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In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
The Madrean region (named after the Sierra Madre Occidental) is a floristic region within the Holarctic kingdom in North America, as delineated by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne. It occupies arid or semiarid areas in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico and is bordered by the Rocky Mountain floristic region and North American Atlantic region of the Holarctic kingdom in the north and in the east, Caribbean region of the Neotropical kingdom in the south.
The Madrean region is characterized by a very distinct flora with at least three endemic families (Fouquieriaceae, Simmondsiaceae, and Setchellanthaceae). Crossosomataceae, Garryaceae, Lennoaceae, Limnanthaceae and Stegnospermataceae have their principal development here; for Onagraceae, Polemoniaceae and Hydrophyllaceae it is the major center of diversity. More than 250 genera and probably more than half of the species of the region are endemic to it according to Takhtajan.
The region is subdivided into four floristic provinces:
The Great Basin floristic province includes most of the Great Basin, as well as the Colorado Plateau, the Snake River Plain, and Arizona north of the Mogollon Rim. It shares much of its flora with the neighboring provinces and has only a few endemic genera. Species endemism is also moderate (about 25%), but is much more considerable in such genera as Astragalus, Eriogonum, Penstemon, Cymopterus, Lomatium, Cryptantha, Chrysothamnus, Erigeron, Phacelia, Castilleja, and Gilia.
The vegetation in the central Great Basin shrub steppe part of the province is dominated by Artemisia species and Chenopodiaceae genera. The Great Basin montane forests include ancient Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) trees.
The Californian province occupies Central and Southern California from the seashore to the foothills of the Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevada range, and northern parts of Baja California in Mexico. It possesses the most diverse flora within the floristic region. About half of the species are endemic. More than 50 genera (e.g. Adenostoma, Bergerocactus, Carpenteria, Cneoridium, Dendromecon, Fremontodendron, Jepsonia, Lyonothamnus, Neostapfia, Odontostomum, Ornithostaphylos, Pickeringia, Romneya) are endemic or near-endemic as well. Arctostaphylos, Brodiaeinae, Calochortus, Caulanthus, Streptanthus, Ceanothus, Cryptantha, Downingia, Dudleya, Eritrichieae, Eriogonoideae, Gileae, Hydrophyllaceae, Limnanthaceae, Lotus, Madiinae, Mimulus, Onagreae, Epilobieae, Orcuttieae, Eschscholzioideae, Platystemonoideae, Astragalus and Cupressus have a principal center of diversity within the province. The flora of the Californian Province is partially shared with the spatially distant Chile-Patagonian region of the Antarctic kingdom and to a lesser extent Mediterranean region of the Holarctic kingdom. The vegetation of the Californian Province is varied. Wetter northern parts of the Californian province (Northern California and Oregon) as defined by Peter Raven and D.I. Axelrod, as well as by Conservation International, fall under the Rocky Mountain region in Takhtajan and Thorne's system and are not parts of the Madrean region.
The Sonoran province comprises arid areas in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico from California and Baja California to Texas and Tamaulipas, including the Mojave (characterized by Yucca brevifolia, Joshua Tree), Sonora and Chihuahua Deserts. The vegetation is dominated by Yucca, Cactaceae species (Opuntia spp. and other), as well as by Larrea tridentata (Creosote bush).
The Mexican Highlands province comprises areas in the Mexican Plateau region, including Madrean pine-oak woodlands.
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Madrean region (named after the Sierra Madre Occidental) is a floristic region within the Holarctic kingdom in North America, as delineated by Armen Takhtajan and Robert F. Thorne. It occupies arid or semiarid areas in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico and is bordered by the Rocky Mountain floristic region and North American Atlantic region of the Holarctic kingdom in the north and in the east, Caribbean region of the Neotropical kingdom in the south. The Madrean region is characterized by a very distinct flora with at least three endemic families (Fouquieriaceae, Simmondsiaceae, and Setchellanthaceae). Crossosomataceae, Garryaceae, Lennoaceae, Limnanthaceae and Stegnospermataceae have their principal development here; for Onagraceae, Polemoniaceae and Hydrophyllaceae it is the major center of diversity. More than 250 genera and probably more than half of the species of the region are endemic to it according to Takhtajan.
Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and agriculturally important family of flowering plants. It includes trees, shrubs, and perennial or annual herbaceous plants, which are easily recognized by their fruit (legume) and their compound, stipulate leaves. The family is widely distributed, and is the third-largest land plant family in number of species, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with about 765 genera and nearly 20,000 known species. The five largest genera of the family are Astragalus (over 3,000 species), Acacia (over 1,000 species), Indigofera (around 700 species), Crotalaria (around 700 species), and Mimosa (around 400 species), which constitute about a quarter of all legume species. The c. 19,000 known legume species amount to about 7% of flowering plant species. Fabaceae is the most common family found in tropical rainforests and dry forests of the Americas and Africa. Recent molecular and morphological evidence supports the conclusion that the Fabaceae is a single monophyletic family. This conclusion has been supported not only by the degree of interrelation shown by different groups within the family compared with that found among the Leguminosae and their closest relations, but also by all the recent phylogenetic studies based on DNA sequences. These studies confirm that the Fabaceae are a monophyletic group that is closely related to the families Polygalaceae, Surianaceae and Quillajaceae and that they belong to the order Fabales. Along with the cereals, some fruits and tropical roots, a number of Leguminosae have been staple human foods for millennia, and their use is closely related to human evolution. The family Fabaceae includes a number of plants that are common in agriculture, including Glycine max (soybean), Phaseolus (beans), Pisum sativum (pea), Cicer arietinum (chickpeas), Vicia faba (broad bean), Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Arachis hypogaea (peanut), Ceratonia siliqua (carob), Tamarindus indica (tamarind), Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice). A number of species are also weedy pests in different parts of the world, including Cytisus scoparius (broom), Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust), Ulex europaeus (gorse), Pueraria montana (kudzu), and a number of Lupinus species.
A cactus (pl.: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 131-140 genera with some 1,866 up to 2000+ known species. The word cactus derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word κάκτος (káktos), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, with the exception of Rhipsalis baccifera, which is also found in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cacti are adapted to live in very dry environments, including the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy organs adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where water storage takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of true leaves, cacti's enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis. Cactaceae is the 5th most endangered plant or animal family evaluated globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Cactus spines are produced from specialized structures called areoles, a kind of highly reduced branch. Areoles are an identifying feature of cacti. As well as spines, areoles give rise to flowers, which are usually tubular and multipetaled. Many cacti have short growing seasons and long dormancies and are able to react quickly to any rainfall, helped by an extensive but relatively shallow root system that quickly absorbs any water reaching the ground surface. Cactus stems are often ribbed or fluted with a number of ribs which corresponds to a Fibonacci number (2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 etc.). This allows them to expand and contract easily for quick water absorption after rain, followed by retention over long drought periods. Like other succulent plants, most cacti employ a special mechanism called "crassulacean acid metabolism" (CAM) as part of photosynthesis. Transpiration, during which carbon dioxide enters the plant and water escapes, does not take place during the day at the same time as photosynthesis, but instead occurs at night. The plant stores the carbon dioxide it takes in as malic acid, retaining it until daylight returns, and only then using it in photosynthesis. Because transpiration takes place during the cooler, more humid night hours, water loss is significantly reduced. Many smaller cacti have globe-shaped stems, combining the highest possible volume for water storage with the lowest possible surface area for water loss from transpiration. The tallest free-standing cactus is Pachycereus pringlei, with a maximum recorded height of 19.2 m (63 ft), and the smallest is Blossfeldia liliputiana, only about 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter at maturity. A fully grown saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) is said to be able to absorb as much as 760 liters (200 U.S. gal) of water during a rainstorm. A few species differ significantly in appearance from most of the family. At least superficially, plants of the genera Leuenbergeria, Rhodocactus and Pereskia resemble other trees and shrubs growing around them. They have persistent leaves, and when they are older develop bark-covered stems. Their areoles identify them as cacti, and in spite of their appearance, they, too, have many adaptations for water conservation. Leuenbergeria is considered close to the ancestral species from which all cacti evolved. In tropical regions, other cacti grow as forest climbers and epiphytes (plants that grow on trees). Their stems are typically flattened, almost leaf-like in appearance, with fewer or even no spines, such as the well-known Christmas cactus or Thanksgiving cactus (in the genus Schlumbergera). Cacti have a variety of uses: many species are used as ornamental plants, others are grown for fodder or forage, and others for food (particularly their fruit). Cochineal is the product of an insect that lives on some cacti. Many succulent plants in both the Old and New World – such as some Euphorbiaceae (euphorbias) – are also spiny stem succulents and because of this are sometimes incorrectly assumed to be cacti, although they are not.
The Ericaceae () are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants. The many well known and economically important members of the Ericaceae include the cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, rhododendron (including azaleas), and various common heaths and heathers (e.g. Erica, Cassiope, Daboecia, and Calluna).
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.