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Polyura Sempronius
''Polyura'' (''pyrrhus'') ''sempronius'', the tailed emperor, is a large butterfly by Australian standards, with a wingspan of some 75 mm for males and 85 mm for females. The uncommon but widespread butterfly occurs in a variety of habitat types in northern and eastern Australia, where it occurs predominantly in the warm and subtropical coastal regions. It is a resident species where its food plants, certain legumes (Mimosaceae and Caesalpiniaceae) and kurrajongs, are native. Description Larva The green, mature caterpillar is unique among Australian butterflies. A yellow line runs along each side, and the back is marked by one or more crescent shapes. The green head has two pairs of long horns besides a smaller set behind the head-scale. Adult The upperside is boldly marked in black and white, with narrow blue-grey margins, and specks of orange on the hindwings. The prominent double-pointed tails gives the butterfly its name. The underwing of both sexes are marked in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johan Christian Fabricius
Johan Christian Fabricius (7 January 1745 – 3 March 1808) was a Danish zoologist, specialising in "Insecta", which at that time included all arthropods: insects, arachnids, crustaceans and others. He was a student of Carl Linnaeus, and is considered one of the most important entomologists of the 18th century, having named nearly 10,000 species of animals, and established the basis for the modern insect classification. Biography Johan Christian Fabricius was born on 7 January 1745 at Tønder in the Duchy of Schleswig, where his father was a doctor. He studied at the gymnasium at Altona and entered the University of Copenhagen in 1762. Later the same year he travelled together with his friend and relative Johan Zoëga to Uppsala, where he studied under Carl Linnaeus for two years. On his return, he started work on his , which was finally published in 1775. Throughout this time, he remained dependent on subsidies from his father, who worked as a consultant at Frederiks Hospita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mimosaceae
The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petals that are twice divided (valvate) in bud and with numerous showy, prominent stamens. Recent work on phylogenetic relationships has found that the Mimosoideae form a clade nested with subfamily Caesalpinioideae and the most recent classification by ''The Legume Phylogeny Working Group'' refer to them as the Mimosoid clade within subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The group includes about 40 genera and 2,500 species. Taxonomy Some classification systems, for example the Cronquist system, treat the Fabaceae in a narrow sense, raising the Mimisoideae to the rank of family as Mimosaceae. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group treats Fabaceae in the broad sense. The Mimosoideae were historically subdivided into four tribes (Acacieae, Ingeae, Mimoseae, and Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caesalpiniaceae
Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name ''Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae are mainly trees distributed in the moist tropics, but include such temperate species as the honeylocust (''Gleditsia triacanthos'') and Kentucky coffeetree (''Gymnocladus dioicus''). It has the following clade-based definition: The most inclusive crown clade containing ''Arcoa gonavensis'' Urb. and ''Mimosa pudica'' L., but not ''Bobgunnia fistuloides'' (Harms) J. H. Kirkbr. & Wiersema, ''Duparquetia orchidacea'' Baill., or '' Poeppigia procera'' C.Presl In some classifications, for example the Cronquist system, the group is recognized at the rank of family, Caesalpiniaceae. Characteristics * Specialised extrafloral nectaries often present on the petiole and / or on the primary and secondary rachises, usually between pinnae or leaflet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachychiton
''Brachychiton'' (kurrajong, bottletree) is a genus of 31 species of trees and large shrubs, native to Australia (the centre of diversity, with 30 species), and New Guinea (one species). Fossils from New South Wales and New Zealand are estimated to be 50 million years old, corresponding to the Paleogene. They grow to 4 – 30m tall, and some are dry-season deciduous. Several species (though not all) are pachycaul plants with a very stout stem for their overall size, used to store water during periods of drought. The leaves show intraspecific variation and generally range from entire to deeply palmately lobed with long slender leaflet-like lobes joined only right at the base. Their sizes range from 4 – 20 cm long and wide. All species are monoecious with separate male and female flowers on the same plant. The flowers have a bell-shaped perianth consisting of a single series of fused lobes which is regarded as a calyx despite being brightly coloured in most species. The fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachychiton Acerifolius
''Brachychiton acerifolius'' is a large tree of the family Malvaceae endemic to tropical and subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia. It is famous for the bright red bell-shaped flowers that often cover the whole tree when it is leafless. It is commonly known as the flame tree, Illawarra flame tree, lacebark tree, or (along with other members of the genus) kurrajong. Description This species is a large deciduous tree which forms a pyramidal habit. It may reach in height in its natural habitat, but is usually shorter in cultivation. The trunk is smoothly cylindrical and green or grey-green in colour, often tapering unbranched to the very tip of the tree. Leaves have long petioles and measure up to x , are glossy green, glabrous, simple, alternate, and highly variable in shape - they may be entire and ovate or up to 5-lobed. Flowers are bright red or scarlet in colour, bell-shaped when viewed from the side and star-shaped when viewed end-on, about long by wide, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachychiton Discolor
''Brachychiton discolor'' is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It grows in drier rainforest areas. Scattered from Paterson, New South Wales (32° S) to Mackay, Queensland (21° S). There is also an isolated community of these trees at Cape York Peninsula. Common names include lacebark tree, lace kurrajong, pink kurrajong, scrub bottle tree, white kurrajong, hat tree and sycamore. Description An attractive tree up to 30 metres tall featuring pink flowers without petals. The trunk is straight, grey and cylindrical, up to 75 cm in diameter. Not buttressed at the base. Twigs hairy, brown and smooth. Leaves are hairy; lobed in three, five or seven points. 10 to 20 cm in diameter. Whitish underneath, dark green above. Leaf veins visible on both sides. Flowers form from November to February. The flowers are pink, almost without stalks, 3 to 4 cm in diameter. Separate male and female flowers ''without petals''. The fruit is a hairy boat shaped follicle maturing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachychiton Populneus
''Brachychiton populneus'', commonly known as the kurrajong, is a small to medium-sized tree found naturally in Australia in a diversity of habitats from wetter coastal districts to semi-arid interiors of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. ''Carrejun'' and ''carrejan'' were the indigenous names of trees in the foothills of the Blue Mountains near Sydney, and the bark was used for twine and fishing lines. The extended trunk is a water storage device for survival in a warm dry climate. The bell-shaped flowers are variable in colour (pale to pink) while the leaves vary considerably in shape. The leaves are either simple and pointed, or may be 3–9 lobed. Saplings grow from a drought and fire resistant tap-rooted tuber. The kurrajong has multiple uses and was used by many Australian Aboriginal clans and tribes around Australia. The seeds located in a seed pod were often removed, cleaned of the fine hairs within the seed pod, and roasted. Water could be obtained from the tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtis
''Celtis'' is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is part of the extended hemp family (Cannabaceae). Description ''Celtis'' species are generally medium-sized trees, reaching tall, rarely up to tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, long, ovate-acuminate, and evenly serrated margins. Diagnostically, ''Celtis'' can be very similar to trees in the Rosaceae and other rose motif families. Small flowers of this monoecious plant appear in early spring while the leaves are still developing. Male flowers are longer and fuzzy. Female flowers are greenish and more rounded. The fruit is a small drupe in diameter, edible in many species, with a dryish but sweet, sugary consistency, reminiscent of a date. Taxonomy Previously included either in the elm family (Ulmaceae) or a separate family, Celtidaceae, the APG III system places ''Celtis'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robinia Pseudoacacia
''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States, but it has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas. Another common name is false acacia, a literal translation of the specific name (''pseudo'' reek ''ψευδο-''meaning fake or false and ''acacia'' referring to the genus of plants with the same name). Description Black locust reaches a typical height of with a diameter of . It is a very upright tree with a straight trunk and narrow crown that grows scraggly with age. The dark blue-green compound leaves with a contrasting lighter underside give this tree a beautiful appearance in the wind and contribute to its grace. Black locust is a shade-intolerant species and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyura
''Polyura'' is a subgenus of butterflies also referred to as Nawab butterflies and belonging to the brush-footed butterfly subfamily Charaxinae, or leafwing butterflies. Like the large and conspicuous forest queens (subgenus ''Euxanthe''), they belong to the genus ''Charaxes'', unique genus of the tribe Charaxini. Distribution ''Polyura'' butterflies are native to the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. They are widespread from Pakistan to Okinawa Island, and from China to Pacific Islands (Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu). Systematics * The subgenus ''Polyura'' was described by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg in 1820. * The type species is ''Polyura pyrrhus'' (Linnaeus). Taxonomy The subgenus was revised in 1982 by Robert Leslie Smiles based on morphological characters. The genus ''Polyura'' was synonymized with the genus ''Charaxes'' in 2009 in a study investigating phylogenetic relationships among Charaxini using DNA sequencing. However the genus ''Charaxes'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterflies Described In 1793
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea"). Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like most insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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