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Isoglossa Woodii
''Isoglossa woodii'', commonly known as buckweed, is a monocarpic shrub of the family Acanthaceae, growing up to 4 m tall. It grows in colonies in coastal forest areas of KwaZulu-Natal and marginally into Eastern Cape, South Africa. Description The stem is often multi branched and sparsely hairy, with lower stems becoming woody. The leaves are between 75 mm and 120 mm long, and are soft and often droop during dry conditions. The leaves have a velvety texture due to fine, dense hairs on the surface. These plants have a life cycle of about 7 to 10 years, after which they flower ''en masse'' and then die off. The flowers are produced in inflorescences and individual flowers are whitish in colour and about 8 mm in length. Ecological significance These plants form dense colonies in the understorey of forests where they provide food and shelter to many animals. Blue duiker and bushbuck feed on the leaves and shoots. The flowers attract many species of insects, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Baron Clarke
Charles Baron Clarke (17 June 1832 – 25 August 1906) was a British botanist. He was born at Andover, Hampshire, Andover, the eldest son of Turner Poulter Clarke. He was educated at King's College School, London, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, Trinity and Queens' College, Cambridge, Queens' Colleges, Cambridge. He began the study of law at Lincoln's Inn in 1856 and was called to the bar in 1860. He lectured in mathematics at Presidency University, Kolkata, Presidency College, Kolkata, Calcutta, from 1857 to 1865. Clarke was Inspector of Schools in East Bengal, Eastern Bengal and later of India, and superintendent of the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta Botanical Garden from 1869 to 1871. He retired from the Indian Civil Service in 1887. He was president of the Linnean Society from 1894 to 1896, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1882. He worked at Kew Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew until his death in 1906. He is buried in Richm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monocarpic
Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die. The term is derived from Greek (''mono'', "single" + ''karpos'', "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle. Other terms with the same meaning are ''hapaxanth'' and ''semelparous''. The antonym is polycarpic, a plant that flowers and sets seeds many times during its lifetime; the antonym of semelparous is ''iteroparous''. Plants which flower en masse (gregariously) before dying are known as plietesials. The term ''hapaxanth'' is most often in conjunction with describing some of the taxa of Arecaceae (palms) and some species of bamboo, but rarely used otherwise; its antonym is ''pleonanth''. This was first used by Alexander Braun. Monocarpic plants are not necessarily annuals, because some monocarpic plants can live a number of years before they will flower. In some monocarpic plants, flowering signals senescence, while in others the production of fruits and seeds causes changes wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acanthaceae
Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in temperate regions. The four main centres of distribution are Indonesia and Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Representatives of the family can be found in nearly every habitat, including dense or open forests, scrublands, wet fields and valleys, sea coast and marine areas, swamps, and mangrove forests. Description Plants in this family have simple, opposite, decussated leaves with entire (or sometimes toothed, lobed, or spiny) margins, and without stipules. The leaves may contain cystoliths, calcium carbonate concretions, seen as streaks on the surface. The flowers are perfect, zygomorphic to nearly actinomorphic, and arranged in an inflorescence that is either a spike, raceme, or cyme. Typically, a colorful bract subtends ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forests Of KwaZulu-Natal
Areas of forest which grow in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mostly on south facing slopes in higher rainfall areas, and along the humid coastal areas. Different types of forest can be identified by their species composition which depends mostly on the altitude, latitude and substrate (soil and rock types) in which they grow. South facing slopes are favourable for the development of forest as they are more shaded, and therefore cooler and retain more moisture than the northern slopes. The extra moisture on the south slopes is not only favoured by forest trees, but also helps to prevent or subdue wildfires. Fires can also be blocked by cliff faces and rocks or boulders on these slopes, and by streams or rivers at the base of the slopes. The coastal regions are conducive to forest formation, because of high rainfall and humidity which are favoured by forest trees and also help to prevent or subdue fires. The rivers of the coastal areas are also broader than further inland, which may o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Repu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England and some from Scotland and Ireland. Since South Africa's early years, many Xhosas believed in Africanism and figures such as Walter Rubusana believed that the rights of Xhosa people and Africans in general, could not be protected unless Africans mobilized and worked together. As a result, the Eastern Cape is home to many anti-apartheid leaders such as Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Duiker
The blue duiker (''Philantomba monticola'') is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest duiker. The species was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg in 1789. 12 subspecies are identified. The blue duiker reaches at the shoulder and weighs . Sexually dimorphic, the females are slightly larger than the males. The dark tail measures slightly above . It has short, spiky horns, around long and hidden in hair tufts. The subspecies show a great degree of variation in their colouration. The blue duiker bears a significant resemblance to Maxwell's duiker. Activity is diurnal (limited to daytime). Secretive and cautious, the blue duiker confines itself to the forest fringes. Territorial, individuals of opposite sexes form pairs and occupy territories, nearly large and marked by preorbital gland secretions. The blue duiker feeds on fallen fruits, foliage, flowers and pieces of bark, provided mainly by the forest canopies i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bushbuck
The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide range of habitats, such as rain forests, montane forests, forest-savanna mosaic, savanna, bushveld, and woodland. Bushbuck stand about at the shoulder and weigh from . They are generally solitary, territorial browsers. Taxonomy The taxonomy of bushbuck, and of the Tragelaphini tribe in general, has been contested. Bushbuck have been fractured into over 40 subspecies in the past. mtDNA profiles of a large number of samples were resolved in 2009 as belonging to 19 groups, some corresponding to previously described subspecies, while others were previously unrecognised and remained unnamed. These groups were then organised into two taxa - a nominate northern subspecies (''T. s. scriptus'') and a southern subspecies ''T. s. sylvaticus''. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protogoniomorpha Parhassus
''Protogoniomorpha parhassus'', the forest mother-of-pearl or common mother-of-pearl,Williams, M. (1994). ''Butterflies of Southern Africa; A Field Guide''. . is a species of Nymphalidae butterfly found in forested areas of Africa. Subspecies *''P. p. parhassus'', the forest mother-of-pearl, from Tropical AfricaMarkku Sevala's pages: http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/nymphalinae/salamis/index.html, retrieved 31 July 2010. *''P. p. aethiops'' (Palisot de Beauvais, 1805), the common mother-of-pearl from southern Africa Description The following description is for ''P. p. aethiops'': A large butterfly; the wingspan is 65–80 mm for males and 75–90 mm for females. The male and female are similar in colour and pattern. The base colour of the upper surface of the wings is greenish white with a violet sheen in the wet-season form, and pearly white in the dry-season form. The forewing has a black-tipped, hooked apex. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celaenorrhinus Mokeezi
''Celaenorrhinus'' is a genus of skipper butterflies which are commonly termed sprites. An alternate name is flats, for their habit of holding their wings flat when resting, but this is also used for related genera. They belong to the spread-winged skipper subfamily (Pyrginae), and therein are the type genus of tribe Celaenorrhini. ''Celaenorrhinus'' species are found in most tropical regions. However, rather than a monophyletic genus the group appears to be a paraphyletic assemblage, and will probably be split up in the future. Species *The Africa species group **''Celaenorrhinus ambra'' Evans, 1937 **''Celaenorrhinus ankasa'' Larsen & Miller, 2005 **'' Celaenorrhinus aureus'' Collins & Larsen, 2005 **'' Celaenorrhinus bakolo'' Miller, 1964 **''Celaenorrhinus beni'' Bethune-Baker, 1908 **''Celaenorrhinus bettoni'' Butler, 1902 **''Celaenorrhinus boadicea'' (Hewitson, 1877) **''Celaenorrhinus chrysoglossa'' (Mabille, 1891) **'' Celaenorrhinus cordeironis'' Kielland, 1992 **'' C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Medley Wood
John Medley Wood (1 December 1827 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England – 26 August 1915 Durban) was a South African botanist who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Natal ferns, is generally credited with the establishment of sugarcane mosaic virus immune Uba sugar cane in Natal and for his extensive collection of Natal plants. History Wood was born in Mansfield to a lawyer James Riddall Wood and Hannah Healy Weaver. His father remarried Mary Haygarth and emigrated to Durban, and John, who had spent seven years at sea after leaving school, joined him there in 1852. He soon acquired his own property at the mouth of the Umdhloti River north of Durban. Here he experimented with new crop plants. In 1855 he married his stepmother's younger sister Elizabeth Haygarth. For health reasons he moved further inland to Inanda in 1868, where he ran a trading store and did some farming. Here he developed an interest in cryptogams and started collecting ferns, mosses and fungi as well as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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