A few nice animal plant images I found:
Trinh nữ móc, Trinh nữ thân vuông Mimosa diplotricha C. Wright. Synonyms : Mimosa invisa Mart. Họ Đậu / họ phụ Trinh nữ Family : Fabaceae / Mimosoides .
Image by Hoa Trai Viet Nam
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English names : Giant sensitive plant, Giant false sensitive plant, Creeping sensitive plant Scientist name : Mimosa diplotricha C. Wright. Synonyms : Mimosa invisa Mart. Family : Fabaceae / Mimosoides . Họ Đậu / họ phụ Trinh nữ. Searched from : **** FAO.ORG. www.fao.org/forestry/13377-1-0.pdf
Scientific name: Mimosa diplotricha C.Wright Synonym: Mimosa invisa.
Common name: Giant sensitive plant, Creeping sensitive plant, Nila grass.
Local name:Trinh nữ thân vuông (Vietnamese), Anathottawadi, padaincha (Kerala, India), banla saet (Cambodia), duri semalu (Malaysia), makahiyang lalaki (Philippines), maiyaraap thao (Thailand), Cogadrogadro (Fiji). Taxonomic position: Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida, Order: Fabales.
Distribution: South and South-East Asia, the Pacific Islands, northern Australia, South and Central America, the Hawaiian Islands, parts of Africa, Nigeria and France. In India, it currently occurs throughout Kerala state and in certain parts of the northeast, especially the state of Assam. Its occurrence in other states is unknown and needs to be ascertained. M. diplotricha has not attained weed status in the Americas, Western Asia, East Africa and Europe.
Habit: M.diplotricha is a fast-growing, erect shrub and a scrambling climber, which can form dense thickets in a short span of time. It is an annual, although behaves as a perennial. Leaves are bright green, feathery, alternate, each leaf with about 20 pairs of small leaflets, bipinnate, sessile, opposite, lanceolate, acute, 6 - 12 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, sensitive to disturbance. The stem is four-angled, woody at the decumbent base, with re-curved thorns (3 - 6 mm long), up to 3 m in height.
The inflorescence is a clustered fluffy ball, about 12 mm across, pale pink, occurs on short stalks (1 cm long) in leaf joints; the corolla is gamopetalous; there are twice as many stamens as petals. The flowering period is from August to February, but can vary from region to region; it flowers throughout the year in some tropical countries. The pods are clustered, 10 - 35 mm long and 6 mm wide, linear, flat, clothed with small prickles, splitting transversely into one-seeded sections at the groves.
The seeds are flat, ovate, spiny, 2 - 2.5 mm long and 0.6 - 1.4 mm thick, glossy and light brown. Seed production is in the range of 8,000 - 12,000 per m2. The weight of 1,000 seeds is around 6 gm. Seed setting is from September to February. Roots are profusely branched and with root nodules. **** ISG.ORG. www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=997&fr=1... Taxonomic name: Mimosa diplotricha C. Wright ex Sauvalle Synonyms: Mimosa invisa Common names: co gadrogadro (Fiji), giant false sensitive plant, giant sensitive plant (English), grande sensitive (French), la'au fefe palagi (Samoa), la'au fefe tele (Samoa), limemeihr laud (Pohnpei), mechiuaiuu (Palau), nila grass (English), pikika‘a papa‘a (Cook Islands), sensitive gèante (French), singbiguin sasa (Saipan), vao fefe palagi (American Samoa and Samoa), wa ngandrongandro levu (Fiji), wa ngandrongandro ni wa ngalelevu (Fiji) Organism type: vine, climber, shrub Mimosa diplotricha (also referred to in the literature as Mimosa invisa) is a serious weed around the Pacific Rim, where it is the subject of several eradication programmes. Early detection and control is recommended to prevent large infestations from establishing. Description Mimosa diplotricha is a shrubby or sprawling annual vine which may also behave as a perennial. Its stems are bunching, often scrambling over other plants. Additionally, they are distinguished by four-angles, each of which consisting a line of sharp, hooked prickles. Leaves are bright green, feathery and fern-like and are arranged in an alternating pattern, with each leaf divided into five to seven pairs of segments. Each segment carries about twenty pairs of very small leaflets which close up when disturbed or injured and at night (DPIF, 2007). Habitat description Mimosa diplotricha grows best in tropical regions: high moisture and in highly fertile soils. It is known to thrive under full sunlight conditions. M. diplotricha is naturalised in high rainfall areas of coastal north Queensland, Australia (DPIF, 2007). General impacts Mimosa diplotricha is a major weed of cultivated areas and has the ability to climb over other plants (Schultz 2000). In the Kaziranga National Park in northeast India, the weed forms a thorny mat over the natural vegetation, preventing animals from accessing and utilising natural vegetation (N. Gureja, pers. comm. 2003). In Australia the weed chokes out cane, other crops and grassland, causing crop and pasture loss (DPIF, 2007). Notes Mimosa diplotricha is still often referred to as Mimosa invisa in the literature. Geographical range Native Range: Mimosa diplotricha is native to Brazil (DPIF, 2007). Known introduced range: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Australia, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Christmas Island (Australia), La Réunion (France) and Mauritius. Physical: Hand control is difficult due to spines. Plants can be slashed before seeding occurs. Slashing in pastures and other non-crop situations on a regular basis to prevent seeding provides effective control (DPIF, 2007). Chemical: Any herbicide that is applied should be done so before seeding occurs. The weed is not susceptible to soil fumigants and short-term residual herbicides, (although it may be temporarily controlled with atrazine, diuron and hexazinone at standard to high rates). It is susceptible to translocated herbicides including sodium arsenite, 2,4-D plus atrazine, fluroxypyr and probably glyphosate at standard rates. In non-grazed infested areas 4.5 mL Starane 200 per litre of water can be used (DPIF, 2007). More details of herbicide application may be found at DPIF, 2007. Biological: An introduced sap feeding bug, the psyllid Heteropsylla spinulosa has been released as a biocontrol agent for M. diplotricha in north Queensland, Austalia, in non-crop areas. Releases at Palikir, Pohnpei have also proven effective. (DPIF, 2007, Waterhouse 1994, in PIER 2008). In Australia it is recommended that pastures and non-crop infestations are assessed for insect abundance between November-April. (The effectiveness of insect control can be predicted by abundant insects prior to flowering commencing in early April). If insects are present in sufficient numbers, the growing tips and leaves are curled and stunted, resulting in no or minimal flower production. Slashing or herbicides should be applied if there are not sufficient numbers of insects prior to April for effective control. In pastures grazing animals tend to control this protein rich legume and prevent it dominating. Plants stunted by Heteropsylla attack are less spiny and are readily grazed by stock. An isolated strain of the stem-spot disease (Corynespora cassiicola) (indigenous to Australia) also appears specific to giant sensitive plant. One study noted that the citheroniid moth (Psigida walker) caused a significant extent of defoliation and the subsequent prevention of seeding of M. diplotricha in Brazil (Vitellia et al., 2001). However, it was shown that the citheroniid moth lacked the target specificity required as it attacked several native bipinnate Acacia species, thus was deemed unsuitable for release (Vitellia et al., 2001). Reproduction Mimosa diplotricha produces thousands of seeds (N. Gureja pers. comm. 2003). Seeds have been known to lie dormant for up to 50 years (DPIF, 2007). **** WIKI en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_diplotricha **** WEEDS ORG.AU. www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&...
peeepl.com/people/acacia-schultz/
Red panda eating bamboo leaves
Image by Tatters:)
Unlike plants common names, there is no confusion with Red Panda. - Everybody knows this cute bamboo-eating animals from Himalayas.
However, Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens ) have been a taxonomic enigma, their placement in a carnivoran (плотоядный) family has been enormously controversial. They were originally placed in the family Procyonidae (raccoon, енот). They were then placed in the family Ursidae ( bear, медведь) because of similarities in DNA. However, unlike other members of these two families, Ailurus fulgens has an Asiatic origin and has never migrated to the new world. Red pandas are considered members of their own family, Ailuridae, based on new molecular systematics research.
This panda is in the new home in Alma Zoo (Brisbane, Australia) - since February 2009
Gravity table being used for maize seed quality control at small seed company Bidasem
Image by CIMMYT
In the seed processing plant at Bidasem, a gravity table is used to segregate seed by density, with the lowest-quality material being removed and sold for animal seed. After initial cleaning and sorting, all seed that goes through the plant passes through quality control. If a sample from a batch is found to more have more than 2% impurities, they are either separated out using a gravity table or by hand, depending on the size of the seed and the type of impurity. The batch is then resampled to ensure a clean bill of health to continue processing.
Bidasem is a small seed company based in the central Mexican plains region known as the Bajío. It produces approximately 10,000 bags of maize seed a year, each holding 22.5kg, as well as producing wheat and oat seed and marketing seed of other crops. Despite their small size, Bidasem and similar companies play an important role in improving farmers’ livelihoods. “Our aim is to provide farmers with quality seed at accessible prices, that is adapted to the conditions we have here in the Bajío. It’s a great satisfaction, when farmers achieve the yields they need,” says director general María Esther Rivas.
“Without CIMMYT, we couldn’t exist,” says Rivas. She sells four different maize hybrids, all formed from freely-available CIMMYT parent lines. “Really the most important thing is to produce your own hybrids, and for us it wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have the germplasm from CIMMYT. What we’re currently producing is 100% CIMMYT.” The relationship between Bidasem and CIMMYT is now deepening through participation in the MasAgro initiative, which includes training courses for seed companies and collaborative trials to evaluate the best seed.
Photo credit: X. Fonseca/CIMMYT.
For more on seed production at Bidasem, and CIMMYT's role in providing the best seed, see CIMMYT's 2012 e-news story The seed chain: producing better seed for small farmers, available online at: www.cimmyt.org/en/newsletter/598-2012/1398-the-seed-chain....
