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Nothoscordum Gracile
''Nothoscordum gracile'', also known as slender false garlic, or fragrant onion, is a bulbous plant belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family. Native from southern Mexico to western South America, the species is used as an ornamental plant due to its showy inflorescences and the fragrance of its flowers. Description Perennial, bulbous, deciduous herb that produces scapes that are cylindrical, green in colour and 20–60 cm tall. The strap-like leaves are simple, linear, with an entire margin and basal insertion. The hermaphrodite flowers are bell-shaped, frequent, whitish in color, grouped in terminal umbels. Having a sweet lily-like scent, they bloom in from mid spring to early summer. The fruit is a loculicidal capsule, which becomes ripe by early summer. Uses The bulb is about 15mm in diameter and is edible. The plant is a garlic substitute and can be used as a spice. Distribution Native to South America, it is widely naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Aiton
William Aiton (17312 February 1793) was a Scotland, Scottish botanist. Aiton was born near Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Philip Miller, then superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden. In 1759 he was appointed director of the newly established Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, botanical garden at Kew, where he remained until his death. He effected many improvements at the gardens, and in 1789 he published ''Hortus Kewensis'', a catalogue of the plants cultivated there. He is buried at nearby St. Anne's Church, Kew. A second and enlarged edition of the ''Hortus'' was brought out in 1810–1813 by his eldest son, William Townsend Aiton. Aiton is commemorated in the Specific epithet (botany), specific epithet ''aitonis''. In 1789, he classified the Sampaguita plant to the ''Jasmine, Jasminium'' genus and also named it as ''Arabian Jasmine'' because it was believed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loculicidal
Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent. Structures that do not open in this way are called indehiscent, and rely on other mechanisms such as decay or predation to release the contents. A similar process to dehiscence occurs in some flower buds (e.g., ''Platycodon'', ''Fuchsia''), but this is rarely referred to as dehiscence unless circumscissile dehiscence is involved; anthesis is the usual term for the opening of flowers. Dehiscence may or may not involve the loss of a structure through the process of abscission. The lost structures are said to be caducous. Association with crop breeding Manipulation of dehiscence can improve crop yield since a trait that causes seed dispersal is a disadvantage for farmers whose goal is to collect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allioideae
Allioideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. It was formerly treated as a separate family, Alliaceae. The subfamily name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, ''Allium''. It is composed of about 18 genera. Description The subfamily contains both well-known garden plants and weeds, such as ''Nothoscordum''. Taxonomy When Linnaeus formerly described the type genus ''Allium'' in his ''Species Plantarum'' in 1753, thirty species had this name. He placed ''Allium'' in a grouping he referred to as ''Hexandria monogynia'' (i.e. six stamens and one pistil) containing 51 genera in all. In 1763, Michel Adanson, who proposed the concept of families of plants, included ''Allium'' and related genera as a grouping within Liliaceae as Section IV, ''Les Oignons'' (Onions), or ''Cepae'' in Latin. De Jussieu is officially recognised as the first formal establishment of the suprageneric grouping into families (Ordo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area. Definitions Included among the variety of definitions for grasslands are: * "...any plant community, including harvested forages, in which grasses and/or legumes make up the dominant vegetation." * "...terrestrial ecosystems dominated by herbaceous and shrub vegetation, and maintained by fire, grazing, drought and/or freezing temperatures." (Pilot Assessment of Global Ecosystems, 2000) * "A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. This introduces the concept of humans and their goals in a particular setting.Holzner, W., & Numata, M. (Eds.). (2013). ''Biology and ecology of weeds'' (Vol. 2). Springer Science & Business Media. The concept of weeds is particularly significant in agriculture, where the aim is growing crops or pastures of a single species, or a mixture of a few desired species. In such environments, other plant species are considered undesirable and therefore a weed. Besides, some weeds have undesirable characteristics making them a plant pest in most human settings.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24.Holzner, W., & Numata, M. (Eds.). (2013). ''Biology and ecology of weeds'' (Vol. 2). Spri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garden Escape
Escaped plants are cultivated plants, usually garden plants, that are not originally native to an area, and due to their dispersal strategies, have escaped from cultivation and have settled in the wild and bred there, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Escaped plants are purposefully introduced plants that have naturalized in the wild and can develop into invasive plants, the settlement of which is to be assessed as problematic. Other commonly used terms include escaped garden plant, garden escapee, escaped ornamental or garden refugee. Some plants are valued as ornamental plants since they are very adaptable and easy to grow, and therefore would escape cultivation and become weedy in various ecosystems with far-reaching ecological and economic consequences. They can also develop into invasive intruders, especially in fragile or unstable ecosystems. Occasionally, their spread can even be traced back to botanical gardens. Therefore, escaped plants are the subject of rese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naturalisation (biology)
Naturalisation (or naturalization) is the ecological phenomenon through which a species, taxon, or population of exotic (as opposed to native) origin integrates into a given ecosystem, becoming capable of reproducing and growing in it, and proceeds to disseminate spontaneously. In some instances, the presence of a species in a given ecosystem is so ancient that it cannot be presupposed whether it is native or introduced. Generally, any introduced species may (in the wild) either go extinct or naturalise in its new environment. Some populations do not sustain themselves reproductively, but exist because of continued influx from elsewhere. Such a non-sustaining population, or the individuals within it, are said to be adventive. Cultivated plants are a major source of adventive populations. The above refers to ''naturalize'' as an intransitive verb, as in, "The species naturalized". In North America it is common to use ''naturalize'' as a transitive verb, as in, "City staff nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are sometimes used in medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics or perfume production. For example, vanilla is commonly used as an ingredient in fragrance manufacturing. A spice may be available in several forms: fresh, whole dried, or pre-ground dried. Generally, spices are dried. Spices may be ground into a powder for convenience. A whole dried spice has the longest shelf life, so it can be purchased and stored in larger amounts, making it cheaper on a per-serving basis. A fresh spice, such as ginger, is usually more flavorful than its dried form, but fresh spices are more expensive and have a much shorter shelf life. Some spices are not always available either fresh or whole, for example turmeric, and often must be purchased in ground form. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeastern Iran and has long been used as a seasoning worldwide, with a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use. It was known to ancient Egyptians and has been used as both a food flavoring and a traditional medicine. China produces 76% of the world's supply of garlic. Etymology The word ''garlic'' derives from Old English, ''garlēac'', meaning ''gar'' (spear) and leek, as a 'spear-shaped leek'. Description ''Allium sativum'' is a perennial flowering plant growing from a bulb. It has a tall, erect flowering stem that grows up to . The leaf blade is flat, linear, solid, and approximately wide, with an acute apex. The plant may produce pink to purple flowers from July to September in the Nort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edible
An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushrooms, insects, seaweed, and so forth – are referred to as edible. Processed items that normally are not ingested but are specially manufactured to be so, like edible underwear or edible packaging, are also labeled as edible. Edible items in nature It is estimated that approximately half of about 400,000 plant species on earth are edible, yet ''Homo sapiens'' consume only about 200 plant species, because these are the simplest to domesticate. Edible plants found in nature include certain types of mushrooms, flowers, seeds, berries, seaweed, and cacti. Being able to identify the versions of these plants that are safe to eat is an important survival skill. Many animals are also edible, including domesticated livestock as well as wild i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermaphrodite
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which either partner can act as the female or male. For example, the great majority of tunicata, tunicates, pulmonate molluscs, opisthobranch, earthworms, and slugs are hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism is also found in some fish species and to a lesser degree in other vertebrates. Most plants are also hermaphrodites. Animal species having different sexes, male and female, are called Gonochorism, gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphrodite. There are also species where hermaphrodites exist alongside males (called androdioecy) or alongside females (called gynodioecy), or all three exist in the same species ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Thomas Stearn
William Thomas Stearn (16 April 1911 – 9 May 2001) was a British botanist. Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated, and developed an early interest in books and natural history. His initial work experience was at a Cambridge bookshop, but he also had a position as an assistant in the university botany department. At the age of 29 he married Eldwyth Ruth Alford, who later became his collaborator, and he died in London in 2001. While at the bookshop, he was offered a position as a librarian at the Royal Horticultural Society in London (1933–1952). From there he moved to the Natural History Museum as a scientific officer in the botany department (1952–1976). After his retirement, he continued working there, writing, and serving on a number of professional bodies related to his work, including the Linnean Society, of which he became president. He also taught botany at Cambridge University as a visiting professor (1977–1983). Stearn is known for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
