Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae, a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth except glaciers. The world's richest diversity of orchid genera and species is found in the tropics.
The Dipsacaceae were recognized as a family of the order Dipsacales containing 350 species of perennial or biennial herbs and shrubs in eleven genera. It was published by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in his book Genera plantarum on page 194 in 1789.
The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species, in 33, to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and eastern Asia, while they are absent in tropical and southern Africa.
Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ferns, bacteria, and the growth of the pollen tube from the pollen grain of a seed plant.
Dipsacus is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. The members of this genus are known as teasel, teazel or teazle. The genus includes about 15 species of tall herbaceous biennial plants growing to 1–2.5 metres (3.3–8.2 ft) tall. Dipsacus species are native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa.
Ferocactus is a genus of large barrel-shaped cacti, mostly with large spines and small flowers. There are about 30 species included in the genus. They are found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Sclerocactus is a genus of cacti. It comprises about 15 species, the exact number depending on the authority. These species are very xerophytic. They are sometimes called 'fishhook cactus' or 'little barrels.'
Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (US), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. Melilotus albus is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin.
Dipsacus fullonum, syn. Dipsacus sylvestris, is a species of flowering plant known by the common names wild teasel or fuller's teasel, although the latter name is usually applied to the cultivated variety D. fullonum var. sativus. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is known in the Americas, southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand as an introduced species.
Banksia pulchella, commonly known as teasel banksia, is a species of small shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has smooth grey bark, linear leaves and golden-brown flowers in short, cylindrical heads and inconspicuous follicles.
Harptree Combe is a 13.63-hectare (33.68-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near East Harptree notified in 1954. "Combe" or "coombe" is a West Country word meaning a steep-sided valley. It is also the site of a 19th-century aqueduct and is overlooked by the site of a castle dating from around 1100.
Liriope muscari is a species of flowering plant from East Asia. Common names in English include big blue lilyturf, lilyturf, border grass, and monkey grass. This small herbaceous perennial has grass-like evergreen foliage and lilac-purple flowers which produce single-seeded berries on a spike in the fall. It is invasive to North America and considered a threat to native wildlife.
Endothenia gentianaeana is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is found from most of Europe, east to Korea and the Near East. It is also found in North America and Hawaii.
Cirsium vinaceum is a rare species of thistle known by the common name Sacramento Mountains thistle. It is endemic to Otero County, New Mexico, in the United States, where it is known only from the Sacramento Mountains. The plant can be found in six canyon systems in a southern section of this mountain range spanning about 32 kilometers. It is rare because it is limited to a specific type of mountain wetland which is both naturally uncommon and threatened by a number of forces. The plant was federally listed as threatened in 1987.
Eryngium cuneifolium is a rare species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common names wedgeleaf eryngo, wedge-leaved button-snakeroot, and simply snakeroot. It is endemic to the state of Florida in the United States where it is known only from Highlands County. It is one of many rare species that can be found only on the Lake Wales Ridge, an area of high endemism. It was federally listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1987.
Spiranthes diluvialis is a rare species of orchid known as Ute lady's tresses. The species name diluvialis means "of the flood". It is native to the western United States, where there are scattered, mostly small occurrences in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. An occurrence was recently discovered in southern British Columbia. The plant faces a number of threats to its existence. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Dipsacus laciniatus is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family known by the common name cutleaf teasel. It is native to Europe and Asia. It is present in North America as an introduced species and invasive weed.
Lupinus pilosus, commonly known as blue lupine, is a species of flowering plant that is edible from the family Fabaceae that grows in Mediterranean scrubland. It has a 30–70 centimetres (12–28 in) long stem and 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) long legume. The species blooms from February to May. The species have white coloured flowers which are 1–1.5 centimetres (0.39–0.59 in) long and pods the diameter of which is 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in). In Israel the Lupinus pilosus has blue flowers with white vertical spot at the middle.
Leucadendron coniferum, also known at the dune conebush, is an evergreen, dioecious shrub or small tree of up to 4 m (13 ft) high, that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has a whorl of conspicuous yellow leaves subtending the flowerheads. The flowers can be found in August and September. It grows in sandy soils near the coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
A gig-mill was type of raising machine that used teasels to produce a nap on cloth. Examples of the results of gigging are woolen fabrics such as chinchilla, beaver cloth, and melton. The process involved gradual teasing of the surface to raise the nap. Spelling in some localities is "Gigg".
