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Ziziphus Mucronata
''Ziziphus mucronata'', known as the buffalo thorn, is a species of tree in the family Rhamnaceae, native to southern Africa. It is deciduous and may grow up to 17 metres tall. It can survive in a variety of soil types, occurring in many habitats, mostly open woodlands, often on soils deposited by rivers, and grows frequently on termite mounds. Its Zulu name “umLahlankosi” alludes to its use as a grave marker for tribal chiefs, while the Afrikaans name “Blinkblaar-wag-'n-bietjie” alludes to the shiny light green leaves and the hooked thorns. Description The buffalo thorn is a small to medium size tree, reaching a height of about , or rarely . The bark is a red-brown (on young stems) or roughly mottled grey, cracked in small rectangular blocks revealing a stringy red underbark. The bark becomes rough and turns to a dark grey or brown colour. The shrub or tree has distinctive zigzag branchlets, armed with pairs of thorns, one hooked and the other straight. In some instanc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Ludwig Willdenow
Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was also a mentor of Alexander von Humboldt, one of the earliest and best known phytogeographers. He also influenced Christian Konrad Sprengel, who pioneered the study of plant pollination and floral biology. Biography Willdenow was born in Berlin and studied medicine and botany at the University of Halle. After studying pharmaceutics at Wieglieb College, Langensalza and in medicine at Halle, he returned to Berlin to work at his father's pharmacy located in the Unter den Linden. His early interest in botany was kindled by his uncle Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch, J. G. Gleditsch and he started a herbarium collection in his teenage years. In 1794, he became a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He was a director of the Botanica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antifungal
An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis, and others. Such drugs are usually obtained by a doctor's prescription, but a few are available over the counter (OTC). The evolution of antifungal resistance is a growing threat to health globally. Routes of administration Ocular Indicated when the fungal infection is located in the eye. There is currently only one ocular antifungal available: natamycin. However, various other antifungal agents could be compounded in this formulation. Intrathecal Used occasionally when there's an infection of the central nervous system and other systemic options cannot reach the concentration required in that region for therapeutic benefit. Example(s): amphotericin B. Vaginal This may be used to treat some fungal in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trees Of Africa
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only plants that are usable as lumber, or only plants above a specified height. But wider definitions include taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos. Trees are not a monophyletic taxonomic group but consist of a wide variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some trees reaching several thousand years old. Trees evolved around 400 million years ago, and it is estimated that there are around three trillion mature trees in the world currently. A tree typically has many secondary branches supported clear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Southern Africa
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora'' for purposes of specificity. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fruits Originating In Africa
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propagated using the movements of humans and other animals in a symbiotic relationship that is the means for seed dispersal for the one group and nutrition for the other; humans, and many other animals, have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Consequently, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings. In common language and culinary usage, ''fruit'' normally means the seed-associated fleshy structures (or produce) of plants that typically are sweet (or sour) and edible in the raw state, such as apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, and strawberries. In botanical usage, the term ''fruit'' also inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zulus
Zulu people (; ) are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They originated from Nguni communities who took part in the Bantu migrations over millennia. As the clans integrated, the rulership of Shaka brought success to the Zulu nation due to his improved military tactics and organization. Zulus take pride in their ceremonies such as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and their various forms of beadwork. The art and skill of beadwork take part in the identification of Zulu people and act as a form of communication and dedication to the nation and specific traditions. Today, the Zulu people are predominantly Christian, but have created a syncretic religion that is combined with the Zulu's prior belief systems. History of the people of Zulu Origins The Zulu were originally a minor clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded by Zulu ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Era (Namibia)
The ''New Era'' is a daily national newspaper owned by the government of Namibia. The newspaper is one of four daily national newspapers in the country, the others being ''The Namibian'' (English and Oshiwambo), '' Die Republikein'' (Afrikaans) and '' Allgemeine Zeitung'' ( German). ''New Era'' was created by the ''New Era Publications Corporation Act of 1992''. According to Ullamaija Kivikuru, it copied the format of ''The Namibian'' in order to establish credibility. The two newspapers still resemble each other in having long stories spread over several pages. ''New Era'' has a usual circulation of 9,000, going up to 11,000 on Fridays.Rothe, ''Media System and News Selections in Namibia'', p. 23. It was established as a weekly newspaper and was later published only bi-weekly. It has appeared daily since 2004. ''New Era'' is published in English and five indigenous languages: Otjiherero, Oshiwambo, Damara/Nama, Silozi, and Khwedam. ''New Era'' is published by the New Era ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovambo People
The Ovambo people (), also called Aawambo, Ambo, Aawambo (Ndonga, Nghandjera, Kwambi, Kwaluudhi, Kolonghadhi, Mbalantu, mbadja), or Ovawambo (Kwanyama), are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily modern Namibia. They are the single largest ethnic group in Namibia, accounting for about half of the population.Namibia: People and Society CIA Factbook, United States; "about 50% of the population belong to the Ovambo tribe", total population: 2.4 million Despite concerted efforts from Christian missionaries to wipe out what they believed to be 'pagan practices', the Ovambo have retained many aspects of their traditional cultural practices. They are also found in the southern Angolan province of Cunene Province, Cunene, where they are more commonly referred to as "Ambo". [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinach
Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed either fresh or after storage, using Food preservation, preservation techniques by canning, Freezing (food), freezing, or Dehydrated food, dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming. It is an annual plant (rarely biennial plant, biennial), growing as tall as . Spinach may Overwintering, overwinter in temperate regions. The leaf, leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to triangular, and very variable in size: long and broad, with larger leaves at the base of the plant and small leaves higher on the flowering stem. The flowers are inconspicuous, yellow-green, in diameter, and mature into a small, hard, dry, lumpy fruit cluster across containing several see ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kraal
Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement, settlement or village surrounded by a fence of thorn-bush branches, a palisade, Earth structure, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form. It is similar to a ''Boma (enclosure), boma'' in eastern or central Africa. In Curaçao, another Dutch colony, the enclosure was called "koraal" which means coral and which in Papiamentu is translated "kura", a word still in use today for any enclosed terrain, like a garden. Etymology In the Afrikaans language a ''kraal'' is a term derived from the Portuguese language, Portuguese word , cognate with the Spanish-language , which entered into English separately. In Eastern and Central Africa, the equivalent word for a livestock enclosure is ''Boma (enclosure), boma'', but this has taken on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alkaloids
Alkaloids are a broad class of naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction, or solvent extractions followed by silica-gel column chromatography. Alkaloids have a wide range of pharmacological activities including antimalarial (e.g. quinine), antiasthma (e.g. ephedrine), anticancer (e.g. homoharringtonine), cholinomimetic (e.g. galantamine), vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine), antiarrhythmic (e.g. quinidine), analgesic (e.g. morphine), antibacterial (e.g. chelerythrine), and antihyperglycemic activities (e.g. berberine). Many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic (e.g. psilocin) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhamnaceae
The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions. The earliest fossil evidence of Rhamnaceae is from the Late Cretaceous. Fossil flowers have been collected from the Upper Cretaceous of Mexico and the Paleocene of Argentina. Leaves of family Rhamnaceae members are Simple leaf, simple, i.e., the leaf blades are not divided into smaller leaflets.Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd Ed. 2000, p. 166 Leaves can be either alternate or opposite leaves, opposite. Stipules are present and modified into spines in many genera. In some (e.g. ''Paliurus spina-christi'' and ''Colletia paradoxa'') spectacularly so. ''Colletia'' stands out by having two axillary buds i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
