|
Mediterranean Conifer And Mixed Forests
Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests is an ecoregion, in the temperate coniferous forest biome, which occupies the high mountain ranges of North Africa. The term is also a botanically recognized plant association in the African and Mediterranean literature. Geography The Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests ecoregion consists of a series of enclaves in the coastal Rif Mountains and interior Middle Atlas and High Atlas of Morocco, the eastern Tell Atlas and eastern Saharan Atlas of Algeria, and the Kroumerie and Mogod ranges of Tunisia. The Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion surrounds the Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests at lower elevations. In the High Atlas, the Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests yield to the Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe at the highest elevations. Flora The predominant canopy tree in the forests is Atlas cedar (''Cedrus atlantica''). Other conifer trees that grow in this area may include Aleppo pine (''Pinus halap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rif Mountains
The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains (Nador, Driouch, Al Hoceima) and western Rif mountains (Tangier, Tetouan, Chefchaouen, Taounate). Geography Geologically, the Rif Mountains belong to the Gibraltar Arc or Alborán Sea geological region. They are an extension of the Baetic System, which includes the mountains of the southern Iberian Peninsula across the strait. Thus, the Rif Mountains are not part of the Atlas Mountain System. Major cities in the greater Rif region include Nador, Tangier, Tetouan, Al Hoceima (also called Villa), Imzouren, Driouch, Ben Taieb, Midar and Al Aaroui and a few (small) towns: Segangan, Selwan, Ajdir and Targuist (Targist). H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mogod Mountains
Mogod ( mn, Могод) is a sum (district) of Bulgan Province in northern Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, .... In 2009, its population was 2,738. References [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbary Macaque
The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the genus ''Macaca''. The species is of particular interest because males play an atypical role in rearing young. Because of uncertain paternity, males are integral to raising all infants. Generally, Barbary macaques of all ages and sexes contribute in alloparental care of young. The diet of the Barbary macaque consists primarily of plants and insects and they are found in a variety of habitats. Males live to around 25 years old while females may live up to 30 years. Besides humans, they are the only free-living primates in Europe. Although the species is commonly referred to as the "Barbary ape", the Barbary macaque is actually a true monkey. Its name refers to the Barbary Coast of Northwest Africa. The population of the Barbary macaques i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Afares
''Quercus afares'', the African oak, is a species of oak native to Algeria and Tunisia. It has a very limited distribution in the coastal mountains of the eastern Tell Atlas in Algeria, and the Mogod- Kroumerie region of northwestern Tunisia. ''Quercus afares'' is deciduous, with a corky bark (thinner than that of the cork oak, ''Q. suber)'', and can reach 25–30 metres in height. It grows in dense stands, associated with cork oak at elevations as low as 200 metres, and with the semi-deciduous Algerian oak ''(Q. canariensis)'' from 700 to 1600 metres elevation. ''Q. afares'' can also be found in monospecific stands, especially above 1200 metres on soils damaged by fire. It is endemic to the eastern coastal portion of the Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests ecoregion. Taxonomy The relationship of ''Q. afares'' to other oaks was investigated in 2006. It was initially classified in ''Q.'' section ''Cerris'', because of morphological similarities with two other species, Turk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salix Alba
''Salix alba'', the white willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and western and central Asia.Meikle, R. D. (1984). ''Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland''. BSBI Handbook No. 4. .Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . The name derives from the white tone to the undersides of the leaves. It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree growing up to 10–30 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter and an irregular, often-leaning crown. The bark is grey-brown, and deeply fissured in older trees. The shoots in the typical species are grey-brown to green-brown. The leaves are paler than most other willows, due to a covering of very fine, silky white hairs, in particular on the underside; they are 5–10 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring, and pollinated by insects. It is dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate trees; the male catkins are 4–5 cm long, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cork Oak
''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 tru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxus Baccata
''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe (including Britain and Ireland), northwest Africa, northern Iran, and southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may now be known as common yew, English yew, or European yew. It is primarily grown as an ornamental. Most parts of the plant are poisonous, with toxins that can be absorbed through inhalation and through the skin; consumption of even a small amount of the foliage can result in death. Taxonomy and naming The word ''yew'' is from Proto-Germanic ''*īwa-'', possibly originally a loanword from Gaulish ''*ivos'', compare Breton ''ivin,'' Irish '' ēo'', Welsh ''ywen'', French '' if'' (see Eihwaz for a discussion). In German it is known as ''Eibe''. ''Baccata'' is Latin for ''bearing berries''. The word ''yew'' as it was originally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juniperus Thurifera
''Juniperus thurifera'' (Spanish juniper) is a species of juniper native to the mountains of the western Mediterranean region, from southern France (including Corsica) across eastern and central Spain to Morocco and locally in northern Algeria.Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World''. Trafford. Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is a large shrub or tree reaching tall, with a trunk up to in diameter and a broadly conical to rounded or irregular crown. The foliage is strongly aromatic with a spicy-resinous scent. The leaves are of two forms: juvenile needle-like leaves long on seedlings and irregularly on adult plants, and adult-scale leaves 0.6–3 mm long on older plants; they are arranged in decussate opposite pairs. It is dioecious with separate male and female plants. The cones are berry-like, 7–12 mm in diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain 1–4 seeds; they are matur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juniperus Oxycedrus
''Juniperus oxycedrus'', vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region from Algeria and Portugal, north to southern France, east to westernmost Iran, and south to Lebanon and Israel, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level up to in elevation.Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The specific epithet ''oxycedrus'' means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or ''cedrus'' of the ancient Greeks. Description ''Juniperus oxycedrus'' is very variable in shape, forming a spreading shrub tall to a small erect tree tall. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, long and broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripeni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abies Numidica
''Abies numidica'', the Algerian fir, is a species of fir found only in Algeria, where it is endemic on Djebel Babor, the second-highest mountain (2,004 meters) in the Algerian Tell Atlas.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books . Description ''Abies numidica'' is a medium-sized to large evergreen tree growing to 20–35 meters tall, with a trunk up to 1 meter diameter. The leaves are needle-like, moderately flattened, 1.5–2.5 centimeters long and 2–3 millimeters wide by 1 millimeters thick, glossy dark green with a patch of greenish-white stomata near the tip above, and with two greenish-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is variable, usually pointed, but sometimes slightly notched at the tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones are glaucous green with a pink or violet tinge, maturing brown, 10–20 centimeters long and 4 centimeters broad, with abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abies Pinsapo
''Abies pinsapo'', the Spanish fir, is a species of tree in the family Pinaceae, native to southern Spain and northern Morocco. Related to other species of Mediterranean firs, it appears at altitudes of in the Sierra de Grazalema in the Province of Cádiz and the Sierra de las Nieves and Sierra Bermeja, both near Ronda in the province of Málaga. In Morocco, it is limited to the Rif Mountains at altitudes of on Jebel Tissouka and Jebel Tazaot. Description ''Abies pinsapo'' is an evergreen conifer growing to 20–30 m tall, with a conic crown, sometimes becoming irregular with age. The leaves are 1.5–2 cm long, arranged radially all round the shoots, and are strongly glaucous pale blue-green, with broad bands of whitish wax on both sides. The cones are cylindrical, 9–18 cm long, greenish-pink to purple before maturity, and smooth with the bract scales short and not exserted. When mature, they disintegrate to release the winged seeds. The Moroccan variety, ''Abies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Endemism")