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Tuckernuck Island
Tuckernuck is an island in the town and former whaling port of Nantucket, Massachusetts, west of Nantucket Island and east of Muskeget. Its name allegedly means "a loaf of bread". The island has an area of about . The highest point is about . Settlement The island is privately owned by its summer residents. Approximately 35 houses have been built on Tuckernuck; the oldest home on the island was built in the mid-18th century. The island has no paved roads or public utilities. Electricity is generated by gasoline-powered generators and solar panels. Water comes from several wells on the island and water heaters are generally gasoline-powered, as are the stoves. The island has some cars, but most of the motorized transportation is provided by golf carts. Geology Tuckernuck was originally formed by the terminal moraine of the last glacial episode (Wisconsin glaciation). It still retains remnants of the moraine as low hills, but the southern half of the island consists of outwash pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acer Rubrum
''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity, it often attains a height around . Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn. Over most of its range, red maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions, perhaps more so than any other tree in eastern North America. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor, dry soils, and almost anywhere in betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of eleven genera. They are slender, lightly built birds with long, forked tails, narrow wings, long bills, and relatively short legs. Most species are pale grey above and white below, with a contrasting black cap to the head, but the marsh terns, the Inca tern, and some noddies have dark plumage for at least part of the year. The sexes are identical in appearance, but young birds are readily distinguishable from adults. Terns have a non-breeding plumage, which usually involves a white forehead and much-reduced black cap. Terns are long-lived birds and are relatively free from natural predators and parasites; most species are declining in numbers due directly or indirectly to human activities, including habitat loss, pollution, disturb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scoter
The scoters are stocky seaducks in the genus ''Melanitta''. The drakes are mostly black and have swollen bills, the females are brown. They breed in the far north of Europe, Asia, and North America, and winter farther south in temperate zones of those continents. They form large flocks on suitable coastal waters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together. Their lined nests are built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. These species dive for crustaceans and molluscs. Taxonomy The genus ''Melanitta'' was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822. The type species was designated in 1838 as the velvet scoter by Thomas Campbell Eyton. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''melas'' meaning "black" and ''netta'' meaning "duck". The genus contains six species: The presumed fossil "scoter" ''Melanitta ceruttii'', which lived in California during the Late Pliocene, is now placed in the genus ''Histrion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eider
Eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quilts—they have given the name to the type of quilt known as an eiderdown. Taxonomy The genus ''Somateria '' was introduced in 1819 to accommodate the king eider by the English zoologist William Leach in an appendix to John Ross's account of his voyage to look for the Northwest Passage. The name is derived from Ancient Greek : ''sōma'' "body" (stem ''somat-'') and : ''erion'' "wool", referring to eiderdown. Steller's eider (''Polysticta stelleri'') is in a different genus despite its name. Species The genus contains three species. Two undescribed species are known from fossils, one from Middle Oligocene rocks in Kazakhstan and another from the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long-tailed Duck
The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis''), formerly known as oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is the only member of the genus ''Clangula''. Taxonomy The long-tailed duck was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other ducks in the genus '' Anas'' and coined the binomial name ''Anas hyemalis''. Linnaeus cited the English naturalist George Edwards's description and illustration of the "Long-tailed duck from Hudson's-Bay" that had been published in 1750 in the third volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. This duck is now the only species placed in the genus ''Clangula'' that was introduced in 1819 to accommodate the long-tailed duck by the English zoologist William Leach in an appendix to John Ross's account of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spartina Alterniflora
''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt marshes. It has been reclassified as '' Sporobolus alterniflorus'' after a taxonomic revision in 2014, but it is still common to see ''Spartina alterniflora'' and in 2019 an interdisciplinary team of experts coauthored a report published in the journal ''Ecology'' supporting ''Spartina'' as a genus. It grows tall and has smooth, hollow stems that bear leaves up to long and wide at their base, which are sharply tapered and bend down at their tips. Like its relative saltmeadow cordgrass ''S. patens'', it produces flowers and seeds on only one side of the stalk. The flowers are a yellowish-green, turning brown by the winter. It has rhizoidal roots, which, when broken off, can result in vegetative asexual growth. The roots are an important f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosa Rugosa
''Rosa rugosa'' (rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, Ramanas rose, or letchberry) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand dunes. It should not be confused with ''Rosa multiflora'', which is also known as "Japanese rose". The Latin word "rugosa" means "wrinkled", referring to the wrinkled leaves.Jo Ann Gardner Sara Williams Description ''Rosa rugosa'' is a suckering shrub which develops new plants from the roots and forms dense thickets 1–1.50 m tall with stems densely covered in numerous short, straight prickles 3–10 mm long. The leaves are 8–15 cm long, pinnate with 5–9 leaflets, most often 7, each leaflet 3–4 cm long, with a distinctly corrugated (rugose, hence the species' name) surface. The leaf is elliptical in shape with a rounded base or broadly cuneate with a leather feel, dark green top. The back of the leaf is compo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prunus Maritima
''Prunus maritima'', the beach plum, is a species of plum native to the East Coast of the United States. It is a choice wild edible and its few pests and salt tolerance make it a resilient fruit crop for degraded lands and urban soils. Description ''Prunus maritima'' is a deciduous shrub, in its natural sand dune habitat growing tall, although it can grow larger, up to tall, when cultivated in gardens. The leaves are alternate, elliptical, long and broad, with a sharply toothed margin. They are green on top and pale below, becoming showy red or orange in the autumn. The flowers are in diameter, with five white petals and large yellow anthers. The fruit is an edible drupe in diameter in the wild plant, red, yellow, blue, or nearly black.Maine Department of Conservation Natural Areas Program: Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . The plant is salt-tolerant and cold-hardy. It prefers the full sun and well-drained soil. It spreads roots b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrica Pensylvanica
''Myrica pensylvanica'', the northern bayberry, is a species of ''Myrica'' native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Ohio, and south to North Carolina. It is also classified as ''Morella pensylvanica''. ''Myrica pensylvanica'' is a deciduous shrub growing to 4.5 m tall. The leaves are 2.5–7 cm long and 1.5-2.7 cm broad, broadest near the leaf apex, serrate, and sticky with a spicy scent when crushed. The flowers are borne in catkins 3–18 mm long, in range of colors from green to red. The fruit is a wrinkled berry 3–5.5 mm diameter, with a pale blue-purple waxy coating; they are an important food for yellow-rumped warblers. This species has root nodules containing nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, allowing it to grow in relatively poor soils. Taxonomy This plant is one of several ''Myrica'' species that are sometimes split into the genus ''Morella'', e.g. in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Additionally southe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toxicodendron Radicans
''Toxicodendron radicans'', commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is an allergenic Asian and Eastern North American flowering plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron''. The species is well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a true ivy (''Hedera''), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). ''T. radicans'' is commonly eaten by many animals and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. It is a different species from western poison ivy, '' T. rydbergii'', which has similar effects. Description Numerous subspecies and/or varieties of ''T. radicans'' are known. They can be found growing in any of the following forms, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solidago Sempervirens
''Solidago sempervirens'', the seaside goldenrod or salt-marsh goldenrod, is a plant species in the genus ''Solidago'' of the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America and parts of the Caribbean. It is an introduced species in the Great Lakes region. Similar plants found in the Azores (now ''Solidago azorica'') are thought have evolved from a natural introduction of this species. Description ''Solidago sempervirens'' is a succulent, herbaceous perennial that reaches heights of 4–6 feet (120–180 cm). It is unusual in the genus in having toothless, hair-less leaves, thicker than those of most other ''Solidago'' species. Flower heads are found in a large paniculiform inflorescence at the top of the plant, often with branches that bend backwards towards the base. This species blooms in late summer and well into the fall, later in the season than most of its relatives. Its fruits are wind-dispersed achenes. They are yellow often, and have sprouts of buds at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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