Cordylines Native to Australia Eight species of the genus Cordyline are found in Australasia. There are about 15 species overall with some occurring in the western Pacific and one in tropical America. The Cordyline are erect, evergreen shrubs. The scientific…
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Environmental changes make a difference with humans as well as with animals. Both were meant to be biological successes and they would be if their natural habitats remained undisturbed. But time changes everything and some animals adapt more easily than…
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The Conostylis wildflower is native to Western Australia and is found only in the south west corner of that state. There are some 40 odd species. Some species have plants that are attached to each other by fleshy underground stems…
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Peru is teeming with natural vegetation, and anyone traveling to the area is likely to come across a lot of plants – probably too many to remember. But pay close attention during your Peru adventure, as you may just come…
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Turgidity is the state of a cell when its vacuole is full of water so its contents are pushed against the cellwalls. Because cellulose which makes the cell wall is rigid, there is little give and the cell become turgid…
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Irrespective of the type of flowering plant, the season it fertilizes or germinates in, or the number of years it may take before it bears seeds or sprouts, most flowering plants (with exceptions) follow a simple basic pattern. They all…
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The legume family of plants, Fabaceae, has many genera of which Brachysema was only one. Quite recently all members of Brachysema were transferred to Gastrolobium. For convenience, the species will be referred to as Brachysema here, rather than duplicating the…
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The pretty and popular dog rose belongs to the genus Bauera which was one of the first Australian genera to be described. It was named by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) in honour of the German botanical artists, Ferdinand and Franz…
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Zoraptera is a small order of insects that is poorly known and understood. The name zoraptera means ‘true wingless’ so they were named before the winged forms were discovered. The delightful common name is angel insect. There is only a single…
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Tigers mate any time during the year so says the Wildlife Fact-File. The female leaves urine deposits and scratch marks on trees to show that she is ready to mate. The tiger’s range is vast in Siberia so it is…
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