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Costus Spicatus
''Costus spicatus'', also known as spiked spiralflag ginger or Indian head ginger, is a species of herbaceous plant in the Costaceae family (also sometimes placed in Zingiberaceae). Distribution ''Costus spicatus'' is native to the Caribbean (including Dominica, Guadeloupe, Hispaniola, Martinique, and Puerto Rico). Description ''Costus spicatus'' leaves grow to a length of approximately and a width of approximately . It produces a short red cone, from which red-orange flowers emerge one at a time. In botanical literature, '' Costus woodsonii'' has often been misidentified as ''Costus spicatus''. Cultivation ''Costus spicatus'' will grow in full sun if it is kept moist. It reaches a maximum height of about . Ecology ''Costus spicatus'' can develop a symbiotic partnership with certain species of ants (often only a single species of ant will be compatible). The ants are provided with a food source (nectar in ''C. spicatus'' flowers) as well as a place to construct a nest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbaceous Plant
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of the ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' defines "herb" as: #"A plant whose stem does not become woody and persistent (as in a tree or shrub) but remains soft and succulent, and dies (completely or down to the root) after flowering"; #"A (freq. aromatic) plant used for flavouring or scent, in medicine, etc.". (See: Herb) The same dictionary defines "herbaceous" as: #"Of the nature of a herb; esp. not forming a woody stem but dying down to the root each year"; #"BOTANY Resembling a leaf in colour or texture. Opp. scarious". Botanical sources differ from each other on the definition of "herb". For instance, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation includes the condition "when persisting over more than one growing season, the parts o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folk Medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the era of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as "the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness". Traditional medicine is often contrasted with scientific medicine. In some Asian and African countries, up to 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. When adopted outside its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often considered a form of alternative medicine. Practices known as traditional medicines ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of The Leeward Islands
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by Jules Thurmann (1849). Prior to this, the two terms were used indiscriminately.Thurmann, J. (1849). ''Essai de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of The Windward Islands
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is '' fauna'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora''. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of The Dominican Republic
The flora of the Dominican Republic is diverse. Species * '' Abarema abbottii'' * '' Aiphanes minima'' * ''Akrosida floribunda'' * '' Ardisia escallonioides'' * ''Aulacomnium palustre'' * ''Bactris plumeriana'' * ''Boerhavia diffusa'' * '' Buddleja domingensis'' * '' Burmannia capitata'' * ''Byrsonima crassifolia'' * ''Carica papaya'' * ''Cassytha filiformis'' * ''Catalpa brevipes'' * ''Cedrela odorata'' * ''Cissus trifoliata'' * ''Clusia rosea'' * '' Coccothrinax boschiana'' * ''Crescentia cujete'' * ''Croton barahonensis'' * ''Croton ciliatoglandulifer'' * ''Croton eluteria'' * '' Cyathea abbottii'' * ''Cyathea balanocarpa'' * '' Cyathea brooksii'' * '' Cyathea crassa'' * '' Cyathea fulgens'' * ''Dipholis salicifolia'' * '' Dorstenia erythranda'' * '' Dorstenia peltata'' * '' Fuchsia triphylla'' * ''Gaussia attenuata'' * ''Hymenaea protera'' * '' Hymenocallis latifolia'' * '' Jaltomata antillana'' * ''Jatropha integerrima'' * '' Juglans jamaicensis'' * '' Juniperus gracilior'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Haiti
The wildlife of Haiti is important to the country because of its biodiversity. According to the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Haiti is considered to be "one of the most biologically significant countries of the West Indies". With an estimated 5,600 plant species on the island of Hispaniola, some of which only occur in Haiti, 36% are considered as endemic to the island. A mountainous area country, it is situated in the western three-eighths of Hispaniola and shares a border with the Dominican Republic. There are nine life zones, from low desert to high cloud forests, as well as four mountain ranges, and hundreds of rivers and streams and the coral reefs in the seas that surround the islands. Issues of environmental damage, expanding population, deforesting and erosion are of concern; less than 2% of the original forest remains on account of deforestation. This degradation is traced from the 17th century to 19th century starting with the French colonization of the Haiti and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Cuba
This is a list of plants which includes trees and other herbs, vines, climbers, lianas, shrubs, subshrubs that are native or endemic, found in Cuba. This list should exclude plants grown, invasive species or introduced by humans (example: weeds). The endemic genera or species (exclusive of Cuba) will be marked in bold type. This list is sorted in alphabetical order by binomial names. Common names are in parentheses. A *'' Acacia belairioides'' *''Acacia bucheri'' *''Acacia cornigera'' *'' Acacia daemon'' *''Acacia roigii'' *''Acacia zapatensis'' *'' Acoelorrhaphe wrightii'' *''Acrocomia crispa'' *''Agave anomala'' *''Ageratina riparia'' *''Albizia berteriana'' *''Allophylus roigii'' *''Amyris cubensis'' *''Amyris polymorpha'' *''Ancistranthus harpochiloides'' *''Annona cristalensis'' *''Annona ekmanii'' *''Ateleia gummifera'' *'' Ateleia salicifolia'' *'' Atkinsia cubensis'' *''Avicennia germinans'' Orchids are native B *''Bactris cubensis'' *''Banara wilsonii'' *'' Begonia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Puerto Rico
__NOTOC__ This is a list of the endemic flora of Puerto Rico. This list is sorted in alphabetical order by binomial names. Common names are in parentheses. Apocynaceae *'' Forsteronia portoricensis'' *'' Tabernaemontana oppositifolia'' Aquifoliaceae *''Ilex cookii'' ( Cook's Holly) *'' Ilex sintenisii'' ( Sintenis' Holly) Araliaceae *'' Dendropanax laurifolius'' *'' Schefflera gleasonii'' Asclepiadaceae *'' Marsdenia elliptica'' *'' Matelea borinquensis'' *'' Matelea sintenisii'' *'' Matelea variifolia'' Asteraceae *'' Chromolaena borinquensis'' *'' Critonia portoricense'' *'' Koanophyllon dolicholepis'' *'' Koanophyllon polyodon'' *'' Mikania odoratissima'' *'' Mikania porosa'' *'' Vernonia proctorii'' Begoniaceae *'' Begonia decandra'' Bignoniaceae *''Crescentia portoricensis'' ( Higuero de sierra) *'' Tabebuia haemantha'' Boraginaceae *'' Cordia bellonis'' *'' Cordia wagneriorum'' (Luquillo Mountain manjack) Bromeliaceae *''Hohenbergia antillana'' Buxaceae *''Buxus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costus
''Costus'' is a group of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Costaceae, described by Linnaeus as a genus in 1753. It was formerly known as ''Hellenia'' after the Finnish botanist Carl Niclas von Hellens. It is widespread through tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. ''Costus'' is often characterized and distinguished from relatives such as ''Zingiber'' (true ginger) by its spiraling stems. The genus as a whole is thus often called spiral gingers, but this can also refer to '' C. barbatus'' specifically. '' Costus spectabilis'' is the floral emblem of Nigeria; its flowers are represented (erroneously in red instead of yellow color) on its coat of arms. It is important not to confuse ''Costus speciosus'', ''C. spectabilis'' etc. with the herb known by the common name " costus". Some species are of importance to herbivores, such as caterpillars of the restricted demon (''Notocrypta curvifascia'') which feed on '' Costus speciosus'' (crê ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperglycemia
Hyperglycemia is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood sugar level higher than 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until even higher values such as 13.9–16.7 mmol/L (~250–300 mg/dL). A subject with a consistent range between ~5.6 and ~7 mmol/L (100–126 mg/dL) ( American Diabetes Association guidelines) is considered slightly hyperglycemic, and above 7 mmol/L (126 mg/dL) is generally held to have diabetes. For diabetics, glucose levels that are considered to be too hyperglycemic can vary from person to person, mainly due to the person's renal threshold of glucose and overall glucose tolerance. On average, however, chronic levels above 10–12 mmol/L (180–216 mg/dL) can produce noticeable organ damage over time. Signs and symptoms The degree of hyperglycemia can change over time depending on the metabolic cause, for example, impaired gluco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased appetite. If left untreated, diabetes can cause many health complications. Acute complications can include diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, or death. Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, foot ulcers, damage to the nerves, damage to the eyes, and cognitive impairment. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin, or the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin produced. Insulin is a hormone which is responsible for helping glucose from food get into cells to be used for energy. There are three main types of diabetes mellitus: * Type 1 diabetes results from failure of the pancreas to produce enough insulin due to lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ants
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. Larger colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
