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Strophanthus Sarmentosus
''Strophanthus sarmentosus'' grows as either a deciduous shrub or as a liana up to long, with a stem diameter up to . Its fragrant flowers feature a white to purple corolla, red or purple-streaked on the inside. ''Strophanthus sarmentosus'' is native from west and central tropical Africa to Uganda and Angola. Vernacular names for the plant include spider tresses and poison arrow vine. Its habitat is forested areas from sea level to altitude. The numerous local medicinal uses of ''S. sarmentosus'' include treatment of joint pain, head lice, eye conditions and venereal disease. The plant has also been used as arrow poison. Botanist John Baldwin discovered that ''Strophanthus sarmentosus'' was a natural source of the steroid hormone cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustin Pyramus De Candolle
Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle had established a new genus, and he went on to document hundreds of plant families and create a new natural plant classification system. Although de Candolle's main focus was botany, he also contributed to related fields such as phytogeography, agronomy, paleontology, medical botany, and economic botany. De Candolle originated the idea of "Nature's war", which influenced Charles Darwin and the principle of natural selection. de Candolle recognized that multiple species may develop similar characteristics that did not appear in a common evolutionary ancestor; a phenomenon now known as convergent evolution. During his work with plants, de Candolle noticed that plant leaf movements follow a near-24-hour cycle in constant light, suggestin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liana
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a taxonomic grouping, but rather a habit of plant growth – much like ''tree'' or ''shrub''. It comes from standard French ''liane'', itself from an Antilles French dialect word meaning to sheave. Ecology Lianas are characteristic of tropical moist broadleaf forests (especially seasonal forests), but may be found in temperate rainforests and temperate deciduous forests. There are also temperate lianas, for example the members of the ''Clematis'' or ''Vitis'' (wild grape) genera. Lianas can form bridges amidst the forest canopy, providing arboreal animals with paths across the forest. These bridges can protect weaker trees from strong winds. Lianas compete with forest trees for sunlight, water and nutrients from the soil. Forests without lian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corolla (flower)
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of modified leaves called sepals, that collectively form the ''calyx'' and lie just beneath the corolla. The calyx and the corolla together make up the perianth, the non-reproductive portion of a flower. When the petals and sepals of a flower are difficult to distinguish, they are collectively called tepals. Examples of plants in which the term ''tepal'' is appropriate include genera such as '' Aloe'' and ''Tulipa''. Conversely, genera such as ''Rosa'' and '' Phaseolus'' have well-distinguished sepals and petals. When the undifferentiated tepals resemble petals, they are referred to as "petaloid", as in petaloid monocots, orders of monocots with brightly colored tepals. Since they include Liliales, an alternative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical .... The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region. Uganda also lies within the Nile, Nile basin and has a varied but generally a modified equatorial climate. It has a population of around 49 million, of which 8.5 million live in the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kampala. Uganda is named after the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country, includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = Portuguese , languages2_type = National languages , languages2 = , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_ref = , ethnic_groups_year = 2000 , demonym = , government_type = Unitary dominant-party presidential republic , leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 = João Lourenço , leader_title2 = Vice President , leader_name2 = Esperança da CostaInvestidura do Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrow Poison
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" derive f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Thomas Baldwin
John Thomas Baldwin Jr. (September 5, 1910 – September 3, 1974) was an American botanist. He specialized in cytogenetics of plants and in his early career studied the family Crassulaceae. In 1946 Baldwin was appointed professor at his alma mater, the College of William & Mary. He also worked for the US Department of Agriculture, accompanying their expeditions to Africa. During the 1947–48 US Economic Mission to Liberia Baldwin discovered that ''Strophanthus sarmentosus'' was a natural source of the steroid hormone cortisone and it was subsequently used for the manufacture of drugs. He planted an extensive collection of plants on the college campus, which later botanists claimed to be one of the most important in the country. After Baldwin's death, the college donated land to form a memorial park in his honor. Early life and career John Thomas Baldwin Junior was born on September 5, 1910, in Chase City, Virginia. He was a graduate of the College of William & Mary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cortisone
Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enzyme corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase isozyme 2 into the inactive metabolite cortisone, particularly in the kidneys. Cortisone is converted back to the active steroid cortisol by the action of the enzyme 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1, particularly in the liver. The term "cortisone" is frequently misused to mean either any corticosteroid or hydrocortisone, which is actually another name for cortisol. Many who speak of receiving a "cortisone shot" or taking "cortisone" are actually receiving hydrocortisone or one of many other, much more potent synthetic corticosteroids; it is unlikely that the drug administered is actually cortisone. Cortisone can be administered as a prodrug, meaning it has to be converted by the body (speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strophanthus
''Strophanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1802. It is native primarily to tropical Africa, extending to South Africa, with a few species in Asia from southern India to New Guinea and southern China. The genus name is a compound of the Greek words στροφος (''strophos'') "twisted" and ανθοσ (''anthos'') "flower", in reference to the corolla lobes which, in some species - notably ''S. petersianus'' (see below) - resemble long twisted ribbons or threads and can reach a length of 30–35 cm. This trait, in addition to colouring involving combinations of bright pinks, purples and oranges, combine to make the flowers among the most ornamental in the plant kingdom. The genus includes vines, shrubs, and small trees. The leaves are opposite or whorled, simple broad lanceolate, 2–20 cm long, with an entire margin. Several African tribes used ''Strophanthus'' as the principal ingredient in arrow poison. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Africa
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by Jules Thurmann (1849). Prior to this, the two terms were used indiscriminately.Thurmann, J. (1849). ''Essai de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plants Described In 1802
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude the fungi and some algae, as well as the prokaryotes (the archaea and bacteria). By one definition, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (Latin name for "green plants") which is sister of the Glaucophyta, and consists of the green algae and Embryophyta (land plants). The latter includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns and their allies, hornworts, liverworts, and mosses. Most plants are multicellular organisms. Green plants obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts that are derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria. Their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are Parasitic plant, parasitic or mycotrophic and have l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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