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Guaco
Guaco, huaco, vejuco and bejuco are terms applied to various vine-like Central American, South American, and West Indian climbing plants, reputed to have curative powers. Several species in the genus ''Mikania'' are among those referred to as guaco. Even though it is not a vine ''guaco'' is also used to refer to '' Cleome serrulata'', the Rocky Mountain beeplant. Native Americans and Colombians believe that the guaco was named after a species of kite, in imitation of its cry, which they say it uses to attract the snakes which it feeds on. Tradition says that the plant's powers as an antidote were discovered through watching the bird eat the leaves, and even spread the juice on its wings, before attacking the snakes. Any twining plant with a heart-shaped leaf, white and green above and purple beneath, is called a guaco by Native Americans, which does not necessarily coincide with which plants are "true" guacos, as far as naturalists are concerned. What is most commonly recogniz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Colombia
The Flora of Colombia is characterized by over 28,000 species of green plants. National Flower of Colombia The national flower of Colombia is the orchid ''Cattleya trianae'' which was named after the Colombian naturalist José Jerónimo Triana. The orchid was selected by botanist Emilio Robledo, in representation of the Colombian Academy of History to determine the most representative flowering plant of Colombia. He described it as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world and selected ''Cattleya trianae'' as National symbol. National Tree of Colombia The national tree of Colombia is the palm ''Ceroxylon quindiuense'' (Quindío wax palm) which was named after the Colombian Department of Quindío where is located the Cocora valley, the only habitat of this restricted range species. The Quindío wax palm was selected as the national tree by the government of Belisario Betancur and was the first tree officially declared as a protected species in Colombia. ''C.quindiuens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikania
''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are common in the neotropical flora. ''Mikania'' originates from South America. A few species, such as ''Mikania scandens'', are found in temperate areas of North and South America, and nine species are known from the Old World tropics. As with other plants in the tribe Eupatorieae, the flowers have disc florets and no ray florets. The species ''Mikania laevigata'' and ''Mikania glomerata'', also known as guaco, are popular in herbal medicine. ''Mikania micrantha'' is a widespread weed in the tropics. It grows very quickly (as fast as 80 mm in 24 hours for a young plant) and covers other plants. People have looked into controlling it with herbicides, parasitic plants, fungi and insects. Selected species *''Mikania andrei'' (Ecuador) *''Mik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cleome Serrulata
''Cleome serrulata'' (syn. ''Peritoma serrulata''), commonly known as Rocky Mountain beeplant/beeweed, stinking-clover, bee spider-flower, skunk weed, Navajo spinach, and guaco, is a species of annual plant in the genus ''Cleome''. Many species of insects are attracted to it, especially bees, which helps in the pollination of nearby plants. It is native to southern Canada and the western and central United States. The plant has often been used for food, to make natural dye, dyes for paint, and as a treatment in traditional medicine. Taxonomy In 1814, Frederick Traugott Pursh described this species in the first volume of ''Flora Americae Septentrionalis'', based upon specimens collected by the Lewis and Clark Expedition near the Vermillion River (South Dakota), Vermillion River in South Dakota. In the first volume of ''Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis'' in 1824, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle moved this species to a genus which he named ''Peritoma'' (replacing the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikania Glomerata
''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are common in the neotropical flora. ''Mikania'' originates from South America. A few species, such as ''Mikania scandens'', are found in temperate areas of North and South America, and nine species are known from the Old World tropics. As with other plants in the tribe Eupatorieae, the flowers have disc florets and no ray florets. The species ''Mikania laevigata'' and ''Mikania glomerata'', also known as guaco, are popular in herbal medicine. ''Mikania micrantha'' is a widespread weed in the tropics. It grows very quickly (as fast as 80 mm in 24 hours for a young plant) and covers other plants. People have looked into controlling it with herbicides, parasitic plants, fungi and insects. Selected species *''Mikania andrei'' (Ecuador) *''Mik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikania Guaco
''Mikania'' is a genus of about 450 species of plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae. The name honors the Czech botanist Johann Christian Mikan, 1743–1814. Members of the genus are stem twiners and lianas and are common in the neotropical flora. ''Mikania'' originates from South America. A few species, such as ''Mikania scandens'', are found in temperate areas of North and South America, and nine species are known from the Old World tropics. As with other plants in the tribe Eupatorieae, the flowers have disc florets and no ray florets. The species ''Mikania laevigata'' and ''Mikania glomerata'', also known as guaco, are popular in herbal medicine. ''Mikania micrantha'' is a widespread weed in the tropics. It grows very quickly (as fast as 80 mm in 24 hours for a young plant) and covers other plants. People have looked into controlling it with herbicides, parasitic plants, fungi and insects. Selected species *''Mikania andrei'' (Ecuador) *''Mik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variegation
Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the source of a number of variegated houseplants. Variegation is caused by mutations that affect chlorophyll production or by viruses, such as mosaic viruses, which have been studied by scientists. The striking look of variegated plants is desired by many gardeners, and some have deliberately tried to induce it for aesthetic purposes. There are a number of gardening books about variegated plants, and some gardening societies specialize in them. The term is also sometimes used to refer to colour zonation in flowers, minerals, and the skin, fur, feathers or scales of animals. Causes Chimeral Because the variegation is due to the presence of two kinds of plant tissue, propagating the plant must be by a vegetative method of propagation that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natural History Of Colombia
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are part of nature, human activity is often understood as a separate category from other natural phenomena. The word ''nature'' is borrowed from the Old French ''nature'' and is derived from the Latin word ''natura'', or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth". In ancient philosophy, ''natura'' is mostly used as the Latin translation of the Greek word ''physis'' (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics of plants, animals, and other features of the world to develop of their own accord. The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medicinal Plants
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 asp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coumarine
Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered heterocycle that shares two carbons with the benzene ring. It can be placed in the benzopyrone chemical class and considered as a lactone. Coumarin is a colorless crystalline solid with a sweet odor resembling the scent of vanilla and a bitter taste. It is found in many plants, where it may serve as a chemical defense against predators. By inhibiting synthesis of vitamin K, a related compound is used as the prescription drug warfarin – an anticoagulant – to inhibit formation of blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. Etymology Coumarin is derived from ''coumarou'', the French word for the tonka bean. The word ''tonka'' for the tonka bean is taken from the Galibi (Carib) tongue spoken by natives of French Guia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography laid the foundation for the field of biogeography. Humboldt's advocacy of long-term systematic geophysical measurement laid the foundation for modern geomagnetic and meteorological monitoring. Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt travelled extensively in the Americas, exploring and describing them for the first time from a modern Western scientific point of view. His description of the journey was written up and published in several volumes over 21 years. Humboldt was one of the first people to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean were once joined (South America and Africa in particular). Humboldt resurrected the use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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