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Plectranthus Esculentus
''Coleus esculentus'', synonym ''Plectranthus esculentus'', also known as the kaffir potato or Livingstone potato, is a species of plant in the dicot family Lamiaceae. It is indigenous to Africa, where it is grown for its edible tubers. It is more difficult to cultivate than '' Coleus rotundifolius'', but able to give greater yields. Although the crop is similar to a potato, it is from the mint family, but it is still quite nutritious and useful. This crop can benefit many subsistence farmers since it is native, easy to grow, enjoying growing popularity in the market, and quite nutritious. Description The species is a perennial dicot herb and a member of the mint family. It can grow to be as tall as 2 metres. Some of the branches on the base bend down and grow into the ground that then can form oblong tubers, which are the fleshy underground stems. These tubers are edible and nutritious, often eaten as a substitute for potato or sweet potato. Although they are rarely seen ...
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George Taylor (botanist)
Sir George Taylor, FRS FRSE FLS LLD (15 February 1904, in Edinburgh – 13 November 1993, in Dunbar) was a Scottish botanist. Life He was born at 5 West Preston Street, the son of George William Taylor, a painter and decorator, and his wife, Jane Sloan. He was educated at Boroughmuir High School. By 1911, his father had gone into partnership as a tailor, with premises "Taylor and Thomson" at 39 George IV Bridge. George then began private education at George Heriot's School. He studied Biology at Edinburgh University graduating BSc in 1926. He did field studies in Rhodesia and South Africa 1927/28 and then continued as a postgraduate gaining a DSc in 1928. Following this he immediately obtained a position as an assistant at the British Museum in London. He was co-leader of the East African British Museum Ruwenzori expedition in 1934-35. In 1938 he joined Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff in a trip to Bhutan. Staying at the British Museum for most of his working life he becam ...
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Synonym (taxonomy)
In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The Botanical nomenclature, botanical and Zoological nomenclature, zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In nomenclature, botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a Binomial nomenclature, scientific name that applies to a taxon that now goes by a different scientific name. For example, Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name (under the currently used system of scientific nomenclature) to the Norway spruce, which he called ''Pinus abies''. This name is no longer in use, so it is now a synonym of the current scientific name, ''Picea abies''. * In zoology, moving a species from one genus to another results in a different Binomial nomenclature, binomen, but the name is considered an alternative combination rather than a synonym. The concept of synonymy in zoology is reserved f ...
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Kaffir (racial Term)
Kaffir () is an exonym and an ethnic slur the use of it in reference to Black South Africans, black people being particularly common in South Africa and to some degree Namibia and the former Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). In Arabic, the word ''kāfir'' ("unbeliever") was originally applied to paganism, non-Islam, Muslims of any ethnic background before becoming predominantly focused on pagan ''zanj'' (sub-Saharan African) who were increasingly used zanj slaves, as slaves. During the Age of Exploration in early modern Europe, variants of the Latin term (pl. ) were adopted in reference to non-Muslim Bantu peoples even when they were monotheistic. It was eventually used, particularly in Afrikaans (), for any black person during the Apartheid era, Apartheid and History of South Africa (1994–present), Post-Apartheid eras, closely associated with South African racism. While originally not pejorative, it became a pejorative by the mid-20th century and is now considered extremely offensiv ...
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Lamiaceae
The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), basil, mentha, mint, rosemary, Salvia officinalis, sage, savory (herb), savory, marjoram, oregano, Hyssopus officinalis, hyssop, thyme, lavender, and perilla, as well as traditional medicines such as catnip, ''Salvia'', Monarda, bee balm, Leonotis leonurus, wild dagga, and Leonurus japonicus, oriental motherwort. Some species are shrubs, trees (such as teak), or, rarely, vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, not only for their aromatic qualities, but also their ease of cultivation, since they are readily propagated by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage. Others are grown for seed, such as ''Salvia hispanica'' (chia), or for their edible tubers, such as ''Plectr ...
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Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area.Sayre, April Pulley (1999), ''Africa'', Twenty-First Century Books. . With nearly billion people as of , it accounts for about of the world's human population. Demographics of Africa, Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Based on 2024 projections, Africa's population will exceed 3.8 billion people by 2100. Africa is the least wealthy inhabited continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including Geography of Africa, geography, Climate of Africa, climate, corruption, Scramble for Africa, colonialism, the Cold War, and neocolonialism. Despite this lo ...
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Coleus Rotundifolius
''Coleus rotundifolius'', synonyms ''Plectranthus rotundifolius'' and ''Solenostemon rotundifolius'', commonly known as native potato or country potato in Africa and called Chinese potato in India, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to tropical Africa. It is cultivated for its edible tubers primarily in West Africa, as well as more recently in parts of Asia, especially India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia. ''C. rotundifolius'' is closely related to the coleus plants widely cultivated as ornamentals and is now again placed in the genus ''Coleus'', after being placed in the defunct genus ''Solenostemon'' and in '' Plectranthus''. Use and cultivation The egg-shaped tubers of the native potato appear very similar to the unrelated true potato, though they are smaller than modern commercial varieties. They are typically boiled, but may also be roasted, baked, or fried. Their flavor is bland, but sweeter than '' Coleus esculentus''. Native po ...
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Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equivalent to the concept of indigenous or autochthonous species. A wild organism (as opposed to a domesticated organism) is known as an introduced species within the regions where it was anthropogenically introduced. If an introduced species causes substantial ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage, it may be regarded more specifically as an invasive species. A native species in a location is not necessarily also endemic to that location. Endemic species are ''exclusively'' found in a particular place. A native species may occur in areas other than the one under consideration. The terms endemic and native also do not imply that an organism necessarily first originated or evolved where it is currently found. Notion The notio ...
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Cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. Cassava is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but substantial quantities are processed to extract cassava starch, called tapioca, which is used for food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. The Brazilian , and the related ''garri'' of West Africa, is an edible coarse flour obtained by grating cassava roots, pressing moisture off the obtained grated pulp, and finally drying it (and roasting in the case of both and ''garri''). Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates in food in the tropics, after rice and maize, making it an important staple food, staple; more than 500 million pe ...
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Cultivated Plant Taxonomy
Cultivated plant taxonomy is the study of the theory and practice of the science that identifies, describes, classifies, and names cultigens—those plants whose origin or selection is primarily due to intentional human activity. Cultivated plant taxonomists do, however, work with all kinds of plants in cultivation. Cultivated plant taxonomy is one part of the study of horticultural botany which is mostly carried out in botanical gardens, large nurseries, universities, or government departments. Areas of special interest for the cultivated plant taxonomist include: searching for and recording new plants suitable for cultivation (plant collecting, plant hunting); communicating with and advising the general public on matters concerning the Biological classification, classification and nomenclature of cultivated plants and carrying out original research on these topics; describing the cultivated plants of particular regions (horticultural floras); maintaining databases, herbarium ...
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Hausa Language
Hausa (; / ; Hausa Ajami, Ajami: ) is a Chadic language spoken primarily by the Hausa people in the northern parts of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin and Togo, and the southern parts of Niger, and Chad, with significant minorities in Ivory Coast. A small number of speakers also exist in Sudan. Hausa is a member of the Afroasiatic language family and is the most widely spoken language within the Chadic branch of that family. Despite originating from a non-tonal language family, Hausa utilizes differences in pitch to distinguish words and grammar. ''Ethnologue'' estimated that it was spoken as a first language by some 58 million people and as a second language by another 36 million, bringing the total number of Hausa speakers to an estimated 94 million. In Nigeria, the Hausa film industry is known as Kannywood. Classification Hausa belongs to the West Chadic languages subgroup of the Chadic languages group, which in turn is part of the Afroasiatic languages, Afro ...
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Millennium Seed Bank Project
The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP or MSB), formerly known as the Millennium Seed Bank Project, is the largest ''ex situ'' plant conservation programme in the world, coordinated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. After being awarded a Millennium Commission grant in 1995, the project commenced in 1996, and is now housed in the Wellcome Trust Millennium Building situated in the grounds of Wakehurst Place, West Sussex. Its purpose is to provide an "insurance policy" against the extinction of plants in the wild by storing seeds for future use. The storage facilities consist of large underground frozen vaults preserving the world's largest wild-plant seedbank or collection of seeds from wild species. The project had been started by Dr Peter Thompson and run by Paul Smith after the departure of Roger Smith. Roger Smith was awarded the OBE in 2000 in the Queen's New Year Honours for services to the Project. Project In collaboration with other biodiversity projects around ...
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Coleus
''Coleus'' (, ) is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Afro-Eurasia tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', '' Solenostemon'' and '' Plectranthus'' has been confused. ''Coleus'' and ''Solenostemon'' were sunk into ''Plectranthus'', but recent phylogenetic analysis found ''Plectranthus'' to be paraphyletic with respect to other related genera in the subtribe Plectranthinae. The most recent taxonomic treatment of the genus resurrected ''Coleus'', and 212 names were changed from combinations in ''Plectranthus'', ''Pycnostachys'' and ''Anisochilus''. ''Equilabium'' was segregated from ''Plectranthus'', after phylogenetic studies supported its recognition as a phylogenetically distinct genus. Common names for ''Coleus'' include spurflower, flybush, hedgehog flower and hullwort. ''Coleus'' are cultivated as ornamental plants, particularly '' Coleus scutellarioid ...
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