Today's featured article

Hypericum sechmenii flowers

Hypericum sechmenii (Seçmen's St John's wort) is a rare species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family that is found in Eskişehir Province in central Turkey. It was first described and assigned to the genus Hypericum in 2009, and was later placed into the section Adenosepalum. H. sechmenii is a perennial herb that grows 3 to 6 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) tall and blooms in June and July. The stems of the plant are smooth and hairless, while the leaves are leathery and lack leafstalks. Its flowers are arranged in corymbs, and each has five bright yellow petals. Similar species are H. huber-morathii, H. minutum, and H. thymopsis. Found among limestone rocks, H. sechmenii has an estimated distribution of less than 10 square kilometers (4 square miles), with fewer than 250 surviving plants. Despite containing druse crystals and toxic chemicals that may deter herbivory, the species is threatened by overgrazing, as well as climate change and habitat loss. ( Full article...)

Selected anniversaries

July 12

Yitzhak Rabin in 1948

• 927 – King Æthelstan of England secured the submission of four northern rulers: Constantine II of Scotland, Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred I of Bamburgh, and Owain ap Dyfnwal of Strathclyde.
• 1488 – Choe Bu, an official of the Joseon dynasty, returned to Korea after months of shipwrecked travel in China.
• 1801 – French Revolutionary Wars: A squadron of British ships of the line defeated a larger squadron of Spanish and French vessels in the Strait of Gibraltar.
• 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: Israel Defense Forces officer Yitzhak Rabin (pictured) signed an order to expel Palestinians from the towns of Lydda and Ramle.
• 1962 – The English rock band the Rolling Stones played their first concert, at the Marquee Club in London.

In the news

Masoud Pezeshkian

• The New Popular Front wins the most seats in the National Assembly in the French legislative election but does not achieve a majority.
• In Iran, the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian (pictured) is elected president in the second round of the presidential election.
• The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election and Keir Starmer becomes prime minister.
• Hurricane Beryl, the earliest-recorded Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in a calendar year, leaves at least 15 people dead in the Caribbean, Venezuela, and the United States.

Wikipedia:Today's second feature/July 12, 2024