Calcifuge
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Calcifuge
A calcifuge is a plant that does not tolerate alkaline (basic) soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to flee from chalk'. These plants are also described as ericaceous, as the prototypical calcifuge is the genus '' Erica'' (heaths). It is not the presence of carbonate or hydroxide ions ''per se'' that these plants cannot tolerate, but the fact that under alkaline conditions, iron becomes less soluble. Consequently, calcifuges grown on alkaline soils often develop the symptoms of iron deficiency, ''i.e.'' interveinal chlorosis of new growth. There are many horticultural plants which are calcifuges, most of which require an 'ericaceous' compost with a low pH, composed principally of ''Sphagnum'' moss peat. Alternatively sulphur chips may be used to lower soil pH. A plant that thrives in lime-rich soils is known as a calcicole. Examples Order Ericales Ericaceae *'' Andromeda polifolia'' *'' Calluna'' (common heather) *'' Cassiope lycopodioides'' *''Daboecia'' *'' Enkianthu ...
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Erica (plant)
''Erica'' is a genus of roughly 857 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names heath and heather are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance. The genus '' Calluna'' was formerly included in ''Erica'' – it differs in having even smaller scale-leaves (less than 2–3 millimetres long), and the flower corolla consisting of separate petals. ''Erica'' is sometimes referred to as "winter (or spring) heather" to distinguish it from ''Calluna'' "summer (or autumn) heather". Description Most of the species of ''Erica'' are small shrubs from high, though some are taller; the tallest are '' E. arborea'' (tree heath) and '' E. scoparia'' (besom heath), both of which can reach up to tall. All are evergreen, with minute, needle-like leaves long. Flowers are sometimes axillary, and sometimes borne in terminal umbels or spikes, and are usually outward or downward facing. The seeds are very small, and in some species may survi ...
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Rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan region, but smaller numbers occur elsewhere in Asia, and in North America, Europe and Australia. It is the national flower of Nepal, the List of U.S. state and territory flowers, state flower of Washington (state), Washington and West Virginia in the United States, the state flower of Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh in India, the provincial flower of Jeju Province in South Korea, the provincial flower of Jiangxi in China and the List of Indian state trees, state tree of Sikkim and Uttarakhand in India. Most species have brightly coloured flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer. Azaleas make up two subgenera of ''Rhododendron''. They are distinguished from "true" rhododendrons by having only five anthers per flower. E ...
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Andromeda Polifolia
''Andromeda polifolia'', common name bog-rosemary, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only member of the genus ''Andromeda'', and is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas. ''Andromeda glaucophylla'' is a synonym of ''A. polifolia'' var. ''latifolia''. Description It is a small shrub growing to (rarely to ) tall with slender stems. The leaves are evergreen, alternately arranged, lanceolate, long and broad, dark green above (purplish in winter) and white beneath with the leaf margins curled under. The flowers are bell-shaped, white to pink, long; flowering is in late spring to early summer. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds. There are two varieties, treated as distinct species by some botanists: *''Andromeda polifolia'' var. ''polifolia''. Northern Europe and Asia, northwestern North America. *''Andromeda polifolia'' var. ''latifolia'' Aiton 789/ ...
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Carnivorous Plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published '' Insectivorous Plants'', the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research. True carnivory is believed to have evolved independently at least 12 times in five different orders of flowering plants, and is represented by more than a dozen genera. This classification includes at least 583 species that attract, trap, and kill prey, absorbing the resulting available nutrients. Venus flytraps (''Dionaea muscipula''), pitcher plants, and bladderworts ('' ...
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Erica Carnea
''Erica carnea'', the winter heath, winter-flowering heather, spring heath or alpine heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Ericaceae, native plant, native to mountainous areas of central, eastern and southern Europe, where it grows in Pinophyta, coniferous woodlands or stony slopes. Description It is a low-growing, spreading subshrub reaching tall, with evergreen needle-like leaves long, borne in whorls of four. The flowers are produced in racemes in late winter to early spring, often starting to flower while the plant is still covered in snow; the individual flower is a slender bell-shape, long, dark reddish-pink, rarely white. Taxonomy The first published name for the species was ''Erica herbacea''; however, the name ''E. carnea'' (published three pages later in the same book) is so widely used, and the earlier name so little, that a formal proposal to conserve the name ''E. carnea'' over ''E. herbacea'' was accepted by the International Bota ...
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Calcicole
A calcicole, calciphyte or calciphile is a plant that thrives in lime rich soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown on acidic soils often develop the symptoms of aluminium toxicity, i.e. necrosis, and phosphate deficiency, i.e. anthocyanosis (reddening of the leaves) and stunting. A plant that thrives in acid soils is known as a calcifuge. A plant thriving on sand (which may be acidic or calcic) is termed psammophilic or arenaceous (see also arenite). Examples of calcicole plants * Ash trees (''Fraxinus'' spp.) * Honeysuckle ('' Lonicera'') * ''Buddleja'' * Lilac ('' Syringa'') * Beet * ''Clematis'' * '' Sanguisorba minor'' * Some European orchids * Some succulent plant In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil condit ...
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Erica Erigena
''Erica erigena'', the Irish heath, is a European species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. Description It is a compact evergreen shrub growing to , with somewhat brittle foliage and deep pink honey-scented flowers in winter and spring. The leaves are 4-whorled, measuring in length and turning dark green at maturity. Originally known as ''Erica mediterranea'', the species was renamed in 1969 by R. Ross. The species name ''erigena'' comes from Erin of Ireland as "one applicable to something of Irish origin". ''E. mediterranea'' is now more commonly used to refer to '' E. carnea''. Distribution and habitat It is native to Ireland, southwestern France, Spain, Portugal and Tangier. Its appearance in the far west of Ireland, separated from the main Mediterranean populations, suggests a garden escape. It prefers cliffs and heathland. Cultivation In cultivation, it is often seen as groundcover amongst dwarf conifers. Like others of its kind, it is a calcifuge, preferring ...
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Daboecia
''Daboecia'' , or St. Dabeoc's heath, is a small genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Ericaceae, containing two evergreen shrubs, closely related to the genus ''Erica (plant), Erica''. They are native plant, native to cliffs and heathland in southern Atlantic Europe and the Azores. Description They produce urn-shaped flowers in shades of white, pink and red. ''Daboecia'' differ from European ''Erica'' species in having a substantially larger Corolla (flower), corolla. The leaves are always alternate in ''Daboecia'', never whorled. The generic name comes from the Irish Saint Dabheog. Distribution ''Daboecia'' has an oceanic distribution in western Europe, including western Ireland, western France, northwestern Spain, northwestern mainland Portugal and the Central Group, Azores, Central Group of the Azores. Like ''Erica'' and ''Calluna'' species, ''Daboecia'' are calcifuges, but will tolerate neutral soils and avoid peat. Species * ''Daboecia azorica'' Tom Tut ...
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Gaultheria Mucronata
''Gaultheria mucronata'' ( syn. ''Pernettya mucronata''; also known as prickly heath, chaura, or murtillo) is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to southern Argentina and Chile. In volcanic areas of southern Chile ''Gaultheria mucronata'' is one of the dominant plant species above the tree line. Description It is a compact, bushy, evergreen shrub with glossy green leaves and solitary white flowers in spring, followed in autumn by showy globose berries up to in diameter, in shades from deep plum purple through pink to pure white. It is dioecious, meaning that both male and female plants must be grown together in order to produce fruit. It prefers moist, shaded conditions. Edibility Its fruits are edible when ripe; they are sweet and juicy but somewhat tasteless, hence useful as survival food. Cultivars Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use, of which the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- *' ...
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Plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water, using the green pigment chlorophyll. Exceptions are parasitic plants that have lost the genes for chlorophyll and photosynthesis, and obtain their energy from other plants or fungi. Most plants are multicellular organism, multicellular, except for some green algae. Historically, as in Aristotle's biology, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi. Definitions have narrowed since then; current definitions exclude fungi and some of the algae. By the definition used in this article, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (green plants), which consists of the green algae and the embryophytes or land plants (hornworts, liverworts ...
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Kalmia Latifolia
''Kalmia latifolia'', the mountain laurel, calico-bush, or spoonwood, is a flowering plant and one of the 10 species in the genus of Kalmia belonging to the heath(er) family Ericaceae. It is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine to northern Florida, and west to Indiana and Louisiana. Mountain laurel is the List of U.S. state flowers, state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It is the namesake of Laurel County, Kentucky, Laurel County in Kentucky, the city of Laurel, Mississippi, and the Laurel Highlands in southwestern Pennsylvania. Description ''Kalmia latifolia'' is an evergreen shrub growing tall. The leaves are 3–12 cm long and 1–4 cm wide. The flowers are pentagonal, ranging from light pink to white, and occur in clusters. There are several named cultivars that have darker shades of pink, red and maroon. It blooms in May and June. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The roots are fibrous and matted. File:Mountain ...
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Pieris (plant)
''Pieris'' ( or ) is a genus of seven species of shrubs in the flowering plant family Ericaceae, native to mountain regions of eastern and southern Asia, eastern North America and Cuba. Known commonly in North America as andromedas or fetterbushes, they are broad-leaved evergreen shrubs growing to tall and wide. The leaves are spirally arranged, often appearing to be in whorls at the end of each shoot with bare stretches of shoot below; they are lanceolate-ovate, long and broad, leathery textured, and with an entire or serrated margin. The young leaves in spring are typically brightly coloured. The flowers, which may have a very appealing honey scent, are bell-shaped, long, white or pink, and arranged in racemes long. The fruit is a woody capsule which splits into five sections to release the numerous small seeds. ''Pieris'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the engrailed. The genus name derives from '' Pieria'', a place ...
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