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Iberian Sclerophyllous And Semi-deciduous Forests
The Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion in southwestern Europe. It occupies the interior valleys and plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula. The ecoregion lies mostly in Spain, and includes some portions of eastern Portugal. Geography The ecoregion covers the interior basins of Iberia's main rivers – the Douro, Tagus, Guadiana, Guadalquivir, and Ebro. It is bounded on the north by the temperate-climate Pyrenees and Cantabrian mixed forests. Spain's interior mountains, which divide the various river basins, are home to the distinct Northwest Iberian montane forests and Iberian conifer forests ecoregions. Separate ecoregions also occupy the coastal lowlands – the Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests to the southwest, Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands to the southeast, and the Northeast Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests to the east. Climate The ecoregion has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moura, Portugal
Moura () is a city and a municipality in the District of Beja in Portugal, subdivided into 5 ''freguesias''. The population in 2011 was 15,167, in an area of 958.46 km2. The city itself had a population of 8,459 in 2001. It has now around 11,000 inhabitants. The current Mayor is José Pós de Mina, elected by the Unitary Democratic Coalition. The municipal holiday is 24 June. It is home to Moura Photovoltaic Power Station, one of Europe's largest solar-power facilities. Parishes Administratively, the municipality is divided into 5 civil parishes (''freguesias''): * Amareleja * Moura (Santo Agostinho e São João Baptista) e Santo Amador * Póvoa de São Miguel * Safara e Santo Aleixo da Restauração * Sobral da Adiça Climate Moura has a Mediterranean climate with very hot, dry summers and mild winters. It is one of the driest areas in Portugal with just over of precipitation. Town Twinning Moura has cooperation agreements with the following cities: * Aroche, Spa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gulf of Cádiz to Seville, but in Roman times it was navigable to Córdoba. Geography The river is long and drains an area of about . It rises at Cañada de las Fuentes (village of Quesada) in the Cazorla mountain range ( Jaén), flows through Córdoba and Seville and reaches the sea at the fishing village of Bonanza, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, flowing into the Gulf of Cádiz, in the Atlantic Ocean. The marshy lowlands at the river's mouth are known as " Las Marismas". The river borders the Doñana National Park reserve. Name The modern name of Guadalquivir comes from the Arabic ''al-wādī l-kabīr'' (), meaning "the big river". There was a variety of names for the Guadalquivir in Classical and pre-Classical times. According to Titus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erica Arborea
''Erica arborea'', the tree heath or tree heather, is a species of flowering plant (angiosperms) in the heather family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. It is also cultivated as an ornamental. The wood, known as briar root ( French: bruyère, Catalan: bruc, Portuguese: betouro, Spanish: brezo), is extremely hard and heat-resistant, and is used for making smoking pipes. Leaf fossils attributed to this species were described for the Mio-Pleistocene deposit of São Jorge in Madeira Island. Description ''Erica arborea'' is an upright evergreen shrub or small tree with a typical height in the wild of some , especially in Africa, but more typically in gardens. It bears dark green needle-like leaves and numerous small honey-scented bell-shaped white flowers. It is a calcifuge, preferring acid soil in an open sunny situation. Distribution There are disjunct populations in Africa including the Ethiopian Highlands, the mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistacia Lentiscus
''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus ''Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek island of Chios and around the Turkish town of Çeşme.''Pistacia lentiscus'' L. a Mansfeld's Database Taxonomy Description 
The pla ...
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Chamaerops Humilis
''Chamaerops'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is ''Chamaerops humilis'', variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most hardy palms, cold-hardy palms and is used in landscaping in temperate climates. Taxonomy Apart from the fully accepted ''Chamaerops humilis,'' there are a few taxa of unresolved status plus numerous species Synonym (taxonomy), synonymised under ''Chamaerops humilis''. The species ''Chamaerops humilis'' itself has three accepted variety (biology), varieties as follows: *''Chamaerops humilis'' var. ''argentea'' André (syn. ''C. h.'' var. ''cerifera'') – "Atlas mountain palm" of Northwest Africa. Leaves glaucous. *''Chamaerops humilis'' var. ''epondraes'' – Northwest Africa. Leaves glaucous. *''Chamaerops humilis'' var. ''humilis'' – Southwest Europe. Leaves green. There also are at least three cultivars (''C. humilis'' var. ''humilis'' 'Nana', ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carob
The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscapes. The carob tree is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. Portugal is the largest producer of carob, followed by Italy and Morocco. In the Mediterranean Basin, extended to the southern Atlantic coast of Portugal (i.e. the Algarve region) and the Atlantic northwestern Moroccan coast, carob pods were often used as animal feed and in times of famine, as "the last source of umanfood in hard times". The ripe, dried, and sometimes toasted pod is often ground into carob powder, which was sometimes used as an ersatz cocoa powder, especially in the 1970s natural food movement. The powder and chips can be used as a chocolate alternative in most recipes. Description The carob tree grows up to tall. The crown is broad and semis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olea Europaea
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The species is cultivated in all the countries of the Mediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. ''Olea europaea'' is the type species for the genus ''Olea''. The olive's fruit, also called an "olive", is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which also includes species such as lilac, jasmine, forsythia, and the true ash tree. Thousands of cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tagus Basin
The Tagus Basin is the drainage basin of the Tagus, Tagus River, which flows through the west of the Iberian Peninsula and empties into Lisbon. It covers an area of 78,467 Square kilometre, km2, which is distributed 66% (55,645 Square kilometre, km2) on Spain, Spanish territory and 34% on Portugal, Portuguese land (22,822 km2). It is the third largest basin in the Iberian Peninsula, after the Douro Basin, with 98,258 Square kilometre, km2, and the Ebro Basin, with 82,587 Square kilometre, km2. Physical environment The Tagus basin is one of the most important in the Peninsula, due to its extension and its flow, being the one with the highest population density in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, peninsula. It is formed by an elongated surface with an east–west orientation, the Tagus, Tagus River flows from the Sierra de Albarracín, where it has its source, to the estuary, Mar de la Paja, next to Lisbon, through the center of the Hesperian Massif with a length of 910 K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Suber
''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the cores of cricket balls. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. In the Mediterranean basin the tree is an ancient species with fossil remnants dating back to the Tertiary period. It endures drought and makes little demand on the soil quality and is regarded as a defence against desertification. Cork oak forests are home to a multitude of animal and plant species. Since cork is increasingly being displaced by other materials as a bottle cap, these forests are at risk as part of the cultural landscape and animal species such as the Iberian lynx are threatened with extinction. Description General appearance and bark The cork oak grows as an evergreen tree, reaching an average height of or in rare cases up to 25 m and a tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Rotundifolia
''Quercus rotundifolia'', the holm oak or ballota oak, is an evergreen oak native to the western Mediterranean region, with the majority on the Iberian Peninsula and minor populations in Northwest Africa. The species was first described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1785. It is the typical species of the Iberian ''dehesa'' or ''montado'', where its sweet-astringent acorns are a source of food for livestock, particularly the Iberian pig. It has previously been described in the same species as ''Quercus ilex''. Its acorns have been used for human nourishment since the Neolithic era (7,000 BC). Description ''Quercus rotundifolia'' is a medium to large tree, usually in height, but can reach up to with a large, dense, rounded canopy. It has small, leathery, dark-green leaves with a glaucous, densely pubescent underside usually suborbicular to elliptical or lanceolate and are generally spiny to dentate on a younger tree. It has a semi-hemispheric cupule. It flowers from February to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class (biology), class, Pinopsida. All Neontology, extant conifers are perennial plant, perennial woody plants with secondary growth. The great majority are trees, though a few are shrubs. Examples include Cedrus, cedars, Pseudotsuga, Douglas-firs, Cupressaceae, cypresses, firs, junipers, Agathis, kauri, larches, pines, Tsuga, hemlocks, Sequoioideae, redwoods, spruces, and Taxaceae, yews.Campbell, Reece, "Phylum Coniferophyta". Biology. 7th. 2005. Print. P. 595 As of 1998, the division Pinophyta was estimated to contain eight families, 68 genera, and 629 living species. Although the total number of species is relatively small, conifers are ecology, ecologically important. They are the dominant plants over large areas of land, most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct sunlight. The word comes from the Greek ''sklēros'' (hard) and ''phyllon'' (leaf). The term was coined by Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper, A.F.W. Schimper in 1898 (translated in 1903), originally as a synonym of xeromorph, but the two words were later differentiated. Sclerophyllous plants occur in many parts of the world, but are most typical of areas with low rainfall or seasonal droughts, such as Australia, Africa, and western North and South America. They are prominent throughout Flora of Australia, Australia, parts of Flora of Argentina, Argentina, the Cerrado biogeographic region of Geography of Bolivia, Bolivia, Geography of Paraguay, Paraguay and Flora of Brazil, Brazil, and in the Mediterranean forests, woo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
