Caricaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, found in tropical regions of Central and South America and Africa. They are short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small trees growing to 5–10 m tall; many bear edible fruit.
The family comprises six genera and about 34-35 species:
Pollen
Pollen is a powder made of pollen grains, which produce sperm cells (male cells used for reproduction) of seed plants. The pollen grains are actually haploid male gametophytes.
The anther contains microsporangia. Each microsporangium contains pollen mother cells. These undergo meiosis, and produce pollen grains, which produce the male gametes (sperm).
The pollen is released by the opening of the anther. The pollen is carried by some agent (wind, or some animal) to the receptive surface of the carpel of the same or another flower. This process is known as pollination. After successful pollination, the pollen grain (immature microgametophyte) completes its development by growing a "pollen tube" and undergoing mitosis to produce two male gametes.
There are two main kinds of pollination. One kind happens when pollen from a stamen sticks to the pistil of the same plant. That is self-pollination.
The other kind of pollination takes place when pollen from one plant travels to the pistil of another plant. Most plants use this kind of pollination. Plants need help for this kind of pollination, because they cannot move. So, they need another way to move pollen from one plant to another plant.
The wind helps move pollen between plants. The pollen of some plants is very light. Wind blows it from the flowers on one plant to the flowers on another plant. The wind can move pollen a long way before the pollen hits the sticky top of a pistil.
Animals also help move pollen between plants. Many flowers are colourful and their scent attracts some animals. These flowers also make a sweet juice called nectar. Sometimes an animal, such as a bee, sees or smells a flower. Then, it lands on the flower to get nectar. As the bee drinks the nectar, the stamens brush pollen onto its body. Then, the bee flies to another flower that has a pistil. The pollen on the bee's body brushes onto the sticky top of the flower's pistil. The pollen is used as protein for the bee larvae.
The plants help feed the animal. In return, the animal helps the plants by moving pollen from flower to flower. The relationship has evolved together; it is a kind of co-evolution called mutualism or symbiosis.
We Ski
We Ski, also known as Family Ski in Japan and Europe is a video game for the Wii. It is the first third-party game (and second game behind "Wii Fit") released that makes use of the Wii Balance Board.
A sequel, "We Ski & Snowboard", which adds snowboarding to the game, was released in Japan November 13, 2008.
Denison, Texas
Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The amount of people living there was 22,773 at the 2000 census, but had increased to an estimated amount of 24,103 in July 2007. It is one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The city of Denison was founded in 1872 in conjunction with the MKT or "Katy" depot It was named after the rich Katy vice President George DenisonBecause the town was made at the intersection of the MKT and the Red River (both important conduits of transportation in the industrial era), it came to be an important commercial center in the 19th century American West.
The name of Denison was given by French people because during the 19th century a horticulturalist from this place saved the grapes of France. During the same century a famous president of the USA, Dwight David Eisenhower was born there. The next century has contributed to Denison history because there was a conflict about some artworks that showed up in Denison in the 1980s.
Denison contains a population of around 24,000. For females we have 12,704 (52.9%) and for males 11,297 (47.1%). Median resident age is estimated at 38.5 years. In 2000, median house value was estimated at $52,100 and in 2008 median house hold income was estimated at $38,843.
Denison is a city of Texas. It has its own mayor named Robert Brady. Denison and all the state of Texas have two representative senators: John Coryn and Key Bailey Hutchison.
The diversity of religions and the government laws create the spread of different cultures and arts. Therefore, Denison was designated by the Texas Commission on the Arts as one of seven pilot cities for the Texas Arts and Cultural District in September 2009.
Mentha
Mentha (mint) is a genus of about 25 species (and many hundreds of varieties) of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae (Mint Family).
Lamiales
The order Lamiales is a taxon in the asterid group of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It includes about 11,000 species divided up into about 10 families. A few well-known members of this order are the lavender, the lilac, the olive, the jasmine, the ash tree, the teak, the snapdragon, and a number of table herbs such as mint, basil, and rosemary.
Lamiaceae
Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants. It includes about 210 genera and about 3,500 species. It has been considered closely related to Verbenaceae but 1990s phylogenetic studies have shown that a lot of the genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae, whereas the core genera of Verbenaceae are not closely related to Lamiaceae and are more closely related to other members of the Lamiales.
Nepeta
Nepeta is a genus of about 250 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae.
Some members of this group are known as catnip or catmint because of their effect on house cats. The oil in the leaves of some "Nepeta" species gives cats euphoria, that is, it makes them feel good. They get a "high", roll around, and may cry out, jump and behave in an unusual way.
Garden angelica
Garden angelica ("Angelica archangelica"; syn. "Archangelica officinalis" Hoffm., "Archangelica officinalis" var. "himalaica" C.B.Clarke, "Angelica sativa" Mill.) is a biennial plant from the umbelliferous family Apiaceae. Other English names are Holy Ghost, Wild Celery, and Norwegian angelica.
People can eat the stem and roots. It looks very similar to some poisonous species ("Conium", "Heracleum", and others). Because of this it is important to know for certain it is garden angelica before eating it.
During its first year it only grows leaves. The flowers blossom in July. There are many small flowers that are yellowish or greenish in colour.
It grows wild in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, mostly in the northern parts of the countries.
From the 10th century on, angelica was grown as a vegetable and medicinal plant. It is used to flavour liqueurs or aquavits, omelettes, trout and jam. The long bright green stems are also candied and used as decoration.
Rosemary
Rosemary ("") is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs.
Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use. The following are frequently sold:
Liquorice
Liquorice (UK) or licorice (US) (see spelling differences) (, or ) is the root of "Glycyrrhiza glabra", from which a sweet flavour can be extracted. The liquorice plant is a legume (related to beans and peas) and native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. It is an herbaceous perennial, growing to 1 m in height, with pinnate leaves about 7–15 centimetres (3–6 inches) long, with 9–17 leaflets. The flowers are 0.8–1.2 cm (1/3 to 1/2 inch) long, purple to pale whitish blue, produced in a loose inflorescence. The fruit is an oblong pod, 2–3 centimetres (about 1 inch) long, containing several seeds.
Faboideae