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Hydnoraceae
Hydnoroideae is a subfamily of parasitic flowering plants in the order Piperales. Traditionally, and as recently as the APG III system it given family rank under the name Hydnoraceae. It is now submerged in the Aristolochiaceae. It contains two genera, ''Hydnora'' and ''Prosopanche'': * ''Prosopanche'' is native to Central and South America ; * ''Hydnora'' can be found in semi-arid to desert regions of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Madagascar. Members of this subfamily have been described as the strangest plants in the world. Description The most striking aspect of the Hydnoroideae is probably the complete absence of leaves (not even in modified forms such as scales). Some species are mildly thermogenic (capable of producing heat), presumably as a means of dispersing their scent. Morphology in pictures Image:HydnoraJohannisYoungParasiticAttachmentsWadMedaniSudanMusselman.jpg, ''Hydnora johannis'', young plant in Um Barona, Wad Medani, Sudan. Image:HydnoraTricepsRootsGems ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydnora Africana
''Hydnora africana'' is an achlorophyllous plant in the subfamily Hydnoroideae, native to southern Africa that is parasitic on the roots of members of the family Euphorbiaceae. It is also called ''jakkalskos'' or ''jackal food''. The specific epithet ''africana'' means to be from Africa. Molecular data has suggested that Hydnoroideae is a "basal angiosperm" solidifying its place among the more primitive flowering plants. ''Hydnoraceae'' are the only angiosperms known to have no leaves or scales and are considered obligate parasites, completely dependent on their hosts to survive. The plant grows underground, except for a fleshy flower that emerges above ground and emits an odor of feces to attract its natural pollinators, dung beetles and carrion beetles. The vegetative body of the plants has been reduced to only consisting of roots and flowers. The flowers act as temporary traps, retaining the beetles that enter long enough for them to pick up pollen. Description Morpholo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aristolochiaceae
The Aristolochiaceae () are a family, the birthwort family, of flowering plants with seven genera and about 400 known species belonging to the order Piperales. The type genus is ''Aristolochia'' L. Description They are mostly perennial, herbaceous plants, shrubs, or lianas. The membranous, cordate simple leaves are spread out, growing alternately along the stem on leaf stalks. The margins are commonly entire. No stipules are present. The bizarre flowers are large to medium-sized, growing in the leaf axils. They are bilaterally or radially symmetrical. Classification Aristolochiaceae are magnoliids, a basal group of angiosperms which are not part of the large categories of monocots or eudicots. As of APG IV (2016), the former families Hydnoraceae and Lactoridaceae are included, because exclusion would make Aristolochiaceae in the traditional sense paraphyletic. Some newer classification schemes, such as the update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, place the family Aristol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydnora
''Hydnora'' is a group of parasitic plants described as a genus in 1775. It is native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Hydnora pollinates through brood-site mimicry. This is a method of pollination in which the plant emits a smell that is attractive to insects, so that the plant can trap the insect and allow to take pollen so that it can pollinate other Hydnora. Taxonomy The following species are listed within the genus ''Hydnora'': # ''Hydnora abyssinica'' A.Br. - Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia; S + C + SE + E Africa from Eritrea + Sudan to Namibia + KwaZulu-Natal # ''Hydnora africana'' Thunb. - Angola, Namibia, Cape Province #''Hydnora arabica'' Bolin & Musselman - Oman & Yemen # ''Hydnora esculenta'' Jum. & H.Perrier - Madagascar # ''Hydnora sinandevu'' Beentje & Q.Luke - Kenya, Tanzania # ''Hydnora triceps'' Drège & E.Mey. - Northern Cape Province, Namibia # '' Hydnora visseri'' Bolin, E.Maass, & Musselman - Northern Cape Province, Namibia Etymology The genus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydnora Triceps
''Hydnora triceps'' is a holoparasitic flowering plant native to Africa that grows on the roots of '' Euphorbia dregeana''. Completely lacking in chlorophyll, it depends on its host for water and nutrients. The plant structure is composed of only specialized stems, buds, and haustoria, lacking any leaf-like structures entirely. It spends its life underground and only emerges to flower. Taxonomy German botanist Johann Franz Drège described ''Hydnora triceps'' in 1830 after collecting it from the Northwestern Cape. It was then thought extinct for many years until rediscovered by botanist Johann Visser in 1988. It is one of four species of parasitic underground plants in the genus '' Hydnora''. Distribution ''Hydnora triceps'' is found only in the northwestern Cape and southern Namibia. Additionally, since it is entirely dependent on '' Euphorbia dregeana'', which also seems to be its exclusive host, it is only found in association with this plant. About 10% of all the ''Euphorbi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holoparasitism
A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the haustorium, which penetrates the host plant, connecting them to the host vasculature – either the xylem, phloem, or both. For example, plants like ''Striga'' or ''Rhinanthus'' connect only to the xylem, via xylem bridges (xylem-feeding). Alternately, plants like ''Cuscuta'' and some members of ''Orobanche'' connect to both the xylem and phloem of the host. This provides them with the ability to extract water and nutrients from the host. Parasitic plants are classified depending on the location where the parasitic plant latches onto the host (root or stem), the amount of nutrients it requires, and their photosynthetic capability. Some parasitic plants can locate their host plants by detecting volatile chemicals in the air or soil given ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piperales
Piperales is an order of flowering plants (4,170 recognized species). It necessarily includes the family Piperaceae but other taxa have been included or disincluded variously over time. Well-known plants which may be included in this order include black pepper, kava, pepper elder, lizard's tail, birthwort, and wild ginger. Classification APG system In the APG IV system, of 2016, this order is placed in the clade magnoliids and is circumscribed as follows: *order Piperales *: family Aristolochiaceae (including Asaraceae, Hydnoraceae and Lactoridaceae) *: family Piperaceae *: family Saururaceae This is an expansion from the APG system, of 1998, which used the same placement (in the magnoliids) but used this circumscription: * order Piperales'' *: family Aristolochiaceae *: family Lactoridaceae *: family Piperaceae *: family Saururaceae Earlier systems The Cronquist system, of 1981, placed the order in the subclass Magnoliidae of class Magnoliopsida dicotyledonsand used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
APG III System
The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a further revision, the APG IV system. Along with the publication outlining the new system, there were two accompanying publications in the same issue of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society: * The first, by Chase & Reveal, was a formal phylogenetic classification of all land plants (embryophytes), compatible with the APG III classification. As the APG have chosen to eschew ranks above order, this paper was meant to fit the system into the existing Linnaean hierarchy for those that prefer such a classification. The result was that all land plants were placed in the class Equisetopsida, which was then divided into 16 subclasses and a multitude of superorders. * The second, by Haston ''et al.'', was a linear sequence of families followi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Namaqualand
Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions – Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the north. Little Namaqualand is within the Namakwa District Municipality, forming part of Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is geographically the largest district in the country, spanning over 26,836 km2. A typical municipality is Kamiesberg Local Municipality. The semidesert Succulent Karoo region experiences hot summers, sparse rainfall, and cold winters.Discover South Africa: Your Online Travel Directory. Discover Namakwa. Great Namaqualand in the Karas Region of Namibia, is sparsely populated by the Namaqua, a Khoikhoi people who have traditionally inhabited the Namaqualand region. Tourism The area’s landscape ranges from an unexploited coast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are shrubs or trees, such as ''Hevea brasiliensis''. Some, such as ''Euphorbia canariensis'', are succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution. This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics, however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica. Description The leaves are alternate, seldom opposite, with stipules. They are mainly simple, but where compound, are always palmate, never pinnate. Stipules may be reduced to hairs, glands, or spines, or in succulent species are sometimes absent. The plants can be monoecious or dioecious. The radially symmetrical flowers are unisexual, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armadillo
Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. Nine extinct genera and 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are distinguished by the number of bands on their armor. All species are native to the Americas, where they inhabit a variety of different environments. Armadillos are characterized by a leathery armor shell and long, sharp claws for digging. They have short legs, but can move quite quickly. The average length of an armadillo is about , including its tail. The giant armadillo grows up to and weighs up to , while the pink fairy armadillo has a length of only . When threatened by a predator, ''Tolypeutes'' species frequently roll up into a ball; they are the only species of armadillo capable of this. Etymology The wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinoceros
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea.) Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia. Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna: all weigh at least one tonne in adulthood. They have a herbivorous diet, small brains (400–600 g) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick (1.5–5 cm), protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths; they rely instead on their lips to pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackal
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas'') and side-striped jackal (''Lupulella adusta'') of sub-Saharan-Africa, and the golden jackal (''Canis aureus'') of south-central Europe and Asia. The African golden wolf (''Canis lupaster'') was also formerly considered as a jackal. While they do not form a monophyletic clade, all jackals are opportunistic omnivores, predators of small to medium-sized animals and proficient scavengers. Their long legs and curved canine teeth are adapted for hunting small mammals, birds, and reptiles, and their large feet and fused leg bones give them a physique well-suited for long-distance running, capable of maintaining speeds of for extended periods of time. Jackals are crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk. Their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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