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Strychnos Madagascariensis
''Strychnos madagascariensis'', the black monkey orange, is an African tropical and sub-tropical tree belonging to the Loganiaceae family. It is a tree with characteristically large fruit but can confused with some other species of the genus. Vernacular names It is also known by various other English names. Among southern African languages it is known (among others) as Umkwakwa (North Ndebele), Morapa or Mookwane (Sepedi), Muhwakwa (Shona), umKhwakhwa (Swati), Nkwakwa or Muquaqua (Tsonga), or Mukwakwa (Venda). In West Africa it is known as Nkankoronin (Bambara). Range It is native to KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique, Transvaal, and further north to Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Tropical Africa and the western side of Madagascar. Description Usually about 6m tall and often multi-stemmed with a spreading, irregular crown, it occurs in open woodland, rocky places, riverine fringes and coastal forest. Bark mostly pale grey with white and dark grey patches, smooth, occasio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Louis Marie Poiret
Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, botanist, and explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI to Algeria to study the flora. After the French Revolution, he became a professor of natural history at the Écoles Centrale of Aisne. The genus '' Poiretia'' of the legume family Fabaceae was named after him in 1807 by Étienne Pierre Ventenat. Selected publications *Coquilles fluviatiles et terrestres observées dans le département de l'Aisne et aux environs de Paris. Prodrome. – pp. i–xi –11 1–119. Paris. (Barrois, Soissons); (1801). * ''Leçons de flore: Cours complet de botanique'' (1819–1820); (illus. by P. J. F. Turpin). * * * * * ''Voyage en Barbarie, …, pendant les années 1785 et 1786'' (1789). * ''Histoire philosophique, littéraire, économique des plantes d'Europe''; (1825–1829). * with Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At Madagascar is the world's List of island countries, second-largest island country, after Indonesia. The nation is home to around 30 million inhabitants and consists of the island of Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar (the List of islands by area, fourth-largest island in the world), along with numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of wildlife of Madagascar, its wildlife is endemic. Human settlement of Madagascar occurred during or befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trees Of Africa
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated Plant stem, stem, or trunk (botany), trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller Arecaceae, palms, Cyatheales, tree ferns, Musa (genus), bananas, and bamboos are also trees. Trees are not a Taxon, taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that Convergent evolution, have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. Trees have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are some three trillion mature trees in the world. A tree typically has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fruits Originating In Africa
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propagated using the movements of humans and animals in a symbiotic relationship that is the means for seed dispersal for the one group and nutrition for the other; in fact, humans and many animals have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Consequently, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings. In common language usage, "fruit" normally means the seed-associated fleshy structures (or produce) of plants that typically are sweet or sour and edible in the raw state, such as apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, and strawberries. In botanical usage, the term "fruit" also include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oleic Acid
Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, abbreviated with a lipid number of 18:1 ''cis''-9, and a main product of Δ9 desaturase. It has the formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH. The name derives from the Latin word ''oleum'', which means oil. It is the most common fatty acid in nature. The salts and esters of oleic acid are called oleates. Occurrence Fatty acids (or their salts) often do not occur as such in biological systems. Instead fatty acids such as oleic acid occur as their esters, commonly triglycerides, which are the greasy materials in many natural oils. Oleic acid is the most common monounsaturated fatty acid in nature. It is found in fats (triglycerides), the phospholipids that make membranes, cholesterol esters, and wax esters. Triglycerides of oleic ... [...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] |
Strychnine
Strychnine (, , US chiefly ) is a highly toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the eyes or mouth, causes poisoning which results in muscular convulsions and eventually death through asphyxia. While it is no longer used medicinally, it was used historically in small doses to strengthen muscle contractions, such as a heart and bowel stimulant and performance-enhancing drug. The most common source is from the seeds of the ''Strychnos nux-vomica'' tree. Biosynthesis Strychnine is a terpene indole alkaloid belonging to the ''Strychnos'' family of '' Corynanthe'' alkaloids, and it is derived from tryptamine and secologanin. The biosynthesis of strychine was solved in 2022. The enzyme, strictosidine synthase, catalyzes the condensation of tryptamine and secologanin, followed by a Pictet-Spengler reaction to form strictosidine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strychnos Nux-vomica
''Strychnos nux-vomica'', the strychnine tree, also known as nux vomica, poison fruit, semen strychnos, and quaker buttons, is a deciduous tree native to India and to southeast Asia. It is a medium-sized tree in the family Loganiaceae that grows in open habitats. Its leaves are ovate and in size. It is known for being the natural source of the extremely poisonous compound strychnine. Description and properties ''Strychnos nux-vomica'' is a medium-sized tree with a short, thick trunk. The wood is dense, hard white, and close-grained. The branches are irregular and are covered with a smooth ashen bark. The young shoots are a deep green colour with a shiny coat. The leaves have an opposite decussate arrangement (each opposing pair of leaves at right angles to the next pair along the stem), are short stalked and oval shaped, have a shiny coat, and are smooth on both sides. The leaves are about long and wide. The flowers are small with a pale green colour and a funnel shape. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iridoids
Iridoids are a type of monoterpenoids in the general form of cyclopentanopyran, found in a wide variety of plants and some animals. They are biosynthetically derived from 8-oxogeranial. Iridoids are typically found in plants as glycosides, most often bound to glucose. The chemical structure is exemplified by iridomyrmecin, a defensive chemical produced by the ant genus ''Iridomyrmex'', for which iridoids are named. Structurally, they are bicyclic ''cis''-fused cyclopentane-pyrans. Cleavage of a bond in the cyclopentane ring gives rise to a subclass known as ''secoiridoids'', such as oleuropein and amarogentin. Occurrence The iridoids produced by plants act primarily as a defense against herbivores or against infection by microorganisms. The variable checkerspot butterfly also contains iridoids obtained through its diet which act as a defense against avian predators. To humans and other mammals, iridoids are often characterized by a deterrent bitter taste. Aucubin and catal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Citric Acid
Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)(CH2CO2H)2. It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, which occurs in the metabolism of all aerobic organisms. More than two million tons of citric acid are manufactured every year. It is used widely as an acidifier, as a flavoring, and a chelating agent. A citrate is a derivative of citric acid; that is, the salts, esters, and the polyatomic anion found in solution. An example of the former, a salt is trisodium citrate; an ester is triethyl citrate. When part of a salt, the formula of the citrate anion is written as or . Natural occurrence and industrial production Citric acid occurs in a variety of fruits and vegetables, most notably citrus fruits. Lemons and limes have particularly high concentrations of the acid; it can constitute as much as 8% of the dry weight of these fruits (about 47 g/L in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Africa
Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropical rain belt, the geology of areas, particularly mountain chains, and geographical relation to continental and regional scale winds impact the overall areas , also, making the tropics run from arid to humid in West Africa. The area is currently experiencing the negative effects of rapid human population growth.Zinkina J., Korotayev A.br>Explosive Population Growth in Tropical Africa: Crucial Omission in Development Forecasts (Emerging Risks and Way Out). ''World Futures'' 70/2 (2014): 120–139 Overview Tropical rainforests are moist forests of semi-deciduous plants distributed across nine West African countries. Institute for Sea Research conducted a temperature record dating back 700,000 years. Several conservation and development dem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, behind Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Afr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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