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Walking Palm
''Socratea exorrhiza'', the walking palm or cashapona, is a palm native to rainforests in tropical Central and South America. It can grow to 25 metres in height, with a stem diameter of up to 16 cm, but is more typically 15–20 m tall and 12 cm in diameter. It has unusual stilt roots, the function of which has been debated. Many species of epiphyte have been found growing on the palms. The palm is pollinated by beetles, and various organisms eat its seeds or seedlings. Function of stilt roots E. J. H. Corner in 1961 hypothesised that the unusual stilt roots of ''S. exorrhiza'' were an adaptation to allow the palm to grow in swampy areas of forest. No evidence exists that stilt roots are in fact an adaptation to flooding, and alternative functions for them have been suggested. John H. Bodley suggested in 1980 that they in fact allow the palm to "walk" away from the point of germination if another tree falls on the seedling and knocks it over. If such an event occu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Friedrich Philipp Von Martius
Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduated PhD from Erlangen University in 1814, publishing as his thesis a critical catalogue of plants in the university's botanical garden. After that he continued to devote himself to botanical study, and in 1817 he and Johann Baptist von Spix were sent to Brazil by Maximilian I Joseph, the king of Bavaria. They travelled from Rio de Janeiro through several of the southern and eastern provinces of Brazil and travelled up the Amazon River to Tabatinga, as well as exploring some of its larger tributaries. On his return to Europe in 1820 Martius was appointed as the keeper of the botanic garden at Munich, including the herbarium at the Munich Botanical Collection, and in 1826 as professor of botany in the university there, and he held both offices unti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ananthacorus Angustifolius
''Ananthacorus'' is a genus of ferns in the subfamily Vittarioideae of the family Pteridaceae with a single species ''Ananthacorus angustifolius''. Its native distribution ranges from Mexico through Central America to northern South America. It has been introduced into parts of Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The .... References Pteridaceae Monotypic fern genera {{Pteridaceae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves, when self-pollination occurs within a closed flower. Pollination often occurs within a species. When pollination occurs between species, it can produce hybrid offspring in nature and in plant breeding work. In angiosperms, after the pollen grain (gametophyte) has landed on the stigma, it germinates and develops a pollen tube which grows down the style until it reaches an ovary. Its two gametes travel down the tube to where the gametophyte(s) containing the female gametes are held within the carpel. After entering an ovum cell through the micropyle, one male nucleus fuses with the polar bodies to produce the endosperm tissues, while the other fuses with the ovule to produce the embr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae (ladybirds or ladybugs) eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops. Beetles typically have a particularly hard e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tayassu Pecari
The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to pigs, but covered in dark hair (except on certain regions, such as the throat, where it is cream). The range of ''T. pecari'', which extends from Mexico to Argentina, has become fragmented, and the species's population is declining overall (especially in Mexico and Central America). They can be found in a variety of habitats. Social animals, white-lipped peccaries typically forage in large groups, which can have as many as 300 peccaries. They are an important part of their ecosystem and multiple efforts are being made to preserve them in the wild. Not all disappearances are explained, but human activities play a role, with two major threats being deforestation and hunting; the latter is very common in rural areas, although it can be dange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoma
In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bordered by a pair of specialized parenchyma cells known as guard cells that are responsible for regulating the size of the stomatal opening. The term is usually used collectively to refer to the entire stomatal complex, consisting of the paired guard cells and the pore itself, which is referred to as the stomatal aperture. Air, containing oxygen, which is used in respiration, and carbon dioxide, which is used in photosynthesis, passes through stomata by gaseous diffusion. Water vapour diffuses through the stomata into the atmosphere in a process called transpiration. Stomata are present in the sporophyte generation of all land plant groups except liverworts. In vascular plants the number, size and distribution of stomata varies widely. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trichome
Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant is an indumentum, and the surface bearing them is said to be pubescent. Algal trichomes Certain, usually filamentous, algae have the terminal cell produced into an elongate hair-like structure called a trichome. The same term is applied to such structures in some cyanobacteria, such as '' Spirulina'' and ''Oscillatoria''. The trichomes of cyanobacteria may be unsheathed, as in ''Oscillatoria'', or sheathed, as in ''Calothrix''. These structures play an important role in preventing soil erosion, particularly in cold desert climates. The filamentous sheaths form a persistent sticky network that helps maintain soil structure. Plant trichomes Plant trichomes have many different features that vary between both species of plants an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bromeliaceae
The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. Th ... flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the Tropics, tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ''Pitcairnia feliciana''. It is among the basal (phylogenetics), basal families within the Poales and is the only family within the order that has Septal nectary, septal nectaries and Ovary (plants), inferior ovaries.Judd, Walter S. Plant systematics a phylogenetic approach. 3rd ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2007. These Ovary (plants), inferior ovaries characterize the Bromelioideae, a subfamily of the Bromeliaceae. The family includes both epiphytes, such as Spanis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guzmania Subcorymbosa
''Guzmania subcorymbosa'' is a plant species in the genus ''Guzmania''. This species is native to Colombia, Panama, and 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 no .... References subcorymbosa Flora of Costa Rica Flora of Panama Flora of Colombia Plants described in 1937 {{Guzmania-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araceae
The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 140 genera and about 4,075 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions. Many species display very decorative leaves and flowers, and they are widely used for gardening; popular as indoor plants and also outdoor plants where climates are mild, and winter freezes will not generally occur. However, some temperate species are also very popular in Mediterranean-climate gardening, or in moderately cool temperate zones, such as ''Zantedeschia''. Description Species within Araceae are often rhizomatous or tuberous, and the leaves nearly always contain calcium oxa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philodendron Schottianum
''Philodendron'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. , the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepted 489 species; other sources accept different numbers. Regardless of number of species, the genus is the second-largest member of the family Araceae, after genus ''Anthurium''. Taxonomically, the genus ''Philodendron'' is still poorly known, with many undescribed species. Many are grown as ornamental and indoor plants. The name derives from the Greek words ''philo-'' or "love, affection" and ''dendron'' or "tree". The generic name, ''Philodendron'', is often used as the English name. Description Growth habit Compared to other genera of the family Araceae, philodendrons have an extremely diverse array of growth methods. The habits of growth can be epiphytic, hemiepiphytic, or rarely terrestrial. Others can show a combination of these growth habits depending on the environment. Hemiepiphytic philodendrons can be classified into two types: primary a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orchidaceae
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. The Orchidaceae have about 28,000 currently accepted species, distributed in about 763 genera. (See ''External links'' below). The determination of which family is larger is still under debate, because verified data on the members of such enormous families are continually in flux. Regardless, the number of orchid species is nearly equal to the number of bony fishes, more than twice the number of bird species, and about four times the number of mammal species. The family encompasses about 6–11% of all species of seed plants. The largest genera are ''Bulbophyllum'' (2,000 species), ''Epidendrum'' (1,500 species), ''Dendrobium'' (1,400 species) and ''Pleurothallis'' (1,000 species). It also includes ''Vanilla'' (the genus of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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