulbs dug up before the foliage period is completed will not bloom the following year but then should flower normally in subsequent years. After the foliage period is completed, bulbs may be dug up for replanting elsewhere, any surface moisture should be dried, then the bulbs may be stored up to about 4 months for a fall planting. Storing them much longer than that may cause the bulbs to dry out inside, a bulbil is a small bulb, and may also be called a bulblet, bulbet, or bulbel. Small bulbs can develop or propagate a large bulb, if one or several moderate-sized bulbs form to replace the original bulb, they are called renewal bulbs. Increase bulbs are small bulbs that develop either on each of the leaves inside a bulb, some lilies, such as the tiger lily Lilium lancifolium, form small bulbs, called bulbils, in their leaf axils. Several members of the family, Alliaceae, including Allium sativum, form bulbils in their flower heads, sometimes as the flowers fade. The so-called tree onion forms small onions which are enough for pickling. Some ferns, such as Hen and Chicken Fern produce new plants at the tips of the fronds pinnae, coccoris, Patricia The Curious History of the Bulb Vase
30.
Dioscorea esculenta
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Dioscorea esculenta, commonly known as the Lesser Yam, is a yam species, but with a smaller corm than most other yams. It is closer in size to a potato or sweet potato, in Vietnam, it is called khoai từ or củ từ. It is used to make chè củ từ, also referred to as chè khoai từ, in Tagalog, it is known as tuge. It is cultivated in Kerala, goa, konkan parts of maharashtra India, belonging to the genus Dioscorea, Dioscorea esculenta describes the plants ability to produce edible roots, known as yams, also known as chinese yam, as it is mostly grown in Asia. Due to the fact that it is fast going to extinction, the plants stems are round and thin, with big, black compound spines that are 2–4 cm long. The leaves are soft, heart-shaped, and 5–8 cm long, media related to Dioscorea esculenta at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Dioscorea esculenta at Wikispecies
31.
Dioscorea trifida
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Dioscorea trifida is a species of flowering plant in the family Dioscoreaceae. It is native to the Caribbean and Central and South America and its many common names include Indian yam, cush-cush, and yampee. It is called mapuey in Venezuela, inhame in Brazil, tabena and ñame in Colombia, sacha papa in Peru and this plant is a vine that can exceed 3 meters in length. One plant produces up to 12 stems, which are lined with several membranous wings and they emerge from roots with tubers of various shape and size, generally up to 20 centimeters long by 8 wide. The leaves are up to 23 to 30 centimeters long with blades divided into pointed lobes and borne on long, green flowers with six tiny tepals are borne in the axils. The fruit is a winged, lightly hairy capsule up to about 2.7 centimeters long and this is a cultivated yam species used for food in parts of the Americas, especially South America and some Caribbean nations. The starchy tuber has a thin, smooth skin marked with some cracks and it takes different shapes but is commonly spherical or club-shaped, or shaped like a horse hoof, sometimes with a cleft. It comes in colors, including white, purple. The crop is cultivated like the potato, but must be given a strong trellis for support and it is propagated by planting small tubers or tuber chunks. The crop can be harvested in 10 to 11 months, the tuber is cooked for food. It can be baked or boiled, in Venezuela and Colombia it is mashed or used in soups. In parts of the Caribbean it is known as the best of the yams and it is a staple food for some indigenous peoples. The tuber is about 38% starch and it is a waxy starch that lacks amylose and has potential uses as a binder and thickener in food processing
32.
Guyana
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Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is, however, included in the Caribbean Region due to its cultural, historical. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Suriname to the east, with 215,000 square kilometres, Guyana is the fourth-smallest country on mainland South America after Uruguay, Suriname and French Guiana. The region known as the Guianas consists of the large landmass north of the Amazon River. Originally inhabited by indigenous groups, Guyana was settled by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century. It was governed as British Guiana, with mostly a plantation style economy until the 1950s and it gained independence in 1966, and officially became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970. The legacy of British rule is reflected in the political administration and diverse population, which includes Indian, African, Amerindian. Guyana is the only South American nation in which English is the official language, the majority of the population, however, speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language, as a first language. In addition to being part of the Anglophone Caribbean, Guyana is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island in the West Indies, CARICOM, of which Guyana is a member, is headquartered in Guyanas capital and largest city, Georgetown. In 2008, the joined the Union of South American Nations as a founding member. The name Guyana is derived from Guiana, the name for the region that formerly included Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Guyana is derived from an Indigenous Amerindian language, there are nine indigenous tribes residing in Guyana, the Wai Wai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Historically the Lokono and Kalina tribes dominated Guyana, although Christopher Columbus sighted Guyana during his third voyage, the Dutch were the first to establish colonies, Essequibo, Berbice, and Demerara. After the British assumed control in 1796, the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814, in 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as British Guiana. Since its Independence in 1824 Venezuela has claimed the area of land to the west of the Essequibo River, in 1899 an international tribunal ruled the land belonged to Great Britain. Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970, the US State Department and the US Central Intelligence Agency, along with the British government, played a strong role in influencing political control in Guyana during this time. The American government supported Forbes Burnham during the years of independence because Cheddi Jagan was identified as a Marxist. In 1978, Guyana received international notice when 918 members of the American cult, Peoples Temple, however, most of the suicides were by Americans and not Guyanese
33.
Rainforest
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The monsoon trough, alternatively known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating the climatic conditions necessary for the Earths tropical rainforests. Around 40% to 75% of all species are indigenous to the rainforests. It has been estimated there may be many millions of species of plants, insects. Tropical rainforests have been called the jewels of the Earth and the worlds largest pharmacy, the undergrowth in some areas of a rainforest can be restricted by poor penetration of sunlight to ground level. If the leaf canopy is destroyed or thinned, the ground beneath is soon colonized by a dense, tangled growth of vines, shrubs and small trees, the term jungle is also sometimes applied to tropical rainforests generally. Tropical rainforests are characterized by a warm and wet climate with no dry season. Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C during all months of the year, average annual rainfall is no less than 168 cm and can exceed 1,000 cm although it typically lies between 175 cm and 200 cm. Many of the tropical forests are associated with the location of the monsoon trough. The broader category of tropical moist forests are located in the zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Tropical forests have been called the Earths lungs, although it is now known that rainforests contribute little net oxygen addition to the atmosphere through photosynthesis, Tropical forests cover a large part of the globe, but temperate rainforests only occur in few regions around the world. Temperate rainforests are rainforests in temperate regions and they occur in North America, in Europe, in East Asia, in South America and also in Australia and New Zealand. A tropical rainforest typically has a number of layers, each with different plants, examples include the emergent, canopy, understorey and forest floor layers. They need to be able to withstand the hot temperatures and strong winds that occur above the canopy in some areas, eagles, butterflies, bats and certain monkeys inhabit this layer. The canopy layer contains the majority of the largest trees, typically 30 metres to 45 metres tall, the densest areas of biodiversity are found in the forest canopy, a more or less continuous cover of foliage formed by adjacent treetops. The canopy, by some estimates, is home to 50 percent of all plant species, epiphytic plants attach to trunks and branches, and obtain water and minerals from rain and debris that collects on the supporting plants. The fauna is similar to found in the emergent layer. A quarter of all species are believed to exist in the rainforest canopy. Scientists have long suspected the richness of the canopy as a habitat, true exploration of this habitat only began in the 1980s, when scientists developed methods to reach the canopy, such as firing ropes into the trees using crossbows
34.
Squatting position
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The rump or croup, in the external morphology of an animal, is the portion of the posterior dorsum that is posterior to the loins and anterior to the tail. Anatomically, the rump corresponds to the sacrum, the tailhead or dock is the beginning of the tail, where the tail joins the rump. It is known also as the base or root of the tail, in some mammals the tail may be said to consist of the tailbone and the skirt. In birds, similarly, the tail consists of tailbone and tailfan, some animals are subjected to docking, the amputation of the tailbone at or near the dock. These include dogs, cats, sheep, pigs, and horses, humans have a remnant tail, the coccyx, and the human equivalent of docking is coccygectomy. Usage varies from animal to animal, birds and cattle are said to have a rump and tailhead. Dogs are said to have a rump and dock, horses are said to have a croup, thigh or haunch, buttock, and dock. In bird anatomy, the rump is the body immediately above the tail, the color of plumage on the rump is a characteristic widely used by ornithologists to distinguish between related species, and sometimes also between males and females of the same species. Similarly, the silhouette of the tailfan is a widely used for purposes of identification. Some birds have a food reservoir pouch in the esophagus that is known as a croup, in some breeds it is traditional for tails to be cut off at the dock. Below the croup is the thigh or haunch, behind the thigh is the buttock. Applied to horses, the dock has two additional uses. Its meaning may be extended to either the entire tail minus the skirt or the tailhead only, in other equidae, it encompasses most of the tailbone, as most of that portion of the tail does not have long hairs. A lack of long hairs can be natural, as in zebras, donkeys, and the Przewalski horse, or artificial, the result of pulling, trimming, or shaving part of the skirt. A sponge used to wash the skin on the underside of the dock and other regions under the tail
35.
Yam production in Nigeria
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Nigeria is by far the world’s largest producer of yams, accounting for over 70–76 percent of the world production. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization report, in 1985, Nigeria produced 18.3 million tonnes of yam from 1.5 million hectares, representing 73.8 percent of total yam production in Africa. According to 2008 figures, yam production in Nigeria has nearly doubled since 1985, in perspective, the worlds second and third largest producers of yams, Côte dIvoire and Ghana, only produced 6.9 and 4.8 million tonnes of yams in 2008 respectively. Yam, a crop in the genus Dioscorea, has as many as 600 species out of which six are economically important staple species. These are, Dioscorea rotundata, Dioscorea alata, Dioscorea bulbifera, Dioscorea esculant, out of these, Dioscorea rotundata and Dioscorea alata are the most common species in Nigeria. Yams are grown in the region in rain forests, wood savanna. Yam is in the class of roots and tubers that is a staple of the Nigerian and West African diet, in Nigeria, in many yam-producing areas, it is said that yam is food and food is yam. However, the production of yam in Nigeria is substantially short and it also has an important social status in gatherings and religious functions, which is assessed by the size of yam holdings one possesses. The farmland production system in the Ekiti State consists of wetland, upland types, the combination of wetland/upland yam based enterprises is assessed as the least economically efficient, with mean efficiency of 0.76. Hence, it has recommended that more yams should be grown more on wetlands. Another recommendation made is to adopt the yam minisett technology developed by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, in this state especially among Tiv people, the size of the yam farm or the tonnage of yams produced becomes the social status of that farmer. Because of high level of yam production in the State of Benue, Benue State is crowned as the Nigerian Bread Basket. Yams are planted on mounds rather than flat slopes depending on the nature of the soils which are generally of loose soil suitable to grow roots. Yam is grown on free draining, sandy and fertile soil, land is prepared in the form of mound or ridge or heap of 1 metre height. The yams recommended for such conditions in Nigeria are white yam or white guinea yam. Planting is done by seed yam or cut setts from ware tubers, one day before planting, the tubers have to be subjected to treatment with wood ash or a fungicide to prevent damage to the soils. The setts are planted at an interval of 15–20 centimetres with the cut face facing up, mulching is essential during October–November with dry grass or plant debris weighed down with balls of mud. Dosage of fertilizer application, as essential, is decided after chemical analysis of the soil samples, manual weeding by hoeing is done three or four times depending on the rate of weed growth
36.
Tonne
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The SI symbol for the tonne is t, adopted at the same time as the unit itself in 1879. Its use is also official, for the metric ton, within the United States, having been adopted by the US National Institute of Standards and it is a symbol, not an abbreviation, and should not be followed by a period. Informal and non-approved symbols or abbreviations include T, mT, MT, in French and all English-speaking countries that are predominantly metric, tonne is the correct spelling. Before metrication in the UK the unit used for most purposes was the Imperial ton of 2,240 pounds avoirdupois, equivalent to 1,016 kg, differing by just 1. 6% from the tonne. Ton and tonne are both derived from a Germanic word in use in the North Sea area since the Middle Ages to designate a large cask. A full tun, standing about a high, could easily weigh a tonne. An English tun of wine weighs roughly a tonne,954 kg if full of water, in the United States, the unit was originally referred to using the French words millier or tonneau, but these terms are now obsolete. The Imperial and US customary units comparable to the tonne are both spelled ton in English, though they differ in mass, one tonne is equivalent to, Metric/SI,1 megagram. Equal to 1000000 grams or 1000 kilograms, megagram, Mg, is the official SI unit. Mg is distinct from mg, milligram, pounds, Exactly 1000/0. 453 592 37 lb, or approximately 2204.622622 lb. US/Short tons, Exactly 1/0. 907 184 74 short tons, or approximately 1.102311311 ST. One short ton is exactly 0.90718474 t, imperial/Long tons, Exactly 1/1. 016 046 9088 long tons, or approximately 0.9842065276 LT. One long ton is exactly 1.0160469088 t, for multiples of the tonne, it is more usual to speak of thousands or millions of tonnes. Kilotonne, megatonne, and gigatonne are more used for the energy of nuclear explosions and other events. When used in context, there is little need to distinguish between metric and other tons, and the unit is spelt either as ton or tonne with the relevant prefix attached. *The equivalent units columns use the short scale large-number naming system used in most English-language countries. †Values in the equivalent short and long tons columns are rounded to five significant figures, ǂThough non-standard, the symbol kt is also sometimes used for knot, a unit of speed for sea-going vessels, and should not be confused with kilotonne. A metric ton unit can mean 10 kilograms within metal trading and it traditionally referred to a metric ton of ore containing 1% of metal. In the case of uranium, the acronym MTU is sometimes considered to be metric ton of uranium, in the petroleum industry the tonne of oil equivalent is a unit of energy, the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil, approximately 42 GJ
37.
Nigeria
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Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
38.
Ghana
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Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a unitary presidential constitutional democracy, located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km², Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east, Ghana means Warrior King in the Soninke language. The territory of present-day Ghana has been inhabited for a millennium, numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful was the Kingdom of Ashanti. Beginning in the 15th century, numerous European powers contested the area for trading rights, following over a century of native resistance, Ghanas current borders were established by the 1900s as the British Gold Coast. On 6 March 1957, it became the first sub-Saharan African nation to become independent of European colonisation, a multicultural nation, Ghana has a population of approximately 27 million, spanning a variety of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. Five percent of the population practices traditional faiths,71. 2% adhere to Christianity and 17. 6% are Muslim and its diverse geography and ecology ranges from coastal savannahs to tropical jungles. Ghana is a country led by a president who is both head of state and head of the government. Ghanas economy is one of the strongest and most diversified in Africa, following a century of relative stability. Ghanas growing economic prosperity and democratic political system have made it a power in West Africa. It is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, Group of 24, Ghana was already recognized as one of the great kingdoms in Bilad el-Sudan by the ninth century. Ghana was inhabited in the Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms in the Southern and this included the Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Mankessim Kingdom. Until the 11th century, the majority of modern Ghanas territorial area was unoccupied and uninhabited by humans. Although the area of present-day Ghana in West Africa has experienced many population movements, by the early 11th century, the Akans were firmly established in the Akan state called Bonoman, for which the Brong-Ahafo Region is named. From the 13th century, Akans emerged from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, to create several Akan states of Ghana and these states included Bonoman, Ashanti, Denkyira, Mankessim Kingdom, and Akwamu Eastern region. By the 19th century, the territory of the part of Ghana was included in the Kingdom of Ashanti. The Kingdom of Ashanti government operated first as a loose network, prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan Ashanti people created an advanced economy based on principally gold and gold bar commodities then traded with the states of Africa. The earliest known kingdoms to emerge in modern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states, the Mole-Dagombas came on horseback from present-day Burkina Faso under a single leader, Naa Gbewaa. The death of Naa Gbewaa caused civil war among his children, some of whom broke off and founded separate states including Dagbon, Mamprugu, Mossi, Nanumba, Akan trade with European states began after contact with Portuguese in the 15th century
39.
Ivory Coast
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Ivory Coast or Côte dIvoire, officially the Republic of Côte dIvoire, is a country located in West Africa. Ivory Coasts political capital is Yamoussoukro, and its economic capital and its bordering countries are Guinea and Liberia in the west, Burkina Faso and Mali in the north, and Ghana in the east. The Gulf of Guinea is located south of Ivory Coast, prior to its colonization by Europeans, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. Two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, attempted to retain their identity through the French colonial period. Ivory Coast became a protectorate of France in 1843–1844 and was formed into a French colony in 1893 amid the European scramble for Africa. Ivory Coast achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbors while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boignys rule in 1993, Ivory Coast has experienced one coup détat, in 1999, the first took place between 2002 and 2007 and the second during 2010-2011. As a result, in 2000, the adopted a new Constitution. Ivory Coast is a republic with an executive power invested in its President. Through the production of coffee and cocoa, the country was a powerhouse in West Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. Ivory Coast went through a crisis in the 1980s, contributing to a period of political and social turmoil. Changing into the 21st-century Ivorian economy is largely market-based and still heavily on agriculture. The official language is French, with indigenous languages also widely used, including Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin. In total there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast, popular religions include Islam, Christianity, and various indigenous religions. Originally, Portuguese and French merchant-explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries divided the west coast of Africa, very roughly, there was also a Pepper Coast also known as the Grain Coast, a Gold Coast, and a Slave Coast. Like those, the name Ivory Coast reflected the major trade occurred on that particular stretch of the coast. One can find the name Cote de Dents regularly used in older works and it was used in Ducketts Dictionnaire and by Nicolas Villault de Bellefond, for examples, although Antoine François Prévost used Côte dIvoire. In the 19th century, usage switched to Côte dIvoire and it retained the name through French rule and independence in 1960
40.
Benin
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Benin, officially the Republic of Benin and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, the majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometers and its population in 2015 was estimated to be approximately 10.88 million. Benin is a nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment. The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and this region was referred to as the Slave Coast from as early as the 17th century due to the large number of slaves shipped to the New World during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. After slavery was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey, in 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France, and had a tumultuous period with many different democratic governments, many military coups and military governments. A Marxist–Leninist state called the Peoples Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990, in 1991, it was replaced by the current multi-party Republic of Benin. During the colonial period and at independence, the country was known as Dahomey, on 30 November 1975 it was renamed to Benin, after the body of water on which the country lies—the Bight of Benin—which, in turn, had been named after the Benin Empire. The country of Benin has no connection to Benin City in modern Nigeria, the form Benin is the result of a Portuguese corruption of the city of Ubinu. The new name, Benin, was chosen for its neutrality, the current country of Benin combines three areas which had different political and ethnic systems prior to French colonial control. Before 1700, there were a few important city states along the coast, the situation changed in the 1600s and early 1700s as the Kingdom of Dahomey, which was of Fon ethnicity, was founded on the Abomey plateau and began taking over areas along the coast. The Dahomey Kingdom was known for its culture and traditions, young boys were often apprenticed to older soldiers, and taught the kingdoms military customs until they were old enough to join the army. This emphasis on preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of black Sparta from European observers. The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into transatlantic slavery, by about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling Africans to the European slave-traders. Court protocols, which demanded that a portion of war captives from the many battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from 102,000 people per decade in the 1780s to 24,000 per decade by the 1860s, the decline was partly due to the banning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade by Britain and other countries. This decline continued until 1885, when the last slave ship departed from the coast of the present-day Benin Republic bound for Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, the capitals name Porto-Novo is of Portuguese origin, meaning New Port
41.
Ethiopia
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Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain
42.
Togo
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Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its capital Lomé is located, Togo covers 57,000 square kilometres, making it one of the smallest countries in Africa, with a population of approximately 7.5 million. From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the region was a major trading center for Europeans to search for slaves, earning Togo. In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate, after World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960, in 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma led a successful military coup détat after which he became president. At the time of his death in 2005, Gnassingbé was the leader in modern African history. In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president, Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with other languages spoken in Togo. The largest religious group in Togo consists of those with indigenous beliefs, Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States. Archaeological finds indicate that ancient tribes were able to produce pottery and that name Togo is translated from Ewe language language as land where lagoons lie. Not much is known of the period before arrival of the Portuguese in 1490, during the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions, the Ewé from the east, and the Mina and Guin from the west. Most of them settled in coastal areas, in 1884, a treaty was signed at Togoville with the King Mlapa III, whereby Germany claimed a protectorate over a stretch of territory along the coast and gradually extended its control inland. Its borders were defined after the capture of hinterland by German forces and signing agreements with France, in 1905, this became the German colony of Togoland. The local population was forced to work, cultivate cotton, coffee and cocoa, a railway and the port of Lomé were built for export of agricultural products. The Germans introduced modern techniques of cultivation of cocoa, coffee and cotton, during the First World War, Togoland was invaded by Britain and France, proclaiming the Anglo-French condominium. On 7 December 1916 the condominium collapsed and Togo was divided into British,20 July 1922 Great Britain received the League of Nations mandate to govern the western part of Togo and France to govern the eastern part. In 1945, the received the right to send three representatives to the French parliament
43.
Cameroon
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Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroons coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. French and English are the languages of Cameroon. The country is referred to as Africa in miniature for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, the country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad, portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões, which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates, the Union des Populations du Cameroun political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the Cameroonian Independence War. It waged war on French and UPC militant forces until 1971, in 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, the federation was abandoned in 1972. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president since 1982, Paul Biya. The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have grown increasingly alienated from the government, politicians and civil society in English-speaking regions have called for greater decentralization and even complete separation or independence from the former French-governed territories. The territory of present-day Cameroon was first settled during the Neolithic Era, the longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka. From here, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern, and central Africa are believed to have originated about 2,000 years ago, the Sao culture arose around Lake Chad c. AD500 and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state, kingdoms, fondoms, and chiefdoms arose in the west. Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472 and they noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões, which became Cameroon in English
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Hectare
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The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to 100 ares and primarily used in the measurement of land as a metric replacement for the imperial acre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres, in 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1⁄100 km2. When the metric system was further rationalised in 1960, resulting in the International System of Units, the are was not included as a recognised unit. The hectare, however, remains as a non-SI unit accepted for use with the SI units, the metric system of measurement was first given a legal basis in 1795 by the French Revolutionary government. At the first meeting of the CGPM in 1889 when a new standard metre, manufactured by Johnson Matthey & Co of London was adopted, in 1960, when the metric system was updated as the International System of Units, the are did not receive international recognition. The units that were catalogued replicated the recommendations of the CGPM, many farmers, especially older ones, still use the acre for everyday calculations, and convert to hectares only for official paperwork. Farm fields can have long histories which are resistant to change, with names such as the six acre field stretching back hundreds of years. The names centiare, deciare, decare and hectare are derived by adding the standard metric prefixes to the base unit of area. The centiare is a synonym for one square metre, the deciare is ten square metres. The are is a unit of area, equal to 100 square metres and it was defined by older forms of the metric system, but is now outside of the modern International System of Units. It is commonly used to measure real estate, in particular in Indonesia, India, and in French-, Portuguese-, Slovakian-, Serbian-, Czech-, Polish-, Dutch-, in Russia and other former Soviet Union states, the are is called sotka. It is used to describe the size of suburban dacha or allotment garden plots or small city parks where the hectare would be too large, the decare is derived from deka, the prefix for 10 and are, and is equal to 10 ares or 1000 square metres. It is used in Norway and in the former Ottoman areas of the Middle East, the hectare, although not strictly a unit of SI, is the only named unit of area that is accepted for use within the SI. The United Kingdom, United States, Burma, and to some extent Canada instead use the acre, others, such as South Africa, published conversion factors which were to be used particularly when preparing consolidation diagrams by compilation. In many countries, metrication redefined or clarified existing measures in terms of metric units, non-SI units accepted for use with the International System of Units
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Nigeria
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Benin
Ethiopia
Togo
Cameroon
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