|
Ophiocordyceps Robertsii
''Ophiocordyceps robertsii'', known in New Zealand as vegetable caterpillar (Māori: āwhato or āwheto) is an entomopathogenic fungus belonging to the order Hypocreales (Ascomycota) in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It invades the caterpillars of leaf-litter dwelling moths and turns them into fungal mummies, sending up a fruiting spike above the forest floor to shed its spores. Caterpillars eat the spores whilst feeding on leaf litter to complete the fungal life cycle. Evidence of this fungus can be seen when small brown stems push through the forest floor: underneath will be the dried remains of the host caterpillar. This species was first thought by Europeans to be a worm or caterpillar that burrowed from the top of a tree to the roots, where it exited and then grew a shoot of the plant out of its head. It was the first fungus named in New Zealand. Uses The parasitised caterpillar has been used by Māori as a food or ink for traditional tā moko tattoos. The charred caterpil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whanganui Regional Museum
The Whanganui Regional Museum in Whanganui, New Zealand, has an extensive collection of natural and human-history objects. The emphasis is on items from the Manawatu-Wanganui region, but the collection also includes objects of national and international significance, such as Pacific Tapa cloth, tapa, ceramics from Asia and Cyprus, and moa bones from nearby Makirikiri Swamp. History Local naturalist and jeweller Samuel Henry Drew was instrumental in establishing the museum; his private collection was sold to the town, and he was honorary curator when the then-Wanganui Public Museum opened on 24 March 1895. The original building was on the site of the present Savage Club Hall. Alexander Museum A new building on Watt Street near Queen's Park was constructed in 1928. Designed by architect Robert Talboys, the building had two stories and a basement. The museum was renamed the 'Alexander Museum', after Henry Alexander as the new build was funded with monies from his estate. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he founded the Herbarium and enlarged the gardens and arboretum. Hooker was born and educated in Norwich. An inheritance gave him the means to travel and to devote himself to the study of natural history, particularly botany. He published his account of an expedition to Iceland in 1809, even though his notes and specimens were destroyed during his voyage home. He married Maria, the eldest daughter of the Norfolk banker Dawson Turner, in 1815, afterwards living in Halesworth for 11 years, where he established a herbarium that became renowned by botanists at the time. He held the post of Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University, where he worked with the botanist and lithographer Thomas Hopkirk and enjoyed the supportive friendshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miles Berkeley
Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at Rugby School and Christ's College, Cambridge. Taking holy orders, he became incumbent of Apethorpe in 1837, and vicar of Sibbertoft, near Market Harborough, in 1868. He acquired an enthusiastic love of cryptogamic botany ( lichens) in his early years, and soon was recognized as the leading British authority on fungi and plant pathology. Christ's College made him an honorary fellow in 1883. He was well known as a systematist in mycology with some 6000 species of fungi being credited to him, but his ''Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany'', published in 1857, and his papers on Vegetable Pathology in the ''Gardener's Chronicle'' in 1854 and onwards, show that he had a broad grasp of the whole domain of physiology and morphology as understood i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entomopathogenic Fungus
An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can kill or seriously disable insects. Typical life cycle These fungi usually attach to the external body surface of insects in the form of microscopic spores (usually asexual, mitosporic spores also called conidia). Under the right conditions of temperature and (usually high) humidity, these spores germinate, grow as hyphae and colonize the insect's cuticle; which they bore through by way of enzymatic hydrolysis, reaching the insects' body cavity (hemocoel). Then, the fungal cells proliferate in the host body cavity, usually as walled hyphae or in the form of wall-less protoplasts (depending on the fungus involved). After some time the insect is usually killed (sometimes by fungal toxins), and new propagules (spores) are formed in or on the insect if environmental conditions are again right. High humidity is usually required for sporulation. Groups The entomopathogenic fungi include taxa from several of the main fungal groups and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypocreales
The Hypocreales are an order of fungi within the class Sordariomycetes. In 2008, it was estimated that it contained some 237 genera, and 2647 species in seven families. Since then, a considerable number of further taxa have been identified, including an additional family, the Stachybotryaceae. According to the Catalog of Life, the Hypocreales contains 6 families, 137 genera, and 1411 species. Species of Hypocreales are usually recognized by their brightly colored, perithecial ascomata, or spore-producing structures. These are often yellow, orange or red. Genera ''incertae sedis'' According to a 2020 review of fungal classification, the following genera within the Hypocreales have an uncertain taxonomic placement (''incertae sedis''), and have not been assigned to any family: *'' Acremoniopsis'' – 1 sp. *'' Berkelella'' – 2 spp. *'' Bulbithecium'' – 1 sp. *'' Cephalosporiopsis'' – 10 spp. *'' Chondronectria'' – 1 sp. *'' Cylindronectria'' – 1 sp. *'' Diploos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophiocordycipitaceae
Ophiocordycipitaceae is a family of parasitic fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes. Genera *'' Blistum'' *'' Didymobotryopsis'' *'' Haptocillium'' *'' Harposporium'' (Anamorphic) *'' Ophiocordyceps''; anamorphic genera: **''Hirsutella'' **'' Hymenostilbe'' **'' Paraisaria'' **'' Syngliocladium'' *'' Polycephalomyces'' *''Purpureocillium'' *'' Synnematium'' *''Tolypocladium'' (Anamorphic) *'' Trichosterigma'' *†'' Paleoophiocordyceps'' See also *Cordycipitaceae The Cordycipitaceae are a family of parasitic fungi in the Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes and order Hypocreales. The family was first published in 1969 by mycologist Hanns Kreisel, but the naming was invalid according to the code of Internatio ... * Cordyceps References External links * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3109747 Ascomycota families ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leaf Litter
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil, commonly known as the litter layer or O horizon ("O" for "organic"). Litter is an important factor in ecosystem dynamics, as it is indicative of ecological productivity and may be useful in predicting regional nutrient cycling and soil fertility. Characteristics and variability Litterfall is characterized as fresh, undecomposed, and easily recognizable (by species and type) plant debris. This can be anything from leaves, cones, needles, twigs, bark, seeds/nuts, logs, or reproductive organs (e.g. the stamen of flowering plants). Items larger than 2 cm diameter are referred to as coarse litter, while anything smaller is referred to as fine litter or litter. The type of litterfall is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Māori People
The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several centuries in isolation, these settlers developed their own distinctive culture, whose language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts evolved independently from those of other eastern Polynesian cultures. Some early Māori moved to the Chatham Islands, where their descendants became New Zealand's other indigenous Polynesian ethnic group, the Moriori. Initial contact between Māori and Europeans, starting in the 18th century, ranged from beneficial trade to lethal violence; Māori actively adopted many technologies from the newcomers. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the two cultures coexisted for a generation. Rising tensions over disputed land sales led to conflict in the 1860s, and massive land confiscations, to which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tā Moko
' is the permanent marking or "tattoo" as traditionally practised by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It is one of the five main Polynesian tattoo styles (the other four are Marquesan, Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian). (tattooists) were considered ', or inviolable and sacred. Background Tattoo arts are common in the Eastern Polynesian homeland of the Māori people, and the traditional implements and methods employed were similar to those used in other parts of Polynesia. In pre-European Māori culture, many if not most high-ranking persons received . ''Moko'' were associated with ''mana'' and high social status; however, some very high-status individuals were considered too ''tapu'' to acquire ''moko'', and it was also not considered suitable for some ''tohunga'' to do so. Receiving constituted an important milestone between childhood and adulthood, and was accompanied by many rites and rituals. Apart from signalling status and rank, another reason for the pract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and current-affairs network, RNZ National, and a classical-music and jazz network, RNZ Concert, with full government funding from NZ on Air. Since 2014, the organisation's focus has been to transform RNZ from a radio broadcaster to a multimedia outlet, increasing its production of digital content in audio, video, and written forms. The organisation plays a central role in New Zealand public broadcasting. The New Zealand Parliament fully funds its AM network, used in part for the broadcast of parliamentary proceedings. RNZ has a statutory role under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 to act as a "lifeline utility" in emergency situations. It is also responsible for an international service (known as RNZ Pacific); this is broadcas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Critter Of The Week
''Critter of the Week'' is a weekly RNZ National programme about endangered and neglected native plants and animals of New Zealand. Beginning in 2015, ''Critter of the Week'' is an approximately 15-minute discussion between Nicola Toki of the Department of Conservation and host Jesse Mulligan on an "uncharismatic and lovable" New Zealand species. The topic of spotlighting uncharismatic species was raised in an interview by Mulligan in April 2015, and the programme originated in a discussion between Mulligan and Toki about threatened bird conservation, in which she lamented a lack of attention and corporate funding for species such as the '' Smeagol'' gravel maggot. The first episode, airing 2 October 2015, featured the New Zealand bat fly. Each week's broadcast is supported by improving the Wikipedia article for the species in question. The show currently airs on Friday afternoons. In 2018, artist Giselle Clarkson designed t-shirts featuring a selection of species that had a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_(cropped).jpg "Click for more on -> Critter Of The Week")