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Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland
Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland is a critically endangered vegetation type of the Western Cape, South Africa. Environment This type of riparian vegetation and its accompanying ecosystem is found in the Western Cape, South Africa, on freshwater floodplains, along the lower stretches of rivers and around seasonal vleis and estuaries. The terrain is typically flat and the soil is rich and silty. It is restricted to a winter rainfall area. This used to be one of the major ecosystems on the Cape Flats of Cape Town. The Cape Flats used to have a great many wetlands, rivers and seasonal vleis, but these have largely been drained and built over for housing. A few remain at places such as Rondevlei. Ecology The flora consists of a range of species of tall reed (e.g. ''Phragmites australis'', ''Typha capensis''), Restios, sedges, grasses, floating aquatics and a great many species of shrub. Plant cover is very high. Sedgelands predominate on the floodplains, floating aquatics grow in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pennisetum Macrourum
''Pennisetum'' is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. They are known commonly as fountaingrasses (fountain grasses).''Pennisetum''. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).''Pennisetum''. The Jepson eFlora 2013. ''Pennisetum'' is considered a synonym of '''' in 's |
Kikuyu Grass
The tropical Poaceae, grass species ''Cenchrus clandestinus'' (previously Pennisetum clandestinum) is known by several common names, most often kikuyu grass, as it is native to the highland regions of East Africa that is home to the Kikuyu people. Because of its rapid growth and aggressive nature, it is categorised as a noxious weed in some regions. However, it is also a popular garden lawn species in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the southern region of California in the United States, as it is inexpensive and moderately drought-tolerant. In addition, it is useful as pasture for livestock grazing and serves as a food source for many avian species, including the long-tailed widowbird. The flowering Culm (botany), culms are very short and "hidden" amongst the leaves, giving this species its specific epithet (''clandestinus''). Description and habitat ''Cenchrus clandestinus'' is a rhizomatous grass with matted roots and a grass-like or herbaceous habit. The leaves a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Leopard Toad
The western leopard toad (''Sclerophrys pantherina'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is endemic to the low-lying areas of the Cape Peninsula, the Cape Flats and the Agulhas flats of the Western Cape, South Africa. Populations and range Two macro-populations exist, broadly referred to as the Cape Town and Overberg clusters. Its natural foraging habitats is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, falling within several vegetation types including Cape Flats Sand Plain Fynbos and Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. Habitat The species is not restricted to pristine habitat as much of its historical feeding grounds currently fall under residential suburbs, hence leopard toads are often found living in suburban gardens. Breeding habitat includes swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, urban riverine watercourses, natural ponds and garden ponds. Threats It is threatened by habitat loss Habi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock, molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 Myr, million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy or evolutionary history. An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterbird
A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabirds that inhabit marine environments. Some water birds (e.g. wading birds) are more terrestrial while others (e.g. waterfowls) are more aquatic, and their adaptations will vary depending on their environment. These adaptations include webbed feet, beaks, and legs adapted to feed in the water, and the ability to dive from the surface or the air to catch prey in water. The term ''aquatic bird'' is sometimes also used in this context. A related term that has a narrower meaning is waterfowl. Some piscivorous birds of prey, such as ospreys and sea eagles, hunt aquatic prey but do not stay in water for long and lives predominantly over dry land, and are not considered water birds. The term waterbird is also used in the context of conservation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cotula Myriophylloides
''Cotula'' is a genus of flowering plant in the sunflower family. It includes plants known generally as water buttons or buttonweeds. The species within this genus can vary extensively in their habit, leaf division, involucre, receptacle and achenes. This makes it difficult to define them by comparing their morphology. The genus can only be defined by looking at the corollas of their flowers. Most are disciform (lacking ray florets). These corollas may be tubular, reduced or even absent. Another characteristic is their solitary heads growing on a peduncle. Taxonomy ''Cotula'' is the largest genus found in the Southern Hemisphere of the tribe Anthemideae. This genus was first mentioned by Carl Linnaeus, who described four species in his first edition (1753) of ''Species Plantarum''. In 1867 the genus was subdivided by George BenthamBentham, G., 1867: "Flora Australiensis", Vol. 3. Reeve, London. into three sections. Since his account, only a few changes have been made but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aponogeton Distachyos
Aponogeton distachyos or ''Aponogeton distachyum'', also known as waterblommetjie (''lit. trans.'' water-floret), Cape-pondweed, water hawthorn, vleikos and Cape pond weed is an aquatic flowering plant. Origin Native to South Africa's Western Cape and Mpumalanga provinces, but introduced elsewhere in quiet ponds in warm temperate to subtropical climates in winter rainfall areas. It grows in ponds and vleis which dry up in summer, becoming dormant in the dry summer and growing again when the pools fill with autumn rain.African FLowering Plants Database''Aponogeton distachyos''/ref>PlantZAfric/ref> Description It is an aquatic plant growing from a tuberous rhizome. The often mottled leaves float on the water surface from a petiole up to 1 m long from the rhizome; the leaf blade is narrow oval, 6–25 cm long and 1.5–7.7 cm broad, with an entire margin and parallel veins. The flowers are produced on an erect spike with two branches at the apex like a 'Y', held above th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aponogeton Angustifolius
The Aponogetonaceae (the Cape-pondweed family or aponogeton family) are a family of flowering plants in the order Alismatales. In recent decades the family has had universal recognition by taxonomists. The APG system (1998) and APG II system (2003) treat it in the order Alismatales in the clade monocots. The family consists of only one genus, ''Aponogeton'', with 56 known species (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ) of aquatic plants, most of which have been included in a molecular phylogeny by Chen et al. (2015). The name was published in ''Supplementum Plantarum'' 32: 214 (1782) and is derived from a geographic location neighboring (''geton'') the Apono tribal district of coastal Gabon. Some species are used as ornamental plants in aquariums. Distribution They are aquatic plants, which are found in tropical to warm temperate regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.Watson, L. & Dallwitz, M. J. (1992 onwards)Aponogetonaceae ''Aponogeton distachyos'' is originally from South Africa but ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passerina Paludosa
The genus ''Passerina'' is a group of birds in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). Although not directly related to buntings in the family Emberizidae, they are sometimes known as the North American buntings (the North American Emberizidae are colloquially called "sparrows" although they are also not closely related to these birds). The males show vivid colors in the breeding season; the plumage of females and immature birds is duller. These birds go through two molts in a year; the males are generally less colorful in winter. They have short tails and short slim legs. They have smaller bills than other Cardinalidae; they mainly eat seeds in winter and insects in summer. The blue grosbeak (''P. caerulea'') was once placed in the monotypic genus, ''Guiraca''. Taxonomy and list of species The genus ''Passerina'' was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1816. The type species was designated in 1840 as the indigo bunting (''Passerina cyanea'') by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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