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Tamboti
''Spirostachys africana'' is a medium-sized (about tall) deciduous tree with a straight, clear trunk, occurring in the warmer parts of Southern Africa. Its wood is known as tamboti, tambotie, tambootie or tambuti. It prefers growing in single-species copses in deciduous woodland, often along watercourses or on brackish flats and sandy soils. Description The leaves are small, elliptic with crenate margins, and turn bright red in winter before dropping. The petiole has 2 small glands at the distal end. The grey-black rough bark is distinctively split into neat rectangles. The catkin-like flowers appear in early spring before the leaves. Male and female flowers are borne separately on the same tree (monoecious). The small 3-lobed capsules or schizocarps split into three equal indehiscent segments (mericarps or cocci) when ripe; on a warm day this splitting ( dehiscence) can sound like a distant fusillade of shots. The seeds are globose with a chartaceous testa. Wood and toxic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Wilhelm Sonder
Otto Wilhelm Sonder (18 June 1812, Bad Oldesloe – 21 November 1881) was a German botanist and pharmacist. Life A native of Holstein, Sonder studied at Kiel University, where he sat pharmaceutical examinations in 1835, before becoming the proprietor of a pharmacy in Hamburg from 1841 to 1878. In 1846 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Königsberg and was elected a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina for his contribution to the field of botany. Herbarium From a young age, Sonder showed considerable interest and skill in Botany. He often embarked on botanical excursions in his local area early in the morning before heading to work at the pharmacy. Throughout his life, Sonder met and conversed with many eminent botanists of the era. He amassed an extensive botanical collection that contained hundreds of thousands of specimens representing all major plant groups and spanning all parts of the globe. The collection is particularly sign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heart-rot
300px, The bracket fungus '' Fistulina hepatica'' is one of many that cause heart rot. In trees, heart rot is a fungal disease that causes the decay of wood at the center of the trunk and branches. Fungi enter the tree through wounds in the bark and decay the heartwood. The diseased heartwood softens, making trees structurally weaker and prone to breakage. Heart rot is a major factor in the economics of logging and the natural growth dynamic of many older forests. Heart rot is prevalent throughout the world affecting all hardwood trees and can be very difficult to prevent. A good indication of heart rot is the presence of mushrooms or fungus conks on the tree. Biological cause Heart rot is caused by fungi entering the trunk of the tree through wounds in the bark. These wounds are areas of the tree where bare wood is exposed and usually, a result of improper pruning, fire damage, dead branches, insects, or even animal damage. The fungal spores enter the exposed wounds, germinate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cydia Saltitans
''Cydia saltitans'' or jumping bean moth is a moth from Mexico that is most widely known as its larva, where it inhabits the carpels of seeds from several related shrubby trees, mainly '' Sebastiania pavoniana'' or '' Sapium biloculare'' ( syn. ''Pleradenophora bilocularis''). These seeds are commonly known as Mexican jumping beans. The moth lays the egg on the young capsule. The hatched larva gnaws into the fruit, which closes the minute hole during its growth. The larva attaches itself to the capsule with many silken threads by hooks on its anal and four hind abdominal prolegs. When the fruit is warmed, for instance by being held in the palm of the hand, the larva twitches, pulling on the threads and causing the characteristic hop. "Jump" is often an exaggeration, but the beans nonetheless do move around quite a bit. The larva may live for months inside the fruit with periods of inactivity. It eats away the seed inside the capsule, making a hollow for itself. If the fruit i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are shrubs or trees, such as ''Hevea brasiliensis''. Some, such as ''Euphorbia canariensis'', are succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution. This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics, however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica. Description The leaves are alternate, seldom opposite, with stipules. They are mainly simple, but where compound, are always palmate, never pinnate. Stipules may be reduced to hairs, glands, or spines, or in succulent species are sometimes absent. The plants can be monoecious or dioecious. The radially symmetrical flowers are unisexual, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sebastiania
''Sebastiania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae first described in 1821. It is native to North and South America from Arizona and the West Indies south to Uruguay.Webster, G. L. & M.J. Huft. 1988. Revised synopsis of Panamanian Euphorbiaceae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75(3): 1087–1144 Species Kew's Plants of the World Online accepts 60 species in the genus ''Sebastiania''. Many species formerly included in this genus are now placed in genera such as '' Actinostemon'', '' Bonania'', '' Chrysanthellum'', ''Dendrocousinsia'', ''Ditaxis'', ''Ditrysinia'', '' Gymnanthes'', '' Microstachys'', ''Phyllanthus'', ''Sapium ''Sapium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is widespread across most of Latin America and the West Indies. Many Old World species were formerly included in the genus, but recent authors have redistributed all the ...'', and '' Stillingia''. References * Euphorbiaceae genera {{Euphorbiaceae-stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mexican Jumping Bean
Mexican jumping beans (also known as ' in Spanish) are seed pods that have been inhabited by the larva of a small moth (''Cydia saltitans'') and are native to Mexico. The "bean" is usually tan to brown. They are from the shrub '' Sebastiania pavoniana'', often also referred to as "jumping bean". However, they are not related to actual beans (legume plants), but rather to spurges. The beans are considered non-toxic but are not generally eaten. In the spring, when the shrub is flowering, moths lay their eggs on the shrub’s hanging seedpods. When the eggs hatch, tiny larvae bore into the immature green pods and begin to devour the seeds. The pods ripen, fall to the ground and separate into three smaller segments, and those segments are called Mexican jumping beans. As the tiny larvae inside curl up and uncurl, they hit the capsule’s wall with their heads – and the bean jumps. It’s been observed that they move more as temperatures rise, the larva eats away the inside of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phycitinae
The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths (family Pyralidae). Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and more than 4000 species placed here at present, they unite up more than three-quarters of living snout moth diversity. Together with the closely related Epipaschiinae, they are apparently the most advanced lineage of snout moths. Phycitinae occur all over earth's land masses, except in completely inhospitable areas; the majority of species has a tropical distribution however. Phycitinae have even been found on very remote oceanic islands, and a few species have been intentionally or unintentionally distributed by humans beyond their native range. The type species of this subfamily is ''Phycita roborella'', under its junior synonym ''Tinea spissicella''. That name was apparently first proposed by Johan Christian Fabricius in his 1776/1777 ''Genera insectorum'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera. The latest review by Eugene G. Munroe and Maria Alma Solis retain the Crambidae as a full family of Pyraloidea. The wingspans for small and medium-sized species are usually between with variable morphological features. It is a diverse group, with more than 6,000 species described worldwide, and more than 600 species in America north of Mexico, comprising the third largest moth family in North America. At least 42 species have been recorded from North Dakota in the subfamilies of Pyralidae. Relationship with humans Most of these small moths are inconspicuous. Many are economically important pests, including waxworms, which are the caterpillar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emporia Melanobasis
''Emporia melanobasis'' is a species of snout moth in the genus '' Emporia''. It was described by Boris Balinsky in 1991, and is known from South Africa. Jumping beans The larvae pupate inside fruit of ''Spirostachys africana''. Larvae develop with the growing fruits which show no external damage. When the fruits are mature each splits into three cocci. The larvae jack-knife inside the fallen segments, causing them to move about erratically and vigorously, to the surprise of the uninitiated. This has led to the name "jumping bean tree". A similar phenomenon occurs with the Mexican jumping bean, ''Sebastiania'' sp., which also belong to the Euphorbia family. This bean is parasitised by the moth ''Cydia saltitans ''Cydia saltitans'' or jumping bean moth is a moth from Mexico that is most widely known as its larva, where it inhabits the carpels of seeds from several related shrubby trees, mainly '' Sebastiania pavoniana'' or '' Sapium biloculare'' ( syn ...''. References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species. Differences between butterflies and moths While the butterflies form a monophyletic group, the moths, comprising the rest of the Lepidoptera, do not. Many attempts have been made to group the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera into natural groups, most of which fail because one of the two groups is not monophyletic: Microlepidoptera and Macrolepidoptera, Heterocera and Rhopalocera, Jugatae and Frenatae, Monotrysia and Ditrysia.Scoble, MJ 1995. The Lepidoptera: Form, function and diversity. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 404 p. Although the rules for distinguishing moths from butterflies are not well establishe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purgative
Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubricant and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under certain circumstances. Sufficiently high doses of laxatives may cause diarrhea. Some laxatives combine more than one active ingredient. Laxatives may be administered orally or rectally. Types Bulk-forming agents Bulk-forming laxatives, also known as roughage, are substances, such as fiber in food and hydrophilic agents in over-the-counter drugs, that add bulk and water to stools so that they can pass more easily through the intestines (lower part of the digestive tract). Properties * Site of action: small and large intestines * Onset of action: 12–72 hours * Examples: dietary fiber, Metamucil, Citru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with around 99% of those being teleosts. The earliest organisms that can be classified as fish were soft-bodied chordates that first appeared during the Cambrian period. Although they lacked a true spine, they possessed notochords which allowed them to be more agile than their invertebrate counterparts. Fish would continue to evolve through the Paleozoic era, diversifying into a wide variety of forms. Many fish of the Paleozoic developed external armor that protected them from predators. The first fish with jaws appeared in the Silurian period, after which many (such as sharks) became formidable marine predators rather than just the prey of arthropods. Mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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