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Strychnos Icaja
''Strychnos icaja'' is a species belonging to the plant family Loganiaceae, native to West Tropical Africa. It is a very large, tropical rainforest liana which may attain a length of . Taxonomy The species was published in the journal ''Adansonia'' by Henri Ernest Baillon in the year 1879. Common names Vernacular names in the various languages of Ubangi include ''mbondo'' in the Bantu language Lissongo, ''kpwili'' in Mbwaka and ''mbondo'' ou ''boundou'' in various other Bantu languages spoken in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.Chevalier, Auguste "Les Plantes-poisons de l'Oubangui et du Moyen Congo", ''Revue internationale de Botanique Appliquée & d'Agriculture Tropicale'' Year 31 (1951) May–June no. 343-344, Études et Dossiers, p.252 section III ''Autres Végetaux Poisons de l'Oubangui'' subsection B. Description A very large and stout liana, the trunk 10-15 cm in diameter snaking over the ground for some distance before climbing into the trees to a heigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Ernest Baillon
Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on 30 November 1827 and died in Paris on 19 July 1895. Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on botany. He was appointed to the Légion d'honneur in 1867 and joined the Royal Society in 1894. Baillon put together the "Dictionnaire de botanique", for which Auguste Faguet produced the wood engravings. The plant genus '' Baillonia'' (family Verbenaceae) was named in his honor by Henri Théophile Bocquillon Henri Théophile Bocquillon (5 June 1834, Crugny – 15 May 1884, Paris) was a French botanist. In Paris, he successively worked as an instructor at the Lycée Napoleon (from 1858), Lycée Louis-le-Grand (from 1862), Lycée Henri-IV (from 186 .... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diuretic
A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from the body, through the kidneys. There exist several classes of diuretic, and each works in a distinct way. Alternatively, an antidiuretic, such as vasopressin ( antidiuretic hormone), is an agent or drug which reduces the excretion of water in urine. Medical uses In medicine, diuretics are used to treat heart failure, liver cirrhosis, hypertension, influenza, water poisoning, and certain kidney diseases. Some diuretics, such as acetazolamide, help to make the urine more alkaline, and are helpful in increasing excretion of substances such as aspirin in cases of overdose or poisoning. Diuretics are sometimes abused by people with an eating disorder, especially people with bulimia nervosa, with the goa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandre Le Roy
Alexandre-Louis-Victor-Aimé Le Roy, C.S.Sp. (19 January 1854 – 21 April 1938) was a French-born archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. He served as Vicar Apostolic of Gabon (now the Archdiocese of Libreville) from 1892 until 1896. He was later consecrated Titular Archbishop of Caria in 1921. Life Alexandre Le Roy was born on 19 January 1854 in Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron, France, the son of Norman farmers. Le Roy received a secondary education at the Abbaye Blanche in Mortain. He went on to study philosophy at the Seminary of the Diocese of Coutances. On 10 August 1876, at the age of 22, he was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. After his ordination, he worked as an educator in the Collège Saint-Denis in Réunion, the Collège de Cellule, France and Pondicherry, India. Le Roy first traveled to Africa in 1881—he accompanied an expedition to Bagamoyo, Tanzania, scouting for potenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish Toxins
Fish toxins or fish stupefying plants have historically been used by many hunter gatherer cultures to stun fish, so they become easy to collect by hand. Some of these toxins paralyse fish, which can then be easily collected. The process of documenting many fish toxins and their use is ongoing, with interest in potential uses from medicine, agriculture, and industry. Theory Use of the herbal fish poisons has been documented in a number of sources involving catching fish from fresh and sea water. Tribal people historically used various plants for medicinal and food exploitation purposes. Use of fish poisons is a very old practice in the history of humankind. In 1212 AD, King Frederick II prohibited the use of certain plant piscicides, and by the 15th century, similar laws had been decreed in other European countries, as well. All over the globe, indigenous people use various fish poisons to kill fish, including America and among Tarahumara Indians. Herbal fish-stupefying agents ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrow Poisons
Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons secreted from the skin of the poison dart frog, and curare (or 'ampi'), a general term for a range of plant-derived arrow poisons used by the indigenous peoples of South America. Poisoned arrows have featured in mythology, notably the Greek story of Heracles slaying the centaur Nessus using arrows poisoned with the blood of the Lernaean Hydra. The Greek hero Odysseus poisons his arrows with hellebore in Homer's ''Odyssey''. Poisoned arrows also figure in Homer's epic about the Trojan War, the ''Iliad'', in which both Achaeans and Trojans used toxic arrows and spears. Poisoned arrows are referred to in the Book of Job in the Bible, descriptive of the sufferings experienced by the just man, Job. The modern terms "toxic" and "toxin" der ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trial By Ordeal
Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, trial by ordeal, such as cruentation, was sometimes considered a "judgement of God" ( la, jūdicium Deī, ang, Godes dōm): a procedure based on the premise that God would help the innocent by performing a miracle on their behalf. The practice has much earlier roots, attested to as far back as the Code of Hammurabi and the Code of Ur-Nammu. In pre-modern society, the ordeal typically ranked along with the oath and witness accounts as the central means by which to reach a judicial verdict. Indeed, the term ''ordeal'', Old English ''ordǣl'', has the meaning of "judgment, verdict" (German ''Urteil'', Dutch ''oordeel''), from Proto-Germanic ''*uzdailiją'' "that which is dealt out". Priestly cooperation in trials by fire and water was forbidd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are shrubs or trees, such as ''Hevea brasiliensis''. Some, such as ''Euphorbia canariensis'', are succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution. This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics, however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica. Description The leaves are alternate, seldom opposite, with stipules. They are mainly simple, but where compound, are always palmate, never pinnate. Stipules may be reduced to hairs, glands, or spines, or in succulent species are sometimes absent. The plants can be monoecious or dioecious. The radially symmetrical flowers are unisexual, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetrorchidium
''Tetrorchidium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ... first described in 1841. It is native to tropical portions of Africa and the Western Hemisphere.Murillo-A., J.C. (2009). El género ''Tetrorchidium'' (Euphorbiaceae) en Colombia y Ecuador. Caldasia 31: 213-225. ;Species References {{Taxonbar, from=Q7706835 Adenoclineae Euphorbiaceae genera Taxa named by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ubangi-Shari
Ubangi-Shari (french: Oubangui-Chari) was a French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi and Chari rivers along which it was colonised. It was established on 29 December 1903, from the Upper Ubangi (') and Upper Shari (') territories of the French Congo; renamed the Central African Republic (CAR) on 1 December 1958; and received independence on 13 August 1960.''World Statesmen''.Central African Republic" Accessed 29 Mar 2014. History French activity in the area began in 1889 with the establishment of the outpost Bangi at the head of navigation on the Ubangi. The Upper Ubangi was established as part of the French Congo on 9 December 1891. Despite a France-Congo Free State convention establishing a border around the 4th parallel, the area was contested from 1892 to 1895 with the Congo Free State, which claimed the region as its territory of Ubangi-Bomu ('). The Upper Ubangi was a separate colony from 13 July 1894, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. According to '' Britannica'', there exists four savanna forms; ''savanna woodland'' where trees and shrubs form a light canopy, ''tree savanna'' with scattered trees and shrubs, ''shrub savanna'' with distributed shrubs, and ''grass savanna'' where trees and shrubs are mostly nonexistent.Smith, Jeremy M.B.. "savanna". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Sep. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/science/savanna/Environment. Accessed 17 September 2022. Savannas maintain an open canopy despite a high tree density. It is often believed that savannas feature widely spaced, scattered trees. However, in many savannas, tree densities are higher and trees are more regularly spaced than in for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gallery Forest
A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above the river. Defined as long and narrow forest vegetation associated with rivers, gallery forests are structurally and floristically heterogeneous. The habitats of these forests differ from the surrounding landscapes because they are, for example, more nutrient-rich or moister and/or there is less chance of fires. The forests are sometimes only a few meters wide, because they depend on the water they lie along. Ecology characteristics The riparian zones in which they grow offer greater protection from fire which would kill tree seedlings. In addition, the alluvial soils of the gallery habitat are often of higher fertility and have better drainage than the soils of the surrounding landscape with a more reliable water supply at depth. As a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lobaye River
The Lobaye River (or Lobay, french: Rivière Lobaye) is a river of the Central African Republic, a right tributary of the Ubangi River. Course The Lobaye River forms in the west of the country, in the prefecture of Nana-Mambéré and flows in a generally southeast direction through Mambéré-Kadéï and Lobaye to its junction with the Ubangi. The Lobaye drains part of the Carnot sandstone plateau. There is potential for hydroelectric development, particularly in the section between the mouth of the Mbaéré and the Loko-Safa falls. The Lobaye is long, with an average slope of . It rises near Bouar at an elevation of about , and its upper course is called the Bali River as far as Baoro. The upper part is at first torrential, but after some rapids at from its source it flows into a wide U-shaped valley. The lower part is navigable for almost , flowing through equatorial forest. History One of the first Europeans to explore the river was the Belgian Alphonse van Gèle, in Novem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
