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Terminalia Sericea
''Terminalia sericea'' is a species of deciduous tree of the genus ''Terminalia'' that is native to southern Africa. Its common names include clusterleaf, silver cluster-leaf or silver terminalia in English, vaalboom in Afrikaans and mususu in Venda. Etymology The generic name is derived from the Latin ''terminus'' meaning "boundary" and describes the concentration of the foliage at the very end of the twigs. The specific name "sericea" comes from the Latin ''sericatus'' meaning "clothed in silken hair" and describes the downy foliage. Description The silver cluster-leaf grows to a height of about in woodland but isolated trees can be up to tall. The bark is a reddish or greyish brown colour and peels away in strips. The bluish-green leaves tend to be clustered at the tips of the branches. They are ovate with entire margins and both the upper and lower surfaces are clothed in silvery hairs. The flowers are white and are borne in short axilliary spikes. They have an unpleasant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William John Burchell
__NOTOC__ William John Burchell (23 July 1781 – 23 March 1863) was an English explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author. His thousands of plant specimens, as well as field journals from his South African expedition, are held by Kew Gardens, and his insect collection by the Oxford University Museum. Early life and education William John Burchell was born in Fulham, London, the son of Matthew Burchell, botanist and owner of Fulham Nursery, and his wife. His father owned nine and a half acres of land adjacent to the gardens of Fulham Palace. Burchell served a botanical apprenticeship at Kew and was elected F.L.S. (Fellow of the Linnaen Society) in 1803. At about this time, he became enamoured of Lucia Green of Fulham, but faced strong disapproval from his parents when he broached the idea of an engagement. Career On 7 August 1805 Burchell at the age of 24 sailed for St. Helena aboard the East Indiaman intending to set up there as a merchant with a partner from Lond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mopane
''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern Africa. The tree only occurs in Africa and is the only species in genus ''Colophospermum''. Its distinctive butterfly-shaped (bifoliate) leaf and thin seed pod make it easy to identify. In terms of human use it is, together with camel thorn and leadwood, one of the three regionally important firewood trees. Range and habit It is native to Southern Africa, including Southern Angola, Zambia, Southern Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and northern South Africa. It grows in alkaline (high lime content) soils which are shallow and not well drained. It also grows in alluvial soils (soil deposited by rivers). Where it occurs, it is often the dominant tree species, frequently forming homogeneous stands. In Northern South Africa and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity of the condition is variable. Pneumonia is usually caused by infection with viruses or bacteria, and less commonly by other microorganisms. Identifying the responsible pathogen can be difficult. Diagnosis is often based on symptoms and physical examination. Chest X-rays, blood tests, and culture of the sputum may help confirm the diagnosis. The disease may be classified by where it was acquired, such as community- or hospital-acquired or healthcare-associated pneumonia. Risk factors for pneumonia include cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sickle cell disease, asthma, diabetes, heart failure, a history of smoking, a poor ability to cough (such as following a stroke), and a weak immune system. Vaccines to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diarrhoea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin with loss of the normal stretchiness of the skin and irritable behaviour. This can progress to decreased urination, loss of skin color, a fast heart rate, and a decrease in responsiveness as it becomes more severe. Loose but non-watery stools in babies who are exclusively breastfed, however, are normal. The most common cause is an infection of the intestines due to either a virus, bacterium, or parasite—a condition also known as gastroenteritis. These infections are often acquired from food or water that has been contaminated by feces, or directly from another person who is infected. The three types of diarrhea are: short duration watery diarrhea, short duration bloody diarrhea, and persistent diarrhea (lasting more than two weeks, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stool, or blood in the urine. Those who have been infected for a long time may experience liver damage, kidney failure, infertility, or bladder cancer. In children, it may cause poor growth and learning difficulty. The disease is spread by contact with fresh water contaminated with the parasites. These parasites are released from infected freshwater snails. The disease is especially common among children in developing countries, as they are more likely to play in contaminated water. Other high-risk groups include farmers, fishermen, and people using unclean water during daily living. It belongs to the group of helminth infections. Diagnosis is by finding eggs of the parasite in a person's urine or stool. It can also be confirmed by fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, called charcoal burning, often by forming a charcoal kiln, the heat is supplied by burning part of the starting material itself, with a limited supply of oxygen. The material can also be heated in a closed retort. Modern "charcoal" briquettes used for outdoor cooking may contain many other additives, e.g. coal. This process happens naturally when combustion is incomplete, and is sometimes used in radiocarbon dating. It also happens inadvertently while burning wood, as in a fireplace or wood stove. The visible flame in these is due to combustion of the volatile gases exuded as the wood turns into charcoal. The soot and smoke commonly given off by wood fires result from incomplete combustion of those volatiles. Charcoal burns at a higher temper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (along with cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood eating cockroaches of the genus ''Cryptocercus''. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the Jurassic or Triassic. More recent estimates suggest that they have an origin during the Late Jurassic, with the first fossil records in the Early Cretaceous. About 3,106 species are currently described, with a few hundred more left to be described. Although these insects are often called "white ants", they are not ants, and are not closely related to ants. Like ants and some bees a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climax Species
Climax species, also called late seral, late-successional, K-selected or equilibrium species, are plant species that can germinate and grow with limited resources; e.g., they need heat exposure or low water availability. They are the species within forest succession that are more adapted to stable and predictable environments, and will remain essentially unchanged in terms of species composition for as long as a site remains undisturbed. The seedlings of climax species can grow in the shade of the parent trees, ensuring their dominance indefinitely. The presence of climax species can also reduce the prevalence of other species within an ecosystem. However, a disturbance, such as fire, may kill the climax species, allowing pioneer or earlier successional species to re-establish for a time. They are the opposite of pioneer species, also known as ruderal, fugitive, opportunistic or R-selected species, in the sense that climax species are good competitors but poor colonizers, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominance (ecology)
Ecological dominance is the degree to which one or several species have a major influence controlling the other species in their ecological community (because of their large size, population, productivity, or related factors) or make up more of the biomass. Most ecological communities are defined by their dominant species. *In many examples of wet woodland in western Europe, the dominant tree is alder ('' Alnus glutinosa''). *In temperate bogs, the dominant vegetation is usually species of ''Sphagnum'' moss. *Tidal swamps in the tropics are usually dominated by species of mangrove (''Rhizophoraceae'') *Some sea floor communities are dominated by brittle stars. *Exposed rocky shorelines are dominated by sessile organisms such as barnacles and limpets. See also * National Vegetation Classification, a system for classifying British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combretum
''Combretum'', the bushwillows or combretums, make up the type genus of the family Combretaceae. The genus comprises about 272 species of trees and shrubs, most of which are native to tropical and southern Africa, about 5 to Madagascar, but there are others that are native to tropical Asia, New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, Australia, and tropical America. Though somewhat reminiscent of willows (''Salix'') in their habitus, they are not particularly close relatives of these. Ecology Bushwillow trees often are important plants in their habitat. Savannahs in Africa, in particular those growing on granitic soils, are often dominated by ''Combretum'' and its close relative ''Terminalia''. For example, ''C. apiculatum'' is a notable tree in the Angolan mopane woodlands ecoregion in the Kunene River basin in southern Africa. Other species of this genus are a major component of Southwestern Amazonian moist forests. This genus contains several species that are pollinated by ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus name is New Latin, borrowed from the Greek (), a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of ''Vachellia nilotica'', the original type of the genus. In his ''Pinax'' (1623), Gaspard Bauhin mentioned the Greek from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin name. In the early 2000s it had become evident that the genus as it stood was not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage that contained ''A. nilotica''—the type species. This meant that the Australasian lineage (by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachystegia
''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambezian region is the centre of diversity for the genus.Emmanuel N. Chidumayo and Davison J. Gumbo, eds. (2010). ''The dry forests and woodlands of Africa: managing for products and services''. Earthscan, 2010. Description Hybridisation between the species occurs and taxa show considerable variation in leaflet size, shape and number, making identification difficult. New leaves show a great range of red colours when immature, later turning to various shades of green. Species * '' Brachystegia allenii'' * '' Brachystegia angustistipulata'' * '' Brachystegia bakeriana'' * '' Brachystegia bequaertii'' * ''Brachystegia boehmii'' * '' Brachystegia bussei'' * '' Brachystegia cynometroides'' * ''Brachystegia eurycoma'' * '' Brachystegia floribunda'' * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
