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B.L.Burtt
Brian Laurence "Bill" Burtt FRSE Linnean Society, FLS (27 August 1913 – 30 May 2008), was an English botanist and taxonomist who is noted for his contributions to the family Gesneriaceae. In a career that spanned 74 years, he worked first at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and then at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). He made numerous field trips to South Africa and Sarawak and described a total of 637 new plant species. Burtt is denoted by the List of botanists by author abbreviation, author abbreviation B.L.Burtt when Author citation (botany), citing a botanical name. Education and career Brian Laurence Burtt, known to colleagues as Bill, was born 27 August 1913 in Claygate, Surrey, to Mabel Johnston and Laurence Buckley Burtt. He was educated at Dulwich College, excelling in Latin. After Dulwich he was employed at Kew as herbarium assistant to Arthur William Hill, the Director. Here he learnt to work with dried plant material from all over the world, painstakingly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Violet
''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'' is a section within '' Streptocarpus'' subgenus ''Streptocarpella'' consisting of about ten species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent southeastern Kenya in eastern tropical Africa. The section was previously treated as a separate genus, ''Saintpaulia'', but molecular phylogenetic studies showed that it was nested within the genus ''Streptocarpus''. Species and cultivars are commonly called African violets (although they are not closely related to true violets) or saintpaulias. They are commonly sold as house plants. Several of the species and subspecies of the section are endangered, and many more are threatened, as their native cloud forest habitats are cleared for agriculture. The conservation status of '' Streptocarpus ionanthus'' has been classed as near-threatened. Description Saintpaulias, which grow from 6-15 cm tall, can be anywhere from 6-30 cm wide. The l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gesneriaceae
Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), with a very small number extending to temperate areas. Many species have colorful and showy flowers and are cultivated as ornamental plants. Etymology The family name is based on the genus ''Gesneria'', which honours Swiss naturalist and humanist Conrad Gessner. Description Most species are herbaceous perennials or subshrubs but a few are woody shrubs or small trees. The phyllotaxy is usually opposite and decussate, but leaves have a spiral or alternate arrangement in some groups. As with other members of the Lamiales the flowers have a (usually) zygomorphic corolla whose petals are fused into a tube and there is no one character that separates a gesneriad from any other member of Lamiales. Gesneriads differ from related families of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Streptocarpus
''Streptocarpus'' ("twisted fruit" from Greek στρεπτός (''streptos'') "twisted" and καρπός (''carpos'') "fruit") is an Afrotropical genus of flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae. The genus is native to Afromontane biotopes from central, eastern and southern Africa, including Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. The flowers are five-petalled, salverform tubes, almost orchid-like in appearance, and hover or arch over the plant, while the pointed, elongate fruit is of a helical form similar to that of the "tusk" of a narwhal. In the wild, species can be found growing on shaded rocky hillsides or cliffs, on the ground, in rock crevices, and almost anywhere the seed can germinate and grow. For the home, there are now many hybrids of various colours and forms available. Although generally referred to simply as "Streptocarpus" or "Streps", the common name for subgenus ''Streptocarpus'' is Cape primrose, referring to the nativity of several species to South Africa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pernettya
''Gaultheria'' is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his '. These plants are native to Asia, Australasia and North and South America. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated as the separate genus ''Pernettya'', but no consistent reliable morphological or genetic differences support recognition of two genera, and they are now united in the single genus ''Gaultheria''. Description The species vary from low, ground-hugging shrubs less than tall, up to tall, or, in the case of '' G. fragrantissima'' from the Himalayas, even a small tree up to tall. The leaves are evergreen, alternate (opposite in '' G. oppositifolia'' from New Zealand), simple, and vary between species from long; the margins are finely serrated or bristly in most species, but entire in some. The flowers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaultheria
''Gaultheria'' is a genus of about 135 species of shrubs in the family Ericaceae. The name commemorates Jean François Gaultier of Quebec, an honour bestowed by the Scandinavian Pehr Kalm in 1748 and taken up by Carl Linnaeus in his '. These plants are native to Asia, Australasia and North and South America. In the past, the Southern Hemisphere species were often treated as the separate genus ''Pernettya'', but no consistent reliable morphological or genetic differences support recognition of two genera, and they are now united in the single genus ''Gaultheria''. Description The species vary from low, ground-hugging shrubs less than tall, up to tall, or, in the case of '' G. fragrantissima'' from the Himalayas, even a small tree up to tall. The leaves are evergreen, alternate (opposite in '' G. oppositifolia'' from New Zealand), simple, and vary between species from long; the margins are finely serrated or bristly in most species, but entire in some. The flowers ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scrophulariaceae
The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including tropical mountains. The family name is based on the name of the included genus ''Scrophularia'' L. Taxonomy In the past, it was treated as including about 275 genera and over 5,000 species, but its circumscription has been radically altered since numerous molecular phylogenies have shown the traditional broad circumscription to be grossly polyphyletic. Many genera have recently been transferred to other families within the Lamiales, notably Plantaginaceae and Orobanchaceae, but also several new families. - on linhere/ref> Several families of the Lamiales have had their circumscriptions enlarged to accommodate genera transferred from t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland—Edinburgh, Dawyck, Logan and Benmore—each with its own specialist collection. The RBGE's living collection consists of more than 13,302 plant species (34,422 accessions),Rae D. et al. (2012) Catalogue of Plants 2012. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. whilst the herbarium contains in excess of 3 million preserved specimens. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. The Edinburgh site is the main garden and the headquarters of the public body, which is led by Regius Keeper Simon Milne. History The Edinburgh botanic garden was founded in 1670 at St. Anne's Yard, near Holyrood Palace, by Dr. Robert Sibbald and Dr. Andrew Balfour. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of London External System
The University of London Worldwide (previously called the University of London International Academy) is the central academic body that manages external study programmes within the federal University of London. All courses are branded as simply "University of London", having previously been "University of London International Programmes" and earlier "University of London External Programmes". It claims to be the world's oldest distance and flexible learning body, established under the University of London's royal charter of 1858, although academics have disputed whether it offered distance learning at that time. Several member institutions of the University of London offer degrees through the programme, including Birkbeck, Goldsmiths, King's College London, London School of Economics, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, Royal Veterinary College, School of Oriental and African Studies and University College London. The system offers cours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natal University
The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-Natal on 1 January 2004. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university opened a medical school for non-white students in Durban. The Pietermaritzburg campus was known for its agricultural engineering programmes, hence the nickname "the farmers" whilst the Durban campus was known as "the engineers," as it concentrated on other engineering programmes. The Council of the University of Natal voted on 31 May 2002 to offer the post of Vice-Chancellor and University Principal to world-renowned medical scientist and former Medical Research Council President - Professor Malegapuru Makgoba who assumed office on the 1 September 2002. He was entruste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olive Mary Hilliard
Olive Mary Hilliard ( Hillary, 4 July 1925 – 30 November 2022) was a South African botanist and taxonomist. Hilliard authored 372 land plant species names, the fifth-highest number of such names authored by any female scientist. Hilliard was born in Durban on 4 July 1925. She attended Natal University from 1943 to 1947, where she obtained an MSc and later a PhD. She worked at the National Herbarium in Pretoria in 1947-48 and was a lecturer in botany at Natal University from 1954 to 1962. In 1963 she became curator of the herbarium at Natal University and a research fellow. Her special fields of interest were the flora of Natal and the taxonomy of ''Streptocarpus'', Compositae and Scrophulariaceae. In 1964 she formed a professional and personal collaboration with Brian Laurence Burtt (1913-2008) who played a large part in the revitalising of a moribund Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Their collaboration resulted in numerous papers and three books, ''Streptocarpus: an African Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linnean Society
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collections, and publishes academic journals and books on plant and animal biology. The society also awards a number of prestigious medals and prizes. A product of the 18th-century enlightenment, the Society is the oldest extant biological society in the world and is historically important as the venue for the first public presentation of the theory of evolution by natural selection on 1 July 1858. The patron of the society was Queen Elizabeth II. Honorary members include: King Charles III of Great Britain, Emeritus Emperor Akihito of Japan, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (both of latter have active interests in natural history), and the eminent naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. History Founding The Linnean Society wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times Online
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as ''The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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