Orchids of the Solomon Islands

1969 ◽  
Vol 255 (800) ◽  
pp. 581-587 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Flowering Period ◽  
Sudden Drop ◽  
Incomplete Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
Whole Plants ◽  
Time Of Collection

This paper deals very much with generalizations rather than statistically usable facts. The science of orchidology has never attracted many workers, never as many as, say, the fungi or the grasses or the ferns. The orchidologists there are and have been and probably will be are mostly involved with describing new species and relegating to synonymy those species described by their past and present colleagues! There has been very, very little geographical and phylogenetic speculation in the orchids by orchidologists and in our present state of incomplete knowledge, generalizations are all that can be aimed for. Altogether 350 gatherings of orchids were made during the Expedition and most of these are represented by dried, i.e. pressed, herbarium specimens. For the information of nonbotanists, as with the herbarium specimens of other plant families, the great majority of orchids had more than one specimen collected, and the duplicates have been distributed to Herbaria in all parts of the world. In fact at least 17 Herbaria have received some specimens of orchids collected on the Expedition. The usual policy is to distribute only those that are fully identified—otherwise somebody may describe it as new! The great majority of the 350 collected were also preserved in liquid, either as whole plants if these were very small or a sample of the flowers of the larger species. In addition, 130 living plants were sent back to Kew for cultivation such as Sarcochilus moorei , which has such a short flowering period, the flowering probably being brought on by a sudden drop in temperature as has been recorded in some Malayan species. About half of these are represented by pressed specimens made at the time of collection, but the remainder were collected only as living plants as they were not flowering at the time. As they flower at Kew they are identified and specimens made. Many have also been photographed and several painted by the official Kew artist for the collection of orchid drawings housed at Kew.

scholarly journals A Collective Effort to Update the Legume Checklist

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Le Roux ◽  
Markus Döring ◽  
Anne Bruneau ◽  
Joe Miller ◽  
Rafaël Govaerts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Service ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ◽  
Specialty Area ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
Royal Botanic Gardens ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Taxonomic names are critical to the communication of biodiversity—they link data together whether it be distribution data, traits or phylogeny. Large taxonomic groups, such as many plant families, are globally distributed as is the taxonomic expertise of the family. A growing knowledge base requires collaboration to develop an up-to-date checklist as a research foundation. The legume (Fabaceae) community has a strong history of collaboration including the International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS), which curated the names but ILDIS is no longer up to date. In 2020, under the umbrella of the Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG), a group of taxonomists began updating the legume taxonomy as part of a larger collaboration around a legume data portal. Currently the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) is the most up-to-date reference and was used as the starting point for the project. The workflow begins with over 80 volunteer taxonomic experts updating the checklist in their specialty area. These lists are manually collated, centrally creating a consensus taxonomy with synonyms. Any taxonomic conflicts are adjudicated within the group. The checklist then undergoes a comprehensive nomenclature assessment at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and becomes part of the WCVP. This checklist was submitted to the Catalogue of Life Checklist Bank and is integrated as the preferred legume checklist in the GBIF taxonomic backbone. After one round of taxonomic curation, 38% of the legume names in GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), which were previously unmatched to WCVP, are now connected to GBIF names, therefore also improving the occurrence records of those species. The GBIF taxonomic backbone contains names found on herbarium specimens and in the literature, which are not currently part of the legume expert community checklist or WCVP. This list of unresolved names will be forwarded to the legume community for curation, thereby developing a cycle of data improvement. It is anticipated that after a few rounds of expert curation, the WCVP and GBIF taxonomies will converge. At each cycle, a snapshot of GBIF occurrences is taken and the improvement of the occurrences is quantified to measure the value of the expert taxonomic work. The current checklist is also available via Catalogue of Life and soon via the World Flora Online to support research. In this talk, we describe the workflow and impact of the expert curated legume taxonomy.

scholarly journals How Does Sustainability Affect Consumer Choices in the Fashion Industry?

Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Leandro Pereira ◽  
Rita Carvalho ◽  
Álvaro Dias ◽  
Renato Costa ◽  
Nelson António
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Qualitative Research Methodology ◽  
The World ◽  
Consumer Perspectives ◽  
Immense Potential ◽  
General Perspective

The fashion industry being one of the most polluting industries in the world means that it is an industry with an immense potential for change. Consumers are central and are closely intertwined with how companies act. This research reflects consumer perspectives and practices towards the topic of sustainability implemented in the fashion industry. The relevance of sustainability in the fashion industry and the key role of consumers in its implementation are undeniable and confirmed by consumers in a representation of general awareness and concern, despite not always being translated into actual practices. A qualitative research methodology, followed by a set of interviews conducted with consumers, revealed that the great majority are implementing a variety of practices when making their buying choices towards fashion items. Barriers such as lack of education, information, knowledge and transparency were identified, and this aspect was shared by consumers as a reason why they are not motivated to make more conscious decisions. Companies should educate consumers from a general perspective and focus on the group of consumers that are not implementing sustainability in the fashion industry in their buying choices, as they represent the potential for the future.

scholarly journals Nutrition and cancer – global and African perspectives: a focused update

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J Wiseman
Keyword(s):  
Physical Inactivity ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Excess Body Weight ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
The World ◽  
Nutritional Transition ◽  
High Level ◽  
Lower Income Countries

The burden of cancer worldwide is predicted to almost double by 2030 to nearly 23 million cases annually. The great majority of this increase is expected to occur in less economically developed countries, where access to expensive medical, surgical and radiotherapeutic interventions is likely to be limited to a small proportion of the population. This emphasises the need for preventive measures, as outlined in the declaration from the United Nations 2011 High Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases. The rise in incidence is proposed to follow from increasing numbers of people reaching middle and older ages, together with increasing urbanisation of the population with a nutritional transition from traditional diets to a more globalised ‘Western’ pattern, with a decrease in physical activity. This is also expected to effect a change in the pattern of cancers from a predominantly smoking and infection dominated one, to a smoking and obesity dominated one. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that about a quarter to a third of the commonest cancers are attributable to excess body weight, physical inactivity and poor diet, making this the most common cause of cancers after smoking. These cancers are potentially preventable, but knowledge of the causes of cancer has not led to effective policies to prevent the export of a ‘Western’ pattern of cancers in lower income countries such as many in Africa.

scholarly journals Big hitting collectors make massive and disproportionate contribution to the discovery of plant species

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1736) ◽  
pp. 2269-2274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Bebber ◽  
Mark A. Carine ◽  
Gerrit Davidse ◽  
David J. Harris ◽  
Elspeth M. Haston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Fundamental Goal ◽  
The World ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
The Right ◽  
Geographical Locations

Discovering biological diversity is a fundamental goal—made urgent by the alarmingly high rate of extinction. We have compiled information from more than 100 000 type specimens to quantify the role of collectors in the discovery of plant diversity. Our results show that more than half of all type specimens were collected by less than 2 per cent of collectors. This highly skewed pattern has persisted through time. We demonstrate that a number of attributes are associated with prolific plant collectors: a long career with increasing productivity and experience in several countries and plant families. These results imply that funding a small number of expert plant collectors in the right geographical locations should be an important element in any effective strategy to find undiscovered plant species and complete the inventory of the world flora.

scholarly journals Nomenclatural standards of apple cultivars developed at Sverdlovsk Horticultural Breeding Station. Part I

2021 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 102-107
Author(s):  
A. V. Shlyavas ◽  
D. D. Telezhinskiy ◽  
L. V. Bagmet
Keyword(s):  
Plant Genetic Resources ◽  
Wild Relatives ◽  
Cultivated Plants ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Breeding Station ◽  
Code Of Nomenclature ◽  
The World ◽  
Herbarium Collection ◽  
Apple Cultivars ◽  
International Code Of Nomenclature

Researchers of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) and Sverdlovsk Horticultural Breeding Station developed nomenclatural standards for 18 apple cultivars released at the said station: ‘Aksyona’ (WIR-53949), ‘Blagaya Vest’ (WIR-53950), ‘Danila’ (WIR-53952), ‘Isetskoye Pozdneye’ (WIR-53953), ‘Iset Belaya’ (WIR-53954), ‘Krasa Sverdlovska’ (WIR-53955), ‘Papiroyantarnoye’ (WIR-53956), ‘Pervouralskaya’ (WIR-53957), ‘Rodnikovaya’ (WIR-53958), ‘Rumyanka Sverdlovskaya’ (WIR-53959), ‘Sverdlovchanin’ (WIR-53960), ‘Serebryanoye Kopyttse’ (WIR-53961), ‘Sokovoye 3’ (WIR-53962), ‘Tavatuy’ (WIR-53963), ‘Uralets’ (WIR-53964), ‘Fakel’ (WIR-53965), ‘Fermer’ (WIR-53966), and ‘Ekrannoye’ (WIR-53967). Nomenclatural standards serve to confirm the authenticity of a cultivar and its name. They should be kept perpetually in the scientific herbarium collection. Herbarium specimens of nomenclatural standards are formatted in accordance with the recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), registered in the VIR Herbarium Database and included in the Herbarium of Cultivated Plants of the World, Their Wild Relatives, and Weeds (WIR).

scholarly journals The World Flora Online 2020 project: will Cameroon come up to the expectation?

Rodriguésia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Michel Onana
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
West African ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Red Data Book ◽  
The World ◽  
Data Book ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
High Level

Abstract Biodiverse Cameroon has been highlighted as the top country in tropical Africa for plant species diversity per degree square, with a higher diversity than all other West African countries added together, and including two of the top documented centres of plant diversity in Tropical Africa. Despite its reduced taxonomic capacity, with only six active taxonomists a high level of botanical activity in the country has resulted in accomplishments such as the databasing of the YA Herbarium (over 60,000 records), which has an in-country collection coverage of almost 95% of the known plant species that are recorded for Cameroon. Other accomplishments are the Red Data Book of the Flowering Plants of Cameroon, several local checklists and published volumes of the Flore du Cameroun which covers 37% of the country's species. Currently the checklist of Cameroon records 7,850 taxa at species and infraspecific level. Resources are needed to support and heighten the profile of this small botanical community. Already thanks to strong collaboration between Cameroon and renowned botanical institutes of others countries, in particular France and United Kingdom, one hundred and thirteen plant families have been published and would help this country to complete the recording of its biodiversity towards contributing to the World Flora Online 2020 project.

Polysynthesis and Head Marking

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Pacific Rim ◽  
Historical Contingency ◽  
Closed Set ◽  
The World ◽  
Distinctive Property

Polysynthetic languages are mostly head-marking. But the great majority of polysynthetic languages come from what I will call the Greater Pacific Rim (GPR) population, where the head-marking type is extremely common compared to the rest of the world. Is head marking a genuine distinctive property of polysynthetic languages, or a conspicuous accident of geography that is equally common in non-polysynthetic languages of the GPR? A typological survey shows that polysynthesis entails open head marking: either verbal slots and/or their fillers are not a closed set. Polysynthesis is conditioned by grammar (head marking), not geography. It is an inevitable development in a population of mostly head-marking languages, but the geographical distribution of head marking is the result of historical contingency.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Samy Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Great Majority ◽  
Peace Movement ◽  
The Other ◽  
Israeli Society ◽  
Sociological Factors ◽  
Emotional Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sociological Variable ◽  
Peace Camp

This introduction raises two fundamental questions: the first one tries to give a definition of what a peace camp is. What we call “the peace movement” in Israel is, in fact, an indistinct galaxy, a world that subdivides into a multitude of organizations and individuals, some highly prominent, and others completely unknown. It is a complex realm, crisscrossed by multiple currents that are often at variance with one another. It resembles no other peace movement in the world. Four main tendencies can be distinguished within this heterogeneous movement in Israel. The second question is that of the decline in the movement's capacity to organize mass demonstrations. Some argue that it is a result of a host of sociological changes that have come about in Israeli society. But the weight of sociological factors is secondary to emotional factors. The feeling of fear inspired by the Palestinians, the lack of confidence in the “other” that a great majority of Israelis refuse to consider a “partner for peace” weighs far more heavily than any sociological variable. This is one of the book's central arguments.

The Best and Most Trying of Times

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Hefner
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Islamic Education ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The World ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Public Ethics ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
Late Modern

In recent years, scholars and policy analysts have grappled with the question of the relation of Islamic education to politics, public ethics, and modern social change. This chapter examines the origins, social role, and varieties of Islamic education, and their transformation in modern times. The chapter shows that, although Muslim educators in a few parts of the late-modern world have been resistant to efforts at educational reform, the great majority have responded positively and energetically. They have done so in response to both the hopes and aspirations of Muslim parents and youth, and the recognition that moral and intellectual progress in Muslim-majority societies requires a dialogue with and integration of the sciences of the world with the sciences of revelation.

The genus Waltheria in southern Africa

Bothalia ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 13 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 275-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. C. Verdoorn
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
South West ◽  
The World ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
The Tropics

Waltheria indica L., the only species of Waltheria represented in southern Africa, is revised. This species, which occurs throughout the tropics and substropics of the world, is found abundantly in the northern Cape, Swaziland, northern Natal, Transvaal and northwards through South West Africa/Namibia and Botswana. Thoughout its wide distribution the species is uniform. A scrutiny o f herbarium specimens revealed that what appeared as a distinct species or subspecies was without doubt an abnormality, probably caused by insect injury.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document