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Brachystegia Eurycoma
''Brachystegia eurycoma'', a plant in the family Fabaceae, is a sizable species of tree found in southern Nigeria and western Cameroon. It has a spreading, flattened crown. Description A fairly large tree, ''B. eurycoma'' reaches a height of about and a diameter of . The trunk is irregular, with small buttresses. The outer bark is rough, brownish-grey, and peels away in large flakes. The inner bark is red and fibrous, darkening on exposure to the air and exuding a yellowish or reddish gum. The crown is broad and flattened, the branches are spreading and irregular and the twigs are downy when young. The leaves are pinnate with a short petiole swollen at its base and four to six pairs of oblong-elliptical leaflets, the basal ones being the smallest and the terminal ones the largest. The inflorescence is a terminal panicle, the individual flowers having short stalks and being surrounded by dense brown hairs; the flowers are petal-less and have a boss of ten long stamens and a lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Harms
Hermann August Theodor Harms (16 July 1870 – 27 November 1942) was a German taxonomist and botanist. Harms was born in Berlin. He worked as a botanist at the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum, Botanical Museum in Berlin. He was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He died in Berlin, aged 72. He was longtime editor of Adolf Engler's "''Das Pflanzenreich''", and was the author of several chapters on various plant families in Engler and Carl Prantl, Prantl's "''Die Natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien''", including the chapters on Bromeliaceae (1930) and Nepenthaceae (1936). In the latter he revised the pitcher plant genus ''Nepenthes'', dividing it into three subgenera: ''Anurosperma'', ''Eunepenthes'' and ''Mesonepenthes'' (see Taxonomy of Nepenthes, Taxonomy of ''Nepenthes''). Furthermore, he was interested in the genus ''Passiflora''. The plant genera ''Harmsia'' (Schum.), ''Harmsiella'' (John Isaac Briquet, Briq.), ''Harmsiodoxa'' (in the Brassicacea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of and a population of million people. There are coastal plains, mountains (the Crystal Mountains (Africa), Cristal Mountains and the Chaillu Massif in the centre), and a savanna in the east. Libreville is the country's capital and largest city. Gabon's original inhabitants were the African Pygmies, Bambenga. In the 14th century, Bantu expansion, Bantu migrants also began settling in the area. The Kingdom of Orungu was established around 1700. France colonised the region in the late 19th century. Since its independence from France in 1960, Gabon has had four President of Gabon, presidents. In the 1990s, it introduced a multi-party system and a democratic constitution that aimed for a more tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Nigeria
The wildlife of Nigeria consists of the flora and fauna of this country in West Africa. Nigeria has a wide variety of habitats, ranging from mangrove swamps and tropical rainforest to savanna with scattered clumps of trees. About 290 mammal species and 940 bird species have been recorded in the country. Geography Nigeria is a large country in West Africa just north of the equator. It is bounded by Benin to the west, Niger to the north, Cameroon to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The country consists of several large plateaus separated by the valleys of the two major rivers, the Niger River, Niger and the Benue River, Benue, and their tributaries. These converge inland and flow into the Gulf of Guinea through a network of creeks and branches which form the extensive Niger Delta. Other rivers flow directly to the sea further west, with many smaller rivers being seasonal. The highest mountain is Chappal Waddi () on the Mambilla Plateau in the southeast of the country ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Cameroon
The wildlife of Cameroon is composed of its flora and fauna. Bordering Nigeria, it is considered one of the wettest parts of Africa and records Africa's second highest concentration of biodiversity. To preserve its wildlife, Cameroon has more than 20 protected reserves comprising national parks, zoos, forest reserves and sanctuaries. The protected areas were first created in the northern region under the colonial administration in 1932; the first two reserves established were Mozogo Gokoro Reserve and the Bénoué National Park, Bénoué Reserve, which was followed by the Waza National Park, Waza Reserve on 24 March 1934. The coverage of reserves was initially about 4 percent of the country's area, rising to 12 percent; the administration proposes to cover 30 percent of the land area. The rich wildlife consists of 8,260 recorded plant species including 156 endemic species, 409 species of mammals of which 14 are endemic, 690 species of birds which includes 8 endemic species, 250 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trees Of Africa
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only plants that are usable as lumber, or only plants above a specified height. But wider definitions include taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos. Trees are not a monophyletic taxonomic group but consist of a wide variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some trees reaching several thousand years old. Trees evolved around 400 million years ago, and it is estimated that there are around three trillion mature trees in the world currently. A tree typically has many secondary branches supported clear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brachystegia
''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambezian region is the centre of diversity for the genus.Emmanuel N. Chidumayo and Davison J. Gumbo, eds. (2010). ''The dry forests and woodlands of Africa: managing for products and services''. Earthscan, 2010. Description Hybridisation between the species occurs and taxa show considerable variation in leaflet size, shape and number, making identification difficult. New leaves show a great range of red colours when immature, later turning to various shades of green. Range and habitat ''Brachystegia'' species range from coastal West Africa through Nigeria and Central Africa to the Northern Province of South Africa. Habitats include seasonally dry forest, woodland, wooded grassland and bushland, and lowland tropical rain forest, often along ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae, which is primarily used to create a high-quality latex of the same name. The material is rigid, naturally biologically Chemically inert, inert, resilient, electrically nonconductor, nonconductive, and thermoplastic, most commonly sourced from ''Palaquium gutta''; it is a polymer of isoprene which forms a rubber-like elastomer. The word "gutta-percha" comes from the plant's name in Malay language, Malay: translates as 'sticky gum' and () is the name of a less-sought-after gutta tree. The western term therefore is likely a derivative amalgamation of the original native names. Description ''Palaquium gutta'' trees are tall and up to in trunk diameter. The leaves are evergreen, alternate or spirally arranged, simple, entire, long, glossy green above, and often yellow or glaucous below. The flowers are produced in small clusters along the stems, each flower with a white corolla (flower), corolla with f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mucin
Mucins () are a family of high molecular weight, heavily glycosylated proteins ( glycoconjugates) produced by epithelial tissues in most animals. Mucins' key characteristic is their ability to form gels; therefore they are a key component in most gel-like secretions, serving functions from lubrication to cell signalling to forming chemical barriers. They often take an inhibitory role. Some mucins are associated with controlling mineralization, including nacre formation in mollusks, calcification in echinoderms and bone formation in vertebrates. They bind to pathogens as part of the immune system. Overexpression of the mucin proteins, especially MUC1, is associated with many types of cancer. Although some mucins are membrane-bound due to the presence of a hydrophobic membrane-spanning domain that favors retention in the plasma membrane, most mucins are secreted as principal components of mucus by mucous membranes or are secreted to become a component of saliva. Gene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polysaccharide
Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with water (hydrolysis) using amylase enzymes as catalyst, which produces constituent sugars (monosaccharides or oligosaccharides). They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Examples include storage polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen and galactogen and structural polysaccharides such as hemicellulose and chitin. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. Depending on the structure, these macromolecules can have distinct properties from their monosaccharide building blocks. They may be amorphous or even insoluble in water. When all the monosaccharides in a polysaccharide are the same type, the polysaccharide is called a homopolysaccharide or homoglycan, but when more t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood
Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere, such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living tree, it performs a mechanical-support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients among the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, woodchips, or fibers. Wood has been used for thousands of years for fuel, as a construction material, for making tools and weapons, furniture and paper. More recently it emerged as a feedstock for the production ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miombo
Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located in central and southern tropical Africa. It includes three woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized by the dominant presence of '' Brachystegia'' and '' Julbernardia'' genera of trees, and has a range of climates ranging from humid to semi-arid, and tropical to subtropical or even temperate. The trees characteristically shed their leaves for a short period in the dry season to reduce water loss and produce a flush of new leaves just before the onset of the wet season with rich gold and red colours masking the underlying chlorophyll, reminiscent of autumn colours in the temperate zone. Miombo woodlands extend across south-central Africa, running from Angola in the west to Tanzania in the east, including parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They are bounded on the north by the humid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
