|
Thespesia Garckeana
''Thespesia garckeana'' (also known by its synonym ''Azanza garckeana'') is a tree in the family Malvaceae, found throughout the warmer parts of Southern Africa in wooded grasslands, open woodland and thickets. It grows naturally over a range of altitudes from 1,000 to 2,000 m above sea level, from semi-arid areas to areas of higher rainfall. ''T. garckeana'' is often found on or near termite mounds in old fields. Common names: African chewing gum, snot apple, tree hibiscus, ''mutohwe'' (Shona), ''nkole'' (Sri Lanka), ''uXakuxaku'' (isiNdebele) and ''morojwa'' (Setswana). Uses * The whole fruit except the seeds is chewed like gum, producing a sweet glutinous slime. The fruit is also used as a syrup and soup. * The sap wood is yellow and the heart wood is a deep brown. It is easily worked but generally only suitable for small building needs, tool handles, oxen yokes, and domestic items such as spoons. * The leaves of ''T. garckeana'' have many uses including green manure and mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ornamentals, such as ''Alcea'' (hollyhock), ''Malva'' (mallow), and ''Tilia'' (lime or linden tree). The largest genera in terms of number of species include ''Hibiscus'' (300 species), ''Sterculia'' (250 species), ''Dombeya'' (250 species), '' Pavonia'' (200 species) and '' Sida'' (200 species). Taxonomy and nomenclature The circumscription of the Malvaceae is controversial. The traditional Malvaceae '' sensu stricto'' comprise a very homogeneous and cladistically monophyletic group. Another major circumscription, Malvaceae ''sensu lato'', has been more recently defined on the basis that genetics studies have shown the commonly recognised families Bombacaceae, Tiliaceae, and Sterculiaceae, which have always been considered closely allie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of river systems; the Zambezi River being the most prominent. The Zambezi flows from the northwest corner of Zambia and western Angola to the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique. Along the way, the Zambezi River flows over the mighty Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the world and a major tourist attraction for the region. Southern Africa includes both subtropical and temperate climates, with the Tropic of Capricorn running through the middle of the region, dividing it into its subtropical and temperate halves. Countries commonly included in Southern Africa include Angola, Botswana, the Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chewing Gum
Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its texture is reminiscent of rubber because of the physical-chemical properties of its polymer, plasticizer, and resin components, which contribute to its elastic-plastic, sticky, chewy characteristics. History The cultural tradition of chewing gum seems to have developed through a convergent evolution process, as traces of this habit have arisen separately in many early civilizations. Each early precursor to chewing gum was derived from natural growths local to the region and was chewed purely out of the instinctual desire to masticate. Early chewers did not necessarily desire to derive nutritional benefits from their chewable substances but at times sought taste stimuli and teeth cleaning or breath-freshening capabilities. Chewing gum in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glutinous
Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated animals, or domesticated plants. These traits were identified by Charles Darwin in '' The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication.'' Domesticated animals tend to be smaller and less aggressive than their wild counterparts, they may also have floppy ears, variations to coat color, a smaller brain, and a shorter muzzle. Other traits may include changes in the endocrine system and an extended breeding cycle. Research suggests that modified neural crest cells are potentially responsible for the traits that are common across many domesticated animal species. The process of plant domestication has produced changes in shattering/fruit abscission, shorter height, larger grain or fruit size, easier threshing, synchronous flowering, and increased yield, as well as changes in color, taste, and texture. Origin Charles Darwin's study of ''The Variation of Animals and Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxen
An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, ..., AusE, and IndE), is a male bovine trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castration, castrated adult male cattle; castration inhibits testosterone and aggression, which makes the males docile and safer to work with. Cows (adult females) or bulls (intact males) may also be used in some areas. Oxen are used for Plough, plowing, for transport (pulling carts, hauling wagons and even riding), for threshing grain by trampling, and for powering machines that grind grain or supply irrigation among other purposes. Oxen may be also used to skidder, skid logs in forests, particularly in low-impact, select-cut logging. Oxen are usually yoked in pairs. Light work such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen. A pair of oxen may be called a ''yoke of oxen'', and yoke is also a verb, as in "to ''yoke'' a pair of oxen". Other animals that may be yoked include horses, mules, donkeys, and water buffalo. Etymology The word "yoke" is believed to derive from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (yoke), from root *''yewg''- (join, unite), and is thus cognate with ''yoga''. This root has descendants in almost all known Indo-European languages including German ''Joch'', Latin ''iugum'', Ancient Greek ζυγόν (''zygon''), Persian یوغ (''yuğ''), Sanskrit युग (''yugá''), Hittite 𒄿𒌑𒃷 (iúkan), Old Church Slavonic иго (''igo''), Lithuanian ''jungas'', Old Irish ''cuing'', and Armen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manure
Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are utilised by bacteria, fungi and other organisms in the soil. Higher organisms then feed on the fungi and bacteria in a chain of life that comprises the soil food web. History According to a Byzantine tradition attributed to Cassianus Bassus pig dung was generally not usable as fertilizer, except for almond trees. Similar views recorded by Columella were unrelated to the Islamic taboos of later centuries, though the medieval Andalusian writer Ibn Bassal and some later writers from Yemen also recorded negative effects of pig dung "burning" plants. Ibn Bassal described a sort of mixed manure with straw or sweeping mixed in as ', implying that was not composed of only manure. The sweepings from hot baths inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mulch
A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil. Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth and enhancing the visual appeal of the area. A mulch is usually, but not exclusively, organic in nature. It may be permanent (e.g. plastic sheeting) or temporary (e.g. bark chips). It may be applied to bare soil or around existing plants. Mulches of manure or compost will be incorporated naturally into the soil by the activity of worms and other organisms. The process is used both in commercial crop production and in gardening, and when applied correctly, can improve soil productivity. Living mulches include moss lawns and other ground covers. Uses Many materials are used as mulches, which are used to retain soil moisture, regulate soil temperature, suppress weed growth, and for aesthetics. They are applied to the soil surface, around trees, paths, flower beds, to prevent soil erosio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them), rather than that which they forage for themselves (called forage). Fodder includes hay, straw, silage, compressed and Compound feed, pelleted feeds, oils and mixed rations, and sprouting, sprouted grains and legumes (such as bean sprouts, fresh malt, or brewing#Brewer's spent grain, spent malt). Most animal feed is from plants, but some manufacturers add ingredients to processed feeds that are of animal origin. The worldwide animal feed trade produced tons of feed (compound feed equivalent) in 2011, fast approaching 1 billion tonnes according to the International Feed Industry Federation, with an annual growth rate of about 2%. The use of agricultural land to grow feed r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Southern African Indigenous Trees
This is a list of Southern African trees, shrubs, suffrutices, geoxyles and lianes, and is intended to cover Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The notion of 'indigenous' is of necessity a blurred concept, and is clearly a function of both time and political boundaries. The global distribution of plants useful to humans, or inadvertently transported by them, is closely linked to a mapping of their journeys and settlements, and the movement of species in prehistoric times must be inferred from archaeological and palaeontological remains, centers of diversity, DNA and other sources. Cyatheaceae * '' Cyathea capensis'' (L.f.) J.E. Sm. (''Hemitelia capensis'' Kaulf.) * ''Cyathea dregei'' Kunze (''Alsophila dregei'' (Kunze) R.M. Tryon) * ''Cyathea manniana'' Hook. * '' Alsophila thomsonii'' (Baker) R.M. Tryon (''Cyathea thomsonii'' Baker) Blechnaceae * '' Lomariocycas tabularis'' (Thunb.) Kuhn Cycadaceae * ''Cycas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thespesia
''Thespesia'' is a genus of 13 flowering shrubs and trees in the ''Hibiscus'' family, Malvaceae, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (''Gossypium''). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific through Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. Selected species *'' Thespesia beatensis'' (Urb.) Fryxell ( Beata Island, Dominican Republic) *'' Thespesia acutiloba'' (Baker f.) Exell & Mendonça *'' Thespesia cubensis'' (Britton & P.Wilson) J.B.Hutch. (Cuba) *'' Thespesia danis'' Oliv. (eastern Africa) *'' Thespesia fissicalyx'' Borss.Waalk. *''Thespesia garckeana'' F.Hoffm. (Southern Africa) *''Thespesia grandiflora'' DC. - Maga (Puerto Rico) *'' Thespesia gummiflua'' Capuron *'' Thespesia mossambicensis'' Exell & Hillcoat (Mozambique) *'' Thespesia multibracteata'' Borss.Waalk. *'' Thespesia patellifera'' Borss.Waalk. *''Thespesia populnea'' (L.) Sol. ex Corrêa - Portia tree (Pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trees Of South Africa
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or 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 palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees. Trees are not a taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that 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 many secondary branches supported clear of the ground by the trunk. This trunk typically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
