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Dendrophthoe Falcata
''Dendrophthoe falcata'' is one of the hemiparasitic plants that belong to the mistletoe family Loranthaceae. It is the most common of all the mistletoes that occur in India. At the moment reports say that it has around 401 plant hosts. The genus ''Dendrophthoe'' comprises about 31 species spread across tropical Africa, Asia, and Australia (Flora of China, 2003) among which 7 species are found in India. ''D.falcata'' bears grey bark, thick coriaceous leaves variable in shape with stout flowers (Wealth of India. 2002). The inflorescence of ''D.falcata'' was described formerly as axillary or as developing from the scars of fallen leaves, but Y.P.S Pundir (1996) determined it to be of strictly cauliflorous nature and noted also that it bears a certain similarity to those of the fig species ''Ficus glomerata, F. pomifera'' and ''F. hispida''. Two of its varieties are widespread in India namely, var. ''falcata'' (honeysuckle mistletoe) and var. ''coccinea'' (red honeysuckle mistletoe) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Linnaeus The Younger
Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' (Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (modern) as a botanical authority; 20 January 1741 – 1 November 1783) was a Swedish naturalist. His names distinguish him from his father, the pioneering taxonomist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778). Biography Carl Linnaeus the Younger was enrolled at the University of Uppsala at the age of nine and was taught science by his father's students, including Pehr Löfling, Daniel Solander, and Johan Peter Falk. In 1763, aged just 22, he succeeded his father as the head of Practical Medicine at Uppsala. His promotion to professor — without taking exams or defending a thesis — caused resentment among his colleagues. His work was modest in comparison to that of his father. His best-known work is the '' Supplementum Plantarum systematis vegetabilium'' of 1781, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annona Squamosa
''Annona squamosa'' is a small, well-branched tree or shrub from the family Annonaceae that bears edible fruits called sugar-apples or . It tolerates a tropical lowland climate better than its relatives ''Annona reticulata'' and ''Annona cherimola'' (whose fruits often share the same name) helping make it the most widely cultivated of these species. ''Annona squamosa'' is a small, semi-(or late) deciduous, much-branched shrub or small tree tall similar to soursop ('' Annona muricata''). Description The fruit of ''A. squamosa'' (sugar-apple) has sweet whitish pulp, and is popular in tropical markets. Stems and leaves Branches with light brown bark and visible leaf scars; inner bark light yellow and slightly bitter; twigs become brown with light brown dots (lenticels – small, oval, rounded spots upon the stem or branch of a plant, from which the underlying tissues may protrude or roots may issue). Thin, simple, alternate leaves occur singly, long and wide; rounded at t ... [...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 Plant defense against herbivory, defense and protection against insects, fungi, Plant disease resistance, 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 Pedanius Dioscorides, 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 approac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunbird
Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly in the males. Many species also have especially long tail feathers. Their range extends through most of Africa to the Middle East, South Asia, South-east Asia and southern China, to Indonesia, New Guinea and northern Australia. Species diversity is highest in equatorial regions. There are 145 species in 16 genera. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but will also eat insects and spiders, especially when feeding their young. Flowers that prevent access to their nectar because of their shape (for example, very long and narrow flowers) are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries, from which the birds sip the nectar. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct, thanks to their short wings. The sun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hair-crested Drongo
The hair-crested drongo (''Dicrurus hottentottus'') is an Asian bird of the family Dicruridae. This species was formerly considered conspecific with '' Dicrurus bracteatus'', for which the name "spangled drongo" – formerly used for both – is now usually reserved. Some authorities include the Sumatran drongo (''D. sumatranus'') in ''D. hottentottus'' as subspecies. It is native from Bangladesh, India, and Bhutan through Indochina to China, Indonesia, and Brunei. Hair-crested drongos move in small flocks and are very noisy. The "spangled drongo", '' Dicrurus bracteatus'', is native on the east coast of Australia and its name is pejorative slang for a silly person. This may be due to its strange chattering and cackling. Taxonomy In 1760, French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the hair-crested drongo in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen that he mistakenly believed had been collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regurgitation (digestion)
Regurgitation is the expulsion of material from the pharynx, or esophagus, usually characterized by the presence of undigested food or blood. Regurgitation is used by a number of species to feed their young. This is typically in circumstances where the young are at a fixed location and a parent must forage or hunt for food, especially under circumstances where the carriage of small prey would be subject to robbing by other predators or the whole prey is larger than can be carried to a den or nest. Some bird species also occasionally regurgitate pellets of indigestible matter such as bones and feathers. It is in most animals a normal and voluntary process unlike the complex vomiting reflex in response to toxins. Humans In humans it can be voluntary or involuntary, the latter being due to a small number of disorders. Regurgitation of a person's meals following ingestion is known as rumination syndrome, an uncommon and often misdiagnosed motility disorder that affects eating. It m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neem
''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Africa. It is typically grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Neem trees also grow on islands in southern Iran. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil. Description Neem is a fast-growing tree that can reach a height of , and rarely . It is deciduous, shedding many of its leaves during the dry winter months. The branches are wide and spreading. The fairly dense crown is roundish and may reach a diameter of . The neem tree is similar in appearance to its relative, the chinaberry (''Melia azedarach''). The opposite, pinnate leaves are long, with 20 to 30 medium to dark green leaflets about long. The terminal leaflet often is missing. The petioles are short. White and fragrant flowers are arranged in more-or-less drooping a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dicaeum Erythrorhynchos
The pale-billed flowerpecker or Tickell's flowerpecker (''Dicaeum erythrorhynchos'') is a tiny bird that feeds on nectar and berries, found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and western Myanmar. The bird is common especially in urban gardens with berry bearing trees. They have a rapid chipping call and the pinkish curved beak separates it from other species in the region. Description This is a tiny bird, 8 cm long, and is one of the smallest birds occurring in most parts of southern India and Sri Lanka. The bird is plain brownish to olive green. The underside is buff olive and does not contrast greatly with the upperparts and not whitish as in the Nilgiri flowerpecker of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri hills nor is it streaked as in the thick-billed flowerpecker. The Nilgiri flowerpecker has a pale supercilium unlike this species which has no marking on the head. The Sri Lankan race ''ceylonense'' Babault, 1920 - is greyer and smaller than the nominate race of peninsular India. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves, when self-pollination occurs within a closed flower. Pollination often occurs within a species. When pollination occurs between species, it can produce hybrid offspring in nature and in plant breeding work. In angiosperms, after the pollen grain (gametophyte) has landed on the stigma, it germinates and develops a pollen tube which grows down the style until it reaches an ovary. Its two gametes travel down the tube to where the gametophyte(s) containing the female gametes are held within the carpel. After entering an ovum cell through the micropyle, one male nucleus fuses with the polar bodies to produce the endosperm tissues, while the other fuses with the ovule to produce the embr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phloem
Phloem (, ) is the living biological tissue, tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is called translocation. In trees, the phloem is the innermost layer of the bark (botany), bark, hence the name, derived from the Ancient Greek word (''phloiós''), meaning "bark". The term was introduced by Carl Nägeli in 1858. Structure Phloem tissue consists of conducting Cell (biology), cells, generally called sieve elements, Ground tissue#Parenchyma, parenchyma cells, including both specialized companion cells or albuminous cells and unspecialized cells and supportive cells, such as fibres and sclereids. Conducting cells (sieve elements) Sieve elements are the type of cell that are responsible for transporting sugars throughout the plant. At maturity they lack a Cell nucleus, nucleus and have very few organelles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures, such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons. Some nutrients can be metabolically converted to smaller molecules in the process of releasing energy, such as for carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and fermentation products (ethanol or vinegar), leading to end-products of water and carbon dioxide. All organisms require water. Essential nutrients for animals are the energy sources, some of the amino acids that are combined to create proteins, a subset of fatty acids, vitamins and certain minerals. Plants require more diverse minerals absorbed through roots, plus carbon dioxide and oxygen absorbed through leaves. Fungi live on dead or living organic matter and meet nutrient needs from their host. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
