|
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] |
Carl Meissner
Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40-year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel. He made important contributions to the botanical literature, including the publication of the comprehensive work ''Plantarum Vascularum Genera'', and publications of monographs on the families Polygonaceae (especially the genus ''Polygonum''), Lauraceae, Proteaceae, Thymelaeaceae and Hernandiaceae. His contributions to the description of the Australian flora were prolific; he described hundreds of species of Australian Proteaceae, and many Australian species from other families, especially Fabaceae, Mimosaceae and Myrtaceae. His health deteriorated after 1866, and he was less active. He died in Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwes ... [...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] |
Katberg Pass
Katberg Pass is a mountain pass situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, on the R351 between Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ... and Whittlesea. The pass climbs almost 700 meters in altitude to summit at 1622m ASL. The average gradient is 1:15 with some sections as steep as 1:3. Construction commenced in 1854 and was built by Andrew Geddes Bain. He was unable to complete it so it was ultimately completed by Adam de Smidt. References Mountain passes of the Eastern Cape {{EasternCape-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look different from the parts of the flower, such as the petals or sepals. A plant having bracts is referred to as bracteate or bracteolate, while one that lacks them is referred to as ebracteate or ebracteolate. Variants Some bracts are brightly coloured which aid in the attraction of pollinators, either together with the perianth or instead of it. Examples of this type of bract include those of '' Euphorbia pulcherrima'' (poinsettia) and '' Bougainvillea'': both of these have large colourful bracts surrounding much smaller, less colourful flowers. In grasses, each floret (flower) is enclosed in a pair of papery bracts, called the lemma (lower bract) and palea (upper bract), while each spikelet (group of florets) has a further pair o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellipse
In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in which the two focal points are the same. The elongation of an ellipse is measured by its eccentricity (mathematics), eccentricity e, a number ranging from e = 0 (the Limiting case (mathematics), limiting case of a circle) to e = 1 (the limiting case of infinite elongation, no longer an ellipse but a parabola). An ellipse has a simple algebraic solution for its area, but for Perimeter of an ellipse, its perimeter (also known as circumference), Integral, integration is required to obtain an exact solution. The largest and smallest diameters of an ellipse, also known as its width and height, are typically denoted and . An ellipse has four extreme points: two ''Vertex (geometry), vertices'' at the endpoints of the major axis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leaf Shape
The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular or irregular, and may be smooth or have hair, bristles, or spines. For more terms describing other aspects of leaves besides their overall morphology see the leaf article. The terms listed here all are supported by technical and professional usage, but they cannot be represented as mandatory or undebatable; readers must use their judgement. Authors often use terms arbitrarily, or coin them to taste, possibly in ignorance of established terms, and it is not always clear whether because of ignorance, or personal preference, or because usages change with time or context, or because of variation between specimens, even specimens from the same plant. For example, whether to call leaves on the same tree "ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Threepence (British Coin)
The British threepence piece, usually simply known as a threepence, ''thruppence'', or ''thruppenny bit'', was a denomination of sterling coinage worth of one pound or of one shilling. It was used in the United Kingdom, and earlier in Great Britain and England. Similar denominations were later used throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth countries, notably in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The sum of three pence was pronounced variously , or , reflecting different pronunciations in the various regions of the United Kingdom. The coin was often referred to in conversation as a , or bit. Before Decimal Day in 1971, sterling used the Carolingian monetary system, under which the largest unit was a pound divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. The brass threepence coin was withdrawn in 1971 due to decimalisation and replaced by the decimal new penny, with 2.4''d'' being worth 1p. Early threepences The three-pence (3d) coin first appeared in Eng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coins Of The South African Rand
The coins of the South African rand are part of the physical form of South Africa's currency, the South African rand. 1961–1964 The rand was introduced in the then Union of South Africa on 14 February 1961, shortly before the establishment of the Republic on 31 May 1961. The rand replaced the pound with a decimal currency: 100 cents (100c) = 1 rand (R1), 1 rand being valued at 10 shillings and 1 cent at 1.2 pence. The coins bore the forward-facing portrait of Jan van Riebeeck on the obverse. The initial circulation coins of the Republic were the following: * cent (approximately replaced d) *1 cent (approximately replaced 1d) *2 cents (replaced 3d) - nicknamed '' Tickey'', being the smallest in size coin *5 cents (replaced 6d) *10 cents (replaced 1/-) *20 cents (replaced 2/-) *50 cents (replaced 5/-) The coins initially had the same size as the former South African coins. All except the and 1 cent coins were in silver. The previous South African farthing coin (d) an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the 27,000 taxa curated by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while the herbarium, one of the largest in the world, has over preserved plant and fungal specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions and is a World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site. Kew Gardens, together with the botanic gardens at Wakehurst Place, Wakehurst in Sussex, are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, an internationally important botany, botanical research and education institution that employs over 1,100 staff and is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Envir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horticulture
Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and more controlled scale than agronomy. There are various divisions of horticulture because plants are grown for a variety of purposes. These divisions include, but are not limited to: propagation, arboriculture, landscaping, floriculture and turf maintenance. For each of these, there are various professions, aspects, tools used and associated challenges -- each requiring highly specialized skills and knowledge on the part of the horticulturist. Typically, horticulture is characterized as the ornamental, small-scale and non-industrial cultivation of plants; horticulture is distinct from gardening by its emphasis on scientific methods, plant breeding, and technical cultivation practices, while gardening, even at a professional level, tends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss
Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Krauss (Stuttgart, 9 July 1812 – 15 September 1890), was a German scientist, traveller and collector. Early life He was an apothecary's apprentice and worked as a pharmacist for a while, but then took up the study of mineralogy, zoology and chemistry at Tübingen and Heidelberg, where he excelled academically and was awarded a PhD ''summa cum laude'' in 1836. South Africa Cape Province 7 May 1838 – 2 June 1839 The following year Baron von Ludwig, famous for his garden in Cape Town, visited Germany and persuaded Krauss to visit South Africa. They sailed from Portsmouth aboard the 676-ton barque ''La Belle Alliance'' (the same vessel that had carried 1820 Settlers from England to the Eastern Cape) and arrived in Cape Town 81 days later on 7 May 1838. Krauss started collecting and studying the fauna, flora and geology of Cape Town and environs in earnest after a short trip to Tulbagh. He collected molluscs and crustaceans, marine algae and fish. Pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
