|
Protea
''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family. About 92% of the species occur only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mountainous coastal land from Clanwilliam to Grahamstown, South Africa. Most protea species are found south of the Limpopo River. '' Protea madiensis'' grows in Afromontane enclaves across tropical Africa, from Guinea to Sudan, Mozambique, and Angola. '' Protea afra'' ranges from the Cape region to Uganda and Kenya, including in the chaparral zone of Mount Kenya National Park. The extraordinary richness and diversity of species characteristic of the Cape flora are thought to be caused in part by the diverse landscape, where populations can become isolated from each other and in time develop into separate species. Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus when he was examining male and female plants of a species no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentrations of diversity. Together with the Platanaceae (plane trees), Nelumbonaceae (the sacred lotus) and in the recent APG IV system the Sabiaceae, they make up the order Proteales. Well-known Proteaceae genera include ''Protea'', ''Banksia'', ''Embothrium'', ''Grevillea'', ''Hakea'', and ''Macadamia''. Species such as the New South Wales waratah (''Telopea speciosissima''), king protea (''Protea cynaroides''), and various species of ''Banksia'', ''Grevillea'', and ''Leucadendron'' are popular cut flowers. The nuts of ''Macadamia integrifolia'' are widely grown commercially and consumed, as are those of ''Gevuina avellana'' on a smaller scale. Etymology The name Proteaceae was adapted by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protea Afra
''Protea afra'' (sometimes called the common protea), native to Africa, inhabiting from South Africa to Kenya, is a small tree or shrub which occurs in subtropical open or wooded grassland, usually on rocky ridges. Its leaves are leathery and hairless. The flower head is solitary or in clusters of 3 or 4 with the involucral bracts a pale red, pink or cream colour. The fruit is a densely hairy nut. The species is highly variable and has several subspecies. ''Protea'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Proteaceae. The shrub was first discovered by Ferdinand Krauss in the eastern regions of South Africa in December/January 1839/40. ''P. afra'' has never attracted much attention from horticulturalists. It was induced to flower at Kew Gardens in May 1893, but this failed to kindle any further interest in the species. The plant was illustrated on the reverse of a South African coin called the " tickey", the equivalent of the British threepenny bit, for almost 30 years until t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protea Madiensis
''Protea madiensis'', commonly known as the tall woodland sugarbush, is a flowering shrub which belongs to the genus ''Protea''. It is native to the montane grasslands of Sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy ''Protea madiensis'' was first described as a new species in a 1875 publication by the Linnean Society of London (read before the society in 1871) by Daniel Oliver, who described the new taxon from a specimen brought forth from the Speke and Grant expedition to find the source of the Nile. This specimen was collected by James Augustus Grant in December, 1862, when the trees were in full bloom, at a place called 'Madi' (see Madi people), hence the specific epithet ('from Madi'). Grant states in his notes that he encountered it for the first time here. The synonym ''Protea bequaertii'' was described from the Belgian Congo. In the first half of the 20th century, botanists believed that there were four different ''Protea'' species occurring contemptuously together with each other i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proteoideae
Proteoideae is one of the five subfamilies of the plant family Proteaceae. The greatest diversity of the subfamily is in Africa, but there are also many species in Flora of Australia, Australia. A few species occur in South America, New Caledonia, and elsewhere. Taxonomy Proteoideae was essentially defined by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown in his 1810 ''On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae''. Brown divided Proteaceae into two "sections" based on whether or not the fruits were dehiscence (botany), dehiscent or indehiscenct. He also noted that Brown's two "sections" corresponded closely with what are now recognised as the two largest Proteaceae subfamilies, Proteoideae and Grevilleoideae, and both the indehiscence of Proteoideae and the paired flowers of Grevilleoideae are still recognised as key diagnostic characters. Brown did not publish names for his two sections, and it would not be until 1836 that the name Proteoideae would be published by Amos Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protea Repens
''Protea repens'', known as the common sugarbush and in Afrikaans as the suikerbossie, is an erect shrub growing in the southern Cape Provinces of South Africa. This species is relatively adaptable and variable and can be found growing widely in various soils. Due to its showy flowers and adaptability, it is a popular subject for use in wildlife gardens in South Africa. Etymology The name of the plant family Proteaceae as well as the genus ''Protea'', both to which ''P. repens'' belongs to, derive from the name of the Greek god Proteus, a deity that was able to change between many forms. This is an appropriate image, seeing as both the family and the genus are known for their astonishing variety and diversity of flowers and leaves. The specific epithet ''repens'' means 'creeping', a case of mistaken identity, where Linnaeus used two different illustrated plates to describe the species: one was of ''P. repens'', and the other showed a dwarf creeping plant of a different species. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zealandia, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent. Gondwana was formed by the Accretion (geology), accretion of several cratons (large stable blocks of the Earth's crust), beginning with the East African Orogeny, the collision of India and Geography of Madagascar, Madagascar with East Africa, and culminating in with the overlapping Brasiliano orogeny, Brasiliano and Kuunga orogeny, Kuunga orogenies, the collision of South America with Africa, and the addition of Australia and Antarctica, respectively. Eventually, Gondwana became the largest piece of continental crust of the Paleozoic Era, covering an area of some , about one-fifth of the Earth's surface. It fused with Laurasia during the Carboniferous to form Pan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (''hálios gérôn''). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Proteus call him the god of "elusive sea change", which suggests the changeable nature of the sea or the liquid quality of water. He can foretell the future, but, in a mytheme familiar to several cultures, will change his shape to avoid doing so; he answers only to those who are capable of capturing him. From this feature of Proteus comes the adjective protean, meaning "versatile", "mutable", or "capable of assuming many forms". "Protean" has positive connotations of flexibility, versatility and adaptability. Name origin Proteus's name suggests the "first" (from Greek language, Greek "" , "first"), as () is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". It is not certain to what this refers, but in myths where he is the son of Poseidon, it possibly refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leucadendron Argenteum
''Leucadendron argenteum'' (silver tree, silver leaf tree, , or ) is an endangered plant species in the family Proteaceae, which is endemic to a small area of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. Most grow in and around the city of Cape Town, but outlying (perhaps introduced) populations exist near Somerset West ( Silwerboomkloof), Paarl and Stellenbosch. It is a protected tree in South Africa. Appearance The silvertree is a striking evergreen tree, growing 5–7 m tall (sometimes up to 16 m). It is erect and well-proportioned with a thick, straight trunk and grey bark. The soft, silky leaves are shiny silver, lanceolate, 8–15 cm long and 2 cm broad, with their distinct silvery sheen produced by dense velvety hairs. The wind-pollinated flowers are produced in dense pink, globose inflorescences 4–5 cm diameter, and give off a pleasant scent. Like all Leucadendrons, this tree is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The fruit is a heavy woody cone, cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flowering Plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit. The group was formerly called Magnoliophyta. Angiosperms are by far the most diverse group of Embryophyte, land plants with 64 Order (biology), orders, 416 Family (biology), families, approximately 13,000 known Genus, genera and 300,000 known species. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody Plant stem, stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of broad-leaved trees, shrubs and vines, and most aquatic plants. Angiosperms are distinguished from the other major seed plant clade, the gymnosperms, by having flowers, xylem consisting of vessel elements instead of tracheids, endosperm within their seeds, and fruits that completely envelop the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from the commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Floristic Region
The Cape Floral Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province. The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognised Phytochorion, floral kingdoms of the world, is an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism, and is home to over 9,000 vascular plant species, of which 69 percent are endemic. Much of this diversity is associated with the fynbos biome, a Mediterranean-type, fire-prone shrubland. The economical worth of fynbos biodiversity, based on harvests of fynbos products (e.g. wildflowers) and eco-tourism, is estimated to be in the region of South African rand, R77 million (~United States dollar, US$5 million) a year. Thus, it is clear that the Cape Floristic Region has both economic and intrinsic biological value as a biodiversity hotspot. Location and description Home to the gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angiosperms
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit. The group was formerly called Magnoliophyta. Angiosperms are by far the most diverse group of land plants with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of broad-leaved trees, shrubs and vines, and most aquatic plants. Angiosperms are distinguished from the other major seed plant clade, the gymnosperms, by having flowers, xylem consisting of vessel elements instead of tracheids, endosperm within their seeds, and fruits that completely envelop the seeds. The ancestors of flowering plants diverged from the common ancestor of all living gymnosperms before the end of the Carbonifero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
