|
Gasteria Brachyphylla
''Gasteria brachyphylla'', the Klein Karoo gasteria, is succulent plant native to the Western Cape, South Africa. Description This species of ''Gasteria'' has its strap-shaped leaves in two opposite rows (distichous). Its flowers are 12–22 mm long. It very closely resembles its two relatives, ''Gasteria pillansii'' and ''Gasteria disticha'' to the north, both of which are also distichous. However ''G. brachyphylla'' can be distinguished by its very shiny, smooth leaves (its two relatives' leaves are rough with tiny tubercles). ''"Brachyphylla"'' means "wide/short leaves", and this species's leaves are shorter than its relatives'. It is proliferous, and has pink flowers which appear around September. File:Maria Moninckx05.jpg, Botanical sketch by Maria Moninckx File:8 Gasteria brachyphylla inflorescence - W Ladismith.jpg, Inflorescence, growing west of Ladismith Distribution It occurs under shrubs in the Succulent Karoo vegetation of the Little Karoo in the Western C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meaning "juice" or "sap". Succulents may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems. The water content of some succulent organs can get up to 90–95%, such as '' Glottiphyllum semicyllindricum'' and '' Mesembryanthemum barkleyii''. Some definitions also include roots, thus geophytes that survive unfavorable periods by dying back to underground storage organs (caudex) may be regarded as succulents. The habitats of these water-preserving plants are often in areas with high temperatures and low rainfall, such as deserts, but succulents may be found even in alpine ecosystems growing in rocky or sandy soil. Succulents are characterized by their ability to thrive on limited water sources, such as mist and dew, which makes them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water, using the green pigment chlorophyll. Exceptions are parasitic plants that have lost the genes for chlorophyll and photosynthesis, and obtain their energy from other plants or fungi. Most plants are multicellular organism, multicellular, except for some green algae. Historically, as in Aristotle's biology, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi. Definitions have narrowed since then; current definitions exclude fungi and some of the algae. By the definition used in this article, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (green plants), which consists of the green algae and the embryophytes or land plants (hornworts, liverworts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and List of South African provinces by population, the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George, Western Cape, George. Geography The Western Cape is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of , the country has Demographics of South Africa, a population of over 64 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament of South Africa, Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest, most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban. Cradle of Humankind, Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gasteria
''Gasteria'' is a genus of succulent plants, native to South Africa and the far south-west corner of Namibia. Naming The genus is named for its stomach-shaped flowers (''"gaster"'' is Greek for "stomach") that result from the swollen base on the corolla. Common names include ''ox-tongue'', ''cow-tongue'', ''lawyer's tongue'' and, occasionally, ''mother-in-law's tongue''. Description Gasterias are recognisable from their thick, hard, succulent "tongue-shaped" leaves. These are either in two opposite ranks (distichous), or in various distinctive spiral arrangements. Their inflorescence is also unique, with their curved, stomach-shaped flowers, which hang from inclined racemes. Distribution The species of this genus are mostly native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, where the bulk of the species occur – especially in the small area between Makhanda and Uniondale which enjoys rainfall throughout the year. However, the distribution of several species extends widely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Distichous
In botany, phyllotaxis () or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature. Leaf arrangement The basic arrangements of leaves on a stem are opposite and alternate (also known as spiral). Leaves may also be whorled if several leaves arise, or appear to arise, from the same level (at the same node) on a stem. With an opposite leaf arrangement, two leaves arise from the stem at the same level (at the same node), on opposite sides of the stem. An opposite leaf pair can be thought of as a whorl of two leaves. With an alternate (spiral) pattern, each leaf arises at a different point (node) on the stem. Distichous phyllotaxis, also called "two-ranked leaf arrangement" is a special case of either opposite or alternate leaf arrangement where the leaves on a stem are arranged in two vertical columns on opposite sides of the stem. Examples include various bulbous plants such as '' Boophone''. It also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gasteria Pillansii
''Gasteria pillansii'', the Namaqua gasteria, is succulent plant native to the arid winter-rainfall regions in the far west of South Africa and Namibia. Description This species of ''Gasteria'' has its strap-shaped leaves in two opposite rows (distichous), and is very variable in its appearance, and especially in its size. Its flowers are 25–45 mm long, with only slightly swollen bases for up to one-third of the length. In its vegetative appearance, it looks very similar to its two closest relatives, ''Gasteria disticha'' and ''Gasteria brachyphylla'' to the south, which are also distichous. However, the flowers are different, with ''G. disticha'' having smaller flowers of just 12–20 mm which have flower bases that are inflated or swollen for roughly two-thirds of the flower length. It is proliferous, offsetting from underground stolons, and can form large clumps. It has pink flowers which appear in mid-summer around December. The seeds develop in time to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gasteria Disticha
''Gasteria disticha'' is succulent plant native to the Western Cape, South Africa. Description This species of ''Gasteria'' has its strap-shaped leaves in two opposite rows (distichous), from whence its Latin species name comes. In its vegetative appearance, it looks very similar to the closely related species ''Gasteria pillansii'' to the north, and '' Gasteria brachyphylla'' to the south-east, both of which are also distichous. However, the flowers are different, with ''G. disticha'' having tiny flowers of just 12–20 mm which have flower bases that are inflated or swollen for roughly two-thirds of the flower length. ''G. disticha'' often has leaves that undulate slightly, with wavy margins and a rough, mat surface. It is proliferous, with pink flowers and appears between September and December. Distribution It occurs in the Robertson Karoo vegetation of the Breede River Valley in the Western Cape, South Africa. It also extends marginally into the verges of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maria Moninckx
Maria Moninckx (22 April 1673 (baptised) - 26 February 1757 (buried)) was a Dutch botanical artist and painter, best known for the colour plates she and her father, Jan Moninckx, created and which make up the nine-volume ''Moninckx Atlas''. This was published in the period 1686-1709 and depicted 420 plants from the ''Hortus Medicus'' of Amsterdam. She was born in The Hague and died in Amsterdam. Hortus Medicus In 1682 Joan Huydecoper II and Jan Commelin took the initiative in establishing a new ''Hortus Medicus'' in Amsterdam. It differed from the herb garden at the Binnengasthuis insofar as it also grew ornamental plants and would function as a ''Hortus Botanicus''. Huydecoper was mayor of Amsterdam and had great influence with the Dutch East India Company, while Commelin was a merchant in herbs and pharmaceuticals. Both men were well known as enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardeners. Because of their contacts in the business world and their practical horticultural experie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of millions of years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers on the way to the Highveld unanimously denounced it as a frightening place of great heat, great frosts, great floods, and great droughts. Today, it is still a place of great heat and frosts, and an annual rainfall of between 50 and 250 mm, though on some of the mountains it can be 250 to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic Flora Of The Cape Provinces
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 (ecology), 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 la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
