View allAll Photos Tagged polymorph
LES SOURCES OCCULTES 014/999
L'Oracle
Réalisation : Laurent Courau
Scénario : Thierry Ehrmann
Prises de vue : Laurent Courau et Sydney Ehrmann
Lumières : Marquis
A film by Laurent Courau, based on a scenario by Thierry Ehrmann.
Entre effroi et merveilles, une zone mouvante aux portes du futur et des enfers...
Les Sources Occultes vous entraînent au coeur d'un univers polymorphe dont les clés et les motifs se révéleront au fur et à mesure des épisodes de cette série de fictions. En attendant un final apocalyptique, au sens premier du terme, qui révélera la structure générale sous la forme d'un long-métrage...
Les Sources Occultes offre aussi une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans le labyrinthe multidimensionnel de la Demeure du Chaos à celles et ceux qui postulent à notre casting, une occasion unique de pénétrer les arcanes de l'esprit de la Salamandre.
Secrets revealed of the Abode of Chaos (112 pages, adult only) >>>
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions; where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. For example, the presence or absence of a butterfly flapping its wings could lead to creation or absence of a hurricane.
Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an esoteric and unusual behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position.
The term "butterfly effect" itself is related to the meteorological work of Edward Lorenz, who popularized the term.
The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with "what if" cases where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; however, some species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., Harvesters) eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.
Femme de l'ethnie Hmong Fleuri dans la campagne de Ban Pho, près de Bac Ha, province de Lao Cai, nord du Vietnam
Cette femme déjà âgée, bien qu'ayant revêtu sa plus belle tenue traditionnelle, était en train de travailler à l'entretien d'un talus, pioche à la main, quand nous l'avons croisée.
Les Hmong encore appelés Méo, ou Miao , sont originaires des régions montagneuses du sud de la Chine (principalement la province du Guizhou), où ils sont encore présents ainsi qu'au nord du Viêt Nam et du Laos.
Le souci de préserver leur identité culturelle et leur indépendance les ont amenés à s'engager dans divers conflits. Au XXe siècle, en particulier, ils aidèrent les Français pendant la guerre d'Indochine puis les Américains pendant la la guerre du Vietnam. A l’avènement des régimes communistes dans ces pays un nombre important de Hmong se sont réfugiés dans des pays d'accueil, principalement les États-Unis, la France et l'Australie. Mais la majeure partie d’entre eux vit encore en Asie du Sud-Est
Les Hmongs sont animistes ou chrétiens. La langue hmong appartient à la famille des langues hmong-mien, encore appelée « miao-yao »
Les costumes traditionnels de cette ethnie sont très polymorphes mais ils ont en commun la richesse du décor brodé. Ceux des Hmong Fleuri (ou Hmong Bariolé) sont particulièrement colorés.
Crax rubra - Grand Hocco (♀) - Great curassow
Plus grand Cracidae, Crax rubra présente un dimorphisme sexuel très marqué.
Le mâle a un plumage noir sur le dessus, blanc sur le dessous, un bec jaune, court et crochu, aplati transversalement, surmonté d'une excroissance bulbeuse jaune sur le dessus. Il a une huppe de plumes bouclées sur la tête. Les pattes sont grises.
La femelle est polymorphique. Il en existe trois types :
Rayures blanches sur la tête, le cou, le dos et les ailes.
Tête noire avec un plumage brun rougeâtre. (PHOTO)
Tête noire avec un plumage brun foncé.
The Goeldi's marmoset or Goeldi's monkey (Callimico goeldii) is a small, South American New World monkey that lives in the upper Amazon basin region of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is the only species classified in the genus Callimico, and the monkeys are sometimes referred to as "callimicos".
Goeldi's marmosets are blackish or blackish-brown in color and the hair on their head and tail sometimes has red, white, or silvery-brown highlights. Their bodies are about 20-23 cm long, and their tails are about 25-30 cm long.
Goeldi's marmoset was first described in 1904, making Callimico one of the more recent monkey genera to be described. In older classification schemes it was sometimes placed in its own family Callimiconidae and sometimes, along with the marmosets and tamarins, in the sub-family Callitrichinae in the family Cebidae. More recently, Callitrichinae has been (re-)elevated to family status as Callitrichidae.
Females reach sexual maturity at 8.5 months, males at 16.5 months. The gestation period lasts from 140 to 180 days. Unlike other New World monkeys, they have the capacity to give birth twice a year. The mother carries a single baby monkey per pregnancy, whereas most other species in the family Callitrichidae usually give birth to twins. For the first 2-3 weeks the mother acts as the primary care-giver until the father takes over most of the responsibilities except for nursing. The infant is weaned after about 65 days. Females outnumber males by 2:1. The life expectancy in captivity is about 10 years. The monkeys are able to jump as far as from one end of a tennis court to another.
They prefer to forage in dense scrubby undergrowth; perhaps because of this, they are rare, with groups living in separate patches of suitable habitat, separated by miles of unsuitable flora. In the wet season, their diet includes fruit, insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, and snakes. In the dry season, they feed on fungi, the only tropical primates known to depend on this source of food. They live in small social groups (approximately six individuals) that stay within a few feet of one another most of the time, staying in contact via high-pitched calls. They are also known to form polyspecific groups with tamarins, perhaps because Goeldi's marmosets are not known to have the X-linked polymorphism which enables some individuals of other New World monkey species to see in full tri-chromatic vision.
The species takes its name from its discoverer, the Swiss naturalist Emil August Goeldi.
This specimen was seen Marwell Wildlife near Winchester, Hants.
Cuculus canorus
[order] Cuculiformes | [family] Cuculidae | [latin] Cuculus canorus | [UK] Cuckoo | [FR] Coucou gris | [DE] Kuckuck | [ES] Cuco Europeo | [IT] Cuculo eurasiatico | [NL] Koekoek | [IRL] Cuach
Measurements
spanwidth min.: 54 cm
spanwidth max.: 60 cm
size min.: 32 cm
size max.: 36 cm
Breeding
incubation min.: 11 days
incubation max.: 12 days
fledging min.: 17 days
fledging max.: 17 days
broods 15
eggs min.: 1
eggs max.: 25
Status: Widespread summer visitor to Ireland from April to August.
Conservation Concern: Green-listed in Ireland. The European population is currently evaluated as secure.
Identification: Despite its obvious song, relatively infrequently seen. In flight, can be mistaken for a bird of prey such as Sparrowhawk, but has rapid wingbeats below the horizontal plane - ie. the wings are not raised above the body. Adult male Cuckoos are a uniform grey on the head, neck, back, wings and tail. The underparts are white with black barring. Adult females can appear in one of two forms. The so-called grey-morph resembles the adult male plumage, but has throat and breast barred black and white with yellowish wash. The rufous-morph has the grey replaced by rufous, with strong black barring on the wings, back and tail. Juvenile Cuckoos resemble the female rufous-morph, but are darker brown above.
Similar Species: Sparrowhawk
Call: The song is probably one of the most recognisable and well-known of all Irish bird species. The male gives a distinctive “wuck-oo”, which is occasionally doubled “wuck-uck-ooo”. The female has a distinctive bubbling “pupupupu”. The song period is late April to late June.
Diet: Mainly caterpillars and other insects.
Breeding: Widespread in Ireland, favouring open areas which hold their main Irish host species – Meadow Pipit. Has a remarkable breeding biology unlike any other Irish breeding species.
Wintering: Cuckoos winter in central and southern Africa.
To minimise the chance of being recognised and thus attacked by the birds they are trying to parasitize, female cuckoos have evolved different guises.
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. On hatching, the young cuckoo ejects the host's eggs and chicks from the nest, so the hosts end up raising a cuckoo chick rather than a brood of their own. To fight back, reed warblers (a common host across Europe) have a first line of defence: they attack, or ‘mob’, the female cuckoo, which reduces the chance that their nest is parasitized.
To deter the warbler from attacking, the colouring of the grey cuckoo mimics sparrow hawks, a common predator of reed warblers. However, other females are bright rufous (brownish-red). The presence of alternate colour morphs in the same species is rare in birds, but frequent among the females of parasitic cuckoo species. The new research shows that this is another cuckoo trick: cuckoos combat reed warbler mobbing by coming in different guises.
In the study, the researchers manipulated local frequencies of the more common grey colour cuckoo and the less common (in the United Kingdom) rufous colour cuckoo by placing models of the birds at neighbouring nests. They then recorded how the experience of watching their neighbours mob changed reed warbler responses to both cuckoos and a sparrow hawk at their own nest.
They found that reed warblers increased their mobbing, but only to the cuckoo morph that their neighbours had mobbed. Therefore, as one cuckoo morph increases in frequency, local host populations will become alerted specifically to that morph. This means the alternate morph will be more likely to slip past host defences and lay undetected. This is the first time that ‘social learning’ has been documented in the evolution of mimicry as well as the evolution of different observable characteristics - such as colour - in the same species (called polymorphism).
From the University of Cambridge “When mimicry becomes less effective, evolving to look completely different can be a successful trick. Our research shows that individuals assess disguises not only from personal experience, but also by observing others. However, because their learning is so specific, this social learning then selects for alternative cuckoo disguises and the arms race continues.”.
“It’s well known that cuckoos have evolved various egg types which mimic those of their hosts in order to combat rejection. This research shows that cuckoos have also evolved alternate female morphs to sneak through the hosts' defences. This explains why many species which use mimicry, such as the cuckoo, evolve different guises.”
Physical characteristics
Forests and woodlands, both coniferous and deciduous, second growth, open wooded areas, wooded steppe, scrub, heathland, also meadows, reedbeds. Lowlands and moorlands and hill country to 2 km.
Habitat
Forests and woodlands, both coniferous and deciduous, second growth, open wooded areas, wooded steppe, scrub, heathland, also meadows, reedbeds. Lowlands and moorlands and hill country to 2 km. Food and Feeding
Other details
Cuculus canorus is a widespread summer visitor to Europe, which accounts for less than half of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is very large (>4,200,000 pairs), and was stable between 1970-1990. Although there were declines in many western populations-most notably France-during 1990-2000, most populations in the east, including key ones in Russia and Romania, were stable, and the species underwent only a slight decline overall
Feeding
Diet based on insects, mainly caterpillars, also dragonflies, mayflies, damselflies, crickets, and cicadas. Sometimes, spiders, snails, rarely fruit. Preys on eggs and nestling of small birds.
Conservation
This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 10,000,000 km². It has a large global population, including an estimated 8,400,000-17,000,000 individuals in Europe (BirdLife International in prep.). Global population trends have not been quantified, but populations appear to be stable so the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Breeding
May-Jun in NW Europe, Apr-May in Algeria, Apr-Jul in India and Myanmar. Brood-parasitic, hosts include many insectivorous songbird species, like: flycatchers, chats, warblers, pipits, wagtails and buntigs. Often mobbed by real or potential hosts near their nests. Eggs polymorphic in color and pattern, closely match those of host in color and pattern. Nestling period 17-18 days, evicts host's eggs and chicks.
Migration
Migratory in N of range, arriving in SW Britain mainly Apr - May, when occasionally recorded in small parties, and even in one flock of 50+ birds; also seasonal in hill country from Assam and Chin Hills to Shan States, where present Mar - Aug. Resident in tropical lowland areas of S Asia. Winter resident in sub-Saharan Africa and in Sri Lanka. W Palearctic populations migrate to Africa, where a Dutch-ringed juvenile found in Togo in Oct and a British-ringed juvenile found in Cameroon in Jan; migrants appear in N Senegal as early as late Jul through Oct; in W Africa nearly all records are in autumn ( Sept - Dec), birds apparently continuing on to C & S Africa. Race bangsi occurs on passage in W Africa, and winters S of equator from W Africa to L Tanganyika. Asian populations of nominate canorus and bakeri winter in India, SE Asia and Philippines, also in Africa, but the extent of migration of Asian birds to Africa is unknown; some subtelephonus migrate through Middle East and occur in winter from Uganda and E Zaire to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Natal. Mainly a passage migrant in Middle East, though some breed in region. Migrants also appear on islands in W Indian Ocean ( Seychelles, Aldabra). Nominate canorus accidental in Iceland, Faeroes, Azores, Madeira, Canary Is and Cape Verde Is, rarely also Alaska and eastern N America; one record of canorus in Indonesia, off W Java in winter. Autumn migration starts in August and continues until October. The main passage through Egypt is in September and the first half of October, with a peak in the third week of September (Goodman & Meininger 1989). Southward movement through Africa lasts from September to December and is linked to the occurrence of rainfall and the growth of cover.
The common murre or common guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the thin-billed murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.
Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (98–197 ft). Depths of up to 180 m (590 ft) have been recorded.
Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest; their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. Eggs hatch after ~30 days incubation. The chick is born downy and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. Some 20 days after hatching the chick leaves its nesting ledge and heads for the sea, unable to fly, but gliding for some distance with fluttering wings, accompanied by its male parent. Chicks are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site for some 14 days after the chick has left.
Both male and female common murres moult after breeding and become flightless for 1–2 months. In southern populations they occasionally return to the nest site throughout the winter. Northern populations spend the winter farther from their colonies.
Some individuals in the North Atlantic, known as "bridled guillemots", have a white ring around the eye extending back as a white line. This is not a distinct subspecies, but a polymorphism that becomes more common the farther north the birds breed—perhaps character displacement with the northerly thick-billed murre, which has a white bill-stripe but no bridled morph. The white is highly contrasting especially in the latter species and would provide an easy means for an individual bird to recognize conspecifics in densely packed breeding colonies.
The chicks are downy with blackish feathers on top and white below. By 12 days old, contour feathers are well developed in areas except for the head. At 15 days, facial feathers show the dark eyestripe against the white throat and cheek.
The common murre flies with fast wing beats and has a flight speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). Groups of birds are often seen flying together in a line just above the sea surface. However, a high wing loading of 2 g/cm2 means that this species is not very agile and take-off is difficult. Common murres become flightless for 45–60 days while moulting their primary feathers.
The common murre is a pursuit-diver that forages for food by swimming underwater using its wings for propulsion. Dives usually last less than one minute, but the bird swims underwater for distances of over 30 m (98 ft) on a regular basis. Diving depths up to 180 m (590 ft) have been recorded and birds can remain underwater for a couple of minutes.
For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_murre
My BJD family at the end of 2015! I wanted to make a video to round up the year but I have tonsillitis and have lost my voice xD
Left to Right:
Ig (Alieen Dolls Polymorph Rot) Great and Powerful Dragon, somehow in Human Form, awoken from a 1000 years sleep to help Indigo in his bar and with his quest.
Indigo (Luts Minifee Shiwoo) Elf, alchemist and bartender. On a quest to free his sister from an Elven Prison.
Tristan (Iplehouse JID Kyle) Human and Model, in love with Eden, thanks to a Drink at Indigo's. An unaware tool in Indigo's
Quest
Eden (Fairyland Minifee Sarang) She's forgotten after years in the modern world but she's a Nymph Unknowingly being groomed magically by Indigo to help with his quest.
Bram (Mystic Kids 45cm Francis) Human and Restoration expert. Bram maintains 18 Halcyon, manages his restoration business and loves Marnie.
Marnie (Kid Delf Pine) Human, ex circus girl come landlady come potter. Loves Bram.
Ever (Kid Delf Romance Ani) Human Freelance clothing designer, clothes shop minion, party girl. Ever is Bram's cousin.
Unpictured because she is just a head
Red (Minifee Shushu)
Extremely powerful Elf, trapped in a mystical Elven Prison, Sister to Indigo
On the way
Levi Valentine (Iplehouse JID Vito) Human, with Elven powers. Circus ring master, Red's Ex.
Juvenile Hepatic bird (brown/red) and Grey Morph at old Newcastle train station,
East Coast Nature Reserve (ECNR) 30-07-/-01-08-2016
Newcastle County Wicklow
Nikon D7000 Camera & Sigma 150-600 mm f/5.0-6.3 Sport Lens
Scientific classification
Domain:Eukaryota
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Cuculiformes
Family:Cuculidae
Genus:Cuculus
Species:C. canorus
Binomial name
Cuculus canorus | [UK] Cuckoo | [FR] Coucou gris | [DE] Kuckuck | [ES] Cuco Europeo | [IT] Cuculo eurasiatico | [NL] Koekoek | [IRL] Cuach
Status: Widespread summer visitor to Ireland from April to August.
Conservation Concern: Green-listed in Ireland. The European population is currently evaluated as secure.
Identification: Despite its obvious song, relatively infrequently seen. In flight, can be mistaken for a bird of prey such as Sparrowhawk, but has rapid wingbeats below the horizontal plane - ie. the wings are not raised above the body. Adult male Cuckoos are a uniform grey on the head, neck, back, wings and tail. The underparts are white with black barring. Adult females can appear in one of two forms. The so-called grey-morph resembles the adult male plumage, but has throat and breast barred black and white with yellowish wash. The rufous-morph has the grey replaced by rufous, with strong black barring on the wings, back and tail. Juvenile Cuckoos resemble the female rufous-morph, but are darker brown above.
Similar Species: Sparrowhawk
Call: The song is probably one of the most recognisable and well-known of all Irish bird species. The male gives a distinctive “wuck-oo”, which is occasionally doubled “wuck-uck-ooo”. The female has a distinctive bubbling “pupupupu”. The song period is late April to late June.
Diet: Mainly caterpillars and other insects.
Breeding: Widespread in Ireland, favouring open areas which hold their main Irish host species – Meadow Pipit. Has a remarkable breeding biology unlike any other Irish breeding species.
Wintering: Cuckoos winter in central and southern Africa.
To minimise the chance of being recognised and thus attacked by the birds they are trying to parasitize, female cuckoos have evolved different guises.
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. On hatching, the young cuckoo ejects the host's eggs and chicks from the nest, so the hosts end up raising a cuckoo chick rather than a brood of their own. To fight back, reed warblers (a common host across Europe) have a first line of defence: they attack, or ‘mob’, the female cuckoo, which reduces the chance that their nest is parasitized.
To deter the warbler from attacking, the colouring of the grey cuckoo mimics sparrow hawks, a common predator of reed warblers. However, other females are bright rufous (brownish-red). The presence of alternate colour morphs in the same species is rare in birds, but frequent among the females of parasitic cuckoo species. The new research shows that this is another cuckoo trick: cuckoos combat reed warbler mobbing by coming in different guises.
In the study, the researchers manipulated local frequencies of the more common grey colour cuckoo and the less common (in the United Kingdom) rufous colour cuckoo by placing models of the birds at neighbouring nests. They then recorded how the experience of watching their neighbours mob changed reed warbler responses to both cuckoos and a sparrow hawk at their own nest.
They found that reed warblers increased their mobbing, but only to the cuckoo morph that their neighbours had mobbed. Therefore, as one cuckoo morph increases in frequency, local host populations will become alerted specifically to that morph. This means the alternate morph will be more likely to slip past host defences and lay undetected. This is the first time that ‘social learning’ has been documented in the evolution of mimicry as well as the evolution of different observable characteristics - such as colour - in the same species (called polymorphism).
From the University of Cambridge “When mimicry becomes less effective, evolving to look completely different can be a successful trick. Our research shows that individuals assess disguises not only from personal experience, but also by observing others. However, because their learning is so specific, this social learning then selects for alternative cuckoo disguises and the arms race continues.”.
“It’s well known that cuckoos have evolved various egg types which mimic those of their hosts in order to combat rejection. This research shows that cuckoos have also evolved alternate female morphs to sneak through the hosts' defences. This explains why many species which use mimicry, such as the cuckoo, evolve different guises.”
Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white and yellow (also orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.
Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridisation. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word (ancient Greek ναρκῶ narkō, "to make numb") and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word "daffodil" appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.
The species are native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.
Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th century and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred primarily in the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as cut flowers and as ornamental plants in private and public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if accidentally ingested. This property has been exploited for medicinal use in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art and literature, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in different cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as symbols of spring.
The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the symbol of cancer charities in many countries. The appearance of the wild flowers in spring is associated with festivals in many places.
Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, which die back after flowering to an underground storage bulb. They regrow in the following year from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5–80 centimetres (2.0–31.5 in) depending on the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5–8 centimetres (2.0–3.1 in), while Narcissus tazetta may grow as tall as 80 centimetres (31 in).
The plants are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves arise from the bulb. The plant stem usually bears a solitary flower, but occasionally a cluster of flowers (umbel). The flowers, which are usually conspicuous and white or yellow, sometimes both or rarely green, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an outer ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical shaped corona. The flowers may hang down (pendant), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruit consists of a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.
The bulb lies dormant after the leaves and flower stem die back and has contractile roots that pull it down further into the soil. The flower stem and leaves form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most species are dormant from summer to late winter, flowering in the spring, though a few species are autumn flowering.
The pale brown-skinned ovoid tunicate bulbs have a membranous tunic and a corky stem (base or basal) plate from which arise the adventitious root hairs in a ring around the edge, which grow up to 40 mm in length. Above the stem plate is the storage organ consisting of bulb scales, surrounding the previous flower stalk and the terminal bud. The scales are of two types, true storage organs and the bases of the foliage leaves. These have a thicker tip and a scar from where the leaf lamina became detached. The innermost leaf scale is semicircular only partly enveloping the flower stalk (semisheathed).(see Hanks Fig 1.3). The bulb may contain a number of branched bulb units, each with two to three true scales and two to three leaf bases. Each bulb unit has a life of about four years.
Once the leaves die back in summer, the roots also wither. After some years, the roots shorten pulling the bulbs deeper into the ground (contractile roots). The bulbs develop from the inside, pushing the older layers outwards which become brown and dry, forming an outer shell, the tunic or skin. Up to 60 layers have been counted in some wild species. While the plant appears dormant above the ground the flower stalk which will start to grow in the following spring, develops within the bulb surrounded by two to three deciduous leaves and their sheaths. The flower stem lies in the axil of the second true leaf.
The single leafless Plant stem stem or scape, appearing from early to late spring depending on the species, bears from 1 to 20 blooms. Stem shape depends on the species, some are highly compressed with a visible seam, while others are rounded. The stems are upright and located at the centre of the leaves. In a few species such as N. hedraeanthus the stem is oblique. The stem is hollow in the upper portion but towards the bulb is more solid and filled with a spongy material.
Narcissus plants have one to several basal leaf leaves which are linear, ligulate or strap-shaped (long and narrow), sometimes channelled adaxially to semiterete, and may (pedicellate) or may not (sessile) have a petiole stalk. The leaves are flat and broad to cylindrical at the base and arise from the bulb. The emerging plant generally has two leaves, but the mature plant usually three, rarely four, and they are covered with a cutin containing cuticle, giving them a waxy appearance. Leaf colour is light green to blue-green. In the mature plant, the leaves extend higher than the flower stem, but in some species, the leaves are low-hanging. The leaf base is encased in a colorless sheath. After flowering, the leaves turn yellow and die back once the seed pod (fruit) is ripe.
Jonquils usually have dark green, round, rush-like leaves.
The inflorescence is scapose, the single stem or scape bearing either a solitary flower or forming an umbel with up to 20 blooms. Species bearing a solitary flower include section Bulbocodium and most of section Pseudonarcissus. Umbellate species have a fleshy racemose inflorescence (unbranched, with short floral stalks) with 2 to 15 or 20 flowers, such as N. papyraceus (see illustration, left) and N. tazetta (see Table I). The flower arrangement on the inflorescence may be either with (pedicellate) or without (sessile) floral stalks.
Prior to opening, the flower buds are enveloped and protected in a thin dry papery or membranous (scarious) spathe. The spathe consists of a singular bract that is ribbed, and which remains wrapped around the base of the open flower. As the bud grows, the spathe splits longitudinally. Bracteoles are small or absent.
The flowers of Narcissus are hermaphroditic (bisexual), have three parts (tripartite), and are sometimes fragrant (see Fragrances). The flower symmetry is actinomorphic (radial) to slightly zygomorphic (bilateral) due to declinate-ascending stamens (curving downwards, then bent up at the tip). Narcissus flowers are characterised by their, usually conspicuous, corona (trumpet).
The three major floral parts (in all species except N. cavanillesii in which the corona is virtually absent - Table I: Section Tapeinanthus) are;
(i) the proximal floral tube (hypanthium),
(ii) the surrounding free tepals, and
(iii) the more distal corona (paraperigon, paraperigonium).
All three parts may be considered to be components of the perianth (perigon, perigonium). The perianth arises above the apex of the inferior ovary, its base forming the hypanthial floral tube.
The floral tube is formed by fusion of the basal segments of the tepals (proximally connate). Its shape is from an inverted cone (obconic) to funnel-shaped (funneliform) or cylindrical, and is surmounted by the more distal corona. Floral tubes can range from long and narrow sections Apodanthi and Jonquilla to rudimentary (N. cavanillesii).
Surrounding the floral tube and corona and reflexed (bent back) from the rest of the perianth are the six spreading tepals or floral leaves, in two whorls which may be distally ascending, reflexed (folded back), or lanceolate. Like many monocotyledons, the perianth is homochlamydeous, which is undifferentiated into separate calyx (sepals) and corolla (petals), but rather has six tepals. The three outer tepal segments may be considered sepals, and the three inner segments petals. The transition point between the floral tube and the corona is marked by the insertion of the free tepals on the fused perianth.
The corona, or paracorolla, is variously described as bell-shaped (funneliform, trumpet), bowl-shaped (cupular, crateriform, cup-shaped) or disc-shaped with margins that are often frilled, and is free from the stamens. Rarely is the corona a simple callose (hardened, thickened) ring. The corona is formed during floral development as a tubular outgrowth from stamens which fuse into a tubular structure, the anthers becoming reduced. At its base, the fragrances which attract pollinators are formed. All species produce nectar at the top of the ovary. Coronal morphology varies from the tiny pigmented disk of N. serotinus (see Table I) or the rudimentary structure in N. cavanillesii to the elongated trumpets of section Pseudonarcissus (trumpet daffodils, Table I).
While the perianth may point forwards, in some species such as N. cyclamineus it is folded back (reflexed, see illustration, left), while in some other species such as N. bulbocodium (Table I), it is reduced to a few barely visible pointed segments with a prominent corona.
The colour of the perianth is white, yellow or bicoloured, with the exception of the night flowering N. viridiflorus which is green. In addition the corona of N. poeticus has a red crenulate margin (see Table I). Flower diameter varies from 12 mm (N. bulbocodium) to over 125 mm (N. nobilis=N. pseudonarcissus subsp. nobilis).
Flower orientation varies from pendent or deflexed (hanging down) as in N. triandrus (see illustration, left), through declinate-ascendant as in N. alpestris = N. pseudonarcissus subsp. moschatus, horizontal (patent, spreading) such as N. gaditanus or N. poeticus, erect as in N. cavanillesii, N. serotinus and N. rupicola (Table I), or intermediate between these positions (erecto-patent).
The flowers of Narcissus demonstrate exceptional floral diversity and sexual polymorphism, primarily by corona size and floral tube length, associated with pollinator groups (see for instance Figs. 1 and 2 in Graham and Barrett). Barrett and Harder (2005) describe three separate floral patterns;
"Daffodil" form
"Paperwhite" form
"Triandrus" form.
The predominant patterns are the 'daffodil' and 'paperwhite' forms, while the "triandrus" form is less common. Each corresponds to a different group of pollinators (See Pollination).
The "daffodil" form, which includes sections Pseudonarcissus and Bulbocodium, has a relatively short, broad or highly funnelform tube (funnel-like), which grades into an elongated corona, which is large and funnelform, forming a broad, cylindrical or trumpet-shaped perianth. Section Pseudonarcissus consists of relatively large flowers with a corolla length of around 50 mm, generally solitary but rarely in inflorescences of 2–4 flowers. They have wide greenish floral tubes with funnel-shaped bright yellow coronas. The six tepals sometimes differ in colour from the corona and may be cream coloured to pale yellow.
The "paperwhite" form, including sections Jonquilla, Apodanthi and Narcissus, has a relatively long, narrow tube and a short, shallow, flaring corona. The flower is horizontal and fragrant.
The "triandrus" form is seen in only two species, N. albimarginatus (a Moroccan endemic) and N. triandrus. It combines features of both the "daffodil" and "paperwhite" forms, with a well-developed, long, narrow tube and an extended bell-shaped corona of almost equal length. The flowers are pendent.
Androecium
There are six stamens in one to two rows (whorls), with the filaments separate from the corona, attached at the throat or base of the tube (epipetalous), often of two separate lengths, straight or declinate-ascending (curving downwards, then upwards). The anthers are basifixed (attached at their base).
Gynoecium
The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) and trilocular (three chambered) and there is a pistil with a minutely three lobed stigma and filiform (thread like) style, which is often exserted (extending beyond the tube).
Fruit
The fruit consists of dehiscent loculicidal capsules (splitting between the locules) that are ellipsoid to subglobose (almost spherical) in shape and are papery to leathery in texture.
Seeds
The fruit contains numerous subglobose seeds which are round and swollen with a hard coat, sometimes with an attached elaiosome. The testa is black and the pericarp dry.
Most species have 12 ovules and 36 seeds, although some species such as N. bulbocodium have more, up to a maximum of 60. Seeds take five to six weeks to mature. The seeds of sections Jonquilla and Bulbocodium are wedge-shaped and matte black, while those of other sections are ovate and glossy black. A gust of wind or contact with a passing animal is sufficient to disperse the mature seeds.
Chromosomes
Chromosome numbers include 2n=14, 22, 26, with numerous aneuploid and polyploid derivatives. The basic chromosome number is 7, with the exception of N. tazetta, N. elegans and N. broussonetii in which it is 10 or 11; this subgenus (Hermione) was in fact characterised by this characteristic. Polyploid species include N. papyraceus (4x=22) and N. dubius (6x=50).
Phytochemistry
Alkaloids
As with all Amarylidaceae genera, Narcissus contains unique isoquinoline alkaloids. The first alkaloid to be identified was lycorine, from N. pseudonarcissus in 1877. These are considered a protective adaptation and are utilised in the classification of species. Nearly 100 alkaloids have been identified in the genus, about a third of all known Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, although not all species have been tested. Of the nine alkaloid ring types identified in the family, Narcissus species most commonly demonstrate the presence of alkaloids from within the Lycorine (lycorine, galanthine, pluviine) and Homolycorine (homolycorine, lycorenine) groups. Hemanthamine, tazettine, narciclasine, montanine and galantamine alkaloids are also represented. The alkaloid profile of any plant varies with time, location, and developmental stage. Narcissus also contain fructans and low molecular weight glucomannan in the leaves and plant stems.
Fragrances
Fragrances are predominantly monoterpene isoprenoids, with a small amount of benzenoids, although N. jonquilla has both equally represented. Another exception is N. cuatrecasasii which produces mainly fatty acid derivatives. The basic monoterpene precursor is geranyl pyrophosphate, and the commonest monoterpenes are limonene, myrcene, and trans-β-ocimene. Most benzenoids are non-methoxylated, while a few species contain methoxylated forms (ethers), e.g. N. bujei. Other ingredient include indole, isopentenoids and very small amounts of sesquiterpenes. Fragrance patterns can be correlated with pollinators, and fall into three main groups (see Pollination).
The taxonomy of Narcissus is complex, and still not fully resolved. Known to the ancients, the genus name appears in Graeco-Roman literature, although their interest was as much medicinal as botanical. It is unclear which species the ancients were familiar with. Although frequently mentioned in Mediaeval and Renaissance texts it was not formally described till the work of Linnaeus in 1753. By 1789 it had been grouped into a family (Narcissi) but shortly thereafter this was renamed Amaryllideae, from which comes the modern placement within Amaryllidaceae, although for a while it was considered part of Liliaceae.
Many of the species now considered to be Narcissus were in separate genera during the nineteenth century, and the situation was further confused by the inclusion of many cultivated varieties. By 1875 the current circumscription was relatively settled. By 2004 phylogenetic studies had allowed the place of Narcissus within its fairly large family to be established, nested within a series of subfamilies (Amaryllidoideae) and tribes (Narcisseae). It shares its position in the latter tribe with Sternbergia.
The infrageneric classification has been even more complex and many schemes of subgenera, sections, subsections and series have been proposed, although all had certain similarities. Most authorities now consider there to be 10 – 11 sections based on phylogenetic evidence. The problems have largely arisen from the diversity of the wild species, frequent natural hybridisation and extensive cultivation with escape and subsequent naturalisation. The number of species has varied anywhere from 16 to nearly 160, but is probably around 50 – 60.
The genus appeared some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene eras, around 24 million years ago, in the Iberian peninsula. While the exact origin of the word Narcissus is unknown it is frequently linked to its fragrance which was thought to be narcotic, and to the legend of the youth of that name who fell in love with his reflection. In the English language the common name Daffodil appears to be derived from the Asphodel with which it was commonly compared.
Early
Narcissus was first described by Theophrastus (Θεόφραστος, c 371 - c 287 BC) in his Historia Plantarum (Greek: Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία) as νάρκισσος, referring to N. poeticus, but comparing it to Asphodelus (ασφοδελωδες). Theophrastus' description was frequently referred to at length by later authors writing in Latin such as Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, 23 AD – 79 AD) from whom came the Latin form narcissus (see also Culture). Pliny's account is from his Natural History (Latin: Naturalis Historia). Like his contemporaries, his interests were as much therapeutic as botanical. Another much-cited Greek authority was Dioscorides (Διοσκουρίδης, 40 AD – 90 AD) in his De Materia Medica (Greek: Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς). Both authors were to remain influential until at least the Renaissance, given that their descriptions went beyond the merely botanical, to the therapeutic (see also Antiquity).
An early European reference is found in the work of Albert Magnus (c. 1200 – 1280), who noted in his De vegetabilibus et plantis the similarity to the leek. William Turner in his A New Herball (1551) cites all three extensively in his description of the plant and its properties.It was to remain to Linnaeus in 1753 to formally describe and name Narcissus as a genus in his Species Plantarum, at which time there were six known species (N. poeticus, N. pseudonarcissus, N. bulbocodium, N. serotinus, N. jonquilla and N. tazetta).[1] At that time, Linnaeus loosely grouped it together with 50 other genera into his Hexandria monogynia.
Modern
It was de Jussieu in 1789 who first formally created a 'family' (Narcissi), as the seventh 'Ordo' (Order) of the third class (Stamina epigyna) of Monocots in which Narcissus and 15 other genera were placed. The use of the term Ordo at that time was closer to what we now understand as Family, rather than Order. The family has undergone much reorganisation since then, but in 1805 it was renamed after a different genus in the family, Amaryllis, as 'Amaryllideae' by Jaume St.-Hilaire and has retained that association since. Jaume St.-Hilaire divided the family into two unnamed sections and recognised five species of Narcissus, omitting N. serotinus.
De Candolle brought together Linnaeus' genera and Jussieau's families into a systematic taxonomy for the first time, but included Narcissus (together with Amaryllis) in the Liliaceae in his Flore française (1805-1815) rather than Amaryllidaceae, a family he had not yet recognised. Shortly thereafter he separated the 'Amaryllidées' from 'Liliacées' (1813), though attributing the term to Brown's 'Amaryllideae' in the latter's Prodromus (1810) rather than St.-Hilaire's 'Amaryllidées'. He also provided the text to the first four volumes of Redouté illustrations in the latter's Les liliacées between 1805 and 1808 (see illustration here of N. candidissimus).
Historically both wide and narrow interpretations of the genus have been proposed. In the nineteenth century genus splitting was common, favouring the narrow view. Haworth (1831) using a narrow view treated many species as separate genera, as did Salisbury (1866). These authors listed various species in related genera such as Queltia (hybrids), Ajax (=Pseudonarcissus) and Hermione (=Tazettae), sixteen in all in Haworth's classification. In contrast, Herbert (1837) took a very wide view reducing Harworth's sixteen genera to six. Herbert, treating the Amaryllidacea as an 'order' as was common then, considered the narcissi to be a suborder, the Narcisseae, the six genera being Corbularia, Ajax, Ganymedes, Queltia, Narcissus and Hermione and his relatively narrow circumscription of Narcissus having only three species. Later Spach (1846) took an even wider view bringing most of Harworth's genera into the genus Narcissus, but as separate subgenera. By the time that Baker (1875) wrote his monograph all of the genera with one exception were included as Narcissus. The exception was the monotypic group Tapeinanthus which various subsequent authors have chosen to either exclude (e.g. Cullen 1986) or include (e.g. Webb 1978, 1980). Today it is nearly always included.
The eventual position of Narcissus within the Amaryllidaceae family only became settled in the twenty-first century with the advent of phylogenetic analysis and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system. The genus Narcissus belongs to the Narcisseae tribe, one of 13 within the Amaryllidoideae subfamily of the Amaryllidaceae. It is one of two sister clades corresponding to genera in the Narcisseae, being distinguished from Sternbergia by the presence of a paraperigonium, and is monophyletic
The infrageneric phylogeny of Narcissus still remains relatively unsettled. The taxonomy has proved very complex and difficult to resolve, particularly for the Pseudonarcissus group. This is due to a number of factors, including the diversity of the wild species, the ease with which natural hybridisation occurs, and extensive cultivation and breeding accompanied by escape and naturalisation.
De Candolle, in the first systematic taxonomy of Narcissus, arranged the species into named groups, and those names (Faux-Narcisse or Pseudonarcissus, Poétiques, Tazettes, Bulbocodiens, Jonquilles) have largely endured for the various subdivisions since and bear his name. The evolution of classification was confused by including many unknown or garden varieties, until Baker (1875) made the important distinction of excluding all specimens except the wild species from his system. He then grouped all of the earlier related genera as sections under one genus, Narcissus, the exception being the monotypic Tapeinanthus. Consequently, the number of accepted species has varied widely.
A common modern classification system has been that of Fernandes (1951, 1968, 1975) based on cytology, as modified by Blanchard (1990) and Mathew (2002), although in some countries such as Germany, the system of Meyer (1966) was preferred. Fernandes described two subgenera based on basal chromosome number, Hermione, n = 5 (11) and Narcissus, n = 7 (13). He further subdivided these into ten sections (Apodanthi, Aurelia, Bulbocodii, Ganymedes, Jonquillae, Narcissus, Pseudonarcissi, Serotini, Tapeinanthus, Tazettae), as did Blanchard later.
In contrast to Fernandes, Webb's treatment of the genus for the Flora Europaea (1978, 1980) prioritised morphology over genetics, and abandoned the subgenera ranks. He also restored De Candolle's original nomenclature, and made a number of changes to section Jonquilla, merging the existing subsections, reducing Apodanthi to a subsection of Jonquilla, and moving N. viridiflorus from Jonquilla to a new monotypic section of its own (Chloranthi). Finally, he divided Pseudonarcissus into two subsections. Blanchard (1990), whose Narcissus: a guide to wild daffodils has been very influential, adopted a simple approach, restoring Apodanthae, and based largely on ten sections alone.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) currently lists ten sections, based on Fernandes (1968), three of which are monotypic (contain only one species), while two others only containing two species. Most species are placed in Pseudonarcissus While infrageneric groupings within Narcissus have been relatively constant, their status (genera, subgenera, sections, subsections, series, species) has not. Some authors treat some sections as being further subdivided into subsections, e.g. Tazettae (3 subsections). These subdivisions correspond roughly to the popular names for narcissi types, e.g. Trumpet Daffodils, Tazettas, Pheasant's Eyes, Hoop Petticoats, Jonquils.
While Webb had simply divided the genus into sections, Mathew found this unsatisfactory, implying every section had equal status. He adapted both Fernandes and Webb to devise a more hierarchical scheme he believed better reflected the interrelationships within the genus. Mathew's scheme consists of three subgenera (Narcissus, Hermione and Corbularia). The first two subgenera were then divided into five and two sections respectively. He then further subdivided two of the sections (subgenus Narcissus section Jonquillae, and subgenus Hermione section Hermione) into three subsections each. Finally, he divided section Hermione subsection Hermione further into two series, Hermione and Albiflorae. While lacking a phylogenetic basis, the system is still in use in horticulture. For instance the Pacific Bulb Society uses his numbering system for classifying species.
The phylogenetic analysis of Graham and Barrett (2004) supported the infrageneric division of Narcissus into two clades corresponding to the subgenera Hermione and Narcissus, but does not support monophyly of all sections, with only Apodanthi demonstrating clear monophyly, corresponding to Clade III of Graham and Barrett, although some other clades corresponded approximately to known sections. These authors examined 36 taxa of the 65 listed then, and a later extended analysis by Rønsted et al. (2008) with five additional taxa confirmed this pattern.
A very large (375 accessions) molecular analysis by Zonneveld (2008) utilising nuclear DNA content sought to reduce some of the paraphyly identified by Graham and Barrett. This led to a revision of the sectional structure, shifting some species between sections, eliminating one section and creating two new ones. In subgenus Hermione, Aurelia was merged with Tazettae. In subgenus Narcissus section Jonquillae subsection Juncifolii was elevated to sectional rank, thus resolving the paraphyly in this section observed by Graham and Barrett in Clade II due to this anomalous subsection, the remaining species being in subsection Jonquillae, which was monophyletic. The relatively large section Pseudonarcissi was divided by splitting off a new section, Nevadensis (species from southern Spain) leaving species from France, northern Spain and Portugal in the parent section. At the same time Fernández-Casas (2008) proposed a new monotypic section Angustini to accommodate Narcissus deficiens, placing it within subgenus Hermione.
While Graham and Barrett (2004) had determined that subgenus Hermione was monophyletic, using a much larger accession Santos-Gally et al. (2011) did not. However the former had excluded species of hybrid origins, while the latter included both N. dubius and N. tortifolius. If these two species are excluded (forming a clade with subgenus Narcissus) then Hermione can be considered monophyletic, although as a section of Hermione, Tazettae is not monophyletic. They also confirmed the monophyly of Apodanthi.
Some so-called nothosections have been proposed, predominantly by Fernández-Casas, to accommodate natural ('ancient') hybrids (nothospecies).
Subgenera and sections
Showing revisions by Zonnefeld (2008)
subgenus Hermione (Haw.) Spach.
(Aurelia (Gay) Baker (monotypic) - merged with Tazettae (2008)
Serotini Parlatore (2 species)
Tazettae de Candolle (16 species) syn. Hermione (Salisbury) Sprengel, in Fernandes' scheme. Incorporating Aurelia (2008)
subgenus Narcissus L.
Apodanthi A. Fernandes (6 species)
Bulbocodium de Candolle (11 species)
Ganymedes (Haworth) Schultes f. (monotypic)
Jonquillae de Candolle (8 species)
Juncifolii (A. Fern.) Zonn. sect. nov. (2008)
Narcissus L. (2 species)
Nevadensis Zonn. sect. nov. (2008)
Pseudonarcissus de Candolle (36 species) Trumpet daffodils
Tapeinanthus (Herbert) Traub (monotypic)
Species
Estimates of the number of species in Narcissus have varied widely, from anywhere between 16 and nearly 160, even in the modern era. Linnaeus originally included six species in 1753. By the time of the 14th edition of the Systema Naturae in 1784, there were fourteen. The 1819 Encyclopaedia Londinensis lists sixteen (see illustration here of three species) and by 1831 Adrian Haworth had described 150 species.
Much of the variation lies in the definition of species, and whether closely related taxa are considered separate species or subspecies. Thus, a very wide view of each species, such as Webb's results in few species, while a very narrow view such as that of Fernandes results in a larger number. Another factor is the status of hybrids, given natural hybridisation, with a distinction between 'ancient hybrids' and 'recent hybrids'. The term 'ancient hybrid' refers to hybrids found growing over a large area, and therefore now considered as separate species, while 'recent hybrid' refers to solitary plants found amongst their parents, with a more restricted range.
In the twentieth century Fernandes (1951) accepted 22 species, on which were based the 27 species listed by Webb in the 1980 Flora Europaea. By 1968, Fernandes had accepted 63 species, and by 1990 Blanchard listed 65 species, and Erhardt 66 in 1993. In 2006 the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) International Daffodil Register and Classified List listed 87 species, while Zonneveld's genetic study (2008) resulted in only 36. As of September 2014, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts 52 species, along with at least 60 hybrids, while the RHS has 81 accepted names in its October 2014 list.
Evolution
Within the Narcisseae, Narcissus (western Mediterranean) diverged from Sternbergia (Eurasia) some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene eras, around 29.3–18.1 Ma, with a best estimate of 23.6 Ma. Later the genus divided into the two subgenera (Hermione and Narcissus) between 27.4 and 16.1 Ma (21.4 Ma). The divisions between the sections of Hermione then took place during the Miocene period 19.9–7.8 Ma.
Narcissus appears to have arisen in the area of the Iberian peninsula, southern France and northwestern Italy, and within this area most sections of the genus appeared, with only a few taxa being dispersed to North Africa at a time when the African and West European platforms were closer together. Subgenus Hermione in turn arose in the southwestern mediterranean and north west Africa. However, these are reconstructions, the Amaryllidaceae lacking a fossil record.
Names and etymology
The derivation of the Latin narcissus (Greek: νάρκισσος) is unknown. It may be a loanword from another language; for instance, it is said to be related to the Sanskrit word nark, meaning 'hell'. It is frequently linked to the Greek myth of Narcissus described by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, who became so obsessed with his own reflection that as he knelt and gazed into a pool of water, he fell into the water and drowned. In some variations, he died of starvation and thirst. In both versions, the narcissus plant sprang from where he died. Although Ovid appeared to describe the plant we now know as Narcissus there is no evidence for this popular derivation, and the person's name may have come from the flower's name. The Poet's Narcissus (N. poeticus), which grows in Greece, has a fragrance that has been described as intoxicating. This explanation is largely discredited due to lack of proof. Pliny wrote that the plant 'narce narcissum dictum, non a fabuloso puero' ('named narcissus from narce, not from the legendary youth'), i.e. that it was named for its narcotic properties (ναρκάω narkao, 'I grow numb' in Greek), not from the legend. Furthermore, there were accounts of narcissi growing, such as in the legend of Persephone, long before the story of Narcissus appeared (see Greek culture). It has also been suggested that daffodils bending over streams evoked the image of the youth admiring his own reflection in the water.
Linnaeus used the Latin name for the plant in formally describing the genus, although Matthias de l'Obel had previously used the name in describing various species of Narcissi in his Icones stirpium of 1591, and other publications, as had Clusius in Rariorum stirpium (1576).
The plural form of the common name narcissus has caused some confusion. British English sources such as the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary give two alternate forms, narcissi and narcissuses. In contrast, in American English the Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides for a third form, narcissus, used for both singular and plural. The Oxford dictionaries only list this third form under American English, although the Cambridge Dictionary allows of all three in the same order. However, Garner's Modern American Usage states that narcissi is the commonest form, narcissuses being excessively sibilant. For similar reasons, Fowler prefers narcissi in British English usage. Neither support narcissus as a plural form. Common names such as narcissus do not capitalise the first letter in contrast to the person of that name and the Latin genus name.
The name Narcissus (feminine Narcissa) was not uncommon in Roman times, such as Tiberius Claudius Narcissus, a Roman official in Claudius' time, an early New Testament Christian in Rome and later bishops and saints.
Daffodil
The word daffodil was unknown in the English language before the sixteenth century. The name is derived from an earlier affodell, a variant of asphodel. In classical Greek literature the narcissus is frequently referred to as the asphodel, such as the meadows of the Elysian fields in Homer (see Antiquity). Asphodel in turn appears to be a loanword coming from French via Mediaeval Latin affodilus from Classical Latin asphodilus and ultimately the Greek asphodelos (Greek: ἀσφόδελος). The reason for the introduction of the initial d is not known, although a probable source is an etymological merging from the Dutch article de, as in de affodil, or English the, as th'affodil or t'affodil, hence daffodil, and in French de and affodil to form fleur d'aphrodille and daphrodille.
From at least the 16th century, daffadown dilly and daffydowndilly have appeared as playful synonyms of the name. In common parlance and in historical documents, the term daffodil may refer specifically to populations or specimens of the wild daffodil, N. pseudonarcissus. H. N. Ellacombe suggests this may be from Saffon Lilly, citing Prior in support, though admittedly conjectural.
Lady Wilkinson (1858), who provides an extensive discussion of the etymology of the various names for this plant, suggests a very different origin, namely the Old English word affodyle (that which cometh early), citing a 14th-century (but likely originally much earlier) manuscript in support of this theory, and which appears to describe a plant resembling the daffodil. Ellacombe provides further support for this from a fifteenth century English translation of Palladius that also refers to it.
Jonquil
The name jonquil is said to be a corruption via French from the Latin juncifolius meaning 'rush-leaf' (Juncaceae) and its use is generally restricted to those species and cultivars which have rush like leaves, e.g. N. juncifolius.
Other
A profusion of names have attached themselves in the English language, either to the genus as a whole or to individual species or groups of species such as sections. These include narcissus, jonquil, Lent lily, Lenten lily, lide lily, yellow lily, wort or wyrt, Julians, glens, Lent cocks, corn flower, bell rose, asphodel, Solomon's lily, gracy day, haverdrils, giggary, cowslip, and crow foot.
♥♥ NEW REBIRTH GAIA Head : Viper Shape + Style card ♥♥
Come and test the new REBIRTH GAIA head, also compatible with other female bodies
(Reminder : Polymorph head = 80% of BOM skins - System, Lelutka, Genus, Catwa)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/REBIRTH%20Forever/47/79/21
(more style cards in-world and bots exposition all age and style)
Link to the style card :
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Viper-girl-Shape-Style-card-...
... Follow us ...
Marketplace REBIRTH : marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/229597
FlickR : www.flickr.com/photos/rebirth_sl
♥♥ NEW REBIRTH GAIA Head : Oriana Shape + Style card ♥♥
Come and test the new REBIRTH GAIA head, also compatible with other female bodies
(Reminder : Polymorph head = 80% of BOM skins - System, Lelutka, Genus, Catwa)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/REBIRTH%20Forever/47/79/21
(more style cards in-world and bots exposition all age and style)
Link to the style card :
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Oriana-girl-Shape-Style-card...
... Follow us ...
Marketplace REBIRTH : marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/229597
FlickR : www.flickr.com/photos/rebirth_sl
Carolina and Andreu before and after the headmold change! This is the last "repetition" photo I take, they are so difficult to reproduce!
♥♥ NEW REBIRTH GAIA Head : Ken male kid Shape + Style card ♥♥
Come and test the new REBIRTH GAIA head, also compatible with other female bodies
(Reminder : Polymorph head = 80% of BOM skins - System, Lelutka, Genus, Catwa)
Family store : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/REBIRTH%20Forever/48/150/21
(more style cards in-world and bots exposition all age and style)
Link to the style card :
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Ken-kid-Shape-Style-card-REB...
... Follow us ...
Marketplace REBIRTH : marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/229597
FlickR : www.flickr.com/photos/rebirth_sl
♥♥ NEW REBIRTH Genesis Eden Head : Clara Shape + Style card ♥♥
Come and test the new REBIRTH Genesis head, also compatible with other female bodies
(Reminder : Polymorph head = 80% of BOM skins - System, Lelutka, Genus, Catwa)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Endless%20Love/15/64/22
(more style cards in-world and bots exposition all age and style)
Link to the FROG&CO style card :
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Clara-girl-Shape-Style-card-...
... Follow us ...
Marketplace REBIRTH : marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/229597
FlickR : www.flickr.com/photos/187471721@N05/
♥♥ NEW REBIRTH Genesis Eden Head : Kookie Shape + Style card ♥♥
Come and test the new REBIRTH Genesis head, also compatible with other female bodies
(Reminder : Polymorph head = 80% of BOM skins fit whatever the brand)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Endless%20Love/15/64/22
(more style cards in-world and bots exposition all age and style)
Link to the FROG&CO style card :
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Kookie-Kawai-teen-girl-Shape...
... Follow us ...
Marketplace REBIRTH : marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/229597
FlickR : www.flickr.com/photos/187471721@N05/
Different types of hexagonal quartz crystals - Transparent rock crystals in the upper area - Amethyst Quartz in the lower left area and Smoky quartz in the lower right area of the frame.
Sample: Provided by Mr. Claudio Canut de Bon and Mr Carlos Aracena personal collections
Location: La Serena - IV Region - Chile
Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2.
There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Especially in Europe and the Middle East, varieties of quartz have been since antiquity the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and hardstone carvings.
Varieties (according to color)
Figurine of a child carved in rock crystal, hittite, between 1500 and 1200 BC
Pure quartz, traditionally called rock crystal (sometimes called clear quartz), is colorless and transparent (clear) or translucent, and has often been used for hardstone carvings, such as the Lothair Crystal. Common colored varieties include citrine, rose quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, milky quartz, and others. Quartz goes by an array of different names. The most important distinction between types of quartz is that of macrocrystalline (individual crystals visible to the unaided eye) and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties (aggregates of crystals visible only under high magnification). The cryptocrystalline varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque, while the transparent varieties tend to be macrocrystalline. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica consisting of fine intergrowths of both quartz, and its monoclinic polymorph moganite.Other opaque gemstone varieties of quartz, or mixed rocks including quartz, often including contrasting bands or patterns of color, are agate, sard, onyx, carnelian, heliotrope, and jasper.
Citrine
Citrine is a variety of quartz whose color ranges from a pale yellow to brown due to ferric impurities. Natural citrines are rare; most commercial citrines are heat-treated amethysts or smoky quartzes. However, a heat-treated amethyst will have small lines in the crystal, as opposed to a natural citrine's cloudy or smokey appearance. It is nearly impossible to tell cut citrine from yellow topaz visually, but they differ in hardness.Brazil is the leading producer of citrine, with much of its production coming from the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The name is derived from Latin citrina which means "yellow" and is also the origin of the word "citron." Sometimes citrine and amethyst can be found together in the same crystal, which is then referred to as ametrine.
Rose quartz
An elephant carved in rose quartz, 10 cm (4 inches) long
Rose quartz is a type of quartz which exhibits a pale pink to rose red hue. The color is usually considered as due to trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese, in the massive material. Some rose quartz contains microscopic rutile needles which produces an asterism in transmitted light. Recent X-ray diffraction studies suggest that the color is due to thin microscopic fibers of possibly dumortierite within the massive quartz.
Additionally, there is a rare type of pink quartz (also frequently called crystalline rose quartz) with color that is thought to be caused by trace amounts of phosphate or aluminium. The color in crystals is apparently photosensitive and subject to fading. The first crystals were found in a pegmatite found near Rumford, Maine, USA, but most crystals on the market come from Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Rose quartz is not popular as a gem – it is generally too clouded by impurities to be suitable for that purpose.[citation needed] Rose quartz is more often carved into figures such as people or hearts.[citation needed] Hearts are commonly found because rose quartz is pink and an affordable mineral.[citation needed]
Amethyst
Amethyst is a popular form of quartz that ranges from a bright to dark or dull purple color. The world's largest deposits of amethysts can be found in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Russia, France, Namibia and Morocco. Sometimes amethyst and citrine are found growing in the same crystal. It is then referred to as ametrine. An amethyst is formed when there is iron in the area where it was formed.
Smoky quartz
Smoky quartz is a gray, translucent version of quartz. It ranges in clarity from almost complete transparency to a brownish-gray crystal that is almost opaque. Some can also be black.
Milky quartz
Ancient Roman cameo onyx engraved gem of Augustus
Milk quartz or milky quartz may be the most common variety of crystalline quartz and can be found almost anywhere. The white color may be caused by minute fluid inclusions of gas, liquid, or both, trapped during the crystal formation. The cloudiness caused by the inclusions effectively bars its use in most optical and quality gemstone applications.
I think this was a pregant female as she had a rather large belly. Photographed sunbathing on a stile along the coastal path at Saeford Haven, East Sussex.
The viviparous lizard or common lizard, Zootoca vivipara (formerly Lacerta vivipara), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other reptile species, and most populations are viviparous (giving birth to live young), rather than laying eggs as most other lizards do. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Zootoca.
Zootoca vivipara can be seen in a variety of different colors. Female Zootoca vivipara undergo color polymorphism (biology) more commonly than males. A female lizard's display differs in ventral coloration, ranging from pale yellow to bright orange and a mixed coloration. There have been many hypothesis for the genetic cause of this polymorphic coloration. These hypothesis test for coloration due to thermoregulation, predator avoidance, and social cues, specifically sexual reproduction. Through an experiment conducted by Vercken et al., color polymorphism in viviparous lizard is caused by social cues, rather than the other hypotheses. More specifically, the ventral coloration that is seen in female lizards is associated with patterns of sexual reproduction and sex allocation.
The length of the body is less than 12 cm (5 in) (excluding the tail). The tail is up to twice as long as the body, although it is often partially or wholly lost. The limbs are short, and the head is rather round. Males have more slender bodies than females. The neck and the tail are thick. The collar and other scales seem jagged.
The colour and patterning of this species is variable. The main colour is typically medium brown, but it can be also grey, olive brown or black. Females may have dark stripes on their flanks and down the middle of their backs. Sometimes females also have light-coloured stripes, or dark and light spots along the sides of their backs. Most males and some females have dark spots in their undersides. Males have brightly coloured undersides – typically yellow or orange, but more rarely red. Females have paler, whitish underparts. The throat is white, sometimes blue.
Femme Hmong Rouge en bord de route entre Dien Bien Phu et Lai Chau, Nord du Vietnam
Les Hmong encore appelés Méo, ou Miao , sont originaires des régions montagneuses du sud de la Chine (principalement la province du Guizhou), où ils sont encore présents ainsi qu'au nord du Viêt Nam et du Laos.
Le souci de préserver leur identité culturelle et leur indépendance les ont amenés à s'engager dans divers conflits. Au XXe siècle, en particulier, ils aidèrent les Français pendant la guerre d'Indochine puis les Américains pendant la la guerre du Vietnam. A l’avènement des régimes communistes dans ces pays un nombre important de Hmong se sont réfugiés dans des pays d'accueil, principalement les États-Unis, la France et l'Australie. Mais la majeure partie d’entre eux vit encore en Asie du Sud-Est
Les Hmongs sont animistes ou chrétiens. La langue hmong appartient à la famille des langues hmong-mien, encore appelée « miao-yao »
Les costumes traditionnels de cette ethnie sont très polymorphes mais ils ont en commun la richesse du décor brodé.
On distingue plusieurs groupes dans cette ethnie dont les plus connus sont les Hmongs Fleurs ou Hmong Bariolés dans la région de Bac Ha, mais aussi les Hmongs Noirs dans la région de Sapa et les Hmongs Rouge dans la région de Lai Chau. J'ai déjà eu l'occasion de présenter précédemment plusieurs d'entre eux.
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; however, some species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., Harvesters) eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.
Southern pike
Esox cisalpinus.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Esociformes
Family: Esocidae
Genus: Esox
Species: E. cisalpinus
Binomial name
Esox cisalpinus
Bianco & Delmastro, 2011
Synonyms
Esox flaviae Lucentini et al. 2011
Esox cisalpinus (southern pike) is a freshwater fish restricted to freshwater habitats in central and northern Italy (Southern Europe). As with the widespread northern pike also known as Esox lucius, the southern pike is an important species for recreational and commercial fisheries, and for its role as top predator in freshwater ecosystems.
Esox cisalpinus was distinguished from Esox lucius and described scientifically as a new species in 2011 independently by two research groups. The description by Bianco & Delmastro was printed earlier, and the name Esox cisalpinus is therefore accepted, whereas the alternative name published somewhat later by Lucentini et al., Esox flaviae, is considered a junior synonym.
Lucentini et al. explicitly tested the hypothesis that the different phenotypes of the pike, geographically isolated in Europe, represent two different evolutionary entities. They analysed phenotypic and genetic differences, e.g. in the skin colour pattern and in meristic characters such as the number of scales in the lateral line, which distinguish the two species. They applied a coalescent-based approach to mtDNA phylogeny and evaluated the degree of historical admixture, testing overall genetic differences from amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). The Italian southern pike turned out distinct from the northern pike, whose range extends from central and northern Europe across Asia to North America.
The authors recommend stopping the stocking of pike in southern Europe using northern pike from other European countries, as this could greatly impact the survival of this newly discovered species in its native range.
---------------------------
s494 Fa19 6852 Fa Životinje Štuka
-----------------------------
s287 Fa11 2279 Fa Fauna Europe Štuka
-----------------------------------------------------
www.inaturalist.org/observations/18821894
---------------------------------------------------
www.projectnoah.org/spottings/293266863
-----------------------------------------
A text In English:
The Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, so called from its forked tail, is one of the largest hummingbirds in cities and gardens, but it also occurs in gallery forests, bushy pastures and edges of woods or coppices. It is green, except for the blue head and upper breast, turning to iridescent purple according to the direction of light; it has dark wings and a heavy black bill. The tail is dark blue with the external feathers longer than central ones. It is very aggressive and attacks other hummingbirds that dare to visit flowers in certain trees. Where the flowers are available for many months, the individual is fiercely territorial, but generally needs to search soon for other flowering plants. It flies to catch small insets on or under leaves in the gallery forests or woodlands. The female builds a small cup-shaped nest saddled on a branch, not far from the main trunk in the shade of leaves. Perched on favorite branches, the male can utter long but low chirps. Once in a while, it interrupts these singing sessions to feed, and flies back for more song or to clean the plumage. They occur from the Guianas and Amazon River to Paraguay and southeastern Peru. They can get along with partially deforested zones, but may disappear with intensive agriculture and with the development of treeless cities.
Um texto em Português:
Beija-flor Tesoura (Eupetomena macroura), fotografado em Brasília-DF, Brasil.
Eupetomena macroura (Gmelin, 1788): tesoura; swallow-tailed hummingbird c.
Destaca-se das espécies estudadas pelo maior porte e pela cauda comprida e bifurcada, o que lhe valeu o nome popular. Como é comum entre os beija-flores, é uma espécie agressiva que disputa com outras o seu território e fontes de alimento.
Nidificação: o ninho, em forma de tigela, é assentado numa forquilha de arbusto ou árvores, a cerca de 2 a 3 m do solo. O material utilizado na construção é composto por fibras vegetais incluindo painas, musgos e liquens, aderidos externamente com teias de aranhas.
Hábitat: capoeiras, cerrados, borda de matas e jardins.
Tamanho: 17,0 cm
A SEGUIR UM TEXTO ENCONTRADO E REPRODUZIDO DO ENDEREÇO nationalgeographic.abril.uol.com.br/ng/edicoes/83/reporta... DA NATIONAL GEOGRAFIC:
Prodígios da micro-engenharia, os beija-flores são os campeões dos pesos-leves entre as aves
Uma faísca safira, um frêmito de asas, e o minúsculo pássaro - ou seria um inseto? - some como miragem fugaz. Reaparece instantes depois, agora num ângulo melhor. É pássaro mesmo, um dervixe do tamanho do meu polegar com asas que batem 80 vertiginosas vezes por segundo, produzindo um zumbido quase inaudível. As penas da cauda, à guisa de leme, delicadamente direcionam o vôo em três direções. Ele fita a trombeta de uma vistosa flor alaranjada e do bico fino como agulha projeta uma língua delgada feito linha. Um raio de Sol ricocheteia de suas penas iridescentes. A cor refletida deslumbra como uma pedra preciosa contra uma janela ensolarada. Não admira que os beija-flores sejam tão queridos e que tanta gente já tenha tropeçado ao tentar descrevê-los. Nem mesmo circunspectos cientistas resistem a termos como "belo", "magnífico", "exótico".
Surpresa maior é o fato de o aparentemente frágil beija-flor ser uma das mais resistentes criaturas do reino animal. Cerca de 330 espécies prosperam em ambientes diversos, muitos deles brutais: do Alasca à Argentina, do deserto do Arizona à costa de Nova Scotia, da Amazônia à linha nevada acima dos 4,5 mil metros nos Andes (misteriosamente, essas aves só são encontradas no Novo Mundo).
"Eles vivem no limite do que é possível aos vertebrados, e com maestria", diz Karl Schuchmann, ornitólogo do Instituto Zoológico Alexander Koenig e do Fundo Brehm, na Alemanha. Schuchmann ouviu falar de um beija-flor que viveu 17 anos em cativeiro. "Imagine a resistência de um organismo de 5 ou 6 gramas para viver tanto tempo!", diz ele espantado. Em média, o minúsculo coração de um beija-flor bate cerca de 500 vezes por minuto (em repouso!). Assim, o desse pequeno cativo teria batido meio bilhão de vezes, quase o dobro do total de uma pessoa de 70 anos.
Mas esses passarinhos são duráveis apenas em vida. Quando morrem, seus ossos delicados e ocos quase nunca se fossilizam. Daí o assombro causado pela recente descoberta de um amontoado de fósseis de aves que talvez inclua um beija-flor ancestral de 30 milhões de anos. Como os beija-flores modernos, os espécimes fósseis tinham o bico longo e fino e os ossos superiores das asas mais curtos, terminando em uma saliência arredondada que talvez lhes permitisse fazer a rotação na articulação do ombro e parar no ar.
A outra surpresa foi o local do achado: no sul da Alemanha, longe do território dos beija-flores atuais. Para alguns cientistas, essa descoberta mostra que já existiram beija-flores fora das Américas, mas se extinguiram. Ou quem sabe os fósseis não fossem de beija-flor. Os céticos, entre eles Schuchmann, afirmam que muitas vezes, ao longo da evolução, outros grupos de aves adquiriram características semelhantes às do beija-flor. Os verdadeiros beija-flores, diz Schuchmann, evoluíram nas florestas do leste do Brasil, onde competiam com insetos pelo néctar das flores.
"O Brasil foi o laboratório do protótipo", diz o ornitólogo. "E o modelo funcionou." O beija-flor tornou-se a obra-prima da microengenharia da natureza. Aperfeiçoou sua habilidade de parar no ar há dezenas de milhões de anos para competir por parte das flores do Novo Mundo.
"Eles são uma ponte entre o mundo das aves e o dos insetos", diz Doug Altshuler, da Universidade da Califórnia em Riverside. Altshuler, que estuda o vôo dos beija-flores, examinou os movimentos das asas do pássaro. Observou que, nele, os impulsos elétricos propulsores dos músculos das asas lembram mais os dos insetos que os das aves. Talvez por isso o beija-flor produza tanta energia por batida de asas: mais, por unidade de massa, que qualquer outro vertebrado. Altshuler também analisou os trajetos neurais do beija-flor, que funcionam com a mesma vertiginosa velocidade encontrada nas aves mais ágeis, como seu primo mais próximo, o andorinhão. "São incríveis; uns pequenos Frankesteins", compara.
Certamente eles sabem intimidar: grama por grama, talvez sejam os maiores confrontadores da natureza. "O vocabulário do beija-flor deve ser 100% composto de palavrões", graceja Sheri Williamson, naturalista do Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory. A agressão do beija-flor nasce de ferozes instintos territoriais moldados à necessidade de sugar néctar a cada poucos minutos. Os beija-flores competem desafiando e ameaçando uns aos outros. Postam-se face a face no ar, rodopiam, mergulham na direção da grama e voam de ré, em danças de dominância que terminam tão subitamente quanto começam.
O melhor lugar para vermos tais batalhas é nas montanhas, especialmente no Equador, em que ricos ecossistemas se apresentam em suas várias altitudes. Sheri supõe que o sentido norte-sul das cordilheiras americanas também crie rotas favoráveis à migração para onde haja constante suprimento de flores. O que contrasta, diz ela, com as barreiras naturais que se estendem de leste a oeste na África, como o Saara e o Mediterrâneo.
Algumas espécies de beija-flor, porém, adaptaram-se a atravessar vastidões planas, onde o alimento é escasso. Antes de sua intrépida migração da primavera para os Estados Unidos e o Canadá, os beija-flores-de-garganta-vermelha reúnem-se no México e empanturram-se de insetos e néctar. Armazenam gordura e duplicam de peso em uma semana. Em seguida, atravessam o golfo do México, voando 800 quilômetros sem escalas por 20 horas, até a costa distante.
A região próxima à linha do equador é um reino de beija-flores. Quem sai do aeroporto de Quito, no Equador, pode ser logo saudado por um cintilante beija-flor-violeta, com pintura de guerra de manchas púrpura iridescentes nos lados da face. A leste da cidade, nas cabeceiras da bacia Amazônica, o beija-flor-bico-de-espada esvoaça na mata portando o bico mais longo de todas as aves em proporção a seu tamanho: mais de metade do comprimento total do animal. Nas encostas do Cotopaxi, um vulcão ao sul de Quito, o beija-flor-do-chimborazo foi avistado acima dos 4,5 mil metros. Ali ele passa a noite entorpecido em cavernas, pois desacelera seu ritmo metabólico o suficiente para não morrer de fome antes de amanhecer. Mais tarde, aquecido pelo Sol, ele recomeça a se alimentar.
"Quem estuda beija-flores fica irremediavelmente enfeitiçado", diz Sheri Williamson. "São criaturinhas sedutoras. Tentei resistir, mas agora tenho sangue de beija-flor correndo nas veias."
Canon EOS 50D
www.flickr.com/map/?&fLat=-15.827534&fLon=-47.928...
Ipê Amarelo, Tabebuia [chrysotricha or ochracea].
Text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Trumpet tree" redirects here. This term is occasionally used for the Shield-leaved Pumpwood (Cecropia peltata).
Tabebuia
Flowering Araguaney or ipê-amarelo (Tabebuia chrysantha) in central Brazil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Tribe: Tecomeae
Genus: Tabebuia
Gomez
Species
Nearly 100.
Tabebuia is a neotropical genus of about 100 species in the tribe Tecomeae of the family Bignoniaceae. The species range from northern Mexico and the Antilles south to northern Argentina and central Venezuela, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Cuba. Well-known common names include Ipê, Poui, trumpet trees and pau d'arco.
They are large shrubs and trees growing to 5 to 50 m (16 to 160 ft.) tall depending on the species; many species are dry-season deciduous but some are evergreen. The leaves are opposite pairs, complex or palmately compound with 3–7 leaflets.
Tabebuia is a notable flowering tree. The flowers are 3 to 11 cm (1 to 4 in.) wide and are produced in dense clusters. They present a cupular calyx campanulate to tubular, truncate, bilabiate or 5-lobed. Corolla colors vary between species ranging from white, light pink, yellow, lavender, magenta, or red. The outside texture of the flower tube is either glabrous or pubescentThe fruit is a dehiscent pod, 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 in.) long, containing numerous—in some species winged—seeds. These pods often remain on the tree through dry season until the beginning of the rainy.
Species in this genus are important as timber trees. The wood is used for furniture, decking, and other outdoor uses. It is increasingly popular as a decking material due to its insect resistance and durability. By 2007, FSC-certified ipê wood had become readily available on the market, although certificates are occasionally forged.
Tabebuia is widely used as ornamental tree in the tropics in landscaping gardens, public squares, and boulevards due to its impressive and colorful flowering. Many flowers appear on still leafless stems at the end of the dry season, making the floral display more conspicuous. They are useful as honey plants for bees, and are popular with certain hummingbirds. Naturalist Madhaviah Krishnan on the other hand once famously took offense at ipé grown in India, where it is not native.
Lapacho teaThe bark of several species has medical properties. The bark is dried, shredded, and then boiled making a bitter or sour-tasting brownish-colored tea. Tea from the inner bark of Pink Ipê (T. impetiginosa) is known as Lapacho or Taheebo. Its main active principles are lapachol, quercetin, and other flavonoids. It is also available in pill form. The herbal remedy is typically used during flu and cold season and for easing smoker's cough. It apparently works as expectorant, by promoting the lungs to cough up and free deeply embedded mucus and contaminants. However, lapachol is rather toxic and therefore a more topical use e.g. as antibiotic or pesticide may be advisable. Other species with significant folk medical use are T. alba and Yellow Lapacho (T. serratifolia)
Tabebuia heteropoda, T. incana, and other species are occasionally used as an additive to the entheogenic drink Ayahuasca.
Mycosphaerella tabebuiae, a plant pathogenic sac fungus, was first discovered on an ipê tree.
Tabebuia alba
Tabebuia anafensis
Tabebuia arimaoensis
Tabebuia aurea – Caribbean Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia bilbergii
Tabebuia bibracteolata
Tabebuia cassinoides
Tabebuia chrysantha – Araguaney, Yellow Ipê, tajibo (Bolivia), ipê-amarelo (Brazil), cañaguate (N Colombia)
Tabebuia chrysotricha – Golden Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia donnell-smithii Rose – Gold Tree, "Prima Vera", Cortez blanco (El Salvador), San Juan (Honduras), palo blanco (Guatemala),duranga (Mexico)
A native of Mexico and Central Americas, considered one of the most colorful of all Central American trees. The leaves are deciduous. Masses of golden-yellow flowers cover the crown after the leaves are shed.
Tabebuia dubia
Tabebuia ecuadorensis
Tabebuia elongata
Tabebuia furfuracea
Tabebuia geminiflora Rizz. & Mattos
Tabebuia guayacan (Seem.) Hemsl.
Tabebuia haemantha
Tabebuia heptaphylla (Vell.) Toledo – tajy
Tabebuia heterophylla – roble prieto
Tabebuia heteropoda
Tabebuia hypoleuca
Tabebuia impetiginosa – Pink Ipê, Pink Lapacho, ipê-cavatã, ipê-comum, ipê-reto, ipê-rosa, ipê-roxo-damata, pau d'arco-roxo, peúva, piúva (Brazil), lapacho negro (Spanish); not "brazilwood"
Tabebuia incana
Tabebuia jackiana
Tabebuia lapacho – lapacho amarillo
Tabebuia orinocensis A.H. Gentry[verification needed]
Tabebuia ochracea
Tabebuia oligolepis
Tabebuia pallida – Cuban Pink Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia platyantha
Tabebuia polymorpha
Tabebuia rosea (Bertol.) DC.[verification needed] (= T. pentaphylla (L.) Hemsley) – Pink Poui, Pink Tecoma, apama, apamate, matilisguate
A popular street tree in tropical cities because of its multi-annular masses of light pink to purple flowers and modest size. The roots are not especially destructive for roads and sidewalks. It is the national tree of El Salvador and the state tree of Cojedes, Venezuela
Tabebuia roseo-alba – White Ipê, ipê-branco (Brazil), lapacho blanco
Tabebuia serratifolia – Yellow Lapacho, Yellow Poui, ipê-roxo (Brazil)
Tabebuia shaferi
Tabebuia striata
Tabebuia subtilis Sprague & Sandwith
Tabebuia umbellata
Tabebuia vellosoi Toledo
Ipê-do-cerrado
Texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre.
Ipê-do-cerrado
Classificação científica
Reino: Plantae
Divisão: Magnoliophyta
Classe: Magnoliopsida
Subclasse: Asteridae
Ordem: Lamiales
Família: Bignoniaceae
Género: Tabebuia
Espécie: T. ochracea
Nome binomial
Tabebuia ochracea
(Cham.) Standl. 1832
Sinónimos
Bignonia tomentosa Pav. ex DC.
Handroanthus ochraceus (Cham.) Mattos
Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) G. Nicholson
Tabebuia hypodictyon A. DC.) Standl.
Tabebuia neochrysantha A.H. Gentry
Tabebuia ochracea subsp. heteropoda (A. DC.) A.H. Gentry
Tabebuia ochracea subsp. neochrysantha (A.H. Gentry) A.H. Gentry
Tecoma campinae Kraenzl.
ecoma grandiceps Kraenzl.
Tecoma hassleri Sprague
Tecoma hemmendorffiana Kraenzl.
Tecoma heteropoda A. DC.
Tecoma hypodictyon A. DC.
Tecoma ochracea Cham.
Ipê-do-cerrado é um dos nomes populares da Tabebuia ochracea (Cham.) Standl. 1832, nativa do cerrado brasileiro, no estados de Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Pernambuco, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo e Paraná.
Está na lista de espécies ameaçadas do estado de São Paulo, onde é encontrda também no domínio da Mata Atlântica[1].
Ocorre também na Argentina, Paraguai, Bolívia, Equador, Peru, Venezuela, Guiana, El Salvador, Guatemala e Panamá[2].
Há uma espécie homônima descrita por A.H. Gentry em 1992.
Outros nomes populares: ipê-amarelo, ipê-cascudo, ipê-do-campo, ipê-pardo, pau-d'arco-do-campo, piúva, tarumã.
Características
Altura de 6 a 14 m. Tronco tortuso com até 50 cm de diâmetro. Folhas pilosas em ambas as faces, mais na inferior, que é mais clara.
Planta decídua, heliófita, xerófita, nativa do cerrado em solos bem drenados.
Floresce de julho a setembro. Os frutos amadurecem de setembro a outubro.
FloresProduz grande quantidade de sementes leves, aladas com pequenas reservas, e que perdem a viabilidade em menos de 90 dias após coleta. A sua conservação vem sendo estudada em termos de determinação da condição ideal de armazenamento, e tem demonstrado a importância de se conhecer o comportamento da espécie quando armazenada com diferentes teores de umidade inicial, e a umidade de equilíbrio crítica para a espécie (KANO; MÁRQUEZ & KAGEYAMA, 1978). As levíssimas sementes aladas da espécie não necessitam de quebra de dormência. Podem apenas ser expostas ao sol por cerca de 6 horas e semeadas diretamente nos saquinhos. A germinação ocorre após 30 dias e de 80%. As sementes são ortodoxas e há aproximadamente 72 000 sementes em cada quilo.
O desenvolvimento da planta é rápido.
Como outros ipês, a madeira é usada em tacos, assoalhos, e em dormentes e postes. Presta-se também para peças torneadas e instrumento musicais.
Tabebuia alba (Ipê-Amarelo)
Texto, em português, produzido pela Acadêmica Giovana Beatriz Theodoro Marto
Supervisão e orientação do Prof. Luiz Ernesto George Barrichelo e do Eng. Paulo Henrique Müller
Atualizado em 10/07/2006
O ipê amarelo é a árvore brasileira mais conhecida, a mais cultivada e, sem dúvida nenhuma, a mais bela. É na verdade um complexo de nove ou dez espécies com características mais ou menos semelhantes, com flores brancas, amarelas ou roxas. Não há região do país onde não exista pelo menos uma espécie dele, porém a existência do ipê em habitat natural nos dias atuais é rara entre a maioria das espécies (LORENZI,2000).
A espécie Tabebuia alba, nativa do Brasil, é uma das espécies do gênero Tabebuia que possui “Ipê Amarelo” como nome popular. O nome alba provém de albus (branco em latim) e é devido ao tomento branco dos ramos e folhas novas.
As árvores desta espécie proporcionam um belo espetáculo com sua bela floração na arborização de ruas em algumas cidades brasileiras. São lindas árvores que embelezam e promovem um colorido no final do inverno. Existe uma crença popular de que quando o ipê-amarelo floresce não vão ocorrer mais geadas. Infelizmente, a espécie é considerada vulnerável quanto à ameaça de extinção.
A Tabebuia alba, natural do semi-árido alagoano está adaptada a todas as regiões fisiográficas, levando o governo, por meio do Decreto nº 6239, a transformar a espécie como a árvore símbolo do estado, estando, pois sob a sua tutela, não mais podendo ser suprimida de seus habitats naturais.
Taxonomia
Família: Bignoniaceae
Espécie: Tabebuia Alba (Chamiso) Sandwith
Sinonímia botânica: Handroanthus albus (Chamiso) Mattos; Tecoma alba Chamisso
Outros nomes vulgares: ipê-amarelo, ipê, aipê, ipê-branco, ipê-mamono, ipê-mandioca, ipê-ouro, ipê-pardo, ipê-vacariano, ipê-tabaco, ipê-do-cerrado, ipê-dourado, ipê-da-serra, ipezeiro, pau-d’arco-amarelo, taipoca.
Aspectos Ecológicos
O ipê-amarelo é uma espécie heliófita (Planta adaptada ao crescimento em ambiente aberto ou exposto à luz direta) e decídua (que perde as folhas em determinada época do ano). Pertence ao grupo das espécies secundárias iniciais (DURIGAN & NOGUEIRA, 1990).
Abrange a Floresta Pluvial da Mata Atlântica e da Floresta Latifoliada Semidecídua, ocorrendo principalmente no interior da Floresta Primária Densa. É característica de sub-bosques dos pinhais, onde há regeneração regular.
Informações Botânicas
Morfologia
As árvores de Tabebuia alba possuem cerca de 30 metros de altura. O tronco é reto ou levemente tortuoso, com fuste de 5 a 8 m de altura. A casca externa é grisáceo-grossa, possuindo fissuras longitudinais esparas e profundas. A coloração desta é cinza-rosa intenso, com camadas fibrosas, muito resistentes e finas, porém bem distintas.
Com ramos grossos, tortuosos e compridos, o ipê-amarelo possui copa alongada e alargada na base. As raízes de sustentação e absorção são vigorosas e profundas.
As folhas, deciduais, são opostas, digitadas e compostas. A face superior destas folhas é verde-escura, e, a face inferior, acinzentada, sendo ambas as faces tomentosas. Os pecíolos das folhas medem de 2,5 a 10 cm de comprimento. Os folíolos, geralmente, apresentam-se em número de 5 a 7, possuindo de 7 a 18 cm de comprimento por 2 a 6 cm de largura. Quando jovem estes folíolos são densamente pilosos em ambas as faces. O ápice destes é pontiagudo, com base arredondada e margem serreada.
As flores, grandes e lanceoladas, são de coloração amarelo-ouro. Possuem em média 8X15 cm.
Quanto aos frutos, estes possuem forma de cápsula bivalvar e são secos e deiscentes. Do tipo síliqua, lembram uma vagem. Medem de 15 a 30 cm de comprimento por 1,5 a 2,5 cm de largura. As valvas são finamente tomentosas com pêlos ramificados. Possuem grande quantidade de sementes.
As sementes são membranáceas brilhantes e esbranquiçadas, de coloração marrom. Possuem de 2 a 3 cm de comprimento por 7 a 9 mm de largura e são aladas.
Reprodução
A espécie é caducifólia e a queda das folhas coincide com o período de floração. A floração inicia-se no final de agosto, podendo ocorrer alguma variação devido a fenômenos climáticos. Como a espécie floresce no final do inverno é influenciada pela intensidade do mesmo. Quanto mais frio e seco for o inverno, maior será a intensidade da florada do ipê amarelo.
As flores por sua exuberância, atraem abelhas e pássaros, principalmente beija-flores que são importantes agentes polinizadores. Segundo CARVALHO (2003), a espécie possui como vetor de polinização a abelha mamangava (Bombus morio).
As sementes são dispersas pelo vento.
A planta é hermafrodita, e frutifica nos meses de setembro, outubro, novembro, dezembro, janeiro e fevereiro, dependendo da sua localização. Em cultivo, a espécie inicia o processo reprodutivo após o terceiro ano.
Ocorrência Natural
Ocorre naturalmente na Floresta Estaciobal Semidecicual, Floresta de Araucária e no Cerrado.
Segundo o IBGE, a Tabebuia alba (Cham.) Sandw. é uma árvore do Cerrado, Cerradão e Mata Seca. Apresentando-se nos campos secos (savana gramíneo-lenhosa), próximo às escarpas.
Clima
Segundo a classificação de Köppen, o ipê-amarelo abrange locais de clima tropical (Aw), subtropical úmido (Cfa), sutropical de altitude (Cwa e Cwb) e temperado.
A T.alba pode tolerar até 81 geadas em um ano. Ocorre em locais onde a temperatura média anual varia de 14,4ºC como mínimo e 22,4ºC como máximo.
Solo
A espécie prefere solos úmidos, com drenagem lenta e geralmente não muito ondulados (LONGHI, 1995).
Aparece em terras de boa à média fertilidade, em solos profundos ou rasos, nas matas e raramente cerradões (NOGUEIRA, 1977).
Pragas e Doenças
De acordo com CARVALHO (2003), possui como praga a espécie de coleópteros Cydianerus bohemani da família Curculionoideae e um outro coleóptero da família Chrysomellidae. Apesar da constatação de elevados índices populacionais do primeiro, os danos ocasionados até o momento são leves. Nas praças e ruas de Curitiba - PR, 31% das árvores foram atacadas pela Cochonilha Ceroplastes grandis.
ZIDKO (2002), ao estudar no município de Piracicaba a associação de coleópteros em espécies arbóreas, verificou a presença de insetos adultos da espécie Sitophilus linearis da família de coleópteros, Curculionidae, em estruturas reprodutivas. Os insetos adultos da espécie emergiram das vagens do ipê, danificando as sementes desta espécie nativa.
ANDRADE (1928) assinalou diversas espécies de Cerambycidae atacando essências florestais vivas, como ingazeiro, cinamomo, cangerana, cedro, caixeta, jacarandá, araribá, jatobá, entre outras como o ipê amarelo.
A Madeira
A Tabebuia alba produz madeira de grande durabilidade e resistência ao apodrecimento (LONGHI,1995).
MANIERI (1970) caracteriza o cerne desta espécie como de cor pardo-havana-claro, pardo-havan-escuro, ou pardo-acastanhado, com reflexos esverdeados. A superfície da madeira é irregularmente lustrosa, lisa ao tato, possuindo textura media e grã-direita.
Com densidade entre 0,90 e 1,15 grama por centímetro cúbico, a madeira é muito dura (LORENZI, 1992), apresentando grande dificuldade ao serrar.
A madeira possui cheiro e gosto distintos. Segundo LORENZI (1992), o cheiro característico é devido à presença da substância lapachol, ou ipeína.
Usos da Madeira
Sendo pesada, com cerne escuro, adquire grande valor comercial na marcenaria e carpintaria. Também é utilizada para fabricação de dormentes, moirões, pontes, postes, eixos de roda, varais de carroça, moendas de cana, etc.
Produtos Não-Madeireiros
A entrecasca do ipê-amarelo possui propriedades terapêuticas como adstringente, usada no tratamento de garganta e estomatites. É também usada como diurético.
O ipê-amarelo possui flores melíferas e que maduras podem ser utilizadas na alimentação humana.
Outros Usos
É comumente utilizada em paisagismo de parques e jardins pela beleza e porte. Além disso, é muito utilizada na arborização urbana.
Segundo MOREIRA & SOUZA (1987), o ipê-amarelo costuma povoar as beiras dos rios sendo, portanto, indicado para recomposição de matas ciliares. MARTINS (1986), também cita a espécie para recomposição de matas ciliares da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, abrangendo alguns municípios das regiões Norte, Noroeste e parte do Oeste do Estado do Paraná.
Aspectos Silviculturais
Possui a tendência a crescer reto e sem bifurcações quando plantado em reflorestamento misto, pois é espécie monopodial. A desrrama se faz muito bem e a cicatrização é boa. Sendo assim, dificilmente encopa quando nova, a não ser que seja plantado em parques e jardins.
Ao ser utilizada em arborização urbana, o ipê amarelo requer podas de condução com freqüência mediana.
Espécie heliófila apresenta a pleno sol ramificação cimosa, registrando-se assim dicotomia para gema apical. Deve ser preconizada, para seu melhor aproveitamento madeireiro, podas de formação usuais (INQUE et al., 1983).
Produção de Mudas
A propagação deve realizada através de enxertia.
Os frutos devem ser coletados antes da dispersão, para evitar a perda de sementes. Após a coleta as sementes são postas em ambiente ventilado e a extração é feita manualmente. As sementes do ipê amarelo são ortodoxas, mantendo a viabilidade natural por até 3 meses em sala e por até 9 meses em vidro fechado, em câmara fria.
A condução das mudas deve ser feita a pleno sol. A muda atinge cerca de 30 cm em 9 meses, apresentando tolerância ao sol 3 semanas após a germinação.
Sementes
Os ipês, espécies do gênero Tabebuia, produzem uma grande quantidade de sementes leves, aladas com pequenas reservas, e que perdem a viabilidade em poucos dias após a sua coleta. A sua conservação vem sendo estudada em termos de determinação da condição ideal de armazenamento, e tem demonstrado a importância de se conhecer o comportamento da espécie quando armazenada com diferentes teores de umidade inicial, e a umidade de equilíbrio crítica para a espécie (KANO; MÁRQUEZ & KAGEYAMA, 1978).
As levíssimas sementes aladas da espécie não necessitam de quebra de dormência. Podem apenas ser expostas ao sol por cerca de 6 horas e semeadas diretamente nos saquinhos. A quebra natural leva cerca de 3 meses e a quebra na câmara leva 9 meses. A germinação ocorre após 30 dias e de 80%.
As sementes são ortodoxas e há aproximadamente 87000 sementes em cada quilo.
Preço da Madeira no Mercado
O preço médio do metro cúbico de pranchas de ipê no Estado do Pará cotado em Julho e Agosto de 2005 foi de R$1.200,00 o preço mínimo, R$ 1509,35 o médio e R$ 2.000,00 o preço máximo (CEPEA,2005).
Femme de l’ethnie Dao Noir dans un village de la région de Lai Chau, nord du Vietnam
Rappelez-vous le portrait de la petite fille dans son beau costume que j’ai posté il y a quelques jours. Voici sa maman, qui porte dans toutes ses activités quotidiennes l’étonnant costume Dao Noir et cette surprenante coiffe métallique qui surmonte un postiche de cheveux tressés
L’ethnie Dao (ou Dzao) est très polymorphe : Dao Rouge, Dao à Tunique, Dao Noir, Dao à pantalon blanc… .J'en posterai prochainement plusieurs exemples.
Emigrée de Chine du sud depuis le XIIIème siècle, l’ethnie Dao habite au Nord du Vietnam dans les provinces de la moyenne et haute région. Elle occupe des terres à toute altitude et vit en bons voisins avec d’autres ethnies comme les Hmong, Tay, Thaï, … Ses ressources principales proviennent de l’agriculture, (riz et mais)
Souvent chez les femmes, les cheveux sont relevés en chignon sur la nuque ou rasés sur le pourtour à l’exception d’une touffe au sommet de la tête
Pratiquant le culte des ancêtres, les Dao adhèrent également au Taoïsme.
Genre: Xylaria
Espèce: polymorpha
Nom français: Xylaire polymorphe
No de sujet (MttP = sans specimen): MttP0139
Date: 15 août 1997
Groupe: Ascomycetes
Cueilleur: Matthieu Sicard
Déterminateur: Matthieu Sicard
Ville: Saint-Adolphe-d'Howard
Latitude: 45,9667
Longitude: -74,3333
Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, and usually red mushroom.
Despite its easily distinguishable features, A. muscaria is a fungus with several known variations, or subspecies. These subspecies are slightly different, some having yellow or white caps, but are all usually called fly agarics, most often recognizable by their notable white spots. Recent DNA fungi research, however, has shown that some mushrooms called 'fly agaric' are in fact unique species, such as A. persicina (the peach-colored fly agaric).
Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, A. muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Although poisonous, death due to poisoning from A. muscaria ingestion is quite rare. Parboiling twice with water draining weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances; it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All A. muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being muscimol and its neurotoxic precursor ibotenic acid. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture, including in video games—for example, the frequent use of a recognizable A. muscaria in the Mario franchise (e.g. its Super Mushroom power-up)—and television—for example, the houses in The Smurfs franchise. There have been cases of children admitted to hospitals after consuming this poisonous mushroom; the children may have been attracted to it because of its pop-culture associations.
Taxonomy
The name of the mushroom in many European languages is thought to derive from its use as an insecticide when sprinkled in milk. This practice has been recorded from Germanic- and Slavic-speaking parts of Europe, as well as the Vosges region and pockets elsewhere in France, and Romania. Albertus Magnus was the first to record it in his work De vegetabilibus some time before 1256, commenting vocatur fungus muscarum, eo quod in lacte pulverizatus interficit muscas, "it is called the fly mushroom because it is powdered in milk to kill flies."
The 16th-century Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius traced the practice of sprinkling it into milk to Frankfurt in Germany, while Carl Linnaeus, the "father of taxonomy", reported it from Småland in southern Sweden, where he had lived as a child. He described it in volume two of his Species Plantarum in 1753, giving it the name Agaricus muscarius, the specific epithet deriving from Latin musca meaning "fly". It gained its current name in 1783, when placed in the genus Amanita by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, a name sanctioned in 1821 by the "father of mycology", Swedish naturalist Elias Magnus Fries. The starting date for all the mycota had been set by general agreement as January 1, 1821, the date of Fries's work, and so the full name was then Amanita muscaria (L.:Fr.) Hook. The 1987 edition of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature changed the rules on the starting date and primary work for names of fungi, and names can now be considered valid as far back as May 1, 1753, the date of publication of Linnaeus's work. Hence, Linnaeus and Lamarck are now taken as the namers of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam..
The English mycologist John Ramsbottom reported that Amanita muscaria was used for getting rid of bugs in England and Sweden, and bug agaric was an old alternative name for the species. French mycologist Pierre Bulliard reported having tried without success to replicate its fly-killing properties in his work Histoire des plantes vénéneuses et suspectes de la France (1784), and proposed a new binomial name Agaricus pseudo-aurantiacus because of this. One compound isolated from the fungus is 1,3-diolein (1,3-di(cis-9-octadecenoyl)glycerol), which attracts insects. It has been hypothesised that the flies intentionally seek out the fly agaric for its intoxicating properties. An alternative derivation proposes that the term fly- refers not to insects as such but rather the delirium resulting from consumption of the fungus. This is based on the medieval belief that flies could enter a person's head and cause mental illness. Several regional names appear to be linked with this connotation, meaning the "mad" or "fool's" version of the highly regarded edible mushroom Amanita caesarea. Hence there is oriol foll "mad oriol" in Catalan, mujolo folo from Toulouse, concourlo fouolo from the Aveyron department in Southern France, ovolo matto from Trentino in Italy. A local dialect name in Fribourg in Switzerland is tsapi de diablhou, which translates as "Devil's hat".
Classification
Amanita muscaria is the type species of the genus. By extension, it is also the type species of Amanita subgenus Amanita, as well as section Amanita within this subgenus. Amanita subgenus Amanita includes all Amanita with inamyloid spores. Amanita section Amanita includes the species with patchy universal veil remnants, including a volva that is reduced to a series of concentric rings, and the veil remnants on the cap to a series of patches or warts. Most species in this group also have a bulbous base. Amanita section Amanita consists of A. muscaria and its close relatives, including A. pantherina (the panther cap), A. gemmata, A. farinosa, and A. xanthocephala. Modern fungal taxonomists have classified Amanita muscaria and its allies this way based on gross morphology and spore inamyloidy. Two recent molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed this classification as natural.
Description
A large, conspicuous mushroom, Amanita muscaria is generally common and numerous where it grows, and is often found in groups with basidiocarps in all stages of development. Fly agaric fruiting bodies emerge from the soil looking like white eggs. After emerging from the ground, the cap is covered with numerous small white to yellow pyramid-shaped warts. These are remnants of the universal veil, a membrane that encloses the entire mushroom when it is still very young. Dissecting the mushroom at this stage reveals a characteristic yellowish layer of skin under the veil, which helps identification. As the fungus grows, the red colour appears through the broken veil and the warts become less prominent; they do not change in size, but are reduced relative to the expanding skin area. The cap changes from globose to hemispherical, and finally to plate-like and flat in mature specimens. Fully grown, the bright red cap is usually around 8–20 centimetres (3–8 inches) in diameter, although larger specimens have been found. The red colour may fade after rain and in older mushrooms.
The free gills are white, as is the spore print. The oval spores measure 9–13 by 6.5–9 μm; they do not turn blue with the application of iodine. The stipe is white, 5–20 cm (2–8 in) high by 1–2 cm (1⁄2–1 in) wide, and has the slightly brittle, fibrous texture typical of many large mushrooms. At the base is a bulb that bears universal veil remnants in the form of two to four distinct rings or ruffs. Between the basal universal veil remnants and gills are remnants of the partial veil (which covers the gills during development) in the form of a white ring. It can be quite wide and flaccid with age. There is generally no associated smell other than a mild earthiness.
Although very distinctive in appearance, the fly agaric has been mistaken for other yellow to red mushroom species in the Americas, such as Armillaria cf. mellea and the edible A. basii—a Mexican species similar to A. caesarea of Europe. Poison control centres in the U.S. and Canada have become aware that amarill (Spanish for 'yellow') is a common name for the A. caesarea-like species in Mexico. A. caesarea is distinguished by its entirely orange to red cap, which lacks the numerous white warty spots of the fly agaric (though these sometimes wash away during heavy rain). Furthermore, the stem, gills and ring of A. caesarea are bright yellow, not white. The volva is a distinct white bag, not broken into scales. In Australia, the introduced fly agaric may be confused with the native vermilion grisette (Amanita xanthocephala), which grows in association with eucalypts. The latter species generally lacks the white warts of A. muscaria and bears no ring. Additionally, immature button forms resemble puffballs.
Controversy
Amanita muscaria var. formosa is now a synonym for Amanita muscaria var. guessowii.
Amanita muscaria varies considerably in its morphology, and many authorities recognize several subspecies or varieties within the species. In The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy, German mycologist Rolf Singer listed three subspecies, though without description: A. muscaria ssp. muscaria, A. muscaria ssp. americana, and A. muscaria ssp. flavivolvata.
However, a 2006 molecular phylogenetic study of different regional populations of A. muscaria by mycologist József Geml and colleagues found three distinct clades within this species representing, roughly, Eurasian, Eurasian "subalpine", and North American populations. Specimens belonging to all three clades have been found in Alaska; this has led to the hypothesis that this was the centre of diversification for this species. The study also looked at four named varieties of the species: var. alba, var. flavivolvata, var. formosa (including var. guessowii), and var. regalis from both areas. All four varieties were found within both the Eurasian and North American clades, evidence that these morphological forms are polymorphisms rather than distinct subspecies or varieties. Further molecular study by Geml and colleagues published in 2008 show that these three genetic groups, plus a fourth associated with oak–hickory–pine forest in the southeastern United States and two more on Santa Cruz Island in California, are delineated from each other enough genetically to be considered separate species. Thus A. muscaria as it stands currently is, evidently, a species complex. The complex also includes at least three other closely related taxa that are currently regarded as species: A. breckonii is a buff-capped mushroom associated with conifers from the Pacific Northwest, and the brown-capped A. gioiosa and A. heterochroma from the Mediterranean Basin and from Sardinia respectively. Both of these last two are found with Eucalyptus and Cistus trees, and it is unclear whether they are native or introduced from Australia.
Distribution and habitat
A. muscaria is a cosmopolitan mushroom, native to conifer and deciduous woodlands throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including higher elevations of warmer latitudes in regions such as Hindu Kush, the Mediterranean and also Central America. A recent molecular study proposes that it had an ancestral origin in the Siberian–Beringian region in the Tertiary period, before radiating outwards across Asia, Europe and North America. The season for fruiting varies in different climates: fruiting occurs in summer and autumn across most of North America, but later in autumn and early winter on the Pacific coast. This species is often found in similar locations to Boletus edulis, and may appear in fairy rings. Conveyed with pine seedlings, it has been widely transported into the southern hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America, where it can be found in the Brazilian states of Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul.
Ectomycorrhizal, A. muscaria forms symbiotic relationships with many trees, including pine, oak, spruce, fir, birch, and cedar. Commonly seen under introduced trees, A. muscaria is the fungal equivalent of a weed in New Zealand, Tasmania and Victoria, forming new associations with southern beech (Nothofagus). The species is also invading a rainforest in Australia, where it may be displacing the native species. It appears to be spreading northwards, with recent reports placing it near Port Macquarie on the New South Wales north coast. It was recorded under silver birch (Betula pendula) in Manjimup, Western Australia in 2010. Although it has apparently not spread to eucalypts in Australia, it has been recorded associating with them in Portugal. Commonly found throughout the great Southern region of western Australia, it is regularly found growing on Pinus radiata.
Toxicity
a tall red mushroom with a few white spots on the cap
Mature. The white spots may wash off with heavy rainfall.
A. muscaria poisoning has occurred in young children and in people who ingested the mushrooms for a hallucinogenic experience, or who confused it with an edible species.
A. muscaria contains several biologically active agents, at least one of which, muscimol, is known to be psychoactive. Ibotenic acid, a neurotoxin, serves as a prodrug to muscimol, with a small amount likely converting to muscimol after ingestion. An active dose in adults is approximately 6 mg muscimol or 30 to 60 mg ibotenic acid; this is typically about the amount found in one cap of Amanita muscaria. The amount and ratio of chemical compounds per mushroom varies widely from region to region and season to season, which can further confuse the issue. Spring and summer mushrooms have been reported to contain up to 10 times more ibotenic acid and muscimol than autumn fruitings.
Deaths from A. muscaria have been reported in historical journal articles and newspaper reports, but with modern medical treatment, fatal poisoning from ingesting this mushroom is extremely rare. Many books list A. muscaria as deadly, but according to David Arora, this is an error that implies the mushroom is far more toxic than it is. Furthermore, The North American Mycological Association has stated that there were "no reliably documented cases of death from toxins in these mushrooms in the past 100 years".
The active constituents of this species are water-soluble, and boiling and then discarding the cooking water at least partly detoxifies A. muscaria. Drying may increase potency, as the process facilitates the conversion of ibotenic acid to the more potent muscimol. According to some sources, once detoxified, the mushroom becomes edible. Patrick Harding describes the Sami custom of processing the fly agaric through reindeer.
Pharmacology
Ibotenic acid, a prodrug to muscimol found in A. muscaria
Muscarine, discovered in 1869, was long thought to be the active hallucinogenic agent in A. muscaria. Muscarine binds with muscarinic acetylcholine receptors leading to the excitation of neurons bearing these receptors. The levels of muscarine in Amanita muscaria are minute when compared with other poisonous fungi such as Inosperma erubescens, the small white Clitocybe species C. dealbata and C. rivulosa. The level of muscarine in A. muscaria is too low to play a role in the symptoms of poisoning.
The major toxins involved in A. muscaria poisoning are muscimol (3-hydroxy-5-aminomethyl-1-isoxazole, an unsaturated cyclic hydroxamic acid) and the related amino acid ibotenic acid. Muscimol is the product of the decarboxylation (usually by drying) of ibotenic acid. Muscimol and ibotenic acid were discovered in the mid-20th century. Researchers in England, Japan, and Switzerland showed that the effects produced were due mainly to ibotenic acid and muscimol, not muscarine. These toxins are not distributed uniformly in the mushroom. Most are detected in the cap of the fruit, a moderate amount in the base, with the smallest amount in the stalk. Quite rapidly, between 20 and 90 minutes after ingestion, a substantial fraction of ibotenic acid is excreted unmetabolised in the urine of the consumer. Almost no muscimol is excreted when pure ibotenic acid is eaten, but muscimol is detectable in the urine after eating A. muscaria, which contains both ibotenic acid and muscimol.
Ibotenic acid and muscimol are structurally related to each other and to two major neurotransmitters of the central nervous system: glutamic acid and GABA respectively. Ibotenic acid and muscimol act like these neurotransmitters, muscimol being a potent GABAA agonist, while ibotenic acid is an agonist of NMDA glutamate receptors and certain metabotropic glutamate receptors which are involved in the control of neuronal activity. It is these interactions which are thought to cause the psychoactive effects found in intoxication.
Muscazone is another compound that has more recently been isolated from European specimens of the fly agaric. It is a product of the breakdown of ibotenic acid by ultra-violet radiation. Muscazone is of minor pharmacological activity compared with the other agents. Amanita muscaria and related species are known as effective bioaccumulators of vanadium; some species concentrate vanadium to levels of up to 400 times those typically found in plants. Vanadium is present in fruit-bodies as an organometallic compound called amavadine. The biological importance of the accumulation process is unknown.
Symptoms
Fly agarics are best known for the unpredictability of their effects. Depending on habitat and the amount ingested per body weight, effects can range from mild nausea and twitching to drowsiness, cholinergic crisis-like effects (low blood pressure, sweating and salivation), auditory and visual distortions, mood changes, euphoria, relaxation, ataxia, and loss of equilibrium (like with tetanus.)
In cases of serious poisoning the mushroom causes delirium, somewhat similar in effect to anticholinergic poisoning (such as that caused by Datura stramonium), characterised by bouts of marked agitation with confusion, hallucinations, and irritability followed by periods of central nervous system depression. Seizures and coma may also occur in severe poisonings. Symptoms typically appear after around 30 to 90 minutes and peak within three hours, but certain effects can last for several days. In the majority of cases recovery is complete within 12 to 24 hours. The effect is highly variable between individuals, with similar doses potentially causing quite different reactions. Some people suffering intoxication have exhibited headaches up to ten hours afterwards.[56] Retrograde amnesia and somnolence can result following recovery.
Treatment
Medical attention should be sought in cases of suspected poisoning. If the delay between ingestion and treatment is less than four hours, activated charcoal is given. Gastric lavage can be considered if the patient presents within one hour of ingestion. Inducing vomiting with syrup of ipecac is no longer recommended in any poisoning situation.
There is no antidote, and supportive care is the mainstay of further treatment for intoxication. Though sometimes referred to as a deliriant and while muscarine was first isolated from A. muscaria and as such is its namesake, muscimol does not have action, either as an agonist or antagonist, at the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor site, and therefore atropine or physostigmine as an antidote is not recommended. If a patient is delirious or agitated, this can usually be treated by reassurance and, if necessary, physical restraints. A benzodiazepine such as diazepam or lorazepam can be used to control combativeness, agitation, muscular overactivity, and seizures. Only small doses should be used, as they may worsen the respiratory depressant effects of muscimol. Recurrent vomiting is rare, but if present may lead to fluid and electrolyte imbalances; intravenous rehydration or electrolyte replacement may be required. Serious cases may develop loss of consciousness or coma, and may need intubation and artificial ventilation. Hemodialysis can remove the toxins, although this intervention is generally considered unnecessary. With modern medical treatment the prognosis is typically good following supportive treatment.
Uses
The wide range of psychoactive effects have been variously described as depressant, sedative-hypnotic, psychedelic, dissociative, or deliriant; paradoxical effects such as stimulation may occur however. Perceptual phenomena such as synesthesia, macropsia, and micropsia may occur; the latter two effects may occur either simultaneously or alternatingly, as part of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, collectively known as dysmetropsia, along with related distortions pelopsia and teleopsia. Some users report lucid dreaming under the influence of its hypnotic effects. Unlike Psilocybe cubensis, A. muscaria cannot be commercially cultivated, due to its mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of pine trees. However, following the outlawing of psilocybin mushrooms in the United Kingdom in 2006, the sale of the still legal A. muscaria began increasing.
Marija Gimbutas reported to R. Gordon Wasson that in remote areas of Lithuania, A. muscaria has been consumed at wedding feasts, in which mushrooms were mixed with vodka. She also reported that the Lithuanians used to export A. muscaria to the Sami in the Far North for use in shamanic rituals. The Lithuanian festivities are the only report that Wasson received of ingestion of fly agaric for religious use in Eastern Europe.
Siberia
A. muscaria was widely used as an entheogen by many of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Its use was known among almost all of the Uralic-speaking peoples of western Siberia and the Paleosiberian-speaking peoples of the Russian Far East. There are only isolated reports of A. muscaria use among the Tungusic and Turkic peoples of central Siberia and it is believed that on the whole entheogenic use of A. muscaria was not practised by these peoples. In western Siberia, the use of A. muscaria was restricted to shamans, who used it as an alternative method of achieving a trance state. (Normally, Siberian shamans achieve trance by prolonged drumming and dancing.) In eastern Siberia, A. muscaria was used by both shamans and laypeople alike, and was used recreationally as well as religiously. In eastern Siberia, the shaman would take the mushrooms, and others would drink his urine. This urine, still containing psychoactive elements, may be more potent than the A. muscaria mushrooms with fewer negative effects such as sweating and twitching, suggesting that the initial user may act as a screening filter for other components in the mushroom.
The Koryak of eastern Siberia have a story about the fly agaric (wapaq) which enabled Big Raven to carry a whale to its home. In the story, the deity Vahiyinin ("Existence") spat onto earth, and his spittle became the wapaq, and his saliva becomes the warts. After experiencing the power of the wapaq, Raven was so exhilarated that he told it to grow forever on earth so his children, the people, could learn from it. Among the Koryaks, one report said that the poor would consume the urine of the wealthy, who could afford to buy the mushrooms. It was reported that the local reindeer would often follow an individual intoxicated by the muscimol mushroom, and if said individual were to urinate in snow the reindeer would become similarly intoxicated and the Koryak people's would use the drunken state of the reindeer to more easily rope and hunt them.
Other reports and theories
The Finnish historian T. I. Itkonen mentions that A. muscaria was once used among the Sámi peoples. Sorcerers in Inari would consume fly agarics with seven spots. In 1979, Said Gholam Mochtar and Hartmut Geerken published an article in which they claimed to have discovered a tradition of medicinal and recreational use of this mushroom among a Parachi-speaking group in Afghanistan. There are also unconfirmed reports of religious use of A. muscaria among two Subarctic Native American tribes. Ojibwa ethnobotanist Keewaydinoquay Peschel reported its use among her people, where it was known as miskwedo (an abbreviation of the name oshtimisk wajashkwedo (= "red-top mushroom"). This information was enthusiastically received by Wasson, although evidence from other sources was lacking. There is also one account of a Euro-American who claims to have been initiated into traditional Tlicho use of Amanita muscaria. The flying reindeer of Santa Claus, who is called Joulupukki in Finland, could symbolize the use of A. muscaria by Sámi shamans. However, Sámi scholars and the Sámi peoples themselves refute any connection between Santa Claus and Sámi history or culture.
"The story of Santa emerging from a Sámi shamanic tradition has a critical number of flaws," asserts Tim Frandy, assistant professor of Nordic Studies at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Sámi descendent community in North America. "The theory has been widely criticized by Sámi people as a stereotypical and problematic romanticized misreading of actual Sámi culture."
Vikings
The notion that Vikings used A. muscaria to produce their berserker rages was first suggested by the Swedish professor Samuel Ödmann in 1784. Ödmann based his theories on reports about the use of fly agaric among Siberian shamans. The notion has become widespread since the 19th century, but no contemporary sources mention this use or anything similar in their description of berserkers. Muscimol is generally a mild relaxant, but it can create a range of different reactions within a group of people. It is possible that it could make a person angry, or cause them to be "very jolly or sad, jump about, dance, sing or give way to great fright". Comparative analysis of symptoms have, however, since shown Hyoscyamus niger to be a better fit to the state that characterises the berserker rage.
Soma
See also: Botanical identity of Soma-Haoma
In 1968, R. Gordon Wasson proposed that A. muscaria was the soma talked about in the Rigveda of India, a claim which received widespread publicity and popular support at the time. He noted that descriptions of Soma omitted any description of roots, stems or seeds, which suggested a mushroom, and used the adjective hári "dazzling" or "flaming" which the author interprets as meaning red. One line described men urinating Soma; this recalled the practice of recycling urine in Siberia. Soma is mentioned as coming "from the mountains", which Wasson interpreted as the mushroom having been brought in with the Aryan migrants from the north. Indian scholars Santosh Kumar Dash and Sachinanda Padhy pointed out that both eating of mushrooms and drinking of urine were proscribed, using as a source the Manusmṛti. In 1971, Vedic scholar John Brough from Cambridge University rejected Wasson's theory and noted that the language was too vague to determine a description of Soma. In his 1976 survey, Hallucinogens and Culture, anthropologist Peter T. Furst evaluated the evidence for and against the identification of the fly agaric mushroom as the Vedic Soma, concluding cautiously in its favour. Kevin Feeney and Trent Austin compared the references in the Vedas with the filtering mechanisms in the preparation of Amanita muscaria and published findings supporting the proposal that fly-agaric mushrooms could be a likely candidate for the sacrament. Other proposed candidates include Psilocybe cubensis, Peganum harmala, and Ephedra.
Christianity
Philologist, archaeologist, and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar John Marco Allegro postulated that early Christian theology was derived from a fertility cult revolving around the entheogenic consumption of A. muscaria in his 1970 book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. This theory has found little support by scholars outside the field of ethnomycology. The book was widely criticized by academics and theologians, including Sir Godfrey Driver, emeritus Professor of Semitic Philology at Oxford University and Henry Chadwick, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. Christian author John C. King wrote a detailed rebuttal of Allegro's theory in the 1970 book A Christian View of the Mushroom Myth; he notes that neither fly agarics nor their host trees are found in the Middle East, even though cedars and pines are found there, and highlights the tenuous nature of the links between biblical and Sumerian names coined by Allegro. He concludes that if the theory were true, the use of the mushroom must have been "the best kept secret in the world" as it was so well concealed for two thousand years.
Fly trap
Amanita muscaria is traditionally used for catching flies possibly due to its content of ibotenic acid and muscimol, which lead to its common name "fly agaric". Recently, an analysis of nine different methods for preparing A. muscaria for catching flies in Slovenia have shown that the release of ibotenic acid and muscimol did not depend on the solvent (milk or water) and that thermal and mechanical processing led to faster extraction of ibotenic acid and muscimol.
Culinary
The toxins in A. muscaria are water-soluble: parboiling A. muscaria fruit bodies can detoxify them and render them edible, although consumption of the mushroom as a food has never been widespread. The consumption of detoxified A. muscaria has been practiced in some parts of Europe (notably by Russian settlers in Siberia) since at least the 19th century, and likely earlier. The German physician and naturalist Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff wrote the earliest published account on how to detoxify this mushroom in 1823. In the late 19th century, the French physician Félix Archimède Pouchet was a populariser and advocate of A. muscaria consumption, comparing it to manioc, an important food source in tropical South America that must also be detoxified before consumption.
Use of this mushroom as a food source also seems to have existed in North America. A classic description of this use of A. muscaria by an African-American mushroom seller in Washington, D.C., in the late 19th century is described by American botanist Frederick Vernon Coville. In this case, the mushroom, after parboiling, and soaking in vinegar, is made into a mushroom sauce for steak. It is also consumed as a food in parts of Japan. The most well-known current use as an edible mushroom is in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. There, it is primarily salted and pickled.
A 2008 paper by food historian William Rubel and mycologist David Arora gives a history of consumption of A. muscaria as a food and describes detoxification methods. They advocate that Amanita muscaria be described in field guides as an edible mushroom, though accompanied by a description on how to detoxify it. The authors state that the widespread descriptions in field guides of this mushroom as poisonous is a reflection of cultural bias, as several other popular edible species, notably morels, are also toxic unless properly cooked.
In culture
The red-and-white spotted toadstool is a common image in many aspects of popular culture. Garden ornaments and children's picture books depicting gnomes and fairies, such as the Smurfs, often show fly agarics used as seats, or homes. Fly agarics have been featured in paintings since the Renaissance, albeit in a subtle manner. For instance, in Hieronymus Bosch's painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, the mushroom can be seen on the left-hand panel of the work. In the Victorian era they became more visible, becoming the main topic of some fairy paintings. Two of the most famous uses of the mushroom are in the Mario franchise (specifically two of the Super Mushroom power-up items and the platforms in several stages which are based on a fly agaric), and the dancing mushroom sequence in the 1940 Disney film Fantasia.
An account of the journeys of Philip von Strahlenberg to Siberia and his descriptions of the use of the mukhomor there was published in English in 1736. The drinking of urine of those who had consumed the mushroom was commented on by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith in his widely read 1762 novel, Citizen of the World. The mushroom had been identified as the fly agaric by this time. Other authors recorded the distortions of the size of perceived objects while intoxicated by the fungus, including naturalist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke in his books The Seven Sisters of Sleep and A Plain and Easy Account of British Fungi. This observation is thought to have formed the basis of the effects of eating the mushroom in the 1865 popular story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. A hallucinogenic "scarlet toadstool" from Lappland is featured as a plot element in Charles Kingsley's 1866 novel Hereward the Wake based on the medieval figure of the same name. Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow describes the fungus as a "relative of the poisonous Destroying angel" and presents a detailed description of a character preparing a cookie bake mixture from harvested Amanita muscaria. Fly agaric shamanism is also explored in the 2003 novel Thursbitch by Alan Garner.
A new store is not rightfully opened without a party, so I would like to invite you all to join us. Save the date, May 14th from 12 to 4pm SLT, join us and spend some time listening to the tunes of DJs Zarabella Ming and Forever Mysterious, and take the chance of winning furniture and toys by Polymorph.
Put on your best victorian attire, goth or whatever your feel like wearing that night, and spend some time with us!
CANON T1i + tub extension 4X + Canon 24-105mm f/4 L
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism. Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; however, some species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., Harvesters) eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.
At the Luna Park giggle palace in St. Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. This was taken during an Australian Costumers Guld picnic by the seaside late last century.... or was it the century BEFORE that? :) Historical period bathing costumes were the order of the day, naturally this was my take on the concept.
That's me in my deep sea diver costume, the full story of which you'll find elsewhere in this photoset.
Recently I found myself revisting these pictures for an article for a magazine and I found this colour version of the black and white picture stashed away. I liked the painted horses so much I decided to post it as well.
Original picture by Gail Adams.
Femme de l'ethnie Dao (ou Dzao) Rouge
Marché de Sapa, nord du Vietnam
Avec la ligne de train et désormais l'autoroute la reliant à Hanoï, Sapa est devenue une destination touristique très fréquentée et la ville a beaucoup perdu de son charme, même si les promenades dans les rizières alentour restent bien agréables. Le petit marché permanent sous la halle permet de croiser encore de pittoresques personnages
Avec les Hmong Noir, les Dao Rouge constituent l'une des ethnies les mieux représentées dans la région de Sapa.
L’ethnie Dao (ou Dzao) est très polymorphe : Dao Rouge, Dao à Tunique, Dao Noir, Dao à pantalon blanc… .J'en ai déjà posté et j'en posterai encore plusieurs exemples.
Emigrée de Chine du sud depuis le XIIIème siècle, l’ethnie Dao habite au Nord du Vietnam dans les provinces de la moyenne et haute région. Elle occupe des terres à toute altitude et vit en bons voisins avec d’autres ethnies comme les Hmong, Tay, Thaï, … Ses ressources principales proviennent de l’agriculture, (riz et mais)
Souvent chez les femmes, les cheveux sont relevés en chignon sur la nuque ou rasés sur le pourtour à l’exception d’une touffe au sommet de la tête
Pratiquant le culte des ancêtres, les Dao adhèrent également au Taoïsme.
Is it possible to have "too many" mutations? What about "too few"? While mutations are necessary for evolution, they can damage existing adaptations as well. What is a mutation?
A photograph shows approximately 100 different species of beetle arranged in an oval pattern against a black background. The beetles vary in the size of their bodies, the length of their legs, their coloration, and the shape and size of their mandibles.
The diversity of beetle species.
Genetic mutation is the basis of species diversity among beetles, or any other organism.
© 2009 Courtesy of John C. Abbot, Abbott Nature Photography. All rights reserved. View Terms of Use
Mutations are changes in the genetic sequence, and they are a main cause of diversity among organisms. These changes occur at many different levels, and they can have widely differing consequences. In biological systems that are capable of reproduction, we must first focus on whether they are heritable; specifically, some mutations affect only the individual that carries them, while others affect all of the carrier organism's offspring, and further descendants. For mutations to affect an organism's descendants, they must: 1) occur in cells that produce the next generation, and 2) affect the hereditary material. Ultimately, the interplay between inherited mutations and environmental pressures generates diversity among species.
Although various types of molecular changes exist, the word "mutation" typically refers to a change that affects the nucleic acids. In cellular organisms, these nucleic acids are the building blocks of DNA, and in viruses they are the building blocks of either DNA or RNA. One way to think of DNA and RNA is that they are substances that carry the long-term memory of the information required for an organism's reproduction. This article focuses on mutations in DNA, although we should keep in mind that RNA is subject to essentially the same mutation forces.
If mutations occur in non-germline cells, then these changes can be categorized as somatic mutations. The word somatic comes from the Greek word soma which means "body", and somatic mutations only affect the present organism's body. From an evolutionary perspective, somatic mutations are uninteresting, unless they occur systematically and change some fundamental property of an individual--such as the capacity for survival. For example, cancer is a potent somatic mutation that will affect a single organism's survival. As a different focus, evolutionary theory is mostly interested in DNA changes in the cells that produce the next generation.
Are Mutations Random?
The statement that mutations are random is both profoundly true and profoundly untrue at the same time. The true aspect of this statement stems from the fact that, to the best of our knowledge, the consequences of a mutation have no influence whatsoever on the probability that this mutation will or will not occur. In other words, mutations occur randomly with respect to whether their effects are useful. Thus, beneficial DNA changes do not happen more often simply because an organism could benefit from them. Moreover, even if an organism has acquired a beneficial mutation during its lifetime, the corresponding information will not flow back into the DNA in the organism's germline. This is a fundamental insight that Jean-Baptiste Lamarck got wrong and Charles Darwin got right.
However, the idea that mutations are random can be regarded as untrue if one considers the fact that not all types of mutations occur with equal probability. Rather, some occur more frequently than others because they are favored by low-level biochemical reactions. These reactions are also the main reason why mutations are an inescapable property of any system that is capable of reproduction in the real world. Mutation rates are usually very low, and biological systems go to extraordinary lengths to keep them as low as possible, mostly because many mutational effects are harmful. Nonetheless, mutation rates never reach zero, even despite both low-level protective mechanisms, like DNA repair or proofreading during DNA replication, and high-level mechanisms, like melanin deposition in skin cells to reduce radiation damage. Beyond a certain point, avoiding mutation simply becomes too costly to cells. Thus, mutation will always be present as a powerful force in evolution.
Types of Mutations
So, how do mutations occur? The answer to this question is closely linked to the molecular details of how both DNA and the entire genome are organized. The smallest mutations are point mutations, in which only a single base pair is changed into another base pair. Yet another type of mutation is the nonsynonymous mutation, in which an amino acid sequence is changed. Such mutations lead to either the production of a different protein or the premature termination of a protein.
As opposed to nonsynonymous mutations, synonymous mutations do not change an amino acid sequence, although they occur, by definition, only in sequences that code for amino acids. Synonymous mutations exist because many amino acids are encoded by multiple codons. Base pairs can also have diverse regulating properties if they are located in introns, intergenic regions, or even within the coding sequence of genes. For some historic reasons, all of these groups are often subsumed with synonymous mutations under the label "silent" mutations. Depending on their function, such silent mutations can be anything from truly silent to extraordinarily important, the latter implying that working sequences are kept constant by purifying selection. This is the most likely explanation for the existence of ultraconserved noncoding elements that have survived for more than 100 million years without substantial change, as found by comparing the genomes of several vertebrates (Sandelin et al., 2004).
Mutations may also take the form of insertions or deletions, which are together known as indels. Indels can have a wide variety of lengths. At the short end of the spectrum, indels of one or two base pairs within coding sequences have the greatest effect, because they will inevitably cause a frameshift (only the addition of one or more three-base-pair codons will keep a protein approximately intact). At the intermediate level, indels can affect parts of a gene or whole groups of genes. At the largest level, whole chromosomes or even whole copies of the genome can be affected by insertions or deletions, although such mutations are usually no longer subsumed under the label indel. At this high level, it is also possible to invert or translocate entire sections of a chromosome, and chromosomes can even fuse or break apart. If a large number of genes are lost as a result of one of these processes, then the consequences are usually very harmful. Of course, different genetic systems react differently to such events.
Finally, still other sources of mutations are the many different types of transposable elements, which are small entities of DNA that possess a mechanism that permits them to move around within the genome. Some of these elements copy and paste themselves into new locations, while others use a cut-and-paste method. Such movements can disrupt existing gene functions (by insertion in the middle of another gene), activate dormant gene functions (by perfect excision from a gene that was switched off by an earlier insertion), or occasionally lead to the production of new genes (by pasting material from different genes together).
Effects of Mutations
A line graph shows the probability density of mutational effects. A log scale of mutational effects is shown on the x-axis, and probability density is shown on the y-axis. The line follows the shape of a right-skewed bell curve. Probability density increases as mutational effects increase from 10-10 to 10-4, where the curve peaks. As mutational effects increase from 10 4 to 1, probability density decreases. All mutational effects equal to or less than 10-10 are shown as a spike at 10-10 on the x-axis.
View Full-Size ImageFigure 1: The overwhelming majority of mutations have very small effects.
This example of a possible distribution of deleterious mutational effects was obtained from DNA sequence polymorphism data from natural populations of two Drosophila species. The spike at 10-10 includes all smaller effects, whereas effects are not shown if they induce a structural damage that is equivalent to selection coefficients that are 'super-lethal' (see Loewe and Charlesworth 2006 for more details).
© 2008 Nature Education All rights reserved. View Terms of Use
A single mutation can have a large effect, but in many cases, evolutionary change is based on the accumulation of many mutations with small effects. Mutational effects can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral, depending on their context or location. Most non-neutral mutations are deleterious. In general, the more base pairs that are affected by a mutation, the larger the effect of the mutation, and the larger the mutation's probability of being deleterious.
To better understand the impact of mutations, researchers have started to estimate distributions of mutational effects (DMEs) that quantify how many mutations occur with what effect on a given property of a biological system. In evolutionary studies, the property of interest is fitness, but in molecular systems biology, other emerging properties might also be of interest. It is extraordinarily difficult to obtain reliable information about DMEs, because the corresponding effects span many orders of magnitude, from lethal to neutral to advantageous; in addition, many confounding factors usually complicate these analyses. To make things even more difficult, many mutations also interact with each other to alter their effects; this phenomenon is referred to as epistasis. However, despite all these uncertainties, recent work has repeatedly indicated that the overwhelming majority of mutations have very small effects (Figure 1; Eyre-Walker & Keightley, 2007). Of course, much more work is needed in order to obtain more detailed information about DMEs, which are a fundamental property that governs the evolution of every biological system.
Estimating Rates of Mutation
Many direct and indirect methods have been developed to help estimate rates of different types of mutations in various organisms. The main difficulty in estimating rates of mutation involves the fact that DNA changes are extremely rare events and can only be detected on a background of identical DNA. Because biological systems are usually influenced by many factors, direct estimates of mutation rates are desirable. Direct estimates typically involve use of a known pedigree in which all descendants inherited a well-defined DNA sequence. To measure mutation rates using this method, one first needs to sequence many base pairs within this region of DNA from many individuals in the pedigree, counting all the observed mutations. These observations are then combined with the number of generations that connect these individuals to compute the overall mutation rate (Haag-Liautard et al., 2007). Such direct estimates should not be confused with substitution rates estimated over phylogenetic time spans.
Summary
Mutation rates can vary within a genome and between genomes. Much more work is required before researchers can obtain more precise estimates of the frequencies of different mutations. The rise of high-throughput genomic sequencing methods nurtures the hope that we will be able to cultivate a more detailed and precise understanding of mutation rates. Because mutation is one of the fundamental forces of evolution, such work will continue to be of paramount importance.
References and Recommended Reading
Drake, J. W., et al. Rates of spontaneous mutation. Genetics 148, 1667–1686 (1998)
Eyre-Walker, A., & Keightley, P. D. The distribution of fitness effects of new mutations. Nature Reviews Genetics 8, 610–618 (2007) doi:10.1038/nrg2146 (link to article)
Haag-Liautard, C., et al. Direct estimation of per nucleotide and genomic deleterious mutation rates in Drosophila. Nature 445, 82–85 (2007) doi:10.1038/nature05388 (link to article)
Loewe, L., & Charlesworth, B. Inferring the distribution of mutational effects on fitness in Drosophila. Biology Letters 2, 426–430 (2006)
Lynch, M., et al. Perspective: Spontaneous deleterious mutation. Evolution 53, 645–663 (1999)
Orr, H. A. The genetic theory of adaptation: A brief history. Nature Review Genetics 6, 119–127 (2005) doi:10.1038/nrg1523 (link to article)
Sandelin, A., et al. Arrays of ultraconserved non-coding regions span the loci of key developmental genes in vertebrate genomes. BMC Genomics 5, 99 (2004)
www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-mutation-1127
"Consider, for example, the dragon. Basic physics will almost certainly combine with biological constraints to prevent the creation of flying or fire-breathing dragons.
But is it possible dragons could ever exist beyond the pages of Celtic mythology or the celluloid of fantasy film?
Academics have suggested in a recent essay the creation of large, winged dragons using cutting-edge genome editing is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Is the seemingly far-fetched idea a flier or, like dragon's breath, just hot air? The BBC asked the authors.
'Not impossible'
The essay in The American Journal of Bioethics said spectacular animals could be brought to life using a targeted gene-editing system known as CRISPR-CAS9.
Co-authors Prof Hank T Greely, director of the Centre for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford Law School, and Prof R Alta Charo, Professor of Bioethics and Law at Wisconsin Law School, said their dragon suggestion was "somewhat tongue-in-cheek" but "not impossible".
"There are the possibilities of spectacles," they wrote. "Animals and plants not created for personal use but to be exhibited.
"But a very large reptile that looks at least somewhat like the European or Asian dragon (perhaps with flappable if not flyable wings) could be someone's target of opportunity."
And it may not be as improbable as it seems at first blush.
CRISPR and other similar techniques involve DNA being inserted, replaced, or removed from a genome using artificially engineered nucleases.
The method has been adopted by scientists around the world.
CRISPRs (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) are sections of DNA, while CAS-9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) is an enzyme.
They are found in bacteria, which use them to disable attacks from viruses.
linebreak
They have led to the creation of patented "GloFish" that shine under UV light, the eradication of horns from certain cattle species, manipulation of crops and attempts to produce hypo-allergenic cats.
Artist Eduardo Kac even commissioned a French geneticist to create Alba, a genetically modified "glowing" rabbit.
Debate
Debate has raged over whether CRISPR, which occurs as part of a bacterial process, could be safely and ethically used on humans since 2012.
But professors Greely and Charo argue its potential to produce "CRISPR critters" is "likely to be overlooked" by legislators and regulators "because they are unexpected".
The method is "cheaper and easier" than older forms of genetic engineering and can be done "outside the traditional laboratory setting".
Their essay looks at the possible uses of CRISPR for de-extinction of wild species - such as 700,000-year-old horses - for domestic de-extinction - such as tomato species - and for making creatures of "personal whim".
They point out that Harvard geneticist George Church is using CRISPR to edit Asian elephant cell lines to give them some woolly mammoth genes.
Woolly mammothsImage copyrightTHINKSTOCK
Image caption
Geneticist are working on cloning or engineering woolly mammoths
Asked about the likelihood of dragons, the co-authors said: "We imagine it would be low although not impossible with respect to appearance (the fire-breathing and flying aspects are undoubtedly beyond any plausible genetic engineering).
"In the US, the determining factor is usually cost as compared to return-on-investment, where cost can be substantial given the regulatory hurdles.
"Does this mean some determined and well-funded geneticist might do this as an artistic experiment, similar to the work done on the fluorescing rabbit?
"Yes. But the operative word is 'might'."
A potential process could involve modifications to an existing large reptile - for instance, a Komodo dragon.
Problems
The professors said, even if scientists knew how to make them larger, there would likely be problems with the creature's mass increasing faster than its surface area or its bone cross-sections.
The first issue could make the animals overheat; the second might mean the edited reptile's bones would be too weak to hold its weight.
"If and when we actually come to understand in detail what every specific DNA sequence does and how they all fit together, though, all bets are off - things could move more quickly," they added.
linebreak
What does a CRISPR expert think?
Thinkstock
Dr Sam Sternberg - formerly of the University of California's Doudna Lab, which pioneered work with CRISPR-CAS9 - said his boundaries were stretched when Minnesota firm Recombinetics announced it had used a gene-editing technology to dehorn certain types of cattle.
However, he is not hopeful genetic engineers could ever cross the Rubicon to create dragons.
"You're talking about, not just one or a few changes, you're talking about massive changes and it gets to the point where, how much can you cut and paste the DNA that causes some of the traits of one species to another?
"I would say it's probably bordering on impossible/never going to happen."
linebreak
Even if the difficulties connected with gene editing could be overcome, there remains the tricky task of assisted reproduction with an existing lizard species.
Giving birth to any edited dragon would involve taking stem cells from, say, a Komodo dragon before inserting an altered nucleus into an egg for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in an adult komodo.
GloFish in an aquariumImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image caption
Bright GloFish were genetically modified for fluorescence in aquariums
That would be no mean feat; in December scientists carried out the first successful IVF on dogs after decades of trying.
"If you got access to Komodo dragons and could quickly resolve the regulatory, stem cell, and assisted reproduction problems, you could start tinkering.
"But it would likely take a very long time before you could hope to get something that looked much like a dragon," Prof Greely and Prof Charo said.
So, how far off might all this be?
"A while," they said.
♥♥ NEW REBIRTH Genesis Eden Head : Peter Shape + Style card ♥♥
Come and test the new REBIRTH Genesis head, also compatible with other female bodies
(Reminder : Polymorph head = 80% of BOM skins fit whatever the brand)
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Endless%20Love/15/64/22
(more style cards in-world and bots exposition all age and style)
Link to the FROG&CO style card :
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Peter-Teen-Shape-Style-card-...
... Follow us ...
Marketplace REBIRTH : marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/229597
FlickR : www.flickr.com/photos/187471721@N05/
Calamaria schlegeli is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is known commonly as the red-headed reed snake, white-headed reed snake, and pink-headed reed snake. It is native to Southeast Asia, where it occurs in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Toxicity: Non-venomous
Highland area of Pahang
Behavior: Docile (well at least the 10+ specimens that I encountered did not attempt to bite). But those from Singapore according to a friend can be quite bitey.
We found two specimens that night.
Note: Calamaria schlegeli come in a few color forms (head color) e.g., red, dull pink, dull brown, or yellow. More research will be needed to determine if these are merely a result of "polymorphism" or whether they actually represent different species or subspecies.
Ipê Amarelo, Tabebuia [chrysotricha or ochracea].
Ipê-amarelo em Brasília, Brasil.
This tree is in Brasília, Capital of Brazil.
Text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Trumpet tree" redirects here. This term is occasionally used for the Shield-leaved Pumpwood (Cecropia peltata).
Tabebuia
Flowering Araguaney or ipê-amarelo (Tabebuia chrysantha) in central Brazil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Bignoniaceae
Tribe: Tecomeae
Genus: Tabebuia
Gomez
Species
Nearly 100.
Tabebuia is a neotropical genus of about 100 species in the tribe Tecomeae of the family Bignoniaceae. The species range from northern Mexico and the Antilles south to northern Argentina and central Venezuela, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Cuba. Well-known common names include Ipê, Poui, trumpet trees and pau d'arco.
They are large shrubs and trees growing to 5 to 50 m (16 to 160 ft.) tall depending on the species; many species are dry-season deciduous but some are evergreen. The leaves are opposite pairs, complex or palmately compound with 3–7 leaflets.
Tabebuia is a notable flowering tree. The flowers are 3 to 11 cm (1 to 4 in.) wide and are produced in dense clusters. They present a cupular calyx campanulate to tubular, truncate, bilabiate or 5-lobed. Corolla colors vary between species ranging from white, light pink, yellow, lavender, magenta, or red. The outside texture of the flower tube is either glabrous or pubescentThe fruit is a dehiscent pod, 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 in.) long, containing numerous—in some species winged—seeds. These pods often remain on the tree through dry season until the beginning of the rainy.
Species in this genus are important as timber trees. The wood is used for furniture, decking, and other outdoor uses. It is increasingly popular as a decking material due to its insect resistance and durability. By 2007, FSC-certified ipê wood had become readily available on the market, although certificates are occasionally forged.
Tabebuia is widely used as ornamental tree in the tropics in landscaping gardens, public squares, and boulevards due to its impressive and colorful flowering. Many flowers appear on still leafless stems at the end of the dry season, making the floral display more conspicuous. They are useful as honey plants for bees, and are popular with certain hummingbirds. Naturalist Madhaviah Krishnan on the other hand once famously took offense at ipé grown in India, where it is not native.
Lapacho teaThe bark of several species has medical properties. The bark is dried, shredded, and then boiled making a bitter or sour-tasting brownish-colored tea. Tea from the inner bark of Pink Ipê (T. impetiginosa) is known as Lapacho or Taheebo. Its main active principles are lapachol, quercetin, and other flavonoids. It is also available in pill form. The herbal remedy is typically used during flu and cold season and for easing smoker's cough. It apparently works as expectorant, by promoting the lungs to cough up and free deeply embedded mucus and contaminants. However, lapachol is rather toxic and therefore a more topical use e.g. as antibiotic or pesticide may be advisable. Other species with significant folk medical use are T. alba and Yellow Lapacho (T. serratifolia)
Tabebuia heteropoda, T. incana, and other species are occasionally used as an additive to the entheogenic drink Ayahuasca.
Mycosphaerella tabebuiae, a plant pathogenic sac fungus, was first discovered on an ipê tree.
Tabebuia alba
Tabebuia anafensis
Tabebuia arimaoensis
Tabebuia aurea – Caribbean Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia bilbergii
Tabebuia bibracteolata
Tabebuia cassinoides
Tabebuia chrysantha – Araguaney, Yellow Ipê, tajibo (Bolivia), ipê-amarelo (Brazil), cañaguate (N Colombia)
Tabebuia chrysotricha – Golden Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia donnell-smithii Rose – Gold Tree, "Prima Vera", Cortez blanco (El Salvador), San Juan (Honduras), palo blanco (Guatemala),duranga (Mexico)
A native of Mexico and Central Americas, considered one of the most colorful of all Central American trees. The leaves are deciduous. Masses of golden-yellow flowers cover the crown after the leaves are shed.
Tabebuia dubia
Tabebuia ecuadorensis
Tabebuia elongata
Tabebuia furfuracea
Tabebuia geminiflora Rizz. & Mattos
Tabebuia guayacan (Seem.) Hemsl.
Tabebuia haemantha
Tabebuia heptaphylla (Vell.) Toledo – tajy
Tabebuia heterophylla – roble prieto
Tabebuia heteropoda
Tabebuia hypoleuca
Tabebuia impetiginosa – Pink Ipê, Pink Lapacho, ipê-cavatã, ipê-comum, ipê-reto, ipê-rosa, ipê-roxo-damata, pau d'arco-roxo, peúva, piúva (Brazil), lapacho negro (Spanish); not "brazilwood"
Tabebuia incana
Tabebuia jackiana
Tabebuia lapacho – lapacho amarillo
Tabebuia orinocensis A.H. Gentry[verification needed]
Tabebuia ochracea
Tabebuia oligolepis
Tabebuia pallida – Cuban Pink Trumpet Tree
Tabebuia platyantha
Tabebuia polymorpha
Tabebuia rosea (Bertol.) DC.[verification needed] (= T. pentaphylla (L.) Hemsley) – Pink Poui, Pink Tecoma, apama, apamate, matilisguate
A popular street tree in tropical cities because of its multi-annular masses of light pink to purple flowers and modest size. The roots are not especially destructive for roads and sidewalks. It is the national tree of El Salvador and the state tree of Cojedes, Venezuela
Tabebuia roseo-alba – White Ipê, ipê-branco (Brazil), lapacho blanco
Tabebuia serratifolia – Yellow Lapacho, Yellow Poui, ipê-roxo (Brazil)
Tabebuia shaferi
Tabebuia striata
Tabebuia subtilis Sprague & Sandwith
Tabebuia umbellata
Tabebuia vellosoi Toledo
Ipê-do-cerrado
Texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre.
Ipê-do-cerrado
Classificação científica
Reino: Plantae
Divisão: Magnoliophyta
Classe: Magnoliopsida
Subclasse: Asteridae
Ordem: Lamiales
Família: Bignoniaceae
Género: Tabebuia
Espécie: T. ochracea
Nome binomial
Tabebuia ochracea
(Cham.) Standl. 1832
Sinónimos
Bignonia tomentosa Pav. ex DC.
Handroanthus ochraceus (Cham.) Mattos
Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) G. Nicholson
Tabebuia hypodictyon A. DC.) Standl.
Tabebuia neochrysantha A.H. Gentry
Tabebuia ochracea subsp. heteropoda (A. DC.) A.H. Gentry
Tabebuia ochracea subsp. neochrysantha (A.H. Gentry) A.H. Gentry
Tecoma campinae Kraenzl.
ecoma grandiceps Kraenzl.
Tecoma hassleri Sprague
Tecoma hemmendorffiana Kraenzl.
Tecoma heteropoda A. DC.
Tecoma hypodictyon A. DC.
Tecoma ochracea Cham.
Ipê-do-cerrado é um dos nomes populares da Tabebuia ochracea (Cham.) Standl. 1832, nativa do cerrado brasileiro, no estados de Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Pernambuco, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo e Paraná.
Está na lista de espécies ameaçadas do estado de São Paulo, onde é encontrda também no domínio da Mata Atlântica[1].
Ocorre também na Argentina, Paraguai, Bolívia, Equador, Peru, Venezuela, Guiana, El Salvador, Guatemala e Panamá[2].
Há uma espécie homônima descrita por A.H. Gentry em 1992.
Outros nomes populares: ipê-amarelo, ipê-cascudo, ipê-do-campo, ipê-pardo, pau-d'arco-do-campo, piúva, tarumã.
Características
Altura de 6 a 14 m. Tronco tortuso com até 50 cm de diâmetro. Folhas pilosas em ambas as faces, mais na inferior, que é mais clara.
Planta decídua, heliófita, xerófita, nativa do cerrado em solos bem drenados.
Floresce de julho a setembro. Os frutos amadurecem de setembro a outubro.
FloresProduz grande quantidade de sementes leves, aladas com pequenas reservas, e que perdem a viabilidade em menos de 90 dias após coleta. A sua conservação vem sendo estudada em termos de determinação da condição ideal de armazenamento, e tem demonstrado a importância de se conhecer o comportamento da espécie quando armazenada com diferentes teores de umidade inicial, e a umidade de equilíbrio crítica para a espécie (KANO; MÁRQUEZ & KAGEYAMA, 1978). As levíssimas sementes aladas da espécie não necessitam de quebra de dormência. Podem apenas ser expostas ao sol por cerca de 6 horas e semeadas diretamente nos saquinhos. A germinação ocorre após 30 dias e de 80%. As sementes são ortodoxas e há aproximadamente 72 000 sementes em cada quilo.
O desenvolvimento da planta é rápido.
Como outros ipês, a madeira é usada em tacos, assoalhos, e em dormentes e postes. Presta-se também para peças torneadas e instrumento musicais.
Tabebuia alba (Ipê-Amarelo)
Texto, em português, produzido pela Acadêmica Giovana Beatriz Theodoro Marto
Supervisão e orientação do Prof. Luiz Ernesto George Barrichelo e do Eng. Paulo Henrique Müller
Atualizado em 10/07/2006
O ipê amarelo é a árvore brasileira mais conhecida, a mais cultivada e, sem dúvida nenhuma, a mais bela. É na verdade um complexo de nove ou dez espécies com características mais ou menos semelhantes, com flores brancas, amarelas ou roxas. Não há região do país onde não exista pelo menos uma espécie dele, porém a existência do ipê em habitat natural nos dias atuais é rara entre a maioria das espécies (LORENZI,2000).
A espécie Tabebuia alba, nativa do Brasil, é uma das espécies do gênero Tabebuia que possui “Ipê Amarelo” como nome popular. O nome alba provém de albus (branco em latim) e é devido ao tomento branco dos ramos e folhas novas.
As árvores desta espécie proporcionam um belo espetáculo com sua bela floração na arborização de ruas em algumas cidades brasileiras. São lindas árvores que embelezam e promovem um colorido no final do inverno. Existe uma crença popular de que quando o ipê-amarelo floresce não vão ocorrer mais geadas. Infelizmente, a espécie é considerada vulnerável quanto à ameaça de extinção.
A Tabebuia alba, natural do semi-árido alagoano está adaptada a todas as regiões fisiográficas, levando o governo, por meio do Decreto nº 6239, a transformar a espécie como a árvore símbolo do estado, estando, pois sob a sua tutela, não mais podendo ser suprimida de seus habitats naturais.
Taxonomia
Família: Bignoniaceae
Espécie: Tabebuia Alba (Chamiso) Sandwith
Sinonímia botânica: Handroanthus albus (Chamiso) Mattos; Tecoma alba Chamisso
Outros nomes vulgares: ipê-amarelo, ipê, aipê, ipê-branco, ipê-mamono, ipê-mandioca, ipê-ouro, ipê-pardo, ipê-vacariano, ipê-tabaco, ipê-do-cerrado, ipê-dourado, ipê-da-serra, ipezeiro, pau-d’arco-amarelo, taipoca.
Aspectos Ecológicos
O ipê-amarelo é uma espécie heliófita (Planta adaptada ao crescimento em ambiente aberto ou exposto à luz direta) e decídua (que perde as folhas em determinada época do ano). Pertence ao grupo das espécies secundárias iniciais (DURIGAN & NOGUEIRA, 1990).
Abrange a Floresta Pluvial da Mata Atlântica e da Floresta Latifoliada Semidecídua, ocorrendo principalmente no interior da Floresta Primária Densa. É característica de sub-bosques dos pinhais, onde há regeneração regular.
Informações Botânicas
Morfologia
As árvores de Tabebuia alba possuem cerca de 30 metros de altura. O tronco é reto ou levemente tortuoso, com fuste de 5 a 8 m de altura. A casca externa é grisáceo-grossa, possuindo fissuras longitudinais esparas e profundas. A coloração desta é cinza-rosa intenso, com camadas fibrosas, muito resistentes e finas, porém bem distintas.
Com ramos grossos, tortuosos e compridos, o ipê-amarelo possui copa alongada e alargada na base. As raízes de sustentação e absorção são vigorosas e profundas.
As folhas, deciduais, são opostas, digitadas e compostas. A face superior destas folhas é verde-escura, e, a face inferior, acinzentada, sendo ambas as faces tomentosas. Os pecíolos das folhas medem de 2,5 a 10 cm de comprimento. Os folíolos, geralmente, apresentam-se em número de 5 a 7, possuindo de 7 a 18 cm de comprimento por 2 a 6 cm de largura. Quando jovem estes folíolos são densamente pilosos em ambas as faces. O ápice destes é pontiagudo, com base arredondada e margem serreada.
As flores, grandes e lanceoladas, são de coloração amarelo-ouro. Possuem em média 8X15 cm.
Quanto aos frutos, estes possuem forma de cápsula bivalvar e são secos e deiscentes. Do tipo síliqua, lembram uma vagem. Medem de 15 a 30 cm de comprimento por 1,5 a 2,5 cm de largura. As valvas são finamente tomentosas com pêlos ramificados. Possuem grande quantidade de sementes.
As sementes são membranáceas brilhantes e esbranquiçadas, de coloração marrom. Possuem de 2 a 3 cm de comprimento por 7 a 9 mm de largura e são aladas.
Reprodução
A espécie é caducifólia e a queda das folhas coincide com o período de floração. A floração inicia-se no final de agosto, podendo ocorrer alguma variação devido a fenômenos climáticos. Como a espécie floresce no final do inverno é influenciada pela intensidade do mesmo. Quanto mais frio e seco for o inverno, maior será a intensidade da florada do ipê amarelo.
As flores por sua exuberância, atraem abelhas e pássaros, principalmente beija-flores que são importantes agentes polinizadores. Segundo CARVALHO (2003), a espécie possui como vetor de polinização a abelha mamangava (Bombus morio).
As sementes são dispersas pelo vento.
A planta é hermafrodita, e frutifica nos meses de setembro, outubro, novembro, dezembro, janeiro e fevereiro, dependendo da sua localização. Em cultivo, a espécie inicia o processo reprodutivo após o terceiro ano.
Ocorrência Natural
Ocorre naturalmente na Floresta Estaciobal Semidecicual, Floresta de Araucária e no Cerrado.
Segundo o IBGE, a Tabebuia alba (Cham.) Sandw. é uma árvore do Cerrado, Cerradão e Mata Seca. Apresentando-se nos campos secos (savana gramíneo-lenhosa), próximo às escarpas.
Clima
Segundo a classificação de Köppen, o ipê-amarelo abrange locais de clima tropical (Aw), subtropical úmido (Cfa), sutropical de altitude (Cwa e Cwb) e temperado.
A T.alba pode tolerar até 81 geadas em um ano. Ocorre em locais onde a temperatura média anual varia de 14,4ºC como mínimo e 22,4ºC como máximo.
Solo
A espécie prefere solos úmidos, com drenagem lenta e geralmente não muito ondulados (LONGHI, 1995).
Aparece em terras de boa à média fertilidade, em solos profundos ou rasos, nas matas e raramente cerradões (NOGUEIRA, 1977).
Pragas e Doenças
De acordo com CARVALHO (2003), possui como praga a espécie de coleópteros Cydianerus bohemani da família Curculionoideae e um outro coleóptero da família Chrysomellidae. Apesar da constatação de elevados índices populacionais do primeiro, os danos ocasionados até o momento são leves. Nas praças e ruas de Curitiba - PR, 31% das árvores foram atacadas pela Cochonilha Ceroplastes grandis.
ZIDKO (2002), ao estudar no município de Piracicaba a associação de coleópteros em espécies arbóreas, verificou a presença de insetos adultos da espécie Sitophilus linearis da família de coleópteros, Curculionidae, em estruturas reprodutivas. Os insetos adultos da espécie emergiram das vagens do ipê, danificando as sementes desta espécie nativa.
ANDRADE (1928) assinalou diversas espécies de Cerambycidae atacando essências florestais vivas, como ingazeiro, cinamomo, cangerana, cedro, caixeta, jacarandá, araribá, jatobá, entre outras como o ipê amarelo.
A Madeira
A Tabebuia alba produz madeira de grande durabilidade e resistência ao apodrecimento (LONGHI,1995).
MANIERI (1970) caracteriza o cerne desta espécie como de cor pardo-havana-claro, pardo-havan-escuro, ou pardo-acastanhado, com reflexos esverdeados. A superfície da madeira é irregularmente lustrosa, lisa ao tato, possuindo textura media e grã-direita.
Com densidade entre 0,90 e 1,15 grama por centímetro cúbico, a madeira é muito dura (LORENZI, 1992), apresentando grande dificuldade ao serrar.
A madeira possui cheiro e gosto distintos. Segundo LORENZI (1992), o cheiro característico é devido à presença da substância lapachol, ou ipeína.
Usos da Madeira
Sendo pesada, com cerne escuro, adquire grande valor comercial na marcenaria e carpintaria. Também é utilizada para fabricação de dormentes, moirões, pontes, postes, eixos de roda, varais de carroça, moendas de cana, etc.
Produtos Não-Madeireiros
A entrecasca do ipê-amarelo possui propriedades terapêuticas como adstringente, usada no tratamento de garganta e estomatites. É também usada como diurético.
O ipê-amarelo possui flores melíferas e que maduras podem ser utilizadas na alimentação humana.
Outros Usos
É comumente utilizada em paisagismo de parques e jardins pela beleza e porte. Além disso, é muito utilizada na arborização urbana.
Segundo MOREIRA & SOUZA (1987), o ipê-amarelo costuma povoar as beiras dos rios sendo, portanto, indicado para recomposição de matas ciliares. MARTINS (1986), também cita a espécie para recomposição de matas ciliares da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual, abrangendo alguns municípios das regiões Norte, Noroeste e parte do Oeste do Estado do Paraná.
Aspectos Silviculturais
Possui a tendência a crescer reto e sem bifurcações quando plantado em reflorestamento misto, pois é espécie monopodial. A desrrama se faz muito bem e a cicatrização é boa. Sendo assim, dificilmente encopa quando nova, a não ser que seja plantado em parques e jardins.
Ao ser utilizada em arborização urbana, o ipê amarelo requer podas de condução com freqüência mediana.
Espécie heliófila apresenta a pleno sol ramificação cimosa, registrando-se assim dicotomia para gema apical. Deve ser preconizada, para seu melhor aproveitamento madeireiro, podas de formação usuais (INQUE et al., 1983).
Produção de Mudas
A propagação deve realizada através de enxertia.
Os frutos devem ser coletados antes da dispersão, para evitar a perda de sementes. Após a coleta as sementes são postas em ambiente ventilado e a extração é feita manualmente. As sementes do ipê amarelo são ortodoxas, mantendo a viabilidade natural por até 3 meses em sala e por até 9 meses em vidro fechado, em câmara fria.
A condução das mudas deve ser feita a pleno sol. A muda atinge cerca de 30 cm em 9 meses, apresentando tolerância ao sol 3 semanas após a germinação.
Sementes
Os ipês, espécies do gênero Tabebuia, produzem uma grande quantidade de sementes leves, aladas com pequenas reservas, e que perdem a viabilidade em poucos dias após a sua coleta. A sua conservação vem sendo estudada em termos de determinação da condição ideal de armazenamento, e tem demonstrado a importância de se conhecer o comportamento da espécie quando armazenada com diferentes teores de umidade inicial, e a umidade de equilíbrio crítica para a espécie (KANO; MÁRQUEZ & KAGEYAMA, 1978).
As levíssimas sementes aladas da espécie não necessitam de quebra de dormência. Podem apenas ser expostas ao sol por cerca de 6 horas e semeadas diretamente nos saquinhos. A quebra natural leva cerca de 3 meses e a quebra na câmara leva 9 meses. A germinação ocorre após 30 dias e de 80%.
As sementes são ortodoxas e há aproximadamente 87000 sementes em cada quilo.
Preço da Madeira no Mercado
O preço médio do metro cúbico de pranchas de ipê no Estado do Pará cotado em Julho e Agosto de 2005 foi de R$1.200,00 o preço mínimo, R$ 1509,35 o médio e R$ 2.000,00 o preço máximo (CEPEA,2005).
Danaid Eggfly, Male
The Danaid Eggfly or Mimic (Hypolimnas misippus) is a widespread species of Nymphalidae butterfly. It is well known for polymorphism and mimicry. Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are in multiple forms that include male like forms while others appear like the toxic Danaus chrysippus and Danaus plexippus butterflies. They are found across Africa, Asia and Australia.
Taken at Kadavoor, Kerala, India
The Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus) is a widespread species of nymphalid butterfly. It is well known for polymorphism and mimicry. Males are blackish with distinctive white spots that are fringed in blue. Females are in multiple forms that include male like forms, while others appear like Danaus chrysippus and Danaus plexippus butterfles. They are found across Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Austrelaps superbus are quite variable in dorsal colouration, and this photo illustrates two different ends of that spectrum of variation (black to orange) in this species of venomous snake.
[Camponotus Mayr 1861: 1,083+†29 (IT: 19+†0) spp (41.2-0.0 mya)]
Camponotus is an extremely large and complex, globally distributed genus. At present, nearly 500 sspp belonging to 45 sgg have been described and it could well be the largest ant genus of all. The enormous species richness, high levels of intraspecific and geographic variation and polymorphism render the taxonomy of Camponotus one of the most complex and difficult. Revisionary studies are generally confined to species groups and/or small geographical regions. These ants live in a variety of habitats and microhabitats and the sheer size of the genus makes any characterisation of their biology challenging. Nests are built in the ground, in rotten branches or twigs, or rarely into living wood and most spp possess a highly generalistic diet.
REFERENCES
The eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) or eastern screech-owl, is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species is native to most wooded environments of its distribution, and more so than any other owl in its range, has adapted well to manmade development, although it frequently avoids detection due to its strictly nocturnal habits.
Description
Adults range from 16 to 25 cm (6+1⁄2 to 10 in) in length and weigh 121–244 g (4+1⁄4–8+5⁄8 oz). Among the differently sized races, length can average from 19.5 to 23.8 cm (7+11⁄16 to 9+3⁄8 in). The wingspan can range from 46 to 61 cm (18 to 24 in). In Ohio, male owls average 166 g (5+7⁄8 oz) and females 194 g (6+7⁄8 oz) while in central Texas, they average 157 g (5+1⁄2 oz) and 185 g (6+1⁄2 oz), respectively. They have either rusty or dark gray intricately patterned plumage with streaking on the underparts. Midsized by screech-owl standards, these birds are stocky, short-tailed (tail averages from 6.6 to 8.6 cm (2+5⁄8 to 3+3⁄8 in) in length) and broad-winged (wing chord averages from 14.5 to 17 cm (5+3⁄4 to 6+3⁄4 in) in length) as is typical of the genus. They have a large, round head with prominent ear tufts, yellow eyes, and a yellowish beak, which measures on average 1.45 cm (9⁄16 in) in length. The feet are relatively large and powerful compared to more southern screech owls and are typically feathered down to the toes, although the southernmost populations only have remnant bristles rather than full feathering on the legs and feet. The eastern screech owl (and its western counterpart) are actually some of the heaviest screech owls; the largest tropical screech owls do not exceed them in average or maximal weight, but (due to the eastern screech owls' relatively short tails) they are surpassed in length by Balsas (M. seductus), long-tufted (M. sanctaecatarinae), white-throated (M. albogularis), and rufescent owls (M. seductus), in roughly increasing order.
Eastern screech owl (gray morph) in Canada
Two color variations are referred to as "red or rufous morphs" and "gray morphs" by bird watchers and ornithologists. Rusty birds are more common in the southern parts of the range; pairings of the two color variants do occur. While the gray morph provides remarkably effective camouflage amongst the bark of hardwood trees, red morphs may find security in certain pine trees and the colorful leaves of changing deciduous trees. The highest percentage of red morphs is known from Tennessee (79% of population) and Illinois (78% of population). A rarer "brown morph" is known, recorded exclusively in the south (i.e. Florida), which may be the occasional product of hybridation between the morphs. In Florida, brown morphs are typically reported in the more humid portions of the state, whereas they appear to be generally absent in the northern and northwestern parts of the state. A paler gray variation (sometimes bordering on a washed-out, whitish look) also exists in western Canada and the north-central United States.
Confusion with other species
In the closely related western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii), no color morphs are known; all owls of the western species are gray. Besides coloration, the western screech owl is of almost exactly the same general appearance and size as the eastern. The only reliable distinguishing feature is the bill color, which is considerably darker (often a black-gray) in the western and olive-yellow in the eastern; their voices also differ. The eastern and western screech owls overlap in the range in the Rio Grande valley at the Texas–Mexico border and the riparian woods of the Cimarron tributary of the Arkansas River on the edge of southern Great Plains. Other somewhat similar species that may abut the eastern screech owl's range in its western and southernmost distribution, like the Middle American screech owl (Megascops guatemalae; formerly called "vermiculated screech owl"), whiskered screech owl (Megascops trichopsis), and the flammulated owl (Psiloscops flammeolus), are distinguished by their increasingly smaller body and foot size, different streaking pattern on breast (bolder on the whiskered, weaker on the others), different bare part coloration, and distinctive voices. Through much of the eastern United States, eastern screech owls are essentially physically unmistakable, because other owls with ear tufts are much larger and differently colored and the only other small owl, the northern saw-whet owl (Aegolius acadius) is even smaller, with no ear tufts, a more defined facial disc, and browner overall color.
Subspecies
Five subspecies are typically treated for the eastern screech owl, but the taxonomy in the species is considered "muddled". Much of the variation may be considered clinal, as predictably, the size tends to decrease from north to south and much of the color variation is explainable by adaptation to habitat.
M. a. asio (Linnaeus, 1758) includes previously described races no longer considered valid such as M. a. carolinensis, M. a. naevius and M. a. striatus. It is resident from eastern Minnesota to southwestern Quebec and southern New Hampshire south to Missouri, Tennessee, and northern South Carolina. Dorsal color is cold gray; the red morph is common (about 39% of overall population). The nominate's markings are coarse and sparse and its toes are densely feathered. Its primary song has a terminal, tremulous whinny. This is a medium-to-large race, measuring 14 to 18 cm (5+1⁄2 to 7 in) in wing chord length. The owls of southern Ontario are on the larger end of the scale, of similar size to the relatively big owls of Colorado and Wyoming.
M. a. maxwelliae (Ridgway, 1877). Includes M. a. swenki. Resident from central Montana, southeastern Saskatchewan, and southern Manitoba south to western Kansas. This race is similar to M. a. asio but dorsal color tends to be a paler gray, the ventrum being whiter and less heavily marked and red morphs tending to paler and rarer (~7% of populatio). With a wing chord length of 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7 in), this is the largest race in average linear measurements. This subspecies was named in honor of Martha Maxwell by ornithologist Robert Ridgway of the Smithsonian Institution.
M. a. hasbroucki (Ridgway, 1914). Replacement name for the formerly described M. a. trichopsis. This subspecies is a resident from Oklahoma panhandle and southern Kansas south to Edwards Plateau of central Texas. This subspecies is also similar to M. a. asio but the dorsal color is buffy gray, the red morph being rare (~5% of population), and markings coarse and dense. This race averages at a similar size as the first two, at 14 to 18 cm (5+1⁄2 to 7 in) in wing chord length.
M. a. mccallii (Cassin, 1854) includes previously described races such as M. a. enano and M. a. semplei. Resident from southern Texas (Big Bend to lower Rio Grande Valley) and northwestern Chihuahua and northern Coahuila southeast to eastern San Luis Potosí, this race is similar to M. a. hasbroucki, but its markings are fine and dense so the dorsum looks heavily mottled, with red morphs being rare (apparently entirely absent in South Texas). Its body size is smaller to the northern races, with a wing chord length of 13 to 17 cm (5 to 6+1⁄2 in). Unlike other subspecies, the primary song of M. a. mccallii lacks a terminal whinny.
M. a. floridanus (Ridgway, 1873) is resident in Florida and southern Georgia west through Gulf Coast states to western Louisiana and north in the Mississippi River valley to southeastern Arkansas. This race's dorsal color is often rusty-brown (red morph equally common), with fine and dense markings. As described above, this subspecies may occur in a true "brown morph". It is the smallest race of eastern screech owl, ranging in wing chord length from 13 to 16 cm (5 to 6+1⁄2 in).
Plumage polymorphism
Eastern screech owls exhibit a similar polymorphism as tawny owls, whose plumage ranges from rufous to gray. The inheritance of morph in owls is likely complex, but rufous plumage may be controlled by a dominant allele and gray plumage alleles are recessive. There are latitudinal clines in screech owl polymorphism, with northern latitudes containing mostly gray individuals and southern latitudes containing primarily rufous individuals. This cline may be driven by higher metabolic rates in rufous individuals compared to gray individuals. Evidence of higher metabolic rates was show by a higher proportion of gray morphs in the rural areas surrounding Waco, TX compared to the warmer suburban areas. Rufous screech owls also had higher mortality during cold winters.
Habitat
Eastern screech owls inhabit open mixed woodlands, deciduous forests, parklands, wooded suburban areas, riparian woods along streams and wetlands (especially in drier areas), mature orchards, and woodlands near marshes, meadows, and fields. They try to avoid areas known to have regular activity of larger owls, especially great horned owls (Bubo virginianus). Their ability to live in heavily developed areas outranks even the great horned and certainly the barred owl (Strix varia); screech owls also are considerably more successful in the face of urbanization than barn owls (Tyto alba) following the conversion of what was once farmland. Due to the introduction of open woodland and cultivated strips in the Great Plains, the range of eastern screech owls there has expanded. Eastern screech owls have been reported living and nesting in spots such as along the border of a busy highway and on the top of a street light in the middle of a busy town square. They often nest in trees in neighborhoods and urban yards inhabited by humans. In such urban environments, they often meet their dietary needs via introduced species that live close to humans such as house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and house mice (Mus musculus). They also consume anole lizards and large insects such as cicadas. They occupy the greatest range of habitats of any owl east of the Rockies. Eastern screech owls roost mainly in natural cavities in large trees, including cavities open to the sky during dry weather. In suburban and rural areas, they may roost in manmade locations such as behind loose boards on buildings, in boxcars, or on water tanks. They also roost in dense foliage of trees, usually on a branch next to the trunk, or in dense, scrubby brush. The distribution of the species is largely concurrent with the distribution of eastern deciduous woodlands, probably discontinuing at the Rocky Mountains in the west and in northern Mexico in the south due to the occupation of similar niches by other screech owls and discontinuing at the start of true boreal forest because of the occupation of a similar niche by other small owls (especially boreal owls (Aegolius funereus). Eastern screech owls may be found from sea level up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in elevation in the eastern Rocky Mountains and up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in the eastern Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains, although their altitudinal limits in the Appalachian Mountains, near the heart of their distribution, is not currently known.
Behavior
Eastern screech owls are strictly nocturnal, roosting during the day in cavities or next to tree trunks. They are quite common, and can often be found in residential areas. However, due to their small size and camouflage, they are much more frequently heard than actually seen. These owls are frequently heard calling at night, especially during their spring breeding season. Despite their name, this owl does not truly screech. The eastern screech owl's call is a tremolo with a descending, whinny-like quality, like that of a miniature horse. They also produce a monotone purring trill lasting 3–5 seconds. Their voices are unmistakable and follow a noticeably different phrasing than that of the western screech owl. The lugubrious nature of the eastern screech owl's call has warranted description such as, "A most solemn graveyard ditty, the mutual consolation of suicide lovers remembering the pangs and delights of the supernal love in the infernal groves, Oh-o-o-o-o that I never had been bor-r-r-r-n!.
Breeding
Their breeding habitat is deciduous or mixed woods in eastern North America. Usually solitary, they nest in a tree cavity, either natural or excavated by a woodpecker. Holes must have a 7 to 20 cm (3 to 8 in) entrance to accommodate this owl. Usually, they fit only in the holes excavated by northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) or pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus), as apparently the midsized red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinensis) make holes that are not large enough to accommodate them.[18] Orchards, which often have trees with crevices and holes, as well as meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), a dietary favorite, are often preferred nesting habitats. Eastern screech owls also use nesting boxes erected by humans. Although some people put up nest boxes meant for screech owls, the owls also take over nest boxes meant for others, such as those for wood ducks (Aix sponsa), houses erected for purple martins (Progne subis), and dovecotes put up for rock pigeons (Columba livia), occasionally killing and consuming at least the latter two in the process of taking over the nest box. A 9-year study comparing the breeding success of eastern screech owls nesting in natural cavities and nesting in nest boxes showed that the fledging rate was essentially the same, although in some years, up to 10% more success occurred in the natural cavities.[18] Depending on the origins of the hole being used, eastern screech owl nests have been recorded from 1.5 to 25 m (5 to 80 ft) off the ground. Like all owls, these birds do not actually build a nest; instead, females lay their eggs directly on the bare floor of the nest hole or on the layer of fur and feathers left over from previous meals that line the bottom of its den. Breeding pairs often return to the same nest year after year.
This species commences egg laying on average about two months after great horned owls, but about two weeks before American kestrels (Falco sparveius) and almost throughout the range lays its first egg at some point in April. Eggs are laid at two-day intervals and incubation begins after laying of the first egg. Eggs vary in size in synch with their ultimate body size, ranging from an average of 36.3 mm × 30.2 mm (1+7⁄16 in × 1+3⁄16 in) in the Northern Rockies to 33.9 mm × 29.2 mm (1+5⁄16 in × 1+1⁄8 in) in south Texas. From one to six eggs have been recorded per clutch, with an average of 4.4 in Ohio, 3.0 in Florida, and 4.56 in the north-central United States. The incubation period is about 26 days, and the young reach the fledging stage at about 31 days old. Females do most of the incubating and brooding, but males also occasionally take shifts. As is the typical division of labor in owls, the male provides most of the food while the female primarily broods the young, and they stockpile food during the early stages of nesting, although the male tends to work hard nightly because many nestlings often appear to live almost entirely on freshly caught insects and invertebrates. The male's smaller size make it superior in its nimbleness, which allows it to catch insects and other swift prey. Eastern screech owls are single-brooded, but may renest if the first clutch is lost, especially towards the southern end of its range. When the young are small, the female tears the food apart for them. The female, with her larger size and harder strike, takes on the duty of defending the nest from potential threats, and even humans may be aggressively attacked, sometimes resulting in them drawing blood from the head and shoulders of human passers-by.
Feeding habits
Like most predators, eastern screech owls are opportunistic hunters. Due to the ferocity and versatility of their hunting style, early authors nicknamed eastern screech owls "feathered wildcats".[21] In terms of ecological niche, they have no easy ecological equivalent in Europe, perhaps the closest being the little owl (Athene noctua), the similar looking Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops) being smaller and weaker and the long-eared owl (Asio otus) more fully dependent on rodents. The success of eastern screech (and western screech) owls in North America may be the reason long-eared owls are much more restricted to limited northern forest habitat in North America than they are in Europe. Eastern screech owls hunt from dusk to dawn, with most hunting being done during the first four hours of darkness. A combination of sharp hearing and vision is used for prey location. These owls hunt mainly from perches, dropping down onto prey. Occasionally, they also hunt by scanning through the treetops in brief flights or hover to catch prey. This owl mainly hunts in open woodlands, along the edges of open fields or wetlands, or makes short forays into open fields. When prey is spotted, the owl dives quickly and seizes it in its talons. Small prey usually is swallowed whole on the spot, while larger prey is carried in the bill to a perch and then torn into pieces. An eastern screech owl tends to frequent areas in its home range where it hunted successfully on previous nights. The eastern screech owl's sense of hearing is so acute, it can even locate mammals under heavy vegetation or snow. The bird's ears (as opposed to its ear tufts) are placed asymmetrically on its head, enabling it to use the differences between each ear's perception of sound to home in on prey. Additionally, the feathers the eastern screech owl uses to fly are serrated at their tips. This muffles the noise the bird makes when it flaps its wings, enabling it to sneak up on prey quietly. Both the specialized ear placement and wing feathers are a feature shared by most living owl species to aid them in hunting in darkness.
During the breeding season, large insects are favored in their diet, with invertebrates often composing more than half of the owls' diet. Some regularly eaten insects include beetles, moths, crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, and cicadas, although they likely consume any commonly available flying insect. Also taken are crayfish, snails, spiders, earthworms, scorpions, leeches, millipedes, and centipedes. Small mammals, ranging in size from shrews to young rabbits (Sylvilagus ssp.), are regular prey and almost always become the owl's primary food during winter. Small rodents such as microtine rodents and mice account for about 67% of mammals taken, although rodents of a similar weight to the owl, such as rats and squirrels, especially the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), are also taken. Jumping mice (Zapus ssp.), chipmunks, moles, and bats (especially the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) may be taken occasionally. Small birds such as chickadees (Poecile ssp.), swallows, sparrows, finches, flycatchers, and warblers are the most common avian prey, and such species are normally caught directly from their nocturnal perches or during nocturnal migration. In Ohio, the most commonly reported avian prey species, and most commonly stored food items behind meadow voles, were yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata) and white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichus albicollis). Abundant midsized avian or largish passerine prey are also not uncommon foods, such as mourning doves (Zenaida macroura), downy woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens), northern flickers, blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), American robins (Turdus migratorius), European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), and common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula). However, larger avian prey are sometimes caught, including northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and American woodcocks (Scolopax minor) and even rock pigeons and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), most likely young or fledgling aged birds, but all of which are likely to be heavier than the screech owls themselves. All told, more than 100 species of bird have been hunted by eastern screech owls. Irregularly, small fish, small snakes (i.e. Heterodon ssp.), lizards, baby soft-shelled turtles (Apalone ssp.), small frogs such as tree frogs and northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens), toads, newts, and salamanders are also preyed upon. They have even been observed hunting for fish at fishing holes made by people or cracks in ice at bodies of water during winter. The most commonly reported fish prey in Ohio were American gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) and green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). Brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) have been captured by eastern screech owls along coastal areas during winter.
From hundreds of prey remains from Ohio, 41% were found to be mammals (23% of which were mice or voles), 18% were birds, and 41% were insects and other assorted invertebrates. Of vertebrates taken in the nesting season, 65% were birds (of about 54 species), 30% were mammals (11% meadow voles; 8% each of house mice and deermice of the genus Peromyscus), 3% were fish, and less than 2% were reptiles and amphibians. In Michigan, among winter foods, 45–50% were meadow voles, 45% were white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and 1–10% were birds; during the summer, these respective numbers changed to 30, 23, and 19%, with as much as 28% of the food in summer being crayfish (Cambarus ssp.). Due to meeting the needs of their nestlings, eastern screech owls frequently consume less per day during summer than they do during winter. Five owls captured in April, averaging about 160 g (5+3⁄4 oz) in males and 190 g (6+3⁄4 oz) in females, gained on average 28 g (1 oz) when captured in fall (October–December) and 13 g (1⁄2 oz) when captured in winter (January–February). In Michigan, screech owls consumed about 25% of their own weight per day during winter against 16% of their weight in summer. The average weight of vertebrate prey for screech owls in Michigan is 26 g (15⁄16 oz) In Wisconsin, the average weight of vertebrate prey is 28 g (1 oz). While much of their insect prey can weigh only a fraction of a gram, their largest prey, such as adult rats and pigeons and juvenile rabbits and gamebirds, can weigh up to at least 350 g (12+1⁄4 oz).
Urban/suburban vs. rural behavior
Eastern screech owls are known for their ability to live in close proximity to humans. There is previous information pointing to potential behavioral adaptations of urban and suburban eastern screech owls from their rural counterparts. There have been previous studies that found suburban eastern screech owls breed no differently in man-made nest boxes than in natural tree cavities. Climate, food sources, and predator presence are some potential factors that impact the behaviors of suburban and rural eastern screech owls. Living in suburbia can have some additional impacts on eastern screech owl behavior such as secondary poisoning, vehicles, and more predation and competition from raccoon, opossum and squirrels.
Previous research has shown that male eastern screech owls find and defend two to three potential nesting sites (man-made and natural) in order to have backups for failed first nesting attempts. However, in a study by Gehlbach it was found that suburban eastern screech owls had fewer alternative nesting sites due to humans cutting down trees with natural cavities, pruning the trees, or filling in the natural cavities with cement. Gehlbach also found that nesting sites close to houses and with fewer surrounding shrubs were some of the most used. Additionally, older eastern screech owls were found to be more likely to habituate to human disturbances compared to younger eastern screech owls. A study by Artuso found that there were larger average brood sizes and earlier average fledging dates of eastern screech owls shown in moderate and high-density suburban areas than in low-density suburban and rural areas. Urban and suburban populations of eastern screech owls are more dense and productive than their rural counterparts. There are various differences in habitat that have impacts on the nesting behaviors of eastern screech owls.
Eastern screech owl feeding behaviors have also been shown through previous research to be impacted by whether the owl lived in a rural or suburban area. In a previous study, prey diversity for eastern screech owls peaked in low-density suburban areas. The owl's feeding habits changed based on the habitat type—owls in low-density suburban sites consumed almost double the amount of birds in non-breeding season as owls in high-density sites and triple that of owls in rural sites. Rural owls generally consumed more invertebrates and fewer caterpillars and earthworms. It is already known that eastern screech owl diets vary throughout the breeding and non-breeding season, but now there is more research describing habitat's role in feeding behaviors as well.
The climate within urban or suburban and rural areas differ as well which in turn impacts eastern screech owl behavior. Suburban climate is typically warmer than rural climate due to the "heat island effect" A previous study showed that as suburban climates got warmer over the course of a few years, eastern screech owls started nesting an average of 4.5 days earlier annually. There were also more avian prey and a 93% success rate in annual nests. Bird baths and feeders located in the suburban habitats were also noted as being likely factors in enhancing residence successes.
Mortality
While eastern screech owls have lived for over 20 years in captivity, wild birds seldom, if ever, live that long. Mortality rates of young and nestling owls may be as high as 70% (usually significantly less in adult screech owls). Many losses are due to predation. Common predators at screech owl nests including Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), American minks (Neogale vison), weasels (Mustela and Neogale sp.), raccoons (Procyon lotor), ringtails (Bassariscus astutus), skunks (Mephitis and Spilogale sp.), snakes, crows (Corvus sp.), and blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata). Eastern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) may raid the tree holes being used by eastern screech owls, not only destroying or consuming the eggs, but also displacing the adult owls from the hole to use the hole for themselves. Adults have fewer predators, but larger species of owls do take them, since they have similar periods of activity. Larger owls known to have preyed on eastern screech owls have included great horned owls (Bubo virginianus), barred owls (Strix varia), spotted owls (Strix occidentalis), long-eared owls (Asio otus), short-eared owls (Asio flammeus), and snowy owls (Bubo scandianus). Diurnal birds of prey may also kill and eat them, including Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii), northern harriers (Circus cyaenus), red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) and rough-legged hawks (Buteo lagopus). Most prolific by far of the eastern screech owl's avian predators is the great horned owl, which can destroy up to 78% of a local population, but locally, Cooper's hawks and barred owls are almost as serious of a threat. A most dramatic case illustrating the owl food chain involved a barred owl, which upon examination after being shot in New England, contained a long-eared owl in its stomach that, in its own stomach, contained an eastern screech owl. All other common owls in this species range also live on similar rodent prey, but direct competition is obviously disadvantageous to the screech owl. One exception is the even smaller northern saw-whet owl, on which eastern screech owls have been known to prey. In rural Michigan, 9 different species of owls and diurnal raptors including the screech owl fed primarily on the same four species of small rodents from the Peromyscus and Microtus genera. Eastern screech owls have had nesting attempts fail due to biocide poisoning, which causes the thinning of eggs and failure of nests, but seemingly not to the overall detriment of the species. Collisions with cars, trains, and windowpanes kill many screech owls, the earlier especially while feeding on road-side rodents and road kills.
Parasites
This species has the potential to be infected by several parasites, including Plasmodium elongatum, Plasmodium forresteri, and Plasmodium gundersi.