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Regal Fritillary
The regal fritillary (''Speyeria idalia'') is a striking Nymphalidae, nymphalid butterfly found among some of the remaining Tallgrass prairie, tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies in the east-central United States. This prairie-specialist butterfly has a characteristic deep orange color and unmistakable dark hindwings with two bands of spots (#idbrock, Brock 2003). On the female, both bands of spots are white. However, on the male, the outer band of spots is orange in color. Females also tend to be slightly larger than males. The ventral surface of the hindwings is olive brown to black in color with bold silvery white spots (#idselby, Selby 2007). The wingspan of ''S. idalia'' usually measures (#idselby, Selby 2007). Flight is in the summertime from approximately June to September and adults tend to be swift in flight, coasting close to the ground (#idbrock, Brock 2003). It is listed as a species of special concern and believed Local extinction, extirpated in the US state of Connect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dru Drury
Dru Drury (4 February 1725 – 15 January 1804) was a British collector of natural history specimens and an entomologist. He received specimens collected from across the world through a network of ship's officers and collectors including Henry Smeathman. His collections were utilized by many entomologists of his time to describe and name new species and he is best known for his book ''Illustrations of natural history'' which includes the names and descriptions of many insects, published in parts from 1770 to 1782 with most of the copperplate engravings done by Moses Harris. Life Dru Drury was born in Wood Street, London. His father, also Dru Drury, was a citizen, goldsmith and silversmith of the City of London. Drury's great-grandfather, William, Lord of the Manor of Colne, Cambridgeshire, Colne, was Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire#1600–1699, Sheriff of Cambridgeshire in 1676. The Drury family traced back to a Thomas Drury, of Fincham, Norfolk, who died in 154 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viola Nuttallii
''Viola nuttallii'' (Nuttall's violet or yellow prairie violet) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the violet family (''Violaceae''), and is one of the few violet species with lanceolate leaves. It is native to the western Canada and the north-central and western United States, appearing in upper steppe lands, forests, and alpine ridges. The genus name ''Viola'' means violet in Latin. For Nuttall's violet the only purple coloring is the nectar guides in the throat of the flower. The species name is given in honor of noted botanist Thomas Nuttall Thomas Nuttall (5 January 1786 – 10 September 1859) was an English botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841. Nuttall was born in the village of Long Preston, near Settle in the West Riding of Yorkshire a .... The plant is highly variable, usually with bright yellow petals. The veined, elliptical leaves are long. The species serves as a larval host for the Coronis fritillary butterfly. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vernonia
''Vernonia'' is a genus of about 350 species of forbs and shrubs in the family Asteraceae. Some species of this genus are known as ironweeds. Some species are edible and of economic value. They are known for having intense purple flowers. There have been numerous distinct subgenera and subsections named in this genus, and some botanists have divided the genus into several distinct genera. For instance, the ''Flora of North America'' recognizes only about twenty species in ''Vernonia'' ''sensu stricto'', seventeen of which are in North America north of Mexico, with the others being found in South America. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in Gen. Pl. ed. 8 vol.2 on page 541 in 1791. The genus name of ''Vernonia'' is in honour of William Vernon (1666/67 - ca.1711), who was an English plant collector, ( bryologist) and entomologist from Cambridge University, who collected in Maryland, USA in 1698. Species Species of this genus are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goldenrod
Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus ''Solidago''. Several genera, such as ''Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the genus ''Solidago''. Some authors treat ''Oligoneuron'', the flat-topped goldenrods, as a separate genus than ''Solidago'', while others consider it a section (botany), section: Solidago sect. Ptarmicoidei, ''Solidago'' sect. ''Ptarmicoidei''. Goldenrods can be used as a sustainable method to enrich soil with nitrogen. With an increase of nitrogen levels, there can then be an increase of vegetative growth. Plants known as goldenrods include: *''Bigelowia'' spp., rayless goldenrods, 2 species native to the Southeastern United States *''Cuniculotinus gramineus'', Panamint rock goldenrod *''Euthamia'' spp., flat-topped goldenrods or grass-leaved goldenrods, 5 species native to North America *''Gundlachia triantha'', Trans-Pecos desert goldenrod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clover
Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversity in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes on mountains in the tropics. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants, typically growing up to tall. The leaves are trifoliate (rarely, they have more or fewer than three leaflets; the more (or fewer) leaflets the leaf has, the rarer it is; see four-leaf clover), with stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers; the small, few-seeded pods are enclosed in the calyx. Other closely related genera often called clovers include '' Melilotus'' (sweet clover) and '' Medicago'' (alfalfa or Calvary clover). As legume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monarda Didyma
''Monarda didyma'', the crimson beebalm, scarlet beebalm, scarlet monarda, Eau-de-Cologne plant, Oswego tea, or bergamot, is a North American aromatic herb in the family Lamiaceae. Description ''M. didyma'' is a perennial plant that grows to in height and spreads . The medium to deep green leaves are long, shaped ovate to ovate-lanceolate, with serrate margins, placed opposite on square, hollow stems. The leaves are minty fragrant when crushed. The plant's odor is similar to that of the bergamot orange (used to flavor Earl Grey tea). The bright and red flowers are ragged, tubular and long, borne on showy heads of about 30 together, with reddish bracts. It grows in dense clusters along stream banks, moist thickets, and ditches, blooming for about 8 weeks from early to late summer. Taxonomy The genus name comes from Nicolas Monardes, the first European to describe the American flora, in 1569. Distribution and habitat The species is native to eastern North America from Main ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liatris
''Liatris'' (), commonly known as gayfeather and blazing star is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae native to North America (Canada, United States, Mexico and the Bahamas). Some species are used as ornamental plants, sometimes in flower bouquets. They are perennials, surviving the winter and resprouting from underground corms. ''Liatris'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species such as moths of the genus ''Schinia''. Classification ''Liatris'' is in the tribe Eupatorieae of the aster family. Like other members of this tribe, the flower heads have disc florets and no ray florets. ''Liatris'' is in the subtribe Liatrinae along with '' Trilisa'', '' Carphephorus'', and other genera. ''Liatris'' is closely related to ''Garberia'', a genus with only one species endemic to Florida. The two genera can be distinguished by the shrub form of the latter and by karyotype. Species Species in the gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echinacea
''Echinacea'' is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ('), meaning "hedgehog", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Two of the species, '' E. tennesseensis'' and '' E. laevigata'', were formerly listed in the United States as endangered species; ''E. tennesseensis'' has been delisted due to recovery and ''E. laevigata'' is now listed as threatened. ''Echinacea'' has a long history of use in traditional medicine by Indigenous peoples for treating infections, pain, and wounds, and it later gained popularity in Western herbal remedies, especiall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterized by leaves with sharp spikes on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. These prickles protect the plant from herbivores. Typically, an involucre with a clasping shape similar to a cup or urn subtends each of a thistle's flower heads. The typically feathery pappus of a ripe thistle flower is known as thistle-down. The spininess varies considerably by species. For example, '' Cirsium heterophyllum'' has very soft spines while '' Cirsium spinosissimum'' is the opposite. Typically, species adapted to dry environments are more spiny. The term thistle is sometimes taken to mean precisely those plants in the tribe Cardueae (synonym: Cynareae), especially the genera '' Carduus'', '' Cirsium'', and '' Onopordum''. However, plants outside this tribe are sometimes also called thistles. Biennial thistles are partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asclepias
''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to humans and many other species, primarily due to the presence of cardenolides. However, as with many such plants, some species feed upon milkweed leaves or the nectar from their flowers. A noteworthy feeder on milkweeds is the monarch butterfly, which uses and requires certain milkweeds as host plants for its larvae. The ''Asclepias'' genus contains over 200 species distributed broadly across Africa, North America, and South America. It previously belonged to the family Asclepiadaceae, which is now classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. The genus was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, who named it after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. Flowers Members of the genus produce some of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nectar
Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal Mutualism (biology), mutualists, which in turn provide plant defense against herbivory#Indirect defenses, herbivore protection. Common nectar-consuming pollinators include mosquitoes, hoverfly, hoverflies, wasps, bees, butterfly, butterflies and moths, hummingbirds, honeyeaters and Bat#Fruit and nectar, bats. Nectar is an economically important substance as it is the sugar source for honey. It is also useful in agriculture and horticulture because the adult stages of some predatory insects feed on nectar. For example, a number of predacious or Parasitoid wasp, parasitoid wasps (e.g., the social wasp species ''Apoica flavissima'') rely on nectar as a primary food source. In turn, these wasps then hunt agricultural pest insects as food ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Plains
The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include the mixed grass prairie, the tallgrass prairie between the Great Lakes and Appalachian Plateau, and the Taiga Plains Ecozone, Taiga Plains and Boreal Plains Ecozone, Boreal Plains ecozones in Northern Canada. "Great Plains", or Western Plains, is also the ecoregion of the Great Plains or the western portion of the Great Plains, some of which in the farthest west is known as the High Plains. The Great Plains lie across both the Central United States and Western Canada, encompassing: *Most or all of the U.S. states of Kansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota, North and South Dakota; *Eastern parts of the U.S. states of Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming; *Parts of the U.S. states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas; *Sometimes western parts of Iowa, Minnesot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
