![]() | This Wikipedia page has been superseded by Portal:Plants and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
![]() | Note: Article entries are now being transcluded directly on the main portal page. However, this page should be retained for historical reference. |
The shrub grows on sandy soils in heathland. Pollinators include honeyeaters, particularly the Western Spinebill, Silvereye, Honey Possum and bees. It is sensitive to Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, and hence requires a sandy soil and good drainage to grow in cultivation. A. cuneatus is grown in gardens in Australia and the western United States, and a dwarf and prostrate form are commercially available.
One of the most recently described Banksia species, it was probably seen by Edward John Eyre in 1841, but was not collected until 1973, and was only recognised as a distinct species in 1988. There has been very little research on the species since then, so knowledge of its ecology and cultivation potential is limited. It is placed in Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis, alongside its close relative, the well-known and widely cultivated B. media (Southern Plains Banksia).
Water hemlock is considered one of North America's most toxic plants, being highly poisonous to humans. Three members of the genus contain a toxin named cicutoxin which causes central nervous system stimulatory effects including seizures following ingestion. Medical treatment of poisoning may include the use of activated charcoal to decrease gastrointestinal absorption of the toxic principle along with supportive care including anticonvulsant drugs such as a benzodiazepine. High doses of anticonvulsant medicine are often required to halt seizure activity and further medical care including intubation and mechanical ventilation may be required. ( Full article...)
In China the tree of heaven has a long and rich history. It was mentioned in the oldest extant Chinese dictionary and listed in countless Chinese medical texts for its purported ability to cure ailments ranging from mental illness to balding. The roots, leaves and bark are still used today in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily as an astringent. The tree has been grown extensively both in China and abroad as a host plant for the ailanthus silkmoth, a moth involved in silk production. Ailanthus has become a part of western culture as well, with the tree serving as the central metaphor and subject matter of the best-selling American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
The floral emblem for its home state of New South Wales, Telopea speciosissima has featured prominently in art, architecture, and advertising, particularly since Australian federation. Commercially grown in several countries as a cut flower, it is also cultivated in home gardens, requiring good drainage yet adequate moisture, but is vulnerable to various fungal diseases and pests. A number of cultivars with various shades of red, pink and even white flowers are available. Horticulturists have also developed hybrids with T. oreades and T. mongaensis which are more tolerant of cold, shade, and heavier soils.
The tentacle-covered leaves can capture large prey, such as beetles, moths, and butterflies. The tentacles of all Drosera species are specialised stalked glands on the leaf's upper surface that produce a sticky mucilage. The leaves are considered active flypaper traps that respond to captured prey by bending to surround it. In its native fynbos habitat, the plants compete for space with native marsh grasses and low evergreen shrubs. Of the two known populations of D. regia, the higher altitude site appears to be overgrown and is essentially extirpated. The lower altitude site is estimated to have about 50 mature plants, making it the most endangered Drosera species, since it is threatened with extinction in the wild. It is often cultivated by carnivorous plant enthusiasts and a single cultivar has been registered.
Juniperus communis berries vary from four to twelve millimetres in diameter; other species are mostly similar in size, though some are larger, notably J. drupacea (20–28 mm). Unlike the separated and woody scales of a typical pine cone, those in a juniper berry remain fleshy and merge into a unified covering surrounding the seeds. The berries are green when young, and mature to a purple-black colour over about 18 months in most species, including J. communis (shorter, 8–10 months in a few species, and about 24 months in J. drupacea). The mature, dark berries are usually but not exclusively used in cuisine, while gin is flavoured with fully grown but immature green berries.
Amaranthus brownii is an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae. The plant is found only on the small island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, growing on rocky outcrops at altitudes of 120–215 m (394–705 ft). It is one of nine species of Amaranthus in the Hawaiian Islands, but the only endemic Hawaiian species of the genus. It was first discovered during the Tanager Expedition in 1923 by botanist Edward Leonard Caum. A. brownii differs from other Hawaiian species of Amaranthus with its spineless leaf axils, linear leaves, and indehiscent fruits.
A. brownii is considered the rarest plant on Nihoa and has not been directly observed on the island since 1983. Past expeditions collected plant samples and seeds, but no specimens have managed to survive ex-situ conservation efforts outside of its native habitat. There are no known plants or seeds from A. brownii in any botanical gardens. Conservation and recovery plans for A. brownii have been proposed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) which administers the island of Nihoa as part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. In 1996, the plant was listed by the FWS as an endangered species. In 2003, the FWS designated the island of Nihoa as a critical habitat for the plant and it was classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The leaves of S. amara are eaten by several species of caterpillar, particularly those in the Atteva genus. Several species of termite and ants live on or around the tree and lianas and epiphytes grow on the tree. The bark of S. amara has been used by people in its range to treat dysentery and diarrhea, as well as other diseases, and was also exported to Europe in the eighteenth century to treat these illnesses. A number of compounds have since been isolated from the bark and have been shown to have antimicrobial effects. Local people use the wood of the tree for various purposes and it is also grown in plantations and harvested for its timber, some of which is exported.
Carl Linnaeus picked the name Commelina in honour of the two Dutch botanists of the Commelijn family, using the two large showy petals of Commelina communis to symbolise them. It had been used for generations in traditional Chinese medicine. The flowers have also been used in Japan to produce a dye and a pigment that was used in many world-renowned Ukiyo-e woodcuts from the 18th and early 19th centuries. In the modern era the plant has found limited use as a model organism in the field of plant physiology due to its complex pigment chemistry and the ease of viewing its stomata.
The flowers' interactions with pollinators have been well studied and have helped to support important hypotheses about pollination in the field of plant ecology. Recent research has also revealed that the Asiatic dayflower can bioaccumulate a number of metals, making it a candidate for revegetating and essentially cleaning spoiled copper mines. Several animals and fungi use the plant as a food source, with a few species feeding upon it exclusively.
Due to their effects and symptoms, Datura species have occasionally been used not only as poisons, but also as hallucinogens by various groups throughout history. Traditionally, their psychoactive administration has often been associated with witchcraft and sorcery or similar practices in many cultures, including the Western world. Certain common Datura species have also been used ritualistically as entheogens by some Native American groups. ( Full article...)
Plants of Buxbaumia have a much reduced gametophyte, bearing a sporophyte that is enormous by comparison. In most mosses, the gametophyte stage of the life cycle is both green and leafy, and is substantially larger than the spore-producing stage. Unlike these other mosses, the gametophyte of Buxbaumia is microscopic, colorless, stemless, and nearly leafless. It consists exclusively of thread-like protonemata for most of its existence, resembling a thin green-black felt on the surface where it grows. The plants are dioicous, with separate plants producing the male and female organs. Male plants develop only one microscopic leaf around each antheridium, and female plants produce just three or four tiny colorless leaves around each archegonium. Because of its small size, the gametophyte stage is not generally noticed until the stalked sporangium develops, and is locatable principally because the sporangium grows upon and above the tiny gametophyte. The extremely reduced state of Buxbaumia plants raises the question of how it makes or obtains sufficient nutrition for survival. In contrast to most mosses, Buxbaumia does not produce abundant chlorophyll and is saprophytic.
Somewhere between 29 and 67 species are recognised in the genus, with estimates of as many as 100. Incomplete herbarium collections make it difficult to determine whether certain groups represent single species, or groups of similar species. Attalea species have a long history of human use, and include economically important sources of palm oil and fibre. Many species are fire tolerant and thrive in disturbed habitats. Their seeds are animal dispersed, including some which are thought to have been adapted for dispersal by now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna.
Known to Māori as tī kōuka, the tree was used as a source of food, particularly in the South Island, where it was cultivated in areas where other crops would not grow. It provided durable fibre for textiles, anchor ropes, fishing lines, baskets, waterproof rain capes and cloaks, and sandals. Hardy and fast growing, C. australis is widely planted in New Zealand gardens, parks and streets, and numerous cultivars are available. The tree can also be found in large numbers in island restoration projects such as Tiritiri Matangi Island, where it was among the first seedling trees to be planted.
Linnaeus was born in the countryside of Småland, in southern Sweden. He studied at Uppsala University, and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published a first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden, where he became professor of botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, and published several volumes.
At the time of his death, Linnaeus was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe. Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message: "Tell him I know no greater man on earth." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has influenced me more strongly." August Strindberg wrote: "Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a naturalist". Linnaeus has also been called Princeps botanicorum (Prince of Botanists), "The Pliny of the North," and "The Second Adam".
It is estimated that there are 6,000 to 8,000 species of liverworts, though when Neotropical regions are better studied this number may approach 10,000. Some species grow as a flattened leafless thallus, but most species are leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss. Leafy species can be distinguished from mosses on the basis of a number of features, including their single-celled rhizoids. Leafy liverworts also differ from most mosses in that their leaves never have a costa and may bear marginal cilia. Other differences are not universal for all mosses and liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deep lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort.
Liverworts are typically small, usually from 2–20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, and are therefore often overlooked. However, certain species may cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate on which they occur. They are distributed globally in almost every available habitat, most often in humid locations although there are desert and arctic species as well. Some species can be a nuisance in shady green-houses or a weed in gardens.
The sizes of plant genera vary widely from those containing a single species to genera containing thousands of species, and this disparity became clear early in the history of plant classification. The largest genus in Carl Linnaeus' seminal Species Plantarum was Euphorbia, with 56 species; Linnaeus believed that no genus should contain more than 100 species.
The introduction of infrageneric taxa (such as the subgenus, section and series) in the 19th century, by botanists including Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, allowed the retention of large genera that would otherwise have become unwieldy. E. J. H. Corner believed that studying large genera might enable greater insights into evolutionary biology, and he concentrated his efforts on large tropical genera such as Ficus (figs).
Portal:Plants/Selected article/29
![]() | This Wikipedia page has been superseded by Portal:Plants and is retained primarily for historical reference. |
![]() | Note: Article entries are now being transcluded directly on the main portal page. However, this page should be retained for historical reference. |
The shrub grows on sandy soils in heathland. Pollinators include honeyeaters, particularly the Western Spinebill, Silvereye, Honey Possum and bees. It is sensitive to Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, and hence requires a sandy soil and good drainage to grow in cultivation. A. cuneatus is grown in gardens in Australia and the western United States, and a dwarf and prostrate form are commercially available.
One of the most recently described Banksia species, it was probably seen by Edward John Eyre in 1841, but was not collected until 1973, and was only recognised as a distinct species in 1988. There has been very little research on the species since then, so knowledge of its ecology and cultivation potential is limited. It is placed in Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis, alongside its close relative, the well-known and widely cultivated B. media (Southern Plains Banksia).
Water hemlock is considered one of North America's most toxic plants, being highly poisonous to humans. Three members of the genus contain a toxin named cicutoxin which causes central nervous system stimulatory effects including seizures following ingestion. Medical treatment of poisoning may include the use of activated charcoal to decrease gastrointestinal absorption of the toxic principle along with supportive care including anticonvulsant drugs such as a benzodiazepine. High doses of anticonvulsant medicine are often required to halt seizure activity and further medical care including intubation and mechanical ventilation may be required. ( Full article...)
In China the tree of heaven has a long and rich history. It was mentioned in the oldest extant Chinese dictionary and listed in countless Chinese medical texts for its purported ability to cure ailments ranging from mental illness to balding. The roots, leaves and bark are still used today in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily as an astringent. The tree has been grown extensively both in China and abroad as a host plant for the ailanthus silkmoth, a moth involved in silk production. Ailanthus has become a part of western culture as well, with the tree serving as the central metaphor and subject matter of the best-selling American novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
The floral emblem for its home state of New South Wales, Telopea speciosissima has featured prominently in art, architecture, and advertising, particularly since Australian federation. Commercially grown in several countries as a cut flower, it is also cultivated in home gardens, requiring good drainage yet adequate moisture, but is vulnerable to various fungal diseases and pests. A number of cultivars with various shades of red, pink and even white flowers are available. Horticulturists have also developed hybrids with T. oreades and T. mongaensis which are more tolerant of cold, shade, and heavier soils.
The tentacle-covered leaves can capture large prey, such as beetles, moths, and butterflies. The tentacles of all Drosera species are specialised stalked glands on the leaf's upper surface that produce a sticky mucilage. The leaves are considered active flypaper traps that respond to captured prey by bending to surround it. In its native fynbos habitat, the plants compete for space with native marsh grasses and low evergreen shrubs. Of the two known populations of D. regia, the higher altitude site appears to be overgrown and is essentially extirpated. The lower altitude site is estimated to have about 50 mature plants, making it the most endangered Drosera species, since it is threatened with extinction in the wild. It is often cultivated by carnivorous plant enthusiasts and a single cultivar has been registered.
Juniperus communis berries vary from four to twelve millimetres in diameter; other species are mostly similar in size, though some are larger, notably J. drupacea (20–28 mm). Unlike the separated and woody scales of a typical pine cone, those in a juniper berry remain fleshy and merge into a unified covering surrounding the seeds. The berries are green when young, and mature to a purple-black colour over about 18 months in most species, including J. communis (shorter, 8–10 months in a few species, and about 24 months in J. drupacea). The mature, dark berries are usually but not exclusively used in cuisine, while gin is flavoured with fully grown but immature green berries.
Amaranthus brownii is an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae. The plant is found only on the small island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, growing on rocky outcrops at altitudes of 120–215 m (394–705 ft). It is one of nine species of Amaranthus in the Hawaiian Islands, but the only endemic Hawaiian species of the genus. It was first discovered during the Tanager Expedition in 1923 by botanist Edward Leonard Caum. A. brownii differs from other Hawaiian species of Amaranthus with its spineless leaf axils, linear leaves, and indehiscent fruits.
A. brownii is considered the rarest plant on Nihoa and has not been directly observed on the island since 1983. Past expeditions collected plant samples and seeds, but no specimens have managed to survive ex-situ conservation efforts outside of its native habitat. There are no known plants or seeds from A. brownii in any botanical gardens. Conservation and recovery plans for A. brownii have been proposed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) which administers the island of Nihoa as part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. In 1996, the plant was listed by the FWS as an endangered species. In 2003, the FWS designated the island of Nihoa as a critical habitat for the plant and it was classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.
The leaves of S. amara are eaten by several species of caterpillar, particularly those in the Atteva genus. Several species of termite and ants live on or around the tree and lianas and epiphytes grow on the tree. The bark of S. amara has been used by people in its range to treat dysentery and diarrhea, as well as other diseases, and was also exported to Europe in the eighteenth century to treat these illnesses. A number of compounds have since been isolated from the bark and have been shown to have antimicrobial effects. Local people use the wood of the tree for various purposes and it is also grown in plantations and harvested for its timber, some of which is exported.
Carl Linnaeus picked the name Commelina in honour of the two Dutch botanists of the Commelijn family, using the two large showy petals of Commelina communis to symbolise them. It had been used for generations in traditional Chinese medicine. The flowers have also been used in Japan to produce a dye and a pigment that was used in many world-renowned Ukiyo-e woodcuts from the 18th and early 19th centuries. In the modern era the plant has found limited use as a model organism in the field of plant physiology due to its complex pigment chemistry and the ease of viewing its stomata.
The flowers' interactions with pollinators have been well studied and have helped to support important hypotheses about pollination in the field of plant ecology. Recent research has also revealed that the Asiatic dayflower can bioaccumulate a number of metals, making it a candidate for revegetating and essentially cleaning spoiled copper mines. Several animals and fungi use the plant as a food source, with a few species feeding upon it exclusively.
Due to their effects and symptoms, Datura species have occasionally been used not only as poisons, but also as hallucinogens by various groups throughout history. Traditionally, their psychoactive administration has often been associated with witchcraft and sorcery or similar practices in many cultures, including the Western world. Certain common Datura species have also been used ritualistically as entheogens by some Native American groups. ( Full article...)
Plants of Buxbaumia have a much reduced gametophyte, bearing a sporophyte that is enormous by comparison. In most mosses, the gametophyte stage of the life cycle is both green and leafy, and is substantially larger than the spore-producing stage. Unlike these other mosses, the gametophyte of Buxbaumia is microscopic, colorless, stemless, and nearly leafless. It consists exclusively of thread-like protonemata for most of its existence, resembling a thin green-black felt on the surface where it grows. The plants are dioicous, with separate plants producing the male and female organs. Male plants develop only one microscopic leaf around each antheridium, and female plants produce just three or four tiny colorless leaves around each archegonium. Because of its small size, the gametophyte stage is not generally noticed until the stalked sporangium develops, and is locatable principally because the sporangium grows upon and above the tiny gametophyte. The extremely reduced state of Buxbaumia plants raises the question of how it makes or obtains sufficient nutrition for survival. In contrast to most mosses, Buxbaumia does not produce abundant chlorophyll and is saprophytic.
Somewhere between 29 and 67 species are recognised in the genus, with estimates of as many as 100. Incomplete herbarium collections make it difficult to determine whether certain groups represent single species, or groups of similar species. Attalea species have a long history of human use, and include economically important sources of palm oil and fibre. Many species are fire tolerant and thrive in disturbed habitats. Their seeds are animal dispersed, including some which are thought to have been adapted for dispersal by now-extinct Pleistocene megafauna.
Known to Māori as tī kōuka, the tree was used as a source of food, particularly in the South Island, where it was cultivated in areas where other crops would not grow. It provided durable fibre for textiles, anchor ropes, fishing lines, baskets, waterproof rain capes and cloaks, and sandals. Hardy and fast growing, C. australis is widely planted in New Zealand gardens, parks and streets, and numerous cultivars are available. The tree can also be found in large numbers in island restoration projects such as Tiritiri Matangi Island, where it was among the first seedling trees to be planted.
Linnaeus was born in the countryside of Småland, in southern Sweden. He studied at Uppsala University, and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published a first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden, where he became professor of botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, and published several volumes.
At the time of his death, Linnaeus was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe. Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message: "Tell him I know no greater man on earth." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has influenced me more strongly." August Strindberg wrote: "Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a naturalist". Linnaeus has also been called Princeps botanicorum (Prince of Botanists), "The Pliny of the North," and "The Second Adam".
It is estimated that there are 6,000 to 8,000 species of liverworts, though when Neotropical regions are better studied this number may approach 10,000. Some species grow as a flattened leafless thallus, but most species are leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss. Leafy species can be distinguished from mosses on the basis of a number of features, including their single-celled rhizoids. Leafy liverworts also differ from most mosses in that their leaves never have a costa and may bear marginal cilia. Other differences are not universal for all mosses and liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deep lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort.
Liverworts are typically small, usually from 2–20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, and are therefore often overlooked. However, certain species may cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate on which they occur. They are distributed globally in almost every available habitat, most often in humid locations although there are desert and arctic species as well. Some species can be a nuisance in shady green-houses or a weed in gardens.
The sizes of plant genera vary widely from those containing a single species to genera containing thousands of species, and this disparity became clear early in the history of plant classification. The largest genus in Carl Linnaeus' seminal Species Plantarum was Euphorbia, with 56 species; Linnaeus believed that no genus should contain more than 100 species.
The introduction of infrageneric taxa (such as the subgenus, section and series) in the 19th century, by botanists including Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, allowed the retention of large genera that would otherwise have become unwieldy. E. J. H. Corner believed that studying large genera might enable greater insights into evolutionary biology, and he concentrated his efforts on large tropical genera such as Ficus (figs).
Portal:Plants/Selected article/29