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Alvar
An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie-like plants. Most alvars occur either in northern Europe or around the Great Lakes in North America. This stressed habitat supports a community of rare plants and animals, including species more commonly found on prairie grasslands. Lichen and mosses are common species. Trees and bushes are absent or severely stunted. The primary cause of alvars is the shallow exposed bedrock. Flooding and drought, as noted, add to the stress of the site and prevent many species from growing. Disturbance may also play a role. In Europe, grazing is frequent, while in North America, there is some evidence that fire may also prevent encroachment by forest. The habitat also has strong competition gradients, with better competitors occupying the dee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweden
Sweden, ; fi, Ruotsi; fit, Ruotti; se, Ruoŧŧa; smj, Svierik; sje, Sverji; sju, Sverje; sma, Sveerje or ; yi, שוועדן, Shvedn; rmu, Svedikko; rmf, Sveittiko. formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country and the List of European countries by area, fifth-largest country in Europe. The Capital city, capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a population of 10.5 million, and a low population density of ; around 87% of Swedes reside in urban areas in the central and southern half of the country. Sweden’s urban areas together cover 1.5% of its land area. Because the country is so long, ranging from 55th parallel north, 55°N to 69th parallel north, 69°N, the climate of Sweden is diverse. Sweden has been inhabited since Prehistoric Sweden, prehistoric times, . T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, . ''Magnesian limestone'' is an obsolete and poorly-defined term used variously for dolomite, for lime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iris Lacustris
''Iris lacustris'', the dwarf lake iris, is a plant species in the genus '' Iris'', subgenus '' Limniris'' and in the section ''Lophiris'' (crested irises). It is a rhizomatous, beardless perennial plant, native to the Great Lakes region of eastern North America. It has lavender blue or violet-blue flowers, a very short stem and long fan-like green leaves. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions. It is closely related to ''Iris cristata'' (another North American crested iris). Description It is similar in form to ''Iris cristata'' but is chromosomally different and smaller.British Iris Society (1997) James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey (Editors) It has slender, wiry,Richard Lynch or cord-like, greenish-brown, or yellow rhizomes. It has a large central section and outer sections, which are long and 0.8–1.2 cm wide. The outer sections have fibrous roots (underneath), and 2–3 brown scale-like leaves above. It creeps across the groun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cypripedium Arietinum
''Cypripedium arietinum'', the ram's head lady's slipper, is a rare orchid that grows in lightly shaded areas with calcareous soils. It is characteristic of the alvars around the Great Lakes in North America, as well as in New England. In Canada, it is found from Quebec to Saskatchewan, plus an isolated population in Nova Scotia, where it grows on gypsum based soils, 330 km away from the nearest population in Maine. Description ''Cypripedium arietinum'' is a herbaceous perennial small lady's slipper growing to . It typically has 3, but sometimes 4-5, leaves and normally has a single flower per flowering stem but in the form biflorum there maybe two flowers per stem. The purplish-red flower has light venation and is white at the lip. The flower has three petals, one modified into a densely hairy pouch with white and purplish markings. The sepals are green with reddish-brown markings and the side sepals are to some degree spirally twisted, linear to linear-lanceolate in shap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pellaea Atropurpurea
''Pellaea atropurpurea'', commonly known as purple-stem cliffbrake or just purple cliffbrake, is a fern native to North and Central America. ''Brake'' is an old word for fern, related to the word ''bracken''. Like many other members of the Pteridaceae, it is a rock plant, needing a calcareous substrate. ''P. atropurpurea'' is an apogamous autotriploid, with ''3n=87'' (actual base number, ''n=29''), and is one of the historical parents of the hybrid species complex, '' Pellaea glabella''. Apogamy, or the ability to reproduce non-sexually, is common among rock ferns in the Pteridaceae. Characteristics This fern produces clumps of widely arching fronds. The stipe and rachis of the blade are purple, while the blade itself has a blue-gray tinge to it. The upper pinnae are long, narrow, and undivided, while the lower ones are divided into 3–15 pinnules. The pinnae are, for the most part, opposite. Fertile fronds are longer and more heavily divided. They produce sori, which lack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphyotrichum Pilosum
(formerly ''Aster pilosus'') is a perennial, herbaceous, flowering plant in the Asteraceae family native to central and eastern North America. It is commonly called , , , , , , , or . It may reach tall, and its flowers have white ray florets and yellow disk florets. Description ''Symphyotrichum pilosum'' is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach tall. Its flowers have white ray florets and yellow disk florets. Chromosomes has a monoploid number (also called ''base number'') of eight chromosomes There are plants of ''pilosum'' with four and six sets of the chromosomes, tetraploid with 32 total and hexaploid with 48 total. These cytotypes occur regularly, with occasional pentaploids (five sets) that have 40 in total. The involucre and floret sizes are different between the tetraploids and hexaploids, and the latter are found primarily in formerly glaciated A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lobelia Kalmii
''Lobelia kalmii'' is a species of flowering plant with a distribution primarily across Canada and the northern United States in temperate and boreal regions. It was formerly known as ''Lobelia strictiflora'' (Rydb.) It is commonly known as Kalm's lobelia, Ontario lobelia and Brook lobelia. Description ''Lobelia kalmii'' is a small plant (10 – 40 cm) that grows in wet environments such as bogs, wet meadows, and rocky shorelines, including wet alvars, where it grows in calcareous soil or cracks between limestone rocks. It is a perennial herb that has blue flowers with a white center. It has thin upper leaves and spatulate basal leaves. The plant starts flowering in July and lasts into September. Cultivation and uses Although other species of Lobelia are cultivated for ornamental purposes, the small (1 cm) flowers of ''Lobelia kalmii'' have not endeared this plant to growers. However, it can be found through on seed exchanges among native plant enthusiasts. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upland Sandpiper
The upland sandpiper (''Bartramia longicauda'') is a large sandpiper, closely related to the curlews. Older names are the upland plover and Bartram's sandpiper. In Louisiana, it is also colloquially known as the papabotte. It is the only member of the genus ''Bartramia''. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram. The species name '' longicauda'' is from Latin ''longus'', "long" and ''caudus'', "tail". The name "Bartram's sandpiper" was made popular by Alexander Wilson, who was taught ornithology and natural history illustration by Bartram. Description An adult is roughly long with a wingspan. The average weight is . This odd bird has a small dove-like head on a long neck. It is heavily marbled black and brown on the back and wings. The neck is streaked with dark brown which continues down to the breast and on to the flanks. The belly and undertail coverts are white. The tail is quite long for a sandpiper. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snail
A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called '' slugs'', and land snails that have only a very small shell (that they cannot retract into) are often called '' semi-slugs''. Snails have considerable human relevance, including as food items, as pests, and as vectors of disease, and their shells are used as decorative objects and are incorporated into jewelry. The snail has also had some cultural significance, tending to be associated with lethar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily "Hesperioidea"), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily "Hedyloidea"). Butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, as like most insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it fli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymenoxys Acaulis
''Tetraneuris acaulis'' is a North American species of flowering plants in the sunflower family.Tetraneuris acaulis'. ITIS.Tetraneuris acaulisLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center'', University of Texas.Hymenoxys acaulis'. '' The Jepson Manual, University of Calilfornia''Hymenoxys acaulis''. United States Geologic Survey, Native Wildflowers of the North Dakota Grasslands. Southwest Colorado Wildflowers. Tetraneuris acaulis '. CalFlora taxon report, University of California [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carex Juniperorum
''Carex juniperorum'', the juniper sedge, is a perennial flowering plant native to North America, first described by botanist William J. Crins in 1993. ''C. juniperorum'' is in the ''Cyperaceae'' (sedge) family, and is closely related to '' C. jamesii'' and '' C. willdenowii''. It is commonly called juniper sedge as it is often seen growing in areas with red cedar (''Juniperus virginiana''), though the presence of cedar is not necessarily a requirement for it to grow. Distribution Juniper sedge is globally rare. It only occurs in sections of Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia in the United States. In Canada, it is found in the province of Ontario. Description and habitat Juniper sedge prefers dry, open, calcareous soils that are periodically disturbed to maintain canopy cover. The plant grows forming a clump, with grass-like leaves up to 30cm long with a reddish-brown basal sheath. Flowers occur in early may on a small basal spike. Small (1.5-2mm) ellipsoid perigynia form in late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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