|
Thompson's Beardtongue
''Penstemon thompsoniae'', Thompson's beardtongue, is a low perennial plant endemic to the southwestern United States, where it grows in dry shrublands, woodlands and forests. It is considered a species of conservation concern in California. Taxonomy ''Penstemon thompsoniae'' originally was considered a variety of ''Penstemon pumilis'', as published by Asa Gray in 1878. It was later reclassified as ''Penstemon caespitosus'' var. ''thompsoniae'' by Aven Nelson, and then elevated to full species by Per Axel Rydberg. In 1937, David D. Keck recognized two subspecies of ''Penstemon thompsoniae'': ssp. ''jaegeri'', restricted to mountains of Clark County, Nevada, which he distinguished by its few, remote stems and open inflorescence, and ssp. ''thompsoniae'' in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, which he distinguished by its tufted stems and compact inflorescences. These subspecies are no longer recognized due to the morphologic continuum that exists between them. Description ''Penstemon tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asa Gray
Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exclusive. Gray was adamant that a genetic connection must exist between all members of a species. He was also strongly opposed to the ideas of hybridization within one generation and special creation in the sense of its not allowing for evolution. He was a strong supporter of Darwin, although Gray's theistic evolution was guided by a Creator. As a professor of botany at Harvard University for several decades, Gray regularly visited, and corresponded with, many of the leading natural scientists of the era, including Charles Darwin, who held great regard for him. Gray made several trips to Europe to collaborate with leading European scientists of the era, as well as trips to the southern and western United States. He also built a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Per Axel Rydberg
Per Axel Rydberg (July 6, 1860 – July 25, 1931) was a Swedish-born, American botanist who was the first curator of the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium. Biography Per Axel Rydberg was born in Odh, Västergötland, Sweden and emigrated to the United States in 1882. From 1884 to 1890, he taught mathematics at Luther Academy in Wahoo, Nebraska, while he studied at the University of Nebraska. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (B.S. in 1891) and (M.A. in 1895). He earned his graduate degree from Columbia University (Ph.D. in 1898). After he graduated, Rydberg received a commission from the United States Department of Agriculture to undertake a botanical exploration of western Nebraska. He received another one in 1892 to explore the Black Hills of South Dakota, and in 1893 he was in the Sand Hills, again in western Nebraska. During this time he continued to teach at the Luther Academy. In 1900 Rydberg conducted field work in southeast Colorado. In 190 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aven Nelson
Aven Nelson (March 24, 1859 – March 31, 1952) was an American botanist who specialized in plants of the Rocky Mountains. He was one of the founding professors of the University of Wyoming, where he taught for 55 years as professor and served as president (1918-1922). He served as president of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and Botanical Society of America. Biography Nelson was born at Sugar Creek, in Lee County, Iowa to parents Christen Nelson and Anne (Evenson) Nelson, who had immigrated from Norway. Aven was the youngest of four children in a Quaker family. He attended Kirksville State Normal School in Kirksville, Missouri from which he was graduated in 1883 with his Bachelor of Arts degree, while in 1887 he received the M. S. D. degree. He further continued his education in Drury College at Springfield, Missouri, which conferred upon him a Master of Science degree in 1890. He next entered Harvard University was awarded the Master of Arts degree in 1892. In 1893, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David D
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damascus in the late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE to commemorate a victory over two enemy kings, contains the phrase (), which is translated as " House of David" by most scholars. The Mesha Stele, erected by King Mesha of Moab in the 9th century BCE, may also refer to the "House of David", although this is disputed. According to Jewish works such as the '' Seder Olam Rabbah'', '' Seder Olam Zutta'', and ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' (all written over a thousand years later), David ascended the throne as the king of Judah in 885 BCE. Apart from this, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged,Writing and Rewriting the Story of Solomon in Ancient Israel; by Isaac Kalimi; page 32 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inflorescence
In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis (Peduncle (botany), peduncle) and by the timing of its flowering (determinate and indeterminate). Morphology (biology), Morphologically, an inflorescence is the modified part of the Shoot (botany), shoot of spermatophyte, seed plants where flowers are formed on the axis of a plant. The modifications can involve the length and the nature of the internode (botany), internodes and the phyllotaxis, as well as variations in the proportions, compressions, swellings, adnations, connations and reduction of main and secondary axes. One can also define an inflorescence as the reproductive portion of a plant that bears a cluster of flowers in a specific pattern. General characteristics Inflorescences are described by many different charact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staminode
In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928 Staminodes are frequently inconspicuous and stamen-like, usually occurring at the inner whorl of the flower, but are also sometimes long enough to protrude from the corolla. Sometimes, the staminodes are modified to produce nectar, as in the witch-hazel ''(Hamamelis)''.jin lu mei shu. Hamamelis Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 124. 1753. Flora of China 9: 32. 2003 Staminodes can be a critical characteristic for differentiating between species, for instance in the orchid genus ''Paphiopedilum'', and among the penstemons. In the case of cannas, the petals are inconsequential and the staminodes are refined into eye-catching petal-like replacements. A spectacular example of staminode is given by ''Couroupita guianensis ''C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellen Powell Thompson
Ellen Louella (Nellie) Powell Thompson (1840–1911) was an American naturalist and botanist, and an active advocate for women's suffrage. Life Ellen Louella (Nellie) Powell was born in Ohio to parents of English origin. Her siblings included John Wesley Powell, best known for explorations of the American West and leadership of the early US Geological Survey. Another brother was William P. Powell, superintendent of Washington D.C. public schools. She had several sisters, one of whom was the wife of Congressman John Davis of Kansas, and mother of the scientist Arthur Powell Davis.Helen H. Tindall, "Ellen Powell Thompson" in ''The Woman's Journal'' (Boston, MA, United States), Saturday, April 1, 1911, Vol. XLII, Issue 13, p.99 In the mid-1850s, she attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. She taught school from the age of 16."District Representative" in ''Evening Star'' (Washington, District of Columbia), February 16, 1898, p 7. On July 8, 1862 in Wheaton, Illinois ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He is famous for his 1869 geographic expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first official U.S. government-sponsored passage through the Grand Canyon. Powell was appointed by US President James A. Garfield to serve as the second director of the U.S. Geological Survey (1881–1894) and proposed, for development of the arid West, policies that were prescient for his accurate evaluation of conditions. Two years prior to his service as director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Major Powell had become the first director of the Bureau of Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution where he supported linguistic and sociological research and publications. Biography Early life Powell was born in Mount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several examples, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN, the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept. For example, the holotype for the butterfly '' Plebejus idas longinus'' is a preserved specimen of that subspecies, held by the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. In botany and mycology, an isotype is a duplicate of the holotype, generally pieces from the same individual plant or samples from the same genetic individual. A holotype is not necessarily "ty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penstemon Caespitosus
''Penstemon caespitosus'', commonly known as mat penstemon, is a summer blooming perennial flower in the large ''Penstemon'' genus. It is a widespread plant from near timberline to the foothills in the Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau in North America. It is noted for its ground hugging growth habit and as a plant used in xeriscaping, xeriscape and rock garden, rock gardening. Description ''Penstemon caespitosus'' is very low growing, usually just tall with the stems laying down and only the tips curving upright. Most often individual stems are in length, but occasionally will be long. Older stems will be woody and have many branches. The stems root at nodes eventually forming solid mat up to in width. The stems have small backwards pointing (Glossary_of_botanical_terms#retrorse, retrorse) hairs giving the stems a rough texture, but not giving them an ashy appearance. The leaves of ''Penstemon caespitosus'' are attached by a short leaf stem to the main stems, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penstemon
''Penstemon'' , the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all ''Penstemon'' species alongside beardtongues. Formerly placed in the family Scrophulariaceae by the Cronquist system, new genetic research has placed it in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae. The total number of species is uncertain due to on going research into if some of the named species are actually subspecies or misidentifications of already identified species. Description They have opposite leaves, partly tube-shaped, and two-lipped flowers and seed capsules. The most distinctive feature of the genus is the prominent staminode, an infertile stamen. The staminode takes a variety of forms in the different species; while it is typically a long stra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
