A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level, formally described in the International Cloud Atlas (2017) as silvagenitus. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests. Mossy forests usually develop on the saddles of mountains, where moisture introduced by settling clouds is more effectively retained.
Ceiba is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to 70 m (230 ft) tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, one of several trees known as kapok. Ceiba is a word from the Taíno language meaning "boat" because Taínos use the wood to build their dugout canoes.
The Araliaceae are a family of flowering plants composed of about 43 genera and around 1500 species consisting of primarily woody plants and some herbaceous plants commonly called the ginseng family. The morphology of Araliaceae varies widely, but it is predominantly distinguishable based on its woody habit, tropical distribution, and the presence of simple umbels.
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. According to Britannica, there exists four savanna forms; savanna woodland where trees and shrubs form a light canopy, tree savanna with scattered trees and shrubs, shrub savanna with distributed shrubs, and grass savanna where trees and shrubs are mostly nonexistent.
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons that last several months and vary with geographic location. These seasonal droughts have great impact on all living things in the forest.
The tropical kingbird is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States through Central America, South America as far as south as central Argentina and eastern Peru, and on Trinidad and Tobago. Birds from the northernmost and southern breeding areas migrate to warmer parts of the range after breeding.
Cussonia spicata, known as spiked cabbage tree, lowveld cabbage tree or common cabbage tree, is a tree in the family Araliaceae, which is native to the moister regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is cultivated as a garden plant in areas without extreme degrees of frost. It is one of the favorite foods of wild elephants.
Thespesia grandiflora is a tree in the family Malvaceae of the rosids clade. Its common name is maga and sometimes is referred to as Maga Colorada and Puerto Rican hibiscus. This tree is widely distributed throughout Puerto Rico where it is endemic. Although originally endemic to the humid mountains of limestone in the western and north-central portions of the Island, today it grows everywhere in Puerto Rico due to its extensive cultivation. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in Florida, Hawaii, Honduras and in various Caribbean islands. The maga is mostly used as an ornamental plant, but like the related Thespesia populnea its wood is also valued for its durable timber. The flower was declared the national symbol of Puerto Rico on August 7, 2019.
Cussonia is a genus of plants of the family Araliaceae, which is native to the Afrotropics. It originated in Africa and has its center of distribution in South Africa and the Mascarene Islands. Due to their striking habit, they are a conspicuous and easily recognizable group of plants. Their genus name commemorates the botanist Pierre Cusson. The Afro-Malagasy and Asian Schefflera, and Afrotropical Seemannaralia genera are related taxa that share several of its morphological characteristics, among which the leaves borne on the end of branches, inflorescences carried on terminal branches or stems, and reduced leaf complexity in developing inflorescences.
Cussonia paniculata, also known as kiepersol, is a large evergreen shrub or small tree up to 5 metres (16 ft) in height native to South Africa. The plant has large and bold textured grey foliage.
Seemannaralia gerrardii, commonly known as the wild-maple or mock carrot tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is the sole member of genus Seemannaralia, and is endemic to South Africa, where it occurs in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. It was originally included in genus Cussonia. Seemann- and gerrardii commemorate Berthold Seemann and William Gerrard respectively, while -aralia suggests the family or its type genus, Aralia.
Aralioideae is a subfamily of flowering plants contains around 50 recognized genera. These include the genus Panax, to which ginseng belongs. Other notable species are the Angelica-tree, the devil's club, or common ivy.
Placodiscus bancoensis is a species of plant in the family Sapindaceae. It is found in Ivory Coast and Ghana. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Pretoria National Botanical Garden is one of South Africa's nine National Botanical Gardens. The garden is wedged between Pretoria Road and Cussonia Avenue in Brummeria, in eastern Pretoria, Gauteng, and flanks a central rocky ridge that runs from east to west. The 76 hectares (0.76 km2) garden was established in 1946, and of late hosts the headquarters of the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
The Botanischer Garten der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, also known as the Botanischer Garten Bochum, is a botanical garden maintained by the Ruhr University Bochum. It is located at Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and open daily without charge.
Southern African Sand Forest is a sand forest, or a subtropical forest plant community of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome. It grows on ancient sand dunes in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique. In South Africa these forests are known simply as Sand Forest, while in Mozambique they are known as Licuati Forest. The Southern African sand forest is part of the Maputaland coastal forest mosaic ecoregion.
Cussonia thyrsiflora, known as the Cape coast cabbage tree, or Kaapse kuskiepersol in Afrikaans, is a small evergreen tree in the family Araliaceae.
Cussonia sphaerocephala is a species of tree in the family Araliaceae. It is known as the Natal forest cabbage tree; in Afrikaans it is called the Natalse boskiepersol, and in isiZulu as umsenge.
Kiepersol is a village falling under Mbombela Local Municipality in the Mpumalanga, province of South Africa.
