|
Castela Emoryi
''Castela emoryi'', with the common names crucifixion thorn, Emory's crucifixion-thorn, and es, chaparro amargosa, is a shrub species in the genus ''Castela'' of the family (biology), family Simaroubaceae. Distribution The plant is native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Deserts of North America. It is found in southern California, Arizona, and Sonora state (México). The species is dioecious and occurs in the moistest areas in the hottest, driest deserts within its range; it is considered poor in germination. Description ''Castela emoryi'' is often less than , and occasionally to grows or more. Crucifixion thorn is mostly leafless, its sharp branches are green and perform photosynthesis. Seeds are contained in clusters of fruit in groups of 5. The fruit is tan, green, red or brown in color, turning black with age. and may persist on the tree for several years. It is ranked on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants, as an endange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castela
''Castela'' is a genus of thorny shrubs and small trees in the family Simaroubaceae. Members of the genus are native to the Americas, especially the tropical regions. The generic name honours the French naturalist René Richard Louis Castel. ''Castela'' is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Species There are 17 accepted species:"''Castela'' Turpin". ''Plants of the World Online'', Kew Science. Accessed 6 October 2021. *'' Castela calcicola'' (Britton & Small) Ekman ex Urb. *'' Castela coccinea'' Griseb. *'' Castela depressa'' Turpin *'' Castela emoryi'' (A.Gray) Moran & Felger – Crucifixion thorn *''Castela erecta'' Turp. – Goatbush *'' Castela galapageia'' – Bitterbush *''Castela jacquiniifolia'' (Small) Ekman ex Urb. *''Castela leonis'' Acuña & Roíg *''Castela macrophylla'' Urb. *''Castela peninsularis'' Rose *''Castela polyandra'' Moran & Felger *''Castela retusa'' Liebm. *''Castela spinosa'' Cronquist *''Castela stewartii'' (C.H.M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asa Gray
Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Gray was adamant that a genetic connection must exist between all members of a species. He was also strongly opposed to the ideas of hybridization within one generation and special creation in the sense of its not allowing for evolution. He was a strong supporter of Darwin, although Gray's theistic evolution was guided by a Creator. As a professor of botany at Harvard University for several decades, Gray regularly visited, and corresponded with, many of the leading natural scientists of the era, including Charles Darwin, who held great regard for him. Gray made several trips to Europe to collaborate with leading European scientists of the era, as well as trips to the southern and western United States. He also built an extensive n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, which in turn provide herbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include mosquitoes, hoverflies, wasps, bees, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds, honeyeaters and bats. Nectar plays a crucial role in the foraging economics and evolution of nectar-eating species; for example, nectar foraging behavior is largely responsible for the divergent evolution of the African honey bee, ''A. m. scutellata'' and the western honey bee. Nectar is an economically important substance as it is the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar. For example, a number of parasitoid wasps (e.g. the social wasp species '' Apoica flavissima'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellagic Acid
Ellagic acid is a polyphenol found in numerous fruits and vegetables. It is the dilactone of hexahydroxydiphenic acid. Name The name comes from the French term ''acide ellagique'', from the word ''galle'' spelled backwards because it can be obtained from ''noix de galle'' ( galls), and to distinguish it from ''acide gallique'' (gallic acid). The molecule structure resembles to that of two gallic acid molecules being assembled "head to tail" and bound together by a C–C bond (as in biphenyl, or in diphenic acid) and two lactone links (cyclic carboxylic esters). Metabolism Biosynthesis Plants produce ellagic acid from hydrolysis of tannins such as ellagitannin and geraniin. Biodegradation Urolithins are gut flora human metabolites of dietary ellagic acid derivatives. Ellagic acid has low bioavailability, with 90% remaining unabsorbed from the intestines until metabolized by microflora to the more bioavailable urolintins. History Ellagic acid was first discovered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grape Downy Mildew
''Plasmopara viticola'', the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew, is a heterothallic oomycete that overwinters as oospores in leaf litter and soil. In the spring, oospores germinate to produce macrosporangia, which under wet condition release zoospores. Zoospores are splashed by rain into the canopy, where they swim to and infect through stomata. After 7–10 days, yellow lesions appear on foliage. During favorable weather, the lesions sporulate and new secondary infections occur. Description ''Plasmopara viticola'', also known as grape downy mildew, is considered to be the most devastating disease of grapevines in climates with relatively warm and humid summers. It was first observed in 1834 by Schweinitz on ''Vitis aestivalis'' in the southeastern United States. Shortly after this first observation, the pathogen was introduced to European countries where it played a devastating role in the yield and production of their grapes, and consequently their wine. France was among t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reticulitermes Flavipes
''Reticulitermes flavipes'', the eastern subterranean termite, is the most common termite found in North America. These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as pests. They feed on cellulose material such as the structural wood in buildings, wooden fixtures, paper, books, and cotton. A mature colony can range from 20,000 workers to as high as 5 million workers and the primary queen of the colony lays 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year to add to this total. Distribution The eastern subterranean termite (''R. flavipes'') is the most widely distributed ''Reticulitermes'' species. It occurs throughout the eastern United States, including Texas, and can be found as far north as southern Ontario. In 2006, ''R. flavipes'' was also recorded in Oregon, on the West coast of the United States. ''Reticulitermes santonensis'' in France is now understood to be a synonym of ''R. flavipes''. The species is now believed to originat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (along with cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood eating cockroaches of the genus ''Cryptocercus''. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the Jurassic or Triassic. More recent estimates suggest that they have an origin during the Late Jurassic, with the first fossil records in the Early Cretaceous. About 3,106 species are currently described, with a few hundred more left to be described. Although these insects are often called "white ants", they are not ants, and are not closely related to ants. Like ants and some bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antifeedant
Antifeedants are organic compounds produced by plants to inhibit attack by insects and grazing animals. These chemical compounds are typically classified as secondary metabolites in that they are not essential for the metabolism of the plant, but instead confer longevity. Antifeedants exhibit a wide range of activities and chemical structures as biopesticides. Examples include rosin, which inhibits attack on trees, and many alkaloids, which are highly toxic to specific insect species. History "Plant-derived insecticides (e.g., rotenone, veratridines, pyrethrins, and nicotine) have been used for insect control since antiquity." The active ingredients in these plants have been purified and modified. For example, variations on pyrethrin has spawned a large number of synthetic insecticides call pyrethroids. Culinary implications In addition to their role defending the plant, antifeedants often confer taste or odors, enhancing the flavor of certain plants. Examples are provided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quassinoid
Quassinoids are degraded triterpene lactones (similar to limonoids) of the Simaroubaceae plant family grouped into C-18, C-19, C-20, C-22 and C-25 types. The prototypical member of the group, quassin, was first described in the 19th century from plants of the genus '' Quassia'' from which it gets its name. It was isolated in 1937 and its structure elucidated in 1961. They are a biologically potent class of natural products, possessing antimalarial, antifeedant, insecticidal, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The quassinoid bruceantin reached two separate phase II clinical trials in 1982 and 1983. Other quassinoids include: * Bruceanols * Bruceolide * Eurycomanone * Gutolactone Gutolactone is a chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule c ... * Isobrucein A * Neoquassin * Nigakihe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medicinal Plant
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals. The earliest historical records of herbs are found from the Sumerian civilization, where hundreds of medicinal plants including opium are listed on clay tablets, c. 3000 BC. The Ebers Papyrus from ancient Egypt, c. 1550 BC, describes over 850 plant medicines. The Greek physician Dioscorides, who worked in the Roman army, documented over 1000 recipes for medicines using over 600 medicinal plants in ''De materia medica'', c. 60 AD; this formed the basis of pharmacopoeias for some 1500 years. Drug research sometimes makes use of ethnobotany to search for pharmacologically active substances, and this approach has yielded hundreds of useful compounds. These include the common drugs aspi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yavapai People
The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, independent peoples: the Ɖulv G’paaya, or Western Yavapai; the Yaavpe', or Northwestern Yavapai; the Gwev G’paaya, or Southeastern Yavapai; and the Wiipukpaa, or Northeastern Yavapai – Verde Valley Yavapai. Another Yavapai band, which no longer exists, was the Mađqwarrpaa or "Desert People." Its people are believed to have mixed with the Mojave and Quechan peoples. The Yavapai have much in common with their linguistic relatives to the north, the Havasupai and the Hualapai. Often the Yavapai were mistaken as Apache by American settlers, who referred to them as "Mohave-Apache," "Yuma-Apache," or "Tonto-Apache". Before the 1860s, when settlers began exploring for gold in the area, the Yavapai occupied an area of approximately 20,0 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bumblebees
A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera (e.g., ''Calyptapis'') are known from fossils. They are found primarily in higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America, where a few lowland tropical species have been identified. European bumblebees have also been introduced to New Zealand and Tasmania. Female bumblebees can sting repeatedly, but generally ignore humans and other animals. Most bumblebees are social insects that form colonies with a single queen. The colonies are smaller than those of honey bees, growing to as few as 50 individuals in a nest. Cuckoo bumblebees are brood parasitic and do not make nests or form colonies; their queens aggressively invade the nests of other bumblebee species, kill the resident que ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Asa Gray")
