Wildlife Of The Maldives
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Wildlife Of The Maldives
The wildlife of the Maldives includes the flora and fauna of the islands, reefs, and the surrounding ocean. Recent scientific studies suggest that the fauna varies greatly between atolls following a north–south gradient, but important differences between neighbouring atolls were also found (especially in terms of sea animals), which may be linked to differences in fishing pressure – including poaching. Ecology The land-based biotopes of the Maldives are highly endangered. The little land available in the country is being swiftly developed. Formerly uninhabited islands were only occasionally visited, but now almost no untouched uninhabited islands remain. Many of the natural habitats of local species have been severely threatened or destroyed during the past decades of development. Coral reef habitats have also been damaged, as the pressure for land has brought about the creation of artificial islands. Some reefs have been filled with rubble with little regard for the chang ...
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Morinda Citrifolia
''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Its native range extends across Southeast Asia and Australasia, and was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widely naturalized. Among some 100 names for the fruit across different regions are the more common English names of great morinda, Indian mulberry, noni, beach mulberry, vomit fruit and cheese fruit. The fresh fruit's strong, vomit-like odor has made it a famine food in most regions, but it remains a staple food among some cultures, and has been used in traditional medicine. In the consumer market, it has been introduced as a supplement in various formats, such as capsules, skin products, and juices. Growing habitats ''Morinda citrifolia'' grows in shady forests, as well as on open rocky or sandy shores. It reaches maturity in about 18 months, then yields between of fruit every month throughout the year. It is tolera ...
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Calophyllum Inophyllum
''Calophyllum inophyllum'' is a large evergreen plant, commonly called tamanu, oil-nut, mastwood, beach calophyllum or beautyleaf. It is native to tropical Asia and Wallacea. Due to its importance as a source of timber for the traditional shipbuilding of large outrigger ships, it has been spread in prehistoric times by the migrations of the Austronesian peoples to the islands of Oceania and Madagascar, along with other members of the genus ''Calophyllum''. It has since been naturalized in regions in the East African coast. It is also a source of the culturally important tamanu oil. Names ''Calophyllum inophyllum'' is also known as Alexandrian laurel balltree, beach touriga, Borneo-mahogany, Indian doomba oiltree, Indian-laurel, laurelwood, red poon, satin touriga, and tacamahac-tree. In Island Southeast Asia and Oceania, they are also commonly known as bintangur, bitaog, tamanu, or kamani. In India it is known as Polanga (ପୋଲାଙ୍ଗ) in Odia, Punnag (पुन् ...
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Senna Occidentalis
''Senna occidentalis'' ndian vernacular name ''Usaya ki Fali''is a pantropical plant species, native to the Americas. The species was formerly placed in the genus '' Cassia''. Vernacular names in English include septicweed, coffee senna, coffeeweed, piss-a-bed, Mogdad coffee, negro-coffee, senna coffee, Stephanie coffee, stinkingweed or styptic weed. The plant is reported to be poisonous to cattle, because it contains a known toxic derivative of anthraquinone called emodin. and the seeds contain chrysarobin (1,8-dihydroxy-3-methyl-9-anthrone) and N-methylmorpholine. Uses In Jamaica the seeds are roasted, brewed and served as tea to treat hemorrhoids, gout, rheumatism, and diabetes. Mogdad coffee seeds can be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. They have also been used as an adulterant for coffee. There is apparently no caffeine in mogdad coffee. Despite the claims of being poisonous, the leaves of this plant, ''Dhiguthiyara'' in the Maldivian language, have been us ...
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Coconut Tree
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a Nut (fruit), nut. The name comes from the old Portuguese people, Portuguese word ''Coco (folklore), coco'', meaning "head" or "skull", after the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features. They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics. The coconut tree provides food, fuel, cosmetics, folk medicine and building materials, among many other uses. The inner flesh of the mature seed, as well as the coconut milk extracted from it, form a regular part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are distinct from other fruits because their endosperm contains a large quantity of clear liquid, called ...
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Heliotropium Foertherianum
''Heliotropium arboreum'' is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It is native to tropical Asia including southern China, Madagascar, northern Australia, and most of the atolls and high islands of Micronesia and Polynesia. Common names include velvetleaf soldierbush, tree heliotrope, veloutier, and octopus bush. It is a shrub or small tree typical of littoral zones reaching a height of , with a spread of about . Taxonomy Originally published as ''Tournefortia argentea'', it was transferred to ''Argusia argentea'', and remained under that name until recently. It was subsequently restored to the genus ''Tournefortia'' before being transferred into the genus ''Heliotropium'' under a new name in 2003. Uses Historically in the Maldives the leaves were often used as famine food. Wood The wood of ''H. arboreum'' is commonly used to make handicrafts, tools, and, in Polynesia, frames for swim goggles. Due to its availability, ''H. arboreum'' is used as fire ...
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Cordia Subcordata
''Cordia subcordata'' is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that occurs in eastern Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, northern Australia and the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii). The plant is known by a variety of names including beach cordia, sea trumpet, and kerosene wood, among others. Names Other names for the species include ''kanawa'', ''tou'', ''kou'', ''mareer'', ''manjak'', snottygobbles, glueberry, narrow-leafed bird lime tree, In Java and Madura, it is known as ''kalimasada'', ''purnamasada'', or ''pramasada''; Javanese folklore consider the tree to contain spiritual power. In the Marshall Islands it is known as ''kono''. Distribution This species has a very wide range from the east coast of Africa west throughout tropical Asia and Oceania, as far west as Hawaii. This distribution was achieved due to special characteristics of its fruit allowing for successful oceanic dispersal. Prior to 2001, ''C. subcordata'' was considered to be ...
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Pandanus Fascicularis
''Pandanus odorifer'' is an aromatic monocot species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, native to Polynesia, Australia, South Asia (Andaman Islands), and the Philippines, and is also found wild in southern India and Burma. It is commonly known as fragrant screw-pine. Names In addition to screw-pine, other common English names for the tree include ''kewda'', ''fragrant screwpine'', ''umbrella tree'' and ''screw tree''."Kewda".
FlowersOfIndia.net. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
In India, the tree goes by a variety of names, many deriving from the Sanskrit ''kētakī''. in called ''pookkaitha'' and its flower known as ''thaazhampoo'', In

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Pandanus Tectorius
''Pandanus tectorius'' is a species of ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree ( in Hawaiian) and pandanus. The edible fruit is sometimes known as hala fruit. Description ''P. tectorius'' is a small tree that grows upright to reach in height. The single trunk is slender with brown ringed bark. It is spiny, grows to 4.5–11 m (15–35 ft) in width, and forks at a height of . It is supported by aerial roots (prop roots) that firmly anchors the tree to the ground. Roots sometimes grow along the branch, and they grow at wide angles in proportion to the trunk. 林投 20190525170309.jpg, Growth habit 林投 20190530190950.jpg, Aerial roots 林投帶刺氣生根與新葉 20190525170359.jpg, Spiny aerial roots and leaflets Pandanus tectorius fruit.jpg, Fruit showin ...
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Acrostichum Aureum
''Acrostichum aureum'', the golden leather fern, is a large species of fern that grows in mangrove swamps and other wet locations. Other common names include swamp fern and mangrove fern. Description The golden leather fern has large fronds growing to a length of 1.8 metres (six feet). The leaves are glossy, broad and pinnate, the pinnae being dark green, leathery, alternate and widely spaced. The outer fronds arch over sideways but the central ones are nearly straight. Some of the larger fronds bear sporangia (reproductive organs) on the upper five to eight pairs of pinnae. These are brick red and give the pinnae a felted appearance. Distribution and habitat The golden leather fern is found in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world. It grows in swamps and mangrove forests, salt marshes and on river banks and is tolerant of raised salinity levels. The spores germinate better, however, in fresh water. It tends to grow on slight elevations in the mangrove swamp in ar ...
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Fern
A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except the lycopods, and differ from mosses and other bryophytes by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissues that conduct water and nutrients and in having life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase. Ferns have complex leaves called megaphylls, that are more complex than the microphylls of clubmosses. Most ferns are leptosporangiate ferns. They produce coiled fiddleheads that uncoil and expand into fronds. The group includes about 10,560 known extant species. Ferns are defined here in the broad sense, being all of the Polypodiopsida, comprising both the leptosporangiate (Polypodiidae) and eusporangiate ferns, the latter group including horsetails, whisk ferns, marattioid ferns, and ophioglossoid ferns. Ferns first ...
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Mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several plant families. They occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics and even some temperate coastal areas, mainly between latitudes 30° N and 30° S, with the greatest mangrove area within 5° of the equator. Mangrove plant families first appeared during the Late Cretaceous to Paleocene epochs, and became widely distributed in part due to the plate tectonics, movement of tectonic plates. The oldest known fossils of Nypa fruticans, mangrove palm date to 75 million years ago. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to live in harsh coastal conditions. They contain a complex salt filtration system and a complex root system to cope with saltwater immersion and wave action. They are ad ...
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