A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
In botany, a cortex is an outer layer of a stem or root in a vascular plant, lying below the epidermis but outside of the vascular bundles. The cortex is composed mostly of large thin-walled parenchyma cells of the ground tissue system and shows little to no structural differentiation. The outer cortical cells often acquire irregularly thickened cell walls, and are called collenchyma cells.
Nepenthes aristolochioides is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sumatra, where it grows at elevations of 1800–2500 m above sea level. It has an extremely unusual pitcher morphology, having an almost vertical opening to its traps. It is critically endangered by overcollection.
Nepenthes jamban is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to northern Sumatra. The specific epithet jamban is the Indonesian word for "toilet" and refers to the shape of the pitchers.
Nepenthes lingulata is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to northern Sumatra. The species is characterised by the highly developed appendage present on the underside of the lid. The specific epithet lingulata is derived from the Latin word lingula, meaning "small tongue", and refers to this unique morphological feature.
This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary of leaf morphology. For other related terms, see Glossary of phytopathology, Glossary of lichen terms, and List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names.
Nepenthes naga is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to the Barisan Mountains of Sumatra. It is characterised by a forked sub-apical appendage on the underside of the lid and an undulate lid margin. The specific epithet naga is the Indonesian word for "dragon" and refers to the distinctive lid appendage of this species as well as the large size of its pitchers. The name also references local folklore, which tells of dragons occurring in this species's habitat in the past.
Roccella is a genus of 23 species of lichens in the family Roccellaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1805, with Roccella fuciformis as the type species.
Nepenthes andamana is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Phang Nga Province, Thailand, where it grows near sea level in coastal savannah and grassland. It is thought to be most closely related to N. suratensis.
Tetraxylopteris is a genus of extinct vascular plants of the Middle to Upper Devonian. Fossils were first found in New York State, USA. A second species was later found in Venezuela.
Nepenthes abgracilis is a tropical pitcher plant native to the Philippines. It is known only from northeastern Mindanao, including Mount Legaspi. Little is known about the altitudinal distribution of this species, but the holotype was collected at 670 m.
Sticta venosa is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. It is known only from Pichincha Province, Ecuador, and from Colombia. It was described as new to science in 2011.
Bulbine cepacea is a flowering plant in the genus Bulbine, endemic to the Western Cape province, South Africa.
Muniria megalophylla is a flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. It is a shrub with its branches and leaves densely covered with a layer of short, greyish, branched hairs and small groups of reddish-pink flowers near the ends of the branches.
Hypericum foliosum, the shining St John's wort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is a bushy shrub endemic to the Portuguese Azores Islands with golden yellow petals and many stems. The species was described by William Aiton in 1789 and was later placed into section Androsaemum of the genus Hypericum by Norman Robson in 1984. It has a diverse essential oil profile made up mostly of monoterpene hydrocarbons, and significant concentrations of various medicinally useful phenols and carotenoids. Populations of the plant are small in number, but quick to colonize cleared areas like groves, landslide areas, and volcanic ash deposits. It is parasitized by fungus and by moth species, but is not considered endangered by the IUCN. H. foliosum is used in traditional medicine on the Azores for diuretic, hepatoprotective, and antihypertensive purposes. It also has in vitrio antibiotic and antioxidizing capabilities.
Stegouros is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Dorotea Formation of southern Chile. The genus contains a single species, Stegouros elengassen, known from a semi-articulated, near-complete skeleton.
Babiana brachystachys is a species of geophyte of 20–30 cm (7.9–11.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has cream or pale pink, only slightly mirror-symmetrical flowers that are pink on the reverse with a long narrow tube that splits into six tepal lobes, three stamens, a style that divides in three branches opposite the tip of the anthers and line-shaped leaves that are circular in cross section. It is an endemic species of South Africa that can be found on sandy hills and inland dunes in the Northern Cape province. It flowers in September and October.
Usnea patriciana is a rare species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. This beard lichen has a shrubby appearance with cylindrical branches and distinct black pigmentation at its base.
Dictyonema krogiae is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in Kenya, where it grows as an epiphyte on trees. It is often found in association with other lichens, such as Parmotrema, and bryophytes, such as Frullania. A main characteristic that distinguishes it from other closely related species is its clearly defined internal layers, including its contrasting dense photobiont layer and a loose lower cortex.
