There are about 380,000 known
species of plants, of which the majority, some 260,000,
produce seeds. They range in size from single cells to the tallest trees. Green plants provide a substantial proportion of the world's molecular oxygen; the sugars they create supply the energy for most of Earth's
ecosystems and other
organisms, including animals, either
consume plants directly or rely on organisms which do so. (Full article...)
These are
featured articles, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
Image 1
Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a
shrub native to
New South Wales and
Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long and 8 cm (3.2 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn (December to April), followed by small green fleshy fruit, which are classified as
drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. levis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.
Persoonia linearis, commonly known as the narrow-leaved geebung, is a
shrub native to
New South Wales and
Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft), or occasionally 5 m (16 ft), in height and has thick, dark grey papery bark. The leaves are, as the species name suggests, more or less linear in shape, and are up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, and 0.1 to 0.7 cm (0.039 to 0.276 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer, autumn and early winter (December to July), followed by small green fleshy fruit known as
drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. linearis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.
Found in dry
sclerophyll forest on
sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soils, P. linearis is adapted to a fire-prone environment; the plants resprout
epicormic buds from beneath their thick bark after
bushfires. The fruit are consumed by vertebrates such as
kangaroo,
possums and
currawongs. As with other members of the genus, P. linearis is rare in
cultivation as it is very hard to
propagate by seed or by
cuttings, but once propagated, it adapts readily, preferring
acidic soils with good drainage and at least a partly sunny aspect. (Full article...)
Image 3
Banksia telmatiaea, commonly known as swamp fox
banksia or rarely marsh banksia, is a shrub that grows in marshes and swamps along the lower west coast of Australia. It grows as an upright bush up to 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) tall, with narrow leaves and a pale brown flower spike, which can produce profuse quantities of nectar. First collected in the 1840s, it was not published as a separate species until 1981; as with several other similar species it was previously included in B. sphaerocarpa (fox banksia).
The shrub grows amongst
scrubland in seasonally wet lowland areas of the coastal sandplain between
Badgingarra and
Serpentine in
Western Australia. A little studied species, not much is known of its
ecology or
conservation biology. Reports suggest that a variety of birds and small mammals pollinate it. Like many members of the series Abietinae, it has not been considered to have much horticultural potential and is rarely cultivated. (Full article...)
Image 4
Banksia prionotes, commonly known as acorn banksia or orange banksia, is a species of
shrub or
tree of the genus Banksia in the family
Proteaceae. It is native to the
southwest of
Western Australia and can reach up to 10 m (33 ft) in height. It can be much smaller in more exposed areas or in the north of its range. This species has serrated, dull green leaves and large, bright flower spikes, initially white before opening to a bright orange. Its common name arises from the partly opened
inflorescence, which is shaped like an
acorn. The tree is a popular garden plant and also of importance to the
cut flower industry.
Banksia prionotes was first described in 1840 by English botanist
John Lindley, probably from material collected by
James Drummond the previous year. There are no recognised varieties, although it has been known to
hybridise with Banksia hookeriana. Widely distributed in
south-west Western Australia, B. prionotes is found from
Shark Bay (
25° S) in the north, south as far as
Kojonup (33°50′S). It grows exclusively in sandy soils, and is usually the dominant plant in
scrubland or low
woodland.
Pollinated by birds, it provides food for a wide array of
vertebrate and
invertebrate animals in the autumn and winter months. It is an important source of food for
honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and is critical to their survival in the
Avon Wheatbelt region, where it is the only nectar-producing plant in flower at some times of the year. (Full article...)
Banksia grossa is a species of
shrub in the
familyProteaceae and is
endemic to
Southwest Australia. It is one of fourteen species of
banksia of the series Abietinae, all of which bear predominantly cylindrical or oval
inflorescences. Collected in 1965, it was first formally described in 1981 by
Alex George. Its thick leaves and large seeds distinguish it from other members of the Abietinae, and are the basis of its species name.
Found in sand or sand over
laterite among
heath between
Eneabba and
Badgingarra in Western Australia, the species grows as a many-stemmed shrub to 1 m (3.3 ft) high with narrow leaves and oval brownish flower spikes up to 10 cm (4 in) high, composed of hundreds of individual flowers. Flowering occurs throughout the cooler months of March to September. Flower spikes develop woody
follicles which bear the seeds. After
bushfire, Banksia grossa regenerates from its woody
lignotuber; bushfires also stimulate the release of seeds, which germinate after disturbance. Visitors to (and likely
pollinators of) inflorescences include insects and a nocturnal mammal, the
white-tailed dunnart. (Full article...)
Image 6
Telopea speciosissima flowerhead with florets opening from the edges towards the centre,
Blue Mountains, Australia
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. (Full article...)
Image 7
Lambertia formosa, commonly known as mountain devil, is a
shrub of the family
Proteaceae,
endemic to
New South Wales, Australia. First
described in 1798 by English botanist
James Edward Smith, it is the
type species of the small genus Lambertia. It is generally found in
heathland or open forest, growing in
sandstone-based soils. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to around 2 m (7 ft) with a woody base known as a
lignotuber, from which it regrows after
bushfire. It has stiff narrow leaves, and the pink to red flowerheads, made up of seven individual tubular flowers, generally appear in spring and summer. It gains its common name from the horned woody
follicles, which were used to make small devil-figures.
The flowers hold profuse amounts of nectar and are pollinated by
honeyeaters. Although L. formosa is uncommon in
cultivation, it is straightforward to grow in soils with good drainage and a partly shaded to sunny aspect. It is readily
propagated by seed. Unlike all other members of the genus Lambertia, L. formosa is greatly resistant to the soil pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. (Full article...)
Banksia brownii, commonly known as feather-leaved banksia or Brown's banksia, is a
species of
shrub that grows in
southwestWestern Australia. A plant with fine feathery
leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upright bush around two metres (6.6 ft) high, but can also occur as a small tree or a low spreading shrub. First collected in 1829 and published the following year, it is placed in Banksiasubgenus Banksia,
section Oncostylis,
series Spicigerae. There are two genetically distinct forms.
Banksia brownii occurs naturally only in two population clusters between
Albany and the
Stirling Range in southwest Western Australia. In the Stirling Range it occurs among
heath on rocky mountain slopes; further south it occurs among
jarrahwoodland in shallow nutrient-poor sand. It has been evaluated as
critically endangered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); all major populations are threatened by
Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, a disease to which the species is highly susceptible. Other threats include loss of habitat, commercial exploitation and changes to the
fire regime. Highly valued by Australia's horticultural and
cut flower industries, B. brownii is widely cultivated in areas not exposed to dieback. It prefers a sheltered position in soil with good drainage, and must be provided with some moisture over summer. (Full article...)
Image 9
Alloxylon flammeum, commonly known as the Queensland tree waratah or red silky oak, is a medium-sized tree of the family
Proteaceae found in the
Queensland tropical rain forests of northeastern Australia. It has shiny green elliptical leaves up to 18 cm (7.1 in) long, and prominent orange-red
inflorescences that appear from August to October, followed by rectangular woody seed pods that ripen in February and March. Juvenile plants have large (up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long) deeply lobed pinnate leaves. Previously known as Oreocallis wickhamii, the initial specimen turned out to be a different species to the one cultivated and hence a new scientific name was required. Described formally by
Peter Weston and
Mike Crisp in 1991, A. flammeum was designated the
type species of the genus Alloxylon. This genus contains the four species previously classified in Oreocallis that are found in Australasia.
Alloxylon flammeum is a
canopy or
emergent tree of the
Mabi rainforest community of north Queensland. Its terminal tubular flowers indicate that the species is pollinated by birds. Readily adaptable to cultivation, Alloxylon flammeum prefers a site with good drainage and responds well to extra moisture and fertilisers low in
phosphorus. It is listed nationally as vulnerable under the Australian
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) as most of its habitat has been
cleared for agriculture and logging. (Full article...)
Banksia violacea, commonly known as violet banksia, is a species of
shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia (family
Proteaceae). It generally grows as a small shrub to 1.5 m (5 ft) high with fine narrow leaves, and is best known for its unusually coloured dark purple-violet
inflorescences. The colour of the inflorescences, short leaves, and flattened follicles which are sticky when young, help identify this species from others in the field. It is found in low
shrubland in southern regions of
Western Australia from
Esperance in the east to
Narrogin in the west, growing exclusively in sandy soils.
First described in 1927 by the West Australian botanist
Charles Gardner, the species was at one stage considered a
variety of B. sphaerocarpa. Although there are no recognised subspecies or varieties, both
lignotuberous and nonlignotuberous forms exist for Banksia violacea. Wasps, ants and flies have been recorded visiting flower spikes. Banksia violacea is classified as Not Threatened under the
Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia. Regarded as of little value to
floriculture, it is rarely cultivated. (Full article...)
Image 11
Persoonia lanceolata, commonly known as lance-leaf geebung, is a shrub native to
New South Wales in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (10 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on
racemes and appear in the austral summer and autumn (January to April), followed by green fleshy fruits (known as
drupes) which ripen the following spring (September to October). Within the genus Persoonia, P. lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range.
The species is usually found in dry
sclerophyll forest on
sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soil. It has adapted to a fire-prone environment; plants lost in bushfires can regenerate through a
ground-stored seed bank. Seedlings mostly germinate within two years of fires. Several species of native bee of the genus Leioproctus pollinate the flowers.
Swamp wallabies are a main consumer of its fruit, and the seeds are spread in wallaby
faeces. Its lifespan ranges from 25 to 60 years, though difficulties in propagation have seen low cultivation rates. (Full article...)
Image 12
Telopea oreades, commonly known as the Gippsland-, mountain- or Victorian waratah, is a large shrub or small tree in the family
Proteaceae. Native to southeastern Australia, it is found in wet
sclerophyll forest and
rainforest on rich
acidic soils high in organic matter. No
subspecies are recognised, though a northern isolated population
hybridises extensively with the Braidwood waratah (T. mongaensis). Reaching a height of up to 19 metres (62 feet), T. oreades grows with a single trunk and erect
habit. It has dark green leaves with prominent veins that are 11–28 centimetres (4.3–11 in) long and 1.5–6 cm (0.6–2.4 in) wide. The red flower heads, known as
inflorescences, appear in late spring. Each is composed of up to 60 individual flowers.
In the garden, T. oreades grows in soils with good drainage and ample moisture in part-shaded or sunny positions. Several commercially available
cultivars that are hybrid forms with T. speciosissima have been developed, such as the 'Shady Lady' series. The timber is hard and has been used for making furniture and tool handles. (Full article...)
Image 13
'Blue Spire' cultivar
Salvia yangii, previously known as Perovskia atriplicifolia (/pəˈrɒvskiəætrɪplɪsɪˈfoʊliə/), and commonly called Russian sage, is a flowering
herbaceousperennial plant and
subshrub. Although not previously a member of Salvia, the genus widely known as sage, since 2017 it has been included within them. It has an upright
habit, typically reaching 0.5–1.2 metres (1+1⁄2–4 feet) tall, with square stems and gray-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. It is best known for its flowers. Its flowering season extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched
panicles.
It is native to the
steppes and hills of southwestern and central Asia. Successful over a wide range of climate and soil conditions, it has since become popular and widely planted. Several
cultivars have been developed, differing primarily in leaf shape and overall height; 'Blue Spire' is the most common. This variation has been widely used in gardens and landscaping. S. yangii was the Perennial Plant Association's 1995 Plant of the Year, and the 'Blue Spire' cultivar received the
Award of Garden Merit from the
Royal Horticultural Society. (Full article...)
Image 14
Second-year plant starting to flower, with a dead stem of the previous year, behind left
Verbascum thapsus, the great mullein, greater mullein or common mullein, is a species of
mullein native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia.
It is a hairy
biennial plant that can grow to 2 m tall or more. Its small, yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem, which grows from a large
rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers well-lit, disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the
soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, and has become
invasive in temperate world regions. It is a minor problem for most agricultural crops, since it is not a competitive species, being intolerant of shade from other plants and unable to survive
tilling. It also hosts many insects, some of which can be harmful to other plants. Although individuals are easy to remove by hand, populations are difficult to eliminate permanently. (Full article...)
Image 15
Alloxylon pinnatum, known as Dorrigo waratah, is a tree of the family
Proteaceae found in
warm-temperate rainforest of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has shiny green leaves that are either
pinnate (lobed) and up to 30 cm (12 in) long, or
lanceolate (spear-shaped) and up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The prominent pinkish-red flower heads, known as
inflorescences, appear in spring and summer; these are made up of 50 to 140 individual flowers arranged in
corymb or
raceme. These are followed by rectangular woody seed pods, which bear two rows of winged seeds.
Known for many years as Oreocallis pinnata, it was transferred to the new genus Alloxylon by
Peter Weston and
Mike Crisp in 1991. This genus contains the four species previously classified in Oreocallis that are found in Australasia. Its terminal globular flowers indicate that the species is pollinated by birds. Classified as near threatened under the Queensland
Nature Conservation Act 1992, the Dorrigo waratah has proven difficult to keep alive in cultivation. (Full article...)
The genus has a highly disjunct distribution spread across two major groups of tepuis: the
western range in Amazonas and the
eastern range in Bolívar. The western range can be further subdivided into two complexes of neighbouring tepuis. The more southerly of these consists of
Cerro de la Neblina,
Cerro Aracamuni, and
Cerro Avispa, and supports four Heliamphora species. The more northerly group of the western range, home to only two species, includes the massive
Cerro Duida and neighbouring
Cerro Huachamacari and
Cerro Marahuaca. The remaining 17–19 species are native to the eastern range, which includes the
Aprada Massif,
Auyán Massif,
Chimantá Massif,
Eastern Tepuis chain,
Los Testigos chain, and a number of outlying tepuis. Many of the summits of the eastern range are situated on a vast plateau known as the
Gran Sabana. Only two species (H. ciliata and H. heterodoxa) are known with certainty from the Gran Sabana, and only H. ciliata is
endemic to this habitat. (Full article...)
Image 2
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. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example beetles or butterflies; birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves. Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants. 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 ovule through the
micropyle, one male nucleus fuses with the
polar bodies to produce the
endospermtissues, while the other fuses with the
egg cell to produce the
embryo. Hence the term: "
double fertilisation". This process would result in the production of a seed, made of both nutritious tissues and embryo. (Full article...)
Image 3
The
evolution of
plants has resulted in a wide range of complexity, from the earliest
algal mats of unicellular
archaeplastids evolved through
endosymbiosis, through multicellular
marine and
freshwatergreen algae, to
spore-bearing terrestrial
bryophytes,
lycopods and
ferns, and eventually to the complex
seed-bearing
gymnosperms and
angiosperms (
flowering plants) of today. While many of the earliest groups continue to thrive, as exemplified by
red and green algae in marine environments, more recently derived groups have displaced previously ecologically dominant ones; for example, the ascendance of flowering plants over gymnosperms in terrestrial environments.
There is evidence that
cyanobacteria and multicellular
thalloid eukaryotes lived in freshwater communities on land as early as 1 billion years ago, and that communities of complex, multicellular photosynthesizing organisms existed on land in the late
Precambrian, around 850 million years ago. (Full article...)
Image 4
The olive, botanical name Olea europaea, meaning 'European olive', is a
species of small
tree or
shrub in the family
Oleaceae, found traditionally in the
Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as Olea europaea'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The species is cultivated in all the countries of the
Mediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. It is the
type species for its genus, Olea. The tree and its fruit give their name to the
Oleaceae plant family, which also includes species such as
lilac,
jasmine,
forsythia, and the true
ash tree.
The olive's fruit, also called an "olive", is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of
olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in
Middle Easternand Mediterranean cuisines. Thousands of
cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives". About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives. (Full article...)
Image 5
The exterior of the Grande galerie de l'Évolution ('Gallery of Evolution'). Drawing plans by architect
Louis-Jules André, 1889, when it still was named Galerie de Zoologie ('Gallery of Zoology').
The Jardin des plantes (French for "Garden of the Plants"), also known as the Jardin des plantes de Paris (French:[ʒaʁdɛ̃dɛplɑ̃tdəpaʁi]) when distinguished from other jardins des plantes in other cities, is the main
botanical garden in
France. The term Jardin des plantes is the official name in the present day, but it is in fact an
elliptical form of Jardin royal des plantes médicinales ("Royal Garden of the
Medicinal Plants"), which is related to the original purpose of the garden back in the 17th century.
Headquarters of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (
National Museum of Natural History), the Jardin des plantes is situated in the
5th arrondissement,
Paris, on the
left bank of the river
Seine, and covers 28 hectares (280,000 m2). Since 24 March 1993, the entire garden and its contained buildings, archives, libraries, greenhouses, ménagerie (a zoo), works of art, and specimens' collection are classified as a national historical landmark in France (labelled monument historique). (Full article...)
Image 6
An escaped plant is a
cultivated plant that has escaped from agriculture, forestry or garden cultivation and has become naturalized in the wild. Usually not native to an area, escaped plants may become
invasive. Therefore, escaped plants are the subject of research in
invasion biology.
Some
ornamental plants have characteristics which allow them to escape cultivation and become
weedy in alien ecosystems with far-reaching ecological and economic consequences. Escaped
garden plants may be called garden escapes or escaped ornamentals. Sometimes, their origins can even be traced back to
botanical gardens. (Full article...)
Image 7
Acclimatisation societies were
voluntary associations, founded in the 19th and 20th centuries, that encouraged the
introduction of non-native species in various places around the world, in the hope that they would
acclimatise and
adapt to their new environments. The societies formed during the
colonial era, when Europeans began to settle in numbers in unfamiliar locations. One motivation for the activities of the acclimatisation societies was that introducing new
species of
plants and
animals (mainly from Europe) would enrich the
flora and
fauna of target regions. The movement also sought to establish plants and animals that were familiar to Europeans, while also bringing exotic and useful foreign plants and animals to centres of European settlement.
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of
pharmacognosy and the use of
medicinal plants, which are a basis of
traditional medicine. With worldwide research into
pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called
artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in
Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited
scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes include
fungal and
bee products, as well as
minerals,
shells and certain animal parts.
Paraherbalism describes
alternative and
pseudoscientific practices of using unrefined plant or animal
extracts as unproven medicines or health-promoting agents. Paraherbalism relies on the belief that preserving various substances from a given source with less processing is safer or more effective than manufactured products, a concept for which there is no evidence. (Full article...)
Image 9
A cotyledon (/ˌkɒtɪˈliːdən/;
lit.'seed leaf'; from
Latincotyledon; from κοτυληδών (kotulēdṓn), gen. κοτυληδόνος (kotulēdónos), from κοτύλη (
kotýlē) 'cup, bowl') is a significant part of the
embryo within the
seed of a
plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a
germinating seed." The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the
flowering plants (angiosperms). Species with one cotyledon are called
monocotyledonous ("monocots"). Plants with two embryonic leaves are termed
dicotyledonous ("dicots").
In the case of dicot seedlings whose cotyledons are photosynthetic, the cotyledons are functionally similar to leaves. However, true leaves and cotyledons are developmentally distinct. Cotyledons are formed during embryogenesis, along with the root and shoot
meristems, and are therefore present in the seed prior to germination. True leaves, however, are formed post-embryonically (i.e. after germination) from the shoot apical meristem, which is responsible for generating subsequent aerial portions of the plant. (Full article...)
Image 10
The history of cannabis and its usage by humans dates back to at least the third millennium BC in written history, and possibly as far back as the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8800–6500 BCE) based on archaeological evidence. For millennia, the plant has been valued for its use for fiber and rope, as food and medicine, and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use.
The earliest restrictions on
cannabis were reported in the Islamic world by the 14th century. In the 19th century, it began to be restricted in colonial countries, often associated with racial and class stresses. In the middle of the 20th century, international coordination led to sweeping restrictions on cannabis throughout most of the globe. Entering the 21st century, some nations began to take measures to decriminalize or legalize cannabis. (Full article...)
Image 11
This is a list of crop plants pollinated by bees along with how much crop yield is improved by bee pollination. Most of them are pollinated in whole or part by
honey bees and by the crop's natural pollinators such as
bumblebees,
orchard bees,
squash bees, and
solitary bees. Where the same plants have non-bee pollinators such as birds or other insects like flies, these are also indicated.
Pollination by
insects is called
entomophily. Entomophily is a form of
plant pollination whereby
pollen is distributed by insects, particularly
bees,
Lepidoptera (
butterflies and
moths),
flies and
beetles.
Honey bees pollinate many plant species that are not native to their natural habitat but are often inefficient pollinators of such plants; if they are visiting ten different species of flower, only a tenth of the pollen they carry may be the right species. Other bees tend to favor one species at a time, therefore do most of the actual pollination. (Full article...)
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Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from
taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature is
Linnaeus' Species Plantarum of 1753. Botanical nomenclature is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), which replaces the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN).
Fossil plants are also covered by the code of nomenclature.
Utricularia vulgaris illustration from Jakob Sturm's "Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen", Stuttgart (1796)
Utricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of
carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species). They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except
Antarctica. Utricularia are cultivated for their
flowers, which are often compared with those of
snapdragons and
orchids, especially amongst carnivorous plant enthusiasts.
All Utricularia are carnivorous and capture small organisms by means of bladder-like traps. Terrestrial species tend to have tiny traps that feed on minute prey such as
protozoa and
rotifers swimming in water-saturated soil. The traps can range in size from 0.02 to 1.2 cm (0.008 to 0.5 in). Aquatic species, such as U. vulgaris (common bladderwort), possess bladders that are usually larger and can feed on more substantial prey such as water fleas (
Daphnia),
nematodes and even
fish fry,
mosquitolarvae and young
tadpoles. Despite their small size, the traps are extremely sophisticated. In the active traps of the aquatic species, prey brush against trigger hairs connected to the trapdoor. The bladder, when "set", is under negative pressure in relation to its environment so that when the trapdoor is mechanically triggered, the prey, along with the water surrounding it, is sucked into the bladder. Once the bladder is full of water, the door closes again, the whole process taking only ten to fifteen milliseconds. (Full article...)
Image 14
Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) is the study of developmental programs and patterns from an evolutionary perspective. It seeks to understand the various influences shaping the form and nature of life on the planet.
Evo-devo arose as a separate branch of science rather recently. An early sign of this occurred in 1999.
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of
plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to
improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varieties that boast unique and superior traits for a variety of applications. The most frequently addressed agricultural traits are those related to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, grain or biomass yield, end-use quality characteristics such as taste or the concentrations of specific biological molecules (proteins, sugars, lipids, vitamins, fibers) and ease of processing (harvesting, milling, baking, malting, blending, etc.).
Plant breeding can be performed through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to methods that make use of knowledge of genetics and chromosomes, to more complex molecular techniques. Genes in a plant are what determine what type of qualitative or quantitative traits it will have. Plant breeders strive to create a specific outcome of plants and potentially new plant varieties, and in the course of doing so, narrow down the genetic diversity of that variety to a specific few biotypes. (Full article...)
Broccoli, a plant of the
Cabbage family,
Brassicaceae, is a cool-weather crop eaten boiled, steamed, or raw. The Roman natural history writer,
Pliny the Elder, wrote about a vegetable which might have been broccoli and some recognize broccoli in the
cookbook of
Apicius, but its history is unclear. Broccoli was certainly an Italian vegetable long before it was eaten elsewhere.
These are
good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards..
Image 1
Berries
The blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum), also known as black currant or cassis, is a
deciduous shrub in the family
Grossulariaceae grown for its edible
berries. It is
native to
temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, where it prefers damp fertile soils. It is widely cultivated both commercially and domestically.
It is
winter hardy, but cold weather at flowering time during the spring may reduce the size of the crop. Bunches of small, glossy black fruit develop along the stems in the summer and can be harvested by hand or by machine. (Full article...)
Image 2
Carex binervis, the green-ribbed sedge, is a European species of
sedge with an Atlantic distribution. It is found from
Fennoscandia to the
Iberian Peninsula, and occurs in
heaths,
moorland and other damp, acidic environments. It typically grows to a height of 15–120 cm (6–50 in), and has
inflorescences comprising one male and several female
spikes, each up to 45 mm (1.8 in) long. The
utricles have two conspicuous green veins, which give rise to both the
scientific name and the
common name of the species. In the vegetative state, it closely resembles C. bigelowii, a species that usually grows at higher altitude. C. binervis was first described by
James Edward Smith in 1800, and is classified in
Carex sect. Spirostachyae; several
hybrids with other Carex species are known. (Full article...)
Image 3
Mereschkowski c. 1885
Konstantin Sergeevich Mereschkowski (Russian: Константи́н Серге́евич Мережко́вский, IPA:[mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj]; 4 August 1855 [
O.S. 23 July] – 9 January 1921) was a
Russianbiologist and
botanist, active mainly around
Kazan, whose research on
lichens led him to propose the theory of
symbiogenesis – that larger, more
complexcells (of
eukaryotes)
evolved from the
symbiotic relationship between less complex ones. He presented this theory in 1910, in his work, The Theory of Two Plasms as the Basis of Symbiogenesis, a New Study of the Origins of Organisms, although the fundamentals of the idea had already appeared in his earlier 1905 work, The nature and origins of chromatophores in the plant kingdom. (Full article...)
Image 4
Einar Du Rietz in 1932
Gustaf Einar Du Rietz (25 April 1895 – 7 March 1967) was a Swedish botanist and
lichenologist. His research interests included
plant ecology, lichen
taxonomy, and
biogeography. He was a leading figure in the
Uppsala school of
phytosociology–the study of groups of species of plants that are usually found together–and is recognised for his role in advancing this field of science and for mentoring future lichenologists. He led the Swedish Australasian Botanical Expedition of 1926–27, a seven-month research tour of various locations. He was married to
Greta Sernander, who was also a lichenologist. During the expedition, Du Rietz and his wife researched the vegetation in New Zealand, Australia, and Java, focusing on mountain lichens and their potential as
bioindicators for environmental conditions. They collected around 3000 specimens, contributing significantly to the study of bipolar lichens and
forest ecology, despite challenges in processing all the samples upon return to Sweden. Several species have been
named in his honour. In 1949, Du Rietz was elected to the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and contributed significantly to
nature conservation efforts in Sweden. (Full article...)
An oak is a
hardwood tree or shrub in the
genusQuercus of the
beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an
acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; it includes some 500 species, both
deciduous and
evergreen. Fossil oaks date back to the Middle
Eocene.
Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus is divided into
Old World and New World
clades, but many oak species
hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve.
Ecologically, oaks are
keystone species in habitats from Mediterranean semi-desert to subtropical
rainforest. They live in association with many kinds of
fungi including
truffles. Oaks support more than 950 species of
caterpillar, many kinds of
gall wasp which form distinctive
galls, roundish woody lumps such as the
oak apple, and a large number of pests and diseases. Oak leaves and acorns contain enough
tannin to be toxic to cattle, but pigs are able to digest them safely. Oak timber is strong and hard, and has found many uses in construction and furniture-making. The bark was traditionally used for
tanning leather.
Wine barrels are made of oak; these are used for aging alcoholic beverages such as
sherry and
whisky, giving them a range of flavours, colours, and aromas. The spongy bark of the
cork oak is used to make traditional wine bottle corks. Almost a third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change,
invasive pests, and
habitat loss. (Full article...)
Image 6
Phragmipedium kovachii is an
orchid species found to be new to science in 2001, native to the Andean
cloud forests of northern
Peru. A species with terrestrial habit and growing in clumps of several individuals, it displays showy pink to purple flowers up to 20 cm (8 in) wide. It is currently considered a critically endangered species by the
IUCN, due to overcollection in the wild. (Full article...)
Image 7
Hyacinthoides non-scripta/ˌhaɪəsɪnˈθɔɪdiːznɒnˈskrɪptə/ (formerly Endymion non-scriptus or Scilla non-scripta) is a
bulbousperennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a
garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell, a name which is used in Scotland to refer to the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved
tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves.
H. non-scripta is particularly associated with
ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers in "
bluebell woods", but also occurs in more open habitats in western regions. It is protected under UK law, and in some other parts of its range. A related species, H. hispanica has also been introduced to Britain and Ireland and
hybridises with H. non-scripta to produce intermediates known as
H. × massartiana. (Full article...)
A mature Asplenium bradleyi growing in a crevice in
schist
Asplenium bradleyi, commonly known as Bradley's spleenwort or cliff spleenwort, is a rare
epipetricfern of east-central North America. Named after Professor
Frank Howe Bradley, who first collected it in Tennessee, it may be found infrequently throughout much of the
Appalachian Mountains, the
Ozarks, and the
Ouachita Mountains, growing in small crevices on exposed
sandstone cliffs. The species originated as a
hybrid between mountain spleenwort (Asplenium montanum) and ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron); A. bradleyi originated when that sterile
diploid hybrid underwent chromosome doubling to become a fertile
tetraploid, a phenomenon known as
allopolyploidy. Studies indicate that the present population of Bradley's spleenwort arose from several independent doublings of sterile diploid hybrids. A. bradleyi can also form sterile hybrids with several other spleenworts.
While A. bradleyi is easily outcompeted by other plants in more fertile habitats, it is well adapted to the thin,
acidic soil and harsh environment of its native cliffs, where it finds few competitors. Its isolated situation on these cliffs protects it from most threats, but quarrying and mining of the cliffs, rock climbing, and other activities that disturb the cliff ecosystem can destroy it. (Full article...)
Lilioid monocots (lilioids, liliid monocots, petaloid monocots, petaloid lilioid monocots) is an informal name used for a
grade (grouping of
taxa with common characteristics) of five
monocotorders (
Petrosaviales,
Dioscoreales,
Pandanales,
Liliales and
Asparagales) in which the majority of species have flowers with relatively large, coloured
tepals. This characteristic is similar to that found in
lilies ("lily-like"). Petaloid monocots refers to the flowers having tepals which all resemble petals (
petaloid). The taxonomic terms Lilianae or Liliiflorae have also been applied to this assemblage at various times. From the early nineteenth century many of the species in this group of plants were put into a very broadly defined family,
Liliaceaesensu lato or s.l. (lily family). These classification systems are still found in many books and other sources. Within the monocots the Liliaceae s.l. were distinguished from the
Glumaceae.
The development of
molecular phylogenetics,
cladistic theory and
phylogenetic methods in the 1990s resulted in a dismemberment of the Liliaceae and its subsequent redistribution across three lilioid orders (Liliales, Asparagales and Dioscoreales). Subsequent work has shown that two other more recently recognized orders, Petrosaviales and Pandanales also segregate with this group, resulting in the modern concept of five constituent orders within the lilioid monocot assemblage. This has resulted in treating monocots as three informal groups,
alismatid, lilioid and
commelinid monocots. The lilioids are
paraphyletic in the sense that commelinids form a
sister group to Asparagales. (Full article...)
Erythranthe, the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers, is a diverse
plantgenus with more than 120 members (as of 2022) in the
familyPhrymaceae. Erythranthe was originally described as a separate genus, then generally regarded as a section within the genus Mimulus, and recently returned to generic rank. Mimulus sect. Diplacus was segregated from Mimulus as a separate genus at the same time. Mimulus remains as a small genus of eastern North America and the Southern Hemisphere. Molecular data show Erythranthe and Diplacus to be distinct evolutionary lines that are distinct from Mimulus as strictly defined, although this nomenclature is controversial.
Member species are usually
annuals or
herbaceousperennials. Flowers are red, pink, or yellow, often in various combinations. A large number of the Erythranthe species grow in moist to wet soils with some growing even in shallow water. They are not very drought resistant, but many of the species now classified as Diplacus are. Species are found at elevations from oceanside to high mountains as well as a wide variety of climates, though most prefer wet areas such as riverbanks. (Full article...)
Image 12
Betula pubescens (syn. Betula alba), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of
deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern
Europe and northern
Asia, growing farther north than any other
broadleaf tree. It is closely related to, and often confused with, the
silver birch (B. pendula), but grows in wetter places with heavier soils and poorer drainage; smaller trees can also be confused with the
dwarf birch (B. nana).
Six varieties are recognised and it hybridises with the silver and dwarf birches. A number of cultivars have been developed but many are no longer in cultivation. The larva of the
autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) feeds on the foliage and in some years, large areas of birch forest can be defoliated by this insect. Many fungi are associated with the tree and certain pathogenic fungi are the causal agents of
birch dieback disease. (Full article...)
The tree has been dead since 1915 and is in poor structural condition, due in part to politically-motivated
vandalism, but there is a very similar living tree a short distance away known as Pi jove de les tres branques ("the young three-branched pine"), which is regarded as its successor. Both are protected as "monumental trees" by the Catalan Generalitat. (Full article...)
Image 14
Plant defense against herbivory or host-plant resistance (HPR) is a range of
adaptationsevolved by
plants which improve their
survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of
herbivores.
Plants can sense being touched, and they can use several strategies to defend against damage caused by herbivores. Many plants produce
secondary metabolites, known as
allelochemicals, that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical defenses can act as repellents or toxins to herbivores or reduce plant digestibility. Another defensive strategy of plants is changing their attractiveness. To prevent overconsumption by large herbivores, plants alter their appearance by changing their size or quality, reducing the rate at which they are consumed.
Other defensive strategies used by plants include escaping or avoiding herbivores at any time in any place – for example, by growing in a location where plants are not easily found or accessed by herbivores or by changing seasonal growth patterns. Another approach diverts herbivores toward eating non-essential parts or enhances the ability of a plant to recover from the damage caused by herbivory. Some plants encourage the presence of
natural enemies of herbivores, which in turn protect the plant. Each type of defense can be either constitutive (always present in the plant) or
induced (produced in reaction to damage or stress caused by herbivores). (Full article...)
Image 15
The history of botany examines the human effort to understand life on Earth by tracing the historical development of the discipline of
botany—that part of natural science dealing with organisms traditionally treated as plants.
Rudimentary botanical science began with empirically based plant lore passed from generation to generation in the oral traditions of
paleolithichunter-gatherers. The first writings that show human curiosity about plants themselves, rather than the uses that could be made of them, appear in
ancient Greece and ancient India. In Ancient Greece, the teachings of
Aristotle's student
Theophrastus at the
Lyceum in
ancient Athens in about 350 BC are considered the starting point for Western botany. In ancient India, the Vṛkṣāyurveda, attributed to
Parashara, is also considered one of the earliest texts to describe various branches of botany. (Full article...)
... that New York City's Bartow–Pell Mansion became a museum after its operator was restricted from importing and exporting plants?
... that while most
lichens that grow on plants live on the surface, the sole species in Amazonotrema grows partially among the cells of the tree bark on which it lives?
... that ochrophyte algae have twice as many membranes around their chloroplasts as plants?
... that in the late 2000s the
Campbell Soup Company began producing a spicier canned cheese sauce in their California and Texas plants than they did elsewhere to cater for different consumer tastes?
... that Aristotle classified living things based on whether they had a "sensitive soul" or, like plants, only a "vegetative soul"?
The following are images from various plant-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Structure of
Azadirachtin, a terpenoid produced by the
Neem plant, which helps ward off microbes and insects. Many secondary metabolites have complex structures (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 4The branching pattern of megaphyll veins may indicate their origin as webbed, dichotomising branches. (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 5Five of the key areas of study within plant physiology (from Botany)
Image 6Transverse section of a fossil stem of the Devonian vascular plant Rhynia gwynne-vaughani (from Botany)
Image 7The fruit of Myristica fragrans, a species native to
Indonesia, is the source of two valuable spices, the red aril (
mace) enclosing the dark brown
nutmeg. (from Botany)
Image 8The evolution of syncarps. a: sporangia borne at tips of leaf b: Leaf curls up to protect sporangia c: leaf curls to form enclosed roll d: grouping of three rolls into a syncarp (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 11A
banded tube from the Late Silurian/Early Devonian. The bands are difficult to see on this specimen, as an opaque carbonaceous coating conceals much of the tube. Bands are just visible in places on the left half of the image. Scale bar: 20 μm (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 16The Devonian marks the beginning of extensive land colonization by plants, which – through their effects on erosion and sedimentation – brought about significant climatic change. (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 22The trunk of early tree fern Psaronius, showing internal structure. The top of the plant would have been to the left of the image (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 24A botanist preparing a plant specimen for mounting in the
herbarium (from Botany)
Image 251 An oat
coleoptile with the sun overhead.
Auxin (pink) is evenly distributed in its tip. 2 With the sun at an angle and only shining on one side of the shoot, auxin moves to the opposite side and stimulates
cell elongation there. 3 and 4 Extra growth on that side causes the shoot to
bend towards the sun. (from Botany)
Image 28A
late Siluriansporangium, artificially colored. Green: A spore tetrad. Blue: A spore bearing a trilete mark – the Y-shaped scar. The spores are about 30–35 μm across. (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 31Echeveria glauca in a Connecticut greenhouse. Botany uses Latin names for identification; here, the specific name glauca means blue. (from Botany)
Image 32A nineteenth-century illustration showing the morphology of the roots, stems, leaves and flowers of the rice plant Oryza sativa (from Botany)
There are about 380,000 known
species of plants, of which the majority, some 260,000,
produce seeds. They range in size from single cells to the tallest trees. Green plants provide a substantial proportion of the world's molecular oxygen; the sugars they create supply the energy for most of Earth's
ecosystems and other
organisms, including animals, either
consume plants directly or rely on organisms which do so. (Full article...)
These are
featured articles, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
Image 1
Persoonia levis, commonly known as the broad-leaved geebung, is a
shrub native to
New South Wales and
Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 5 m (16 ft) in height and has dark grey papery bark and bright green asymmetrical sickle-shaped leaves up to 14 cm (5.5 in) long and 8 cm (3.2 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn (December to April), followed by small green fleshy fruit, which are classified as
drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. levis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.
Persoonia linearis, commonly known as the narrow-leaved geebung, is a
shrub native to
New South Wales and
Victoria in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (9.8 ft), or occasionally 5 m (16 ft), in height and has thick, dark grey papery bark. The leaves are, as the species name suggests, more or less linear in shape, and are up to 9 cm (3.5 in) long, and 0.1 to 0.7 cm (0.039 to 0.276 in) wide. The small yellow flowers appear in summer, autumn and early winter (December to July), followed by small green fleshy fruit known as
drupes. Within the genus Persoonia, it is a member of the Lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. P. linearis interbreeds with several other species where they grow together.
Found in dry
sclerophyll forest on
sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soils, P. linearis is adapted to a fire-prone environment; the plants resprout
epicormic buds from beneath their thick bark after
bushfires. The fruit are consumed by vertebrates such as
kangaroo,
possums and
currawongs. As with other members of the genus, P. linearis is rare in
cultivation as it is very hard to
propagate by seed or by
cuttings, but once propagated, it adapts readily, preferring
acidic soils with good drainage and at least a partly sunny aspect. (Full article...)
Image 3
Banksia telmatiaea, commonly known as swamp fox
banksia or rarely marsh banksia, is a shrub that grows in marshes and swamps along the lower west coast of Australia. It grows as an upright bush up to 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) tall, with narrow leaves and a pale brown flower spike, which can produce profuse quantities of nectar. First collected in the 1840s, it was not published as a separate species until 1981; as with several other similar species it was previously included in B. sphaerocarpa (fox banksia).
The shrub grows amongst
scrubland in seasonally wet lowland areas of the coastal sandplain between
Badgingarra and
Serpentine in
Western Australia. A little studied species, not much is known of its
ecology or
conservation biology. Reports suggest that a variety of birds and small mammals pollinate it. Like many members of the series Abietinae, it has not been considered to have much horticultural potential and is rarely cultivated. (Full article...)
Image 4
Banksia prionotes, commonly known as acorn banksia or orange banksia, is a species of
shrub or
tree of the genus Banksia in the family
Proteaceae. It is native to the
southwest of
Western Australia and can reach up to 10 m (33 ft) in height. It can be much smaller in more exposed areas or in the north of its range. This species has serrated, dull green leaves and large, bright flower spikes, initially white before opening to a bright orange. Its common name arises from the partly opened
inflorescence, which is shaped like an
acorn. The tree is a popular garden plant and also of importance to the
cut flower industry.
Banksia prionotes was first described in 1840 by English botanist
John Lindley, probably from material collected by
James Drummond the previous year. There are no recognised varieties, although it has been known to
hybridise with Banksia hookeriana. Widely distributed in
south-west Western Australia, B. prionotes is found from
Shark Bay (
25° S) in the north, south as far as
Kojonup (33°50′S). It grows exclusively in sandy soils, and is usually the dominant plant in
scrubland or low
woodland.
Pollinated by birds, it provides food for a wide array of
vertebrate and
invertebrate animals in the autumn and winter months. It is an important source of food for
honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and is critical to their survival in the
Avon Wheatbelt region, where it is the only nectar-producing plant in flower at some times of the year. (Full article...)
Banksia grossa is a species of
shrub in the
familyProteaceae and is
endemic to
Southwest Australia. It is one of fourteen species of
banksia of the series Abietinae, all of which bear predominantly cylindrical or oval
inflorescences. Collected in 1965, it was first formally described in 1981 by
Alex George. Its thick leaves and large seeds distinguish it from other members of the Abietinae, and are the basis of its species name.
Found in sand or sand over
laterite among
heath between
Eneabba and
Badgingarra in Western Australia, the species grows as a many-stemmed shrub to 1 m (3.3 ft) high with narrow leaves and oval brownish flower spikes up to 10 cm (4 in) high, composed of hundreds of individual flowers. Flowering occurs throughout the cooler months of March to September. Flower spikes develop woody
follicles which bear the seeds. After
bushfire, Banksia grossa regenerates from its woody
lignotuber; bushfires also stimulate the release of seeds, which germinate after disturbance. Visitors to (and likely
pollinators of) inflorescences include insects and a nocturnal mammal, the
white-tailed dunnart. (Full article...)
Image 6
Telopea speciosissima flowerhead with florets opening from the edges towards the centre,
Blue Mountains, Australia
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. (Full article...)
Image 7
Lambertia formosa, commonly known as mountain devil, is a
shrub of the family
Proteaceae,
endemic to
New South Wales, Australia. First
described in 1798 by English botanist
James Edward Smith, it is the
type species of the small genus Lambertia. It is generally found in
heathland or open forest, growing in
sandstone-based soils. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to around 2 m (7 ft) with a woody base known as a
lignotuber, from which it regrows after
bushfire. It has stiff narrow leaves, and the pink to red flowerheads, made up of seven individual tubular flowers, generally appear in spring and summer. It gains its common name from the horned woody
follicles, which were used to make small devil-figures.
The flowers hold profuse amounts of nectar and are pollinated by
honeyeaters. Although L. formosa is uncommon in
cultivation, it is straightforward to grow in soils with good drainage and a partly shaded to sunny aspect. It is readily
propagated by seed. Unlike all other members of the genus Lambertia, L. formosa is greatly resistant to the soil pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. (Full article...)
Banksia brownii, commonly known as feather-leaved banksia or Brown's banksia, is a
species of
shrub that grows in
southwestWestern Australia. A plant with fine feathery
leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upright bush around two metres (6.6 ft) high, but can also occur as a small tree or a low spreading shrub. First collected in 1829 and published the following year, it is placed in Banksiasubgenus Banksia,
section Oncostylis,
series Spicigerae. There are two genetically distinct forms.
Banksia brownii occurs naturally only in two population clusters between
Albany and the
Stirling Range in southwest Western Australia. In the Stirling Range it occurs among
heath on rocky mountain slopes; further south it occurs among
jarrahwoodland in shallow nutrient-poor sand. It has been evaluated as
critically endangered by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); all major populations are threatened by
Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, a disease to which the species is highly susceptible. Other threats include loss of habitat, commercial exploitation and changes to the
fire regime. Highly valued by Australia's horticultural and
cut flower industries, B. brownii is widely cultivated in areas not exposed to dieback. It prefers a sheltered position in soil with good drainage, and must be provided with some moisture over summer. (Full article...)
Image 9
Alloxylon flammeum, commonly known as the Queensland tree waratah or red silky oak, is a medium-sized tree of the family
Proteaceae found in the
Queensland tropical rain forests of northeastern Australia. It has shiny green elliptical leaves up to 18 cm (7.1 in) long, and prominent orange-red
inflorescences that appear from August to October, followed by rectangular woody seed pods that ripen in February and March. Juvenile plants have large (up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long) deeply lobed pinnate leaves. Previously known as Oreocallis wickhamii, the initial specimen turned out to be a different species to the one cultivated and hence a new scientific name was required. Described formally by
Peter Weston and
Mike Crisp in 1991, A. flammeum was designated the
type species of the genus Alloxylon. This genus contains the four species previously classified in Oreocallis that are found in Australasia.
Alloxylon flammeum is a
canopy or
emergent tree of the
Mabi rainforest community of north Queensland. Its terminal tubular flowers indicate that the species is pollinated by birds. Readily adaptable to cultivation, Alloxylon flammeum prefers a site with good drainage and responds well to extra moisture and fertilisers low in
phosphorus. It is listed nationally as vulnerable under the Australian
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) as most of its habitat has been
cleared for agriculture and logging. (Full article...)
Banksia violacea, commonly known as violet banksia, is a species of
shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia (family
Proteaceae). It generally grows as a small shrub to 1.5 m (5 ft) high with fine narrow leaves, and is best known for its unusually coloured dark purple-violet
inflorescences. The colour of the inflorescences, short leaves, and flattened follicles which are sticky when young, help identify this species from others in the field. It is found in low
shrubland in southern regions of
Western Australia from
Esperance in the east to
Narrogin in the west, growing exclusively in sandy soils.
First described in 1927 by the West Australian botanist
Charles Gardner, the species was at one stage considered a
variety of B. sphaerocarpa. Although there are no recognised subspecies or varieties, both
lignotuberous and nonlignotuberous forms exist for Banksia violacea. Wasps, ants and flies have been recorded visiting flower spikes. Banksia violacea is classified as Not Threatened under the
Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia. Regarded as of little value to
floriculture, it is rarely cultivated. (Full article...)
Image 11
Persoonia lanceolata, commonly known as lance-leaf geebung, is a shrub native to
New South Wales in eastern Australia. It reaches 3 m (10 ft) in height and has smooth grey bark and bright green foliage. Its small yellow flowers grow on
racemes and appear in the austral summer and autumn (January to April), followed by green fleshy fruits (known as
drupes) which ripen the following spring (September to October). Within the genus Persoonia, P. lanceolata belongs to the lanceolata group of 58 closely related species. It interbreeds with several other species found in its range.
The species is usually found in dry
sclerophyll forest on
sandstone-based nutrient-deficient soil. It has adapted to a fire-prone environment; plants lost in bushfires can regenerate through a
ground-stored seed bank. Seedlings mostly germinate within two years of fires. Several species of native bee of the genus Leioproctus pollinate the flowers.
Swamp wallabies are a main consumer of its fruit, and the seeds are spread in wallaby
faeces. Its lifespan ranges from 25 to 60 years, though difficulties in propagation have seen low cultivation rates. (Full article...)
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Telopea oreades, commonly known as the Gippsland-, mountain- or Victorian waratah, is a large shrub or small tree in the family
Proteaceae. Native to southeastern Australia, it is found in wet
sclerophyll forest and
rainforest on rich
acidic soils high in organic matter. No
subspecies are recognised, though a northern isolated population
hybridises extensively with the Braidwood waratah (T. mongaensis). Reaching a height of up to 19 metres (62 feet), T. oreades grows with a single trunk and erect
habit. It has dark green leaves with prominent veins that are 11–28 centimetres (4.3–11 in) long and 1.5–6 cm (0.6–2.4 in) wide. The red flower heads, known as
inflorescences, appear in late spring. Each is composed of up to 60 individual flowers.
In the garden, T. oreades grows in soils with good drainage and ample moisture in part-shaded or sunny positions. Several commercially available
cultivars that are hybrid forms with T. speciosissima have been developed, such as the 'Shady Lady' series. The timber is hard and has been used for making furniture and tool handles. (Full article...)
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'Blue Spire' cultivar
Salvia yangii, previously known as Perovskia atriplicifolia (/pəˈrɒvskiəætrɪplɪsɪˈfoʊliə/), and commonly called Russian sage, is a flowering
herbaceousperennial plant and
subshrub. Although not previously a member of Salvia, the genus widely known as sage, since 2017 it has been included within them. It has an upright
habit, typically reaching 0.5–1.2 metres (1+1⁄2–4 feet) tall, with square stems and gray-green leaves that yield a distinctive odor when crushed. It is best known for its flowers. Its flowering season extends from mid-summer to late October, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into showy, branched
panicles.
It is native to the
steppes and hills of southwestern and central Asia. Successful over a wide range of climate and soil conditions, it has since become popular and widely planted. Several
cultivars have been developed, differing primarily in leaf shape and overall height; 'Blue Spire' is the most common. This variation has been widely used in gardens and landscaping. S. yangii was the Perennial Plant Association's 1995 Plant of the Year, and the 'Blue Spire' cultivar received the
Award of Garden Merit from the
Royal Horticultural Society. (Full article...)
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Second-year plant starting to flower, with a dead stem of the previous year, behind left
Verbascum thapsus, the great mullein, greater mullein or common mullein, is a species of
mullein native to Europe, northern Africa, and Asia, and introduced in the Americas and Australia.
It is a hairy
biennial plant that can grow to 2 m tall or more. Its small, yellow flowers are densely grouped on a tall stem, which grows from a large
rosette of leaves. It grows in a wide variety of habitats, but prefers well-lit, disturbed soils, where it can appear soon after the ground receives light, from long-lived seeds that persist in the
soil seed bank. It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, and has become
invasive in temperate world regions. It is a minor problem for most agricultural crops, since it is not a competitive species, being intolerant of shade from other plants and unable to survive
tilling. It also hosts many insects, some of which can be harmful to other plants. Although individuals are easy to remove by hand, populations are difficult to eliminate permanently. (Full article...)
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Alloxylon pinnatum, known as Dorrigo waratah, is a tree of the family
Proteaceae found in
warm-temperate rainforest of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales in eastern Australia. It has shiny green leaves that are either
pinnate (lobed) and up to 30 cm (12 in) long, or
lanceolate (spear-shaped) and up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The prominent pinkish-red flower heads, known as
inflorescences, appear in spring and summer; these are made up of 50 to 140 individual flowers arranged in
corymb or
raceme. These are followed by rectangular woody seed pods, which bear two rows of winged seeds.
Known for many years as Oreocallis pinnata, it was transferred to the new genus Alloxylon by
Peter Weston and
Mike Crisp in 1991. This genus contains the four species previously classified in Oreocallis that are found in Australasia. Its terminal globular flowers indicate that the species is pollinated by birds. Classified as near threatened under the Queensland
Nature Conservation Act 1992, the Dorrigo waratah has proven difficult to keep alive in cultivation. (Full article...)
The genus has a highly disjunct distribution spread across two major groups of tepuis: the
western range in Amazonas and the
eastern range in Bolívar. The western range can be further subdivided into two complexes of neighbouring tepuis. The more southerly of these consists of
Cerro de la Neblina,
Cerro Aracamuni, and
Cerro Avispa, and supports four Heliamphora species. The more northerly group of the western range, home to only two species, includes the massive
Cerro Duida and neighbouring
Cerro Huachamacari and
Cerro Marahuaca. The remaining 17–19 species are native to the eastern range, which includes the
Aprada Massif,
Auyán Massif,
Chimantá Massif,
Eastern Tepuis chain,
Los Testigos chain, and a number of outlying tepuis. Many of the summits of the eastern range are situated on a vast plateau known as the
Gran Sabana. Only two species (H. ciliata and H. heterodoxa) are known with certainty from the Gran Sabana, and only H. ciliata is
endemic to this habitat. (Full article...)
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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. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example beetles or butterflies; birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves. Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material critical to the reproductive system of most flowering plants. 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 ovule through the
micropyle, one male nucleus fuses with the
polar bodies to produce the
endospermtissues, while the other fuses with the
egg cell to produce the
embryo. Hence the term: "
double fertilisation". This process would result in the production of a seed, made of both nutritious tissues and embryo. (Full article...)
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The
evolution of
plants has resulted in a wide range of complexity, from the earliest
algal mats of unicellular
archaeplastids evolved through
endosymbiosis, through multicellular
marine and
freshwatergreen algae, to
spore-bearing terrestrial
bryophytes,
lycopods and
ferns, and eventually to the complex
seed-bearing
gymnosperms and
angiosperms (
flowering plants) of today. While many of the earliest groups continue to thrive, as exemplified by
red and green algae in marine environments, more recently derived groups have displaced previously ecologically dominant ones; for example, the ascendance of flowering plants over gymnosperms in terrestrial environments.
There is evidence that
cyanobacteria and multicellular
thalloid eukaryotes lived in freshwater communities on land as early as 1 billion years ago, and that communities of complex, multicellular photosynthesizing organisms existed on land in the late
Precambrian, around 850 million years ago. (Full article...)
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The olive, botanical name Olea europaea, meaning 'European olive', is a
species of small
tree or
shrub in the family
Oleaceae, found traditionally in the
Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as Olea europaea'Montra', dwarf olive, or little olive. The species is cultivated in all the countries of the
Mediterranean, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and South Africa. It is the
type species for its genus, Olea. The tree and its fruit give their name to the
Oleaceae plant family, which also includes species such as
lilac,
jasmine,
forsythia, and the true
ash tree.
The olive's fruit, also called an "olive", is of major agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of
olive oil; it is one of the core ingredients in
Middle Easternand Mediterranean cuisines. Thousands of
cultivars of the olive tree are known. Olive cultivars may be used primarily for oil, eating, or both. Olives cultivated for consumption are generally referred to as "table olives". About 80% of all harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 20% are used as table olives. (Full article...)
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The exterior of the Grande galerie de l'Évolution ('Gallery of Evolution'). Drawing plans by architect
Louis-Jules André, 1889, when it still was named Galerie de Zoologie ('Gallery of Zoology').
The Jardin des plantes (French for "Garden of the Plants"), also known as the Jardin des plantes de Paris (French:[ʒaʁdɛ̃dɛplɑ̃tdəpaʁi]) when distinguished from other jardins des plantes in other cities, is the main
botanical garden in
France. The term Jardin des plantes is the official name in the present day, but it is in fact an
elliptical form of Jardin royal des plantes médicinales ("Royal Garden of the
Medicinal Plants"), which is related to the original purpose of the garden back in the 17th century.
Headquarters of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (
National Museum of Natural History), the Jardin des plantes is situated in the
5th arrondissement,
Paris, on the
left bank of the river
Seine, and covers 28 hectares (280,000 m2). Since 24 March 1993, the entire garden and its contained buildings, archives, libraries, greenhouses, ménagerie (a zoo), works of art, and specimens' collection are classified as a national historical landmark in France (labelled monument historique). (Full article...)
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An escaped plant is a
cultivated plant that has escaped from agriculture, forestry or garden cultivation and has become naturalized in the wild. Usually not native to an area, escaped plants may become
invasive. Therefore, escaped plants are the subject of research in
invasion biology.
Some
ornamental plants have characteristics which allow them to escape cultivation and become
weedy in alien ecosystems with far-reaching ecological and economic consequences. Escaped
garden plants may be called garden escapes or escaped ornamentals. Sometimes, their origins can even be traced back to
botanical gardens. (Full article...)
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Acclimatisation societies were
voluntary associations, founded in the 19th and 20th centuries, that encouraged the
introduction of non-native species in various places around the world, in the hope that they would
acclimatise and
adapt to their new environments. The societies formed during the
colonial era, when Europeans began to settle in numbers in unfamiliar locations. One motivation for the activities of the acclimatisation societies was that introducing new
species of
plants and
animals (mainly from Europe) would enrich the
flora and
fauna of target regions. The movement also sought to establish plants and animals that were familiar to Europeans, while also bringing exotic and useful foreign plants and animals to centres of European settlement.
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of
pharmacognosy and the use of
medicinal plants, which are a basis of
traditional medicine. With worldwide research into
pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called
artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in
Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited
scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes include
fungal and
bee products, as well as
minerals,
shells and certain animal parts.
Paraherbalism describes
alternative and
pseudoscientific practices of using unrefined plant or animal
extracts as unproven medicines or health-promoting agents. Paraherbalism relies on the belief that preserving various substances from a given source with less processing is safer or more effective than manufactured products, a concept for which there is no evidence. (Full article...)
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A cotyledon (/ˌkɒtɪˈliːdən/;
lit.'seed leaf'; from
Latincotyledon; from κοτυληδών (kotulēdṓn), gen. κοτυληδόνος (kotulēdónos), from κοτύλη (
kotýlē) 'cup, bowl') is a significant part of the
embryo within the
seed of a
plant, and is defined as "the embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, one or more of which are the first to appear from a
germinating seed." The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the
flowering plants (angiosperms). Species with one cotyledon are called
monocotyledonous ("monocots"). Plants with two embryonic leaves are termed
dicotyledonous ("dicots").
In the case of dicot seedlings whose cotyledons are photosynthetic, the cotyledons are functionally similar to leaves. However, true leaves and cotyledons are developmentally distinct. Cotyledons are formed during embryogenesis, along with the root and shoot
meristems, and are therefore present in the seed prior to germination. True leaves, however, are formed post-embryonically (i.e. after germination) from the shoot apical meristem, which is responsible for generating subsequent aerial portions of the plant. (Full article...)
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The history of cannabis and its usage by humans dates back to at least the third millennium BC in written history, and possibly as far back as the
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8800–6500 BCE) based on archaeological evidence. For millennia, the plant has been valued for its use for fiber and rope, as food and medicine, and for its psychoactive properties for religious and recreational use.
The earliest restrictions on
cannabis were reported in the Islamic world by the 14th century. In the 19th century, it began to be restricted in colonial countries, often associated with racial and class stresses. In the middle of the 20th century, international coordination led to sweeping restrictions on cannabis throughout most of the globe. Entering the 21st century, some nations began to take measures to decriminalize or legalize cannabis. (Full article...)
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This is a list of crop plants pollinated by bees along with how much crop yield is improved by bee pollination. Most of them are pollinated in whole or part by
honey bees and by the crop's natural pollinators such as
bumblebees,
orchard bees,
squash bees, and
solitary bees. Where the same plants have non-bee pollinators such as birds or other insects like flies, these are also indicated.
Pollination by
insects is called
entomophily. Entomophily is a form of
plant pollination whereby
pollen is distributed by insects, particularly
bees,
Lepidoptera (
butterflies and
moths),
flies and
beetles.
Honey bees pollinate many plant species that are not native to their natural habitat but are often inefficient pollinators of such plants; if they are visiting ten different species of flower, only a tenth of the pollen they carry may be the right species. Other bees tend to favor one species at a time, therefore do most of the actual pollination. (Full article...)
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Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from
taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this process. The starting point for modern botanical nomenclature is
Linnaeus' Species Plantarum of 1753. Botanical nomenclature is governed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), which replaces the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN).
Fossil plants are also covered by the code of nomenclature.
Utricularia vulgaris illustration from Jakob Sturm's "Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen", Stuttgart (1796)
Utricularia, commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of
carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species). They occur in fresh water and wet soil as terrestrial or aquatic species across every continent except
Antarctica. Utricularia are cultivated for their
flowers, which are often compared with those of
snapdragons and
orchids, especially amongst carnivorous plant enthusiasts.
All Utricularia are carnivorous and capture small organisms by means of bladder-like traps. Terrestrial species tend to have tiny traps that feed on minute prey such as
protozoa and
rotifers swimming in water-saturated soil. The traps can range in size from 0.02 to 1.2 cm (0.008 to 0.5 in). Aquatic species, such as U. vulgaris (common bladderwort), possess bladders that are usually larger and can feed on more substantial prey such as water fleas (
Daphnia),
nematodes and even
fish fry,
mosquitolarvae and young
tadpoles. Despite their small size, the traps are extremely sophisticated. In the active traps of the aquatic species, prey brush against trigger hairs connected to the trapdoor. The bladder, when "set", is under negative pressure in relation to its environment so that when the trapdoor is mechanically triggered, the prey, along with the water surrounding it, is sucked into the bladder. Once the bladder is full of water, the door closes again, the whole process taking only ten to fifteen milliseconds. (Full article...)
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Evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) is the study of developmental programs and patterns from an evolutionary perspective. It seeks to understand the various influences shaping the form and nature of life on the planet.
Evo-devo arose as a separate branch of science rather recently. An early sign of this occurred in 1999.
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of
plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to
improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varieties that boast unique and superior traits for a variety of applications. The most frequently addressed agricultural traits are those related to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, grain or biomass yield, end-use quality characteristics such as taste or the concentrations of specific biological molecules (proteins, sugars, lipids, vitamins, fibers) and ease of processing (harvesting, milling, baking, malting, blending, etc.).
Plant breeding can be performed through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to methods that make use of knowledge of genetics and chromosomes, to more complex molecular techniques. Genes in a plant are what determine what type of qualitative or quantitative traits it will have. Plant breeders strive to create a specific outcome of plants and potentially new plant varieties, and in the course of doing so, narrow down the genetic diversity of that variety to a specific few biotypes. (Full article...)
Broccoli, a plant of the
Cabbage family,
Brassicaceae, is a cool-weather crop eaten boiled, steamed, or raw. The Roman natural history writer,
Pliny the Elder, wrote about a vegetable which might have been broccoli and some recognize broccoli in the
cookbook of
Apicius, but its history is unclear. Broccoli was certainly an Italian vegetable long before it was eaten elsewhere.
These are
good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards..
Image 1
Berries
The blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum), also known as black currant or cassis, is a
deciduous shrub in the family
Grossulariaceae grown for its edible
berries. It is
native to
temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, where it prefers damp fertile soils. It is widely cultivated both commercially and domestically.
It is
winter hardy, but cold weather at flowering time during the spring may reduce the size of the crop. Bunches of small, glossy black fruit develop along the stems in the summer and can be harvested by hand or by machine. (Full article...)
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Carex binervis, the green-ribbed sedge, is a European species of
sedge with an Atlantic distribution. It is found from
Fennoscandia to the
Iberian Peninsula, and occurs in
heaths,
moorland and other damp, acidic environments. It typically grows to a height of 15–120 cm (6–50 in), and has
inflorescences comprising one male and several female
spikes, each up to 45 mm (1.8 in) long. The
utricles have two conspicuous green veins, which give rise to both the
scientific name and the
common name of the species. In the vegetative state, it closely resembles C. bigelowii, a species that usually grows at higher altitude. C. binervis was first described by
James Edward Smith in 1800, and is classified in
Carex sect. Spirostachyae; several
hybrids with other Carex species are known. (Full article...)
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Mereschkowski c. 1885
Konstantin Sergeevich Mereschkowski (Russian: Константи́н Серге́евич Мережко́вский, IPA:[mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj]; 4 August 1855 [
O.S. 23 July] – 9 January 1921) was a
Russianbiologist and
botanist, active mainly around
Kazan, whose research on
lichens led him to propose the theory of
symbiogenesis – that larger, more
complexcells (of
eukaryotes)
evolved from the
symbiotic relationship between less complex ones. He presented this theory in 1910, in his work, The Theory of Two Plasms as the Basis of Symbiogenesis, a New Study of the Origins of Organisms, although the fundamentals of the idea had already appeared in his earlier 1905 work, The nature and origins of chromatophores in the plant kingdom. (Full article...)
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Einar Du Rietz in 1932
Gustaf Einar Du Rietz (25 April 1895 – 7 March 1967) was a Swedish botanist and
lichenologist. His research interests included
plant ecology, lichen
taxonomy, and
biogeography. He was a leading figure in the
Uppsala school of
phytosociology–the study of groups of species of plants that are usually found together–and is recognised for his role in advancing this field of science and for mentoring future lichenologists. He led the Swedish Australasian Botanical Expedition of 1926–27, a seven-month research tour of various locations. He was married to
Greta Sernander, who was also a lichenologist. During the expedition, Du Rietz and his wife researched the vegetation in New Zealand, Australia, and Java, focusing on mountain lichens and their potential as
bioindicators for environmental conditions. They collected around 3000 specimens, contributing significantly to the study of bipolar lichens and
forest ecology, despite challenges in processing all the samples upon return to Sweden. Several species have been
named in his honour. In 1949, Du Rietz was elected to the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and contributed significantly to
nature conservation efforts in Sweden. (Full article...)
An oak is a
hardwood tree or shrub in the
genusQuercus of the
beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an
acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; it includes some 500 species, both
deciduous and
evergreen. Fossil oaks date back to the Middle
Eocene.
Molecular phylogeny shows that the genus is divided into
Old World and New World
clades, but many oak species
hybridise freely, making the genus's history difficult to resolve.
Ecologically, oaks are
keystone species in habitats from Mediterranean semi-desert to subtropical
rainforest. They live in association with many kinds of
fungi including
truffles. Oaks support more than 950 species of
caterpillar, many kinds of
gall wasp which form distinctive
galls, roundish woody lumps such as the
oak apple, and a large number of pests and diseases. Oak leaves and acorns contain enough
tannin to be toxic to cattle, but pigs are able to digest them safely. Oak timber is strong and hard, and has found many uses in construction and furniture-making. The bark was traditionally used for
tanning leather.
Wine barrels are made of oak; these are used for aging alcoholic beverages such as
sherry and
whisky, giving them a range of flavours, colours, and aromas. The spongy bark of the
cork oak is used to make traditional wine bottle corks. Almost a third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change,
invasive pests, and
habitat loss. (Full article...)
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Phragmipedium kovachii is an
orchid species found to be new to science in 2001, native to the Andean
cloud forests of northern
Peru. A species with terrestrial habit and growing in clumps of several individuals, it displays showy pink to purple flowers up to 20 cm (8 in) wide. It is currently considered a critically endangered species by the
IUCN, due to overcollection in the wild. (Full article...)
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Hyacinthoides non-scripta/ˌhaɪəsɪnˈθɔɪdiːznɒnˈskrɪptə/ (formerly Endymion non-scriptus or Scilla non-scripta) is a
bulbousperennial plant found in Atlantic areas from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a
garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell, a name which is used in Scotland to refer to the harebell, Campanula rotundifolia. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved
tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves.
H. non-scripta is particularly associated with
ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers in "
bluebell woods", but also occurs in more open habitats in western regions. It is protected under UK law, and in some other parts of its range. A related species, H. hispanica has also been introduced to Britain and Ireland and
hybridises with H. non-scripta to produce intermediates known as
H. × massartiana. (Full article...)
A mature Asplenium bradleyi growing in a crevice in
schist
Asplenium bradleyi, commonly known as Bradley's spleenwort or cliff spleenwort, is a rare
epipetricfern of east-central North America. Named after Professor
Frank Howe Bradley, who first collected it in Tennessee, it may be found infrequently throughout much of the
Appalachian Mountains, the
Ozarks, and the
Ouachita Mountains, growing in small crevices on exposed
sandstone cliffs. The species originated as a
hybrid between mountain spleenwort (Asplenium montanum) and ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron); A. bradleyi originated when that sterile
diploid hybrid underwent chromosome doubling to become a fertile
tetraploid, a phenomenon known as
allopolyploidy. Studies indicate that the present population of Bradley's spleenwort arose from several independent doublings of sterile diploid hybrids. A. bradleyi can also form sterile hybrids with several other spleenworts.
While A. bradleyi is easily outcompeted by other plants in more fertile habitats, it is well adapted to the thin,
acidic soil and harsh environment of its native cliffs, where it finds few competitors. Its isolated situation on these cliffs protects it from most threats, but quarrying and mining of the cliffs, rock climbing, and other activities that disturb the cliff ecosystem can destroy it. (Full article...)
Lilioid monocots (lilioids, liliid monocots, petaloid monocots, petaloid lilioid monocots) is an informal name used for a
grade (grouping of
taxa with common characteristics) of five
monocotorders (
Petrosaviales,
Dioscoreales,
Pandanales,
Liliales and
Asparagales) in which the majority of species have flowers with relatively large, coloured
tepals. This characteristic is similar to that found in
lilies ("lily-like"). Petaloid monocots refers to the flowers having tepals which all resemble petals (
petaloid). The taxonomic terms Lilianae or Liliiflorae have also been applied to this assemblage at various times. From the early nineteenth century many of the species in this group of plants were put into a very broadly defined family,
Liliaceaesensu lato or s.l. (lily family). These classification systems are still found in many books and other sources. Within the monocots the Liliaceae s.l. were distinguished from the
Glumaceae.
The development of
molecular phylogenetics,
cladistic theory and
phylogenetic methods in the 1990s resulted in a dismemberment of the Liliaceae and its subsequent redistribution across three lilioid orders (Liliales, Asparagales and Dioscoreales). Subsequent work has shown that two other more recently recognized orders, Petrosaviales and Pandanales also segregate with this group, resulting in the modern concept of five constituent orders within the lilioid monocot assemblage. This has resulted in treating monocots as three informal groups,
alismatid, lilioid and
commelinid monocots. The lilioids are
paraphyletic in the sense that commelinids form a
sister group to Asparagales. (Full article...)
Erythranthe, the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers, is a diverse
plantgenus with more than 120 members (as of 2022) in the
familyPhrymaceae. Erythranthe was originally described as a separate genus, then generally regarded as a section within the genus Mimulus, and recently returned to generic rank. Mimulus sect. Diplacus was segregated from Mimulus as a separate genus at the same time. Mimulus remains as a small genus of eastern North America and the Southern Hemisphere. Molecular data show Erythranthe and Diplacus to be distinct evolutionary lines that are distinct from Mimulus as strictly defined, although this nomenclature is controversial.
Member species are usually
annuals or
herbaceousperennials. Flowers are red, pink, or yellow, often in various combinations. A large number of the Erythranthe species grow in moist to wet soils with some growing even in shallow water. They are not very drought resistant, but many of the species now classified as Diplacus are. Species are found at elevations from oceanside to high mountains as well as a wide variety of climates, though most prefer wet areas such as riverbanks. (Full article...)
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Betula pubescens (syn. Betula alba), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of
deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern
Europe and northern
Asia, growing farther north than any other
broadleaf tree. It is closely related to, and often confused with, the
silver birch (B. pendula), but grows in wetter places with heavier soils and poorer drainage; smaller trees can also be confused with the
dwarf birch (B. nana).
Six varieties are recognised and it hybridises with the silver and dwarf birches. A number of cultivars have been developed but many are no longer in cultivation. The larva of the
autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) feeds on the foliage and in some years, large areas of birch forest can be defoliated by this insect. Many fungi are associated with the tree and certain pathogenic fungi are the causal agents of
birch dieback disease. (Full article...)
The tree has been dead since 1915 and is in poor structural condition, due in part to politically-motivated
vandalism, but there is a very similar living tree a short distance away known as Pi jove de les tres branques ("the young three-branched pine"), which is regarded as its successor. Both are protected as "monumental trees" by the Catalan Generalitat. (Full article...)
Image 14
Plant defense against herbivory or host-plant resistance (HPR) is a range of
adaptationsevolved by
plants which improve their
survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of
herbivores.
Plants can sense being touched, and they can use several strategies to defend against damage caused by herbivores. Many plants produce
secondary metabolites, known as
allelochemicals, that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical defenses can act as repellents or toxins to herbivores or reduce plant digestibility. Another defensive strategy of plants is changing their attractiveness. To prevent overconsumption by large herbivores, plants alter their appearance by changing their size or quality, reducing the rate at which they are consumed.
Other defensive strategies used by plants include escaping or avoiding herbivores at any time in any place – for example, by growing in a location where plants are not easily found or accessed by herbivores or by changing seasonal growth patterns. Another approach diverts herbivores toward eating non-essential parts or enhances the ability of a plant to recover from the damage caused by herbivory. Some plants encourage the presence of
natural enemies of herbivores, which in turn protect the plant. Each type of defense can be either constitutive (always present in the plant) or
induced (produced in reaction to damage or stress caused by herbivores). (Full article...)
Image 15
The history of botany examines the human effort to understand life on Earth by tracing the historical development of the discipline of
botany—that part of natural science dealing with organisms traditionally treated as plants.
Rudimentary botanical science began with empirically based plant lore passed from generation to generation in the oral traditions of
paleolithichunter-gatherers. The first writings that show human curiosity about plants themselves, rather than the uses that could be made of them, appear in
ancient Greece and ancient India. In Ancient Greece, the teachings of
Aristotle's student
Theophrastus at the
Lyceum in
ancient Athens in about 350 BC are considered the starting point for Western botany. In ancient India, the Vṛkṣāyurveda, attributed to
Parashara, is also considered one of the earliest texts to describe various branches of botany. (Full article...)
... that New York City's Bartow–Pell Mansion became a museum after its operator was restricted from importing and exporting plants?
... that while most
lichens that grow on plants live on the surface, the sole species in Amazonotrema grows partially among the cells of the tree bark on which it lives?
... that ochrophyte algae have twice as many membranes around their chloroplasts as plants?
... that in the late 2000s the
Campbell Soup Company began producing a spicier canned cheese sauce in their California and Texas plants than they did elsewhere to cater for different consumer tastes?
... that Aristotle classified living things based on whether they had a "sensitive soul" or, like plants, only a "vegetative soul"?
The following are images from various plant-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Structure of
Azadirachtin, a terpenoid produced by the
Neem plant, which helps ward off microbes and insects. Many secondary metabolites have complex structures (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 4The branching pattern of megaphyll veins may indicate their origin as webbed, dichotomising branches. (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 5Five of the key areas of study within plant physiology (from Botany)
Image 6Transverse section of a fossil stem of the Devonian vascular plant Rhynia gwynne-vaughani (from Botany)
Image 7The fruit of Myristica fragrans, a species native to
Indonesia, is the source of two valuable spices, the red aril (
mace) enclosing the dark brown
nutmeg. (from Botany)
Image 8The evolution of syncarps. a: sporangia borne at tips of leaf b: Leaf curls up to protect sporangia c: leaf curls to form enclosed roll d: grouping of three rolls into a syncarp (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 11A
banded tube from the Late Silurian/Early Devonian. The bands are difficult to see on this specimen, as an opaque carbonaceous coating conceals much of the tube. Bands are just visible in places on the left half of the image. Scale bar: 20 μm (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 16The Devonian marks the beginning of extensive land colonization by plants, which – through their effects on erosion and sedimentation – brought about significant climatic change. (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 22The trunk of early tree fern Psaronius, showing internal structure. The top of the plant would have been to the left of the image (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 24A botanist preparing a plant specimen for mounting in the
herbarium (from Botany)
Image 251 An oat
coleoptile with the sun overhead.
Auxin (pink) is evenly distributed in its tip. 2 With the sun at an angle and only shining on one side of the shoot, auxin moves to the opposite side and stimulates
cell elongation there. 3 and 4 Extra growth on that side causes the shoot to
bend towards the sun. (from Botany)
Image 28A
late Siluriansporangium, artificially colored. Green: A spore tetrad. Blue: A spore bearing a trilete mark – the Y-shaped scar. The spores are about 30–35 μm across. (from Evolutionary history of plants)
Image 31Echeveria glauca in a Connecticut greenhouse. Botany uses Latin names for identification; here, the specific name glauca means blue. (from Botany)
Image 32A nineteenth-century illustration showing the morphology of the roots, stems, leaves and flowers of the rice plant Oryza sativa (from Botany)