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Tachigali Versicolor
''Tachigali versicolor'' or the suicide tree is a species of tree found from Costa Rica to western Colombia. It is monocarpic, flowering only once before dying, which gives rise to its common name of the "suicide tree". Reproduction ''Tachigali versicolor'' reproduces only once in its lifetime once the trees are mature. Within a year of flowering the tree rapidly dies and falls over. The trait was first noticed by Robin Foster in 1970, while working in Panama. Carlos Fonseca reported that another species in the genus, '' Tachigali myrmecophila'' is also monocarpic. The age at which they reproduce is unknown, however, and growth rates vary widely depending on the amount of light that the trees grow in. Reproduction (and death) has been observed to occur in a four to six year cycle; if flowering occurs one year then it will not occur for the next three to five years. When studied on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, they were observed to flower in 1970, 1974, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1989 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from the other eukaryotic kingdoms, which by one traditional classification include Plantae, Animalia, Protozoa, and Chromista. A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is chitin in their cell walls. Fungi, like animals, are heterotrophs; they acquire their food by absorbing dissolved molecules, typically by secreting digestive enzymes into their environment. Fungi do not photosynthesize. Growth is their means of mobility, except for spores (a few of which are flagellated), which may travel through the air or water. Fungi are the principal decomposers in ecological systems. These and other differences place fungi in a single group of related organisms, named the ''Eumycota'' (''t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Panama
Panama is a country located in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Panama is located on the narrow and low Isthmus of Panama. This S-shaped isthmus is situated between 7° and 10° north latitude and 77° and 83° west longitude. Panama encompasses approximately . It is long, and between wide. Geology The geology of Panama is extremely complicated. The land was formed by interactions of several tectonic plates over the past 10 million years. Elevation The dominant feature of Panama's landform is the central spine of mountains and hills that forms the continental divide. The divide does not form part of the great mountain chains of North America, and only near the Colombian border are there highlands related to the Andes, Andean system of South America. The spine that forms the divide is the highly eroded arch of an uplift from the sea bottom, in which peaks were formed by volcanic intrusions. The we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million in a land area of . An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area. The sovereign state is a unitary presidential constitutional republic. It has a long-standing and stable democracy and a highly educated workforce. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Colombia
The Flora of Colombia is characterized by over 28,000 species of green plants. National Flower of Colombia The national flower of Colombia is the orchid ''Cattleya trianae'' which was named after the Colombian naturalist José Jerónimo Triana. The orchid was selected by botanist Emilio Robledo, in representation of the Colombian Academy of History to determine the most representative flowering plant of Colombia. He described it as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world and selected ''Cattleya trianae'' as National symbol. National Tree of Colombia The national tree of Colombia is the palm ''Ceroxylon quindiuense'' (Quindío wax palm) which was named after the Colombian Department of Quindío where is located the Cocora valley, the only habitat of this restricted range species. The Quindío wax palm was selected as the national tree by the government of Belisario Betancur and was the first tree officially declared as a protected species in Colombia. ''C.quindiuens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Central America
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] |
Caesalpinioideae
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bradyrhizobium
''Bradyrhizobium'' is a genus of Gram-negative soil bacteria, many of which fix nitrogen. Nitrogen fixation is an important part of the nitrogen cycle. Plants cannot use atmospheric nitrogen (N2); they must use nitrogen compounds such as nitrates. Characteristics ''Bradyrhizobium'' species are Gram-negative bacilli (rod-shaped) with a single subpolar or polar flagellum. They are common soil-dwelling micro-organisms that can form symbiotic relationships with leguminous plant species where they fix nitrogen in exchange for carbohydrates from the plant. Like other rhizobia, many members of this genus have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into forms readily available for other organisms to use. Bradyrhizobia are also major components of forest soil microbial communities, where strains isolated from these soils are not typically capable of nitrogen fixation or nodulation. They are slow-growing in contrast to ''Rhizobium'' species, which are considered fast-growing rhizobia. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrogen Fixation
Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. Atmospheric nitrogen is molecular dinitrogen, a relatively nonreactive molecule that is metabolically useless to all but a few microorganisms. Biological nitrogen fixation or ''diazotrophy'' is an important microbials mediated process that converts dinitrogen (N2) gas to ammonia (NH3) using the nitrogenase protein complex (Nif). Nitrogen fixation is essential to life because fixed inorganic nitrogen compounds are required for the biosynthesis of all nitrogen-containing organic compounds, such as amino acids and proteins, nucleoside triphosphates and nucleic acids. As part of the nitrogen cycle, it is essential for agriculture and the manufacture of fertilizer. It is also, indirectly, relevant to the manufacture of all nitrogen chemical c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Article 18.5 states: "The following names, of long usage, are treated as validly published: ....Leguminosae (nom. alt.: Fabaceae; type: Faba Mill. Vicia L.; ... When the Papilionaceae are regarded as a family distinct from the remainder of the Leguminosae, the name Papilionaceae is conserved against Leguminosae." English pronunciations are as follows: , and . commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and agriculturally important of |
Atta (ant)
''Atta'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains at least 17 known species. ''Atta'' leaf-cutter ants are relatively large, rusty red or brown in colour, and have a spiny body and long legs. The three main castes within a nest are the queen, worker, and soldier. Only the queens and males have wings (alate), and these ants are also known as reproductives or swarmers. Although most of the ants in the nest are female, only the queens produce eggs. Queens are usually over long. Overview Ants of the genus ''Atta'' are leafcutter ants that comprise one of the two genera of leafcutting ants within the tribe Attini, along with ''Acromyrmex''. They have no sting, thus inject no venom, although they are known as strong biters. ''Atta'' spp. exhibit a high degree of polymorphism, with four castes being present in established colonies: minims (or garden ants), minors, mediae, and majors (also called soldiers or dinergates). Their immature development underg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
