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Gomphocarpus Physocarpus
''Gomphocarpus physocarpus'', commonly known as hairy balls, balloonplant, balloon cotton-bush, bishop's balls, nailhead, or swan plant, is a species of plant in the Milkweed subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the Dogbane Family (Apocynaceae), related to the milkweeds. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalised as it is often used as an ornamental plant. Description ''Gomphocarpus physocarpus'' is an undershrub perennial herb, that can grow to tall with narrow lanceolate leaves. The plant blooms in warm months. It grows on roadside banks, at altitudes of above sea level. The plant prefers moderate moisture, as well as sandy and well-drained soil and full sun. Its propagation can be done by seeds or by cuttings. The seeds can be sown in a light, well-drained substrate. Cuttings about 10 cm long with the basal leaves removed can be planted in a pot with light, well-draining substrate. ''Gomphocarpus physocarpus'' is traditionally used to produce oin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asclepiadoideae
The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, it was treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, twining shrubs, lianas or rarely trees but notably also contain a significant number of leafless stem succulents. The name comes from the type genus '' Asclepias'' (milkweeds). There are 348 genera, with about 2,900 species. They are mainly located in the tropics to subtropics, especially in Africa and South America. The florally-advanced tribe Stapelieae within this family contains several relatively familiar stem succulent genera, such as '' Orbea'', '' Huernia, Stapelia'' and '' Hoodia''. They are remarkable for the complex mechanisms which they have developed for pollination, independently parallel to the unrelated Orchidaceae, such as the grouping of their pollen into pollinia. The "fragrance" (or odor) of the flowers, often called "c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symphyta) are commonly called caterpillars as well. Both lepidopteran and symphytan larvae have eruciform body shapes. Caterpillars of most species eat plant material ( often leaves), but not all; some (about 1%) eat insects, and some are even cannibalistic. Some feed on other animal products. For example, clothes moths feed on wool, and horn moths feed on the hooves and horns of dead ungulates. Caterpillars are typically voracious feeders and many of them are among the most serious of agricultural pests. In fact, many moth species are best known in their caterpillar stages because of the damage they cause to fruits and other agricultural produce, whereas the moths are obscure and do no direct harm. Conversely, various species of ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly Food Plants
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though molecular evidence suggests that they likely originated in the Cretaceous. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, and like other holometabolous 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, expands its wings to dry, and flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gomphocarpus
''Gomphocarpus'' is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1810. It is in the milkweed subfamily Asclepiadoideae, and its members are considered milkweeds. It is widespread across much of Africa, with a few species naturalized in other regions. ;Species accepted References Gomphocarpus, Apocynaceae genera {{Apocynaceae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardenolide
A cardenolide is a type of steroid. Many plants contain derivatives, collectively known as cardenolides, including many in the form of cardenolide glycosides (cardenolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). Cardenolide glycosides are often toxic; specifically, they are cardiac arrest, heart-arresting. Cardenolides are toxic to animals through inhibition of the enzyme Na+/K+-ATPase, Na+/K+-ATPase, which is responsible for maintaining the sodium and Potassium in biology, potassium ion gradients across the cell membranes. Etymology The term derives from ''card-'' "heart" (from Greek language, Greek καρδία ''kardiā'') and the suffix , referring to the lactone ring with double bond at C17. Cardenolides are a class of steroids (or aglycones if viewed as cardiac glycoside constituents), and cardenolides are a subtype of this class (see Wikipedia:MeSH D04#MeSH D04.808.155 --- cardenolides, MeSH D codes list). Structure Cardenolides are C(23)-steroids with methyl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danaus Chrysippus
''Danaus chrysippus'', also known as the plain tiger, African queen, or African monarch, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly Family (biology), family Nymphalidae. Danainae primarily consume plants in the genus ''Asclepias'', more commonly called milkweed. Milkweed contains toxic compounds, cardenolides, which are often consumed and stored by many butterflies. Because of their emetic properties, the plain tiger is Palatability, unpalatable to most predators. As a result, its colouration is widely mimicry, mimicked by other species of butterflies. The plain tiger inhabits a wide variety of habitats, although it is less likely to thrive in jungle-like conditions and is most often found in drier, wide-open areas. ''D. chrysippus'' encompasses three main subspecies: ''D. c. alcippus, D. c. chrysippus,'' and ''D. c. orientis.'' These subspecies are found co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterflies
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though molecular evidence suggests that they likely originated in the Cretaceous. Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, and like other holometabolous 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, expands its wings to dry, and flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take sever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danaus (genus)
''Danaus'', commonly called tigers, milkweeds, monarchs, wanderers, and queens, is a genus of butterflies in the tiger butterfly tribe. They are found worldwide, including North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Indonesia and Australia. For other tigers see the genus, ''Parantica''. Taxonomy Following the review of Smith et al. (2005), 12 species are provisionally accepted based on morphological, mtDNA 12S rRNA and cytochrome ''c'' oxidase subunit I, and nuclear DNA 18S rRNA and EF1 subunit α sequence data: This genus was formerly split into the subgenera ''Danaus'', ''Salatura'', and ''Anosia'', but this arrangement has been abolished. While the first (the 2–3 monarch butterflies) and ''Salatura'' (species ''ismare, genutia, affinis'', and ''melanippus'') do indeed seem to be clades, the relationship of these to the other species, especially the puzzling ''D. dorippus'', is not clear. Hybridization producing fertile offspring is known to occur between some species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elongated nose or snout. Etymology First attested in English in 1609 from Latin , the latinisation (literature), latinisation of the Ancient Greek (), which comes from () 'forth, forward, before' + (), 'to feed, to nourish'. The plural as derived from the Greek is , but in English the plural form ''proboscises'' occurs frequently. Invertebrates The most common usage is to refer to the tubular feeding and sucking organ of certain invertebrates such as insects (e.g., Insect mouthparts#Proboscis, moths, butterflies, and mosquitoes), worms (including Acanthocephala, Nemertea, proboscis worms) and gastropod molluscs. Acanthocephala The Acanthocephala, the thorny-headed worms or spiny-headed worms, are characterized by the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae (, from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison. Notable members of the family include oleander, dogbanes, milkweeds, and periwinkles. The family is native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members as well. The former family Asclepiadaceae (now known as Asclepiadoideae) is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here. Many species are tall trees found in tropical forests, but some grow in tropical dry ( xeric) environments. Also perennial herbs from temperate zones occur. Many of these plants have milky latex, and many species are poisonous if ingested, the family being rich in genera containing alkaloids and cardiac glycosides, those containing the latter oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollinia
A pollinium (: pollinia) is a coherent mass of pollen grains in a plant that are the product of only one anther, but are transferred, during pollination, as a single unit. This is regularly seen in plants such as orchids and many species of milkweeds (Asclepiadoideae). Usage of the term differs: in some orchids two masses of pollen are well attached to one another, but in other orchids there are two halves (with two separate viscidia) each of which is sometimes referred to as a pollinium. Most orchids have waxy pollinia. These are connected to one or two elongate stipes, which in turn are attached to a sticky viscidium, a disc-shaped structure that sticks to a visiting insect. Some orchid genera have mealy pollinia. These are tapering into a caudicle (stalk), attached to the viscidium. They extend into the middle section of the column. The pollinarium is a collective term that means either (1) the complete set of pollinia from all the anthers of a flower, as in Asclepiadoideae, ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gomphocarpus Fruticosus
''Gomphocarpus fruticosus'' (swan plant; narrow-leaved cotton bush) is a species of plant native to South Africa. It is also common in Australia and New Zealand where it is a host of the monarch butterfly. The plant's tissues contain sufficient cardenolides that consumption of significant quantities of the plant's leaves, stems, or fruit may lead to death in livestock and humans.p. 36 in The plant, also referred to as ''Narrow leaf cotton bush'', has officially been declared a pest in Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust .... The species is closely related to '' Gomphocarpus physocarpus''. References External links * fruticosus Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Butterfly food plants Flora of Southern Africa {{Apocyn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
