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Milicia (plant)
Iroko ( Yoruba: Ìrókò) is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years. This is the common name for the genus ''Milicia'', in which there are two recognized species, which are closely related: ''Milicia excelsa'' and '' Milicia regia''. The genus name of ''Milicia'' is in honour of Milici (19th and 20th centuries), an administrator in Portuguese East Africa (in modern-day Mozambique) who supported the work of the author of the genus, Thomas Robertson Sim. It was first described and published in Forest Fl. Port. E. Afr. on page 97 in 1909. The tree is known to the Yoruba as , or and is believed to have healing properties. Iroko is known to the Igbo people as wood. It is one of the woods sometimes referred to as African teak, although it is unrelated to the teak family. The wood colour is initially yellow but darkens to a richer copper brown over time. Names in Other Languages * Yoruba : Ìrókò, Ùróko * Gbe languages : Lok ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Robertson Sim
Thomas Robertson Sim (25 June 1858 in Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland – 23 July 1938 in Durban, Natal (province), Natal) was a botanist, bryologist, botanical artist and Conservator of Forests in Natal, best known for his monumental work ''The Forests and Forest Flora of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope'' which appeared in 1907. He was the eldest of five children of John Sim (1824–1901), a noted Bryology, bryologist and Isabella Thomson Robertson (1823-). Education and career Attended Old Aberdeen grammar school until 1873 and in 1874 was given special tuition at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen. In that same year he served as apprentice gardener in the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens in Chiswick. In 1878 he was appointed to the Kew Gardens, Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew where he received a training in botany under Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker. In 1879 he worked for a year in the Harvard University botanic gardens in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here he was infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kongo Language
Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola. It is a tonal language. The vast majority of present-day speakers live in Africa. There are roughly seven million native speakers of Kongo in the above-named countries. An estimated five million more speakers use it as a second language. Historically, it was spoken by many of those Africans who for centuries were taken captive, transported across the Atlantic, and sold as slaves in the Americas. For this reason, creolized forms of the language are found in ritual speech of Afro-American religions, especially in Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Suriname. It is also one of the sources of the Gullah language, which formed in the Low Country and Sea Islands of the United States Southeast. The Palenquero creole in Colombia is also related to Kong creole. Geographic distribution Kongo wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, a population of more than 230 million, it is the List of African countries by population, most populous country in Africa, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in Niger–Nigeria border, the north, Chad in Chad–Nigeria border, the northeast, Cameroon in Cameroon–Nigeria border, the east, and Benin in Benin–Nigeria border, the west. Nigeria is a Federation, federal republic comprising 36 States of Nigeria, states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The List of Nigerian cities by population, largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest List of largest cities, metr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dermatitis
Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened. The area of skin involved can vary from small to covering the entire body. Dermatitis is also called eczema but the same term is often used for the most common type of skin inflammation, atopic dermatitis. The exact cause of the condition is often unclear. Cases may involve a combination of allergy and poor venous return. The type of dermatitis is generally determined by the person's history and the location of the rash. For example, irritant dermatitis often occurs on the hands of those who frequently get them wet. Allergic contact dermatitis occurs upon exposure to an allergen, causing a hypersensitivity reaction in the skin. Prevention of atopic dermatitis is typically with essential fatty acids, and may be treated with moistu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asthma
Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. A sudden worsening of asthma symptoms sometimes called an 'asthma attack' or an 'asthma exacerbation' can occur when allergens, pollen, dust, or other particles, are inhaled into the lungs, causing the bronchioles to constrict and produce mucus, which then restricts oxygen flow to the alveoli. These may occur a few times a day or a few times per week. Depending on the person, asthma symptoms may become worse at night or with exercise. Asthma is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Environmental factors include exposure to air pollution and allergens. Other potential triggers include medications such as aspirin and beta blockers. Diag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Lady Of Peace Basilica
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (, ) is a Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Guinness World Records lists it as the largest church in the world, having surpassed the previous record holder, Saint Peter's Basilica, upon completion. It has an area of and is tall. However, it also includes a rectory and a villa (counted in the overall area), which are not strictly part of the church. It can accommodate 18,000 worshippers, compared to 60,000 for St. Peter's. Ordinary liturgies conducted at the basilica are usually attended by only a few hundred people. The basilica is administered by Polish Pallottines at a cost of US$1.5 million annually. The basilica was constructed between 1985 and 1989 with different cost estimates given by various groups. Some stated that it cost US$175 million, US$300 million, or as high as US$600 million. The designs of the dome and encircled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Djembe
A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe comes from the saying "Anke djé, anke bé" which translates to "everyone gather together in peace" and defines the drum's purpose. In the Bambara language, "djé" is the verb for "gather" and "bé" translates as "peace." The djembe has a body (or shell) carved of hardwood and a drumhead made of untreated (not Liming (leather processing), limed) Rawhide (textile), rawhide, most commonly made from Goatskin (material), goatskin. Excluding rings, djembes have an exterior diameter of 30–38 cm (12–15 in) and a height of 58–63 cm (23–25 in). The majority have a diameter in the 13 to 14 inch range. The weight of a djembe ranges from 5 kg to 13 kg (11–29 lb) and depends on size and shell material. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basque Music
Basque music refers to the music made in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, reflecting traits related to its society/tradition, and devised by people from that territory. While traditionally more closely associated to rural based and Basque language music, the growing diversification of its production during the last decades has tipped the scale in favour of a broad definition. Traditional music Basque traditional music is a product of the region's historic development and strategic geographical position on the Atlantic arch at a crossroads between mountains (Cantabrian Mountains, Cantabrian mountain range, Pyrenees) and plains (Ebro basin), ocean and inland, European continent and Iberian Peninsula. Its culture and music has thus been exposed to a wide number of influences throughout history, ranging from British and northern European to Mediterranean to Al-Andalus, Arabic. For example, traditional overseas commerce with England, or international pilgrimage o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Txalaparta
The txalaparta ( or ) is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone. In some regions of the Basque Country, (with ) means "racket", while in others (in Navarre) has been attested as meaning the trot of the horse, a sense closely related to the sound of the instrument. Communication During the last 150 years, txalaparta has been attested as a communication device used for funeral (), celebration () or the making of slaked lime (), or cider (). After the making of cider, the same board that pressed the apples was beaten to summon the neighbours. Then, a celebration was held and txalaparta played cheerfully, while cider was drunk. Evidence gathered in this cider-making context reveals that sound-emitting ox horns were sometimes blown alongside txalaparta. Actually, cider and cider houses are the only traditional context for the txalaparta we have got to know first-hand. The same background applies to a related Basque percussion instrument, the kirikoketa, a recreation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dioecious
Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is biparental reproduction. Dioecy has costs, since only the female part of the population directly produces offspring. It is one method for excluding self-fertilization and promoting allogamy (outcrossing), and thus tends to reduce the expression of recessive deleterious mutations present in a population. Plants have several other methods of preventing self-fertilization including, for example, dichogamy, herkogamy, and self-incompatibility. In zoology In zoology, dioecy means that an animal is either male or female, in which case the synonym gonochory is more often used. Most animal species are gonochoric, almost all vertebrate species are gonochoric, and all bird and mammal species are gonochoric. Dioecy may also describe colonies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chlorophora Regia
''Milicia regia'' is a species of tropical tree in the family Moraceae. It grows in a belt on the west coast of Africa that extends from the Gambia to Ghana. It is threatened by habitat loss and logging. Description ''Milicia regia'' has a wide, rounded dark green crown. The trunk is tall and straight, with smooth, reddish-brown bark. The leaves are borne on short petioles and are ovate, dark green and up to long. They are arranged alternately along the twig and have 7 to 11 lateral nerves and untoothed margins. Male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. Male trees are taller and more slender than female trees and start flowering first. The catkins are borne in the axils of the leaves. The male tree has long catkins that can extend to in length, and the flowers in the upper part of the crown come out earlier than those further down. The female catkins are produced on the upper parts of the crown and are green and up to in length, with protruding styles. The flowers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
