Henrik Bernard Oldenland, the Cape's master gardener of the Dutch East India Company could have been the first to collect the wart-stemmed pincushion, when he crossed the Outeniqua Mountains near Attaqua's Kloof on an expedition in 1689. The first to describe Oldenland's pincushion was Nicolaas Laurens Burman in his book Florae Capensis Prodromus, and he named it Leucadendron cuneiforme in 1768. Carl Peter Thunberg published a revision of the Proteaceae in 1781, in which he followed Carl Linnaeus in assigning all species to Protea, and he distinguished Protea elliptica. Joseph Knight published a book in 1809 titled On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae, that contained an extensive revision of the Proteaceae attributed to Richard Anthony Salisbury. Salisbury moved Thunberg's species to his new genus Leucadendrum, calling it Leucadendrum ellipticum. In addition he recognised two slightly different forms, calling them Leucadendrum phyllanthifolium and Leucadendrum cervinum. It is assumed that Salisbury had based his review on a draft he had been studying of a paper called On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae that Robert Brown was to publish in 1810. Brown however, called the genus Leucospermum and made the new combination Leucospermum ellipticum, and further recognised a form he called Leucospermum attenuatum. The French botanist Jean Poiret assigned that last specimen to the genus Protea in 1816, making the new combination P. attenuata. Carl Meissner describe a form in 1856, which he named Leucospermum zeyheri. Otto Kuntze revised the genus in 1891 and called it Leucadendron, a homonym of a name that had already been used by Linnaeus in 1753 for another group of Proteaceae, which have separate sexes and very large bracts, making the combination Leucadendron ellipticum. Michel Gandoger finally added Leucospermum septemdentatum in 1913. In 1932, Henry Georges Fourcade realised a new combination, Leucospermum  phyllanthifolium, needed to be made for Salisbury's second species. Although the variation in leaf length, leaf toothing and size of the flower heads in Leucospermum cuneiforme is large, and distant populations may appear to be quite distinct, the characters all change gradually, so it is not possible to determine where subtaxa might start and end. Hence, John Patrick Rourke in 1970 only recognises one variable species.
Leucospermum cuneiforme is the type species of the cylindric pincushions, section Crassicaudex.
The subtribe Proteinae, to which the genus Leucospermum has been assigned, consistently has a basic chromosome number of twelve (2n=24).
The species name cuneiforme is compounded from the Latin words cuneus, meaning "wedge" and forma, meaning "form", combined "wedge-shaped". The Afrikaans name luisiesbos "lice bush" comes from the similarity of the seed pods to species of lice.


L. cuneiforme has the largest distribution area of the entire genus, and can be found all along the southern coast of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, and the adjacent mountain ranges between Greyton (Caledon district) in the west and Qolora Mouth in Transkei in the east. It occurs in various climatic circumstances with both dominant rain in winter or summer or without a clear-cut peak. The distribution includes Riviersonderend, Potberg, Langeberg Range, Outeniqua and Swartberg Mountains. It can grow in sclerophyll fynbos, such as on the south-facing slopes of the Langeberg together with other Proteaceae, Erica species, Rutaceae and Restionaceae, but also on grassveld, and subtropical dune forests in the Eastern Cape, where it grows together with plants like Phoenix reclinata and Stangeria eriopus, on the arid fringe of the Little Karoo and the wet margins of the temperate evergreen forests near Knysna and Tsitsikama. It does however stick to poor sandy soils derived from Table Mountain Sandstone, Witteberg Quartzite and stabilised sandy Tertiary deposits. It can be found at sea-level as well as up to over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) altitude. L. cuneiforme is one of the most fire resistant pincushions. Although fire kills the above ground parts of the plant, multiple branches sprout from the rootstock. Mostly the frequency of the fires makes sure shrubs generally are only ½–1 m (1½–3 ft), but when left unchecked, it develops a dominant stem and grows to about 3 m (9.8 ft). Some flowers can be found all year round, but there is a distinct peak from August till February. The unscented but conspicuously coloured flower heads are pollinated by birds that feed on the nectar, such as the Cape sugarbird and some species of sunbird. The birds sit on the flower head and stick their long bills into perianth tubes and so bring their heads and necks in contact with the pollen presenters. Although the flowers are also visited by insects, these do not touch the pollen presenters so do not contribute to the pollination.
The seeds are covered in a pale fleshy coating called elaiosome that attracts ants. About two months after flowering, the seeds are ripe and get released from the flower heads, and native ants gather them and carry them to their underground nests. Here the elaiosome is consumed. The remaining seed is big, slick and hard and the ants cannot remove it. This way the seeds are safe from seed-eaters and fire. This seed dispersal strategy is called myrmecochory. After a fire, the seeds promptly germinate. So L. cuneiforme has two strategies to survive a fire: myrmecochory and resprouting from the rootstock.


L. cuneiforme is used as an ornamental shrub and is also cultivated as cut flower. There are a few cultivars, such as "Goldie", in addition to several hybrids of L. cuneiforme with other species.


Leucospora multifida, known variously as Obi-Wan conobea, narrow-leaved paleseed, cliff conobea, cut-leaved conobea, or much-cleft conobea, is an annual herb in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae, and the only species in the North American genus Leucospora.


The genus Leucospora, from the Greek for "white-seeded", was named in 1834 by English botanist Thomas Nuttall. Its sole species (as of July 2019), now known as Leucospora multifida, was first described in 1803 by French botanist André Michaux as Capraria multifida. The epithet multifida is Greek for "cleft many times", in reference to the shape of its leaves. It has since been placed in several different genera, including Leucospora, Stemodia, Sutera, and Conobea, the latter from which several of its vernacular names originate.
While one of its names, Obi-Wan conobea, a reference to the Star Wars character Obi-Wan Kenobi, is sometimes considered purely a joke snuck into the 1994 edition of the Plants of the Chicago Region, it was a name in use by regional botanists at the time, "the kind of jocular lingo that arises among field botanists working in humid, hot summer sun and bedeviled by all manner of unpleasant flying and crawling things".


The core of its native range is the midwestern United States, including most of Illinois and Missouri, extending west to Nebraska, south to Texas, and east to Ohio, with scattered occurrences beyond, where it may be adventive.
Leucospora multifida is a facultative wetland or obligate wetland plant across its range. It grows on sandy, gravelly, and marly soils in ditches, swales, and receding shorelines of rivers and streams.


Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet rediviva ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots.
The genus Lewisia was moved in 2009 from the purslane family (Portulacaceae) with adoption of the APG III system, which established the family Montiaceae.


Lewisia rediviva is a low-growing perennial plant with a fleshy taproot and a simple or branched base. The flower stems are leafless, 1–3 centimetres (3⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) tall, bearing at the tip a whorl of 5–6 linear bracts which are 5–10 mm long.  A single flower appears on each stem with 5–9 oval-shaped sepals.  They range in color from whitish to deep pink or lavender. Flowering occurs from April through July. The petals (usually about 15) are oblong in shape and are 18–35 millimetres (3⁄4–1+3⁄8 in) long. At maturity, the bitterroot produces egg-shaped capsules with 6–20 nearly round seeds.
The thick roots come into season in spring and can survive extremely dry conditions. If collected early enough in the season, they can be peeled, boiled, and made into a jelly-like food.


French trappers knew the plant as racine amère (bitter root). Native American names include spetlum/sp̓eƛ̓m̓ or spetlem ("hand-peeled"), nakamtcu (Ktanxa: naqam¢u), and mo'ôtáa-heséeo'ôtse (Cheyenne, "black medicine").
The roots were consumed by tribes such as the Shoshone and the Flathead Indians as an infrequent delicacy. Traditionally, the Ktunaxa cooked bitterroot with grouse. For the Ktunaxa, bitterroot is eaten with sugar; other tribes prefer eating it with salt. The Lemhi Shoshone believed the small red core found in the upper taproot had special powers, notably being able to stop a bear attack. Plains Indians peeled and boiled the root prior to its consumption.
Meriwether Lewis ate bitterroot in 1805 and 1806 during the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The specimens he brought back were identified and given their scientific name, Lewisia rediviva, by a German-American botanist, Frederick Pursh.
Based on Lewis and Clark's manuscript, Pursh labeled it "spatlum"; this apparently was actually a Salishan name for "tobacco".
The bitterroot was selected as the Montana state flower in 1895.
Three major geographic features – the Bitterroot Mountains (running north–south and forming the divide between Idaho and Montana), the Bitterroot Valley, and the Bitterroot River (which flows south–north, terminating in the Clark Fork river in the city of Missoula) – owe the origins of their names to this flower.


Leycesteria formosa, the pheasant berry, is a deciduous shrub in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Himalayas and southwestern China.  It is considered a noxious invasive species in Australia, New Zealand, the neighbouring islands of Micronesia, and some other places.
In its native Himalaya the shrub is frequently used in the traditional medicine of the various countries and peoples encompassed within the region.


The genus name Leycesteria was coined by Nathaniel Wallich (one time director of Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta) in honour of his friend William Leycester, Chief justice and noted amateur horticulturist, in Bengal in about 1820; while the Latin specific name formosa (feminine form of formosus) signifies 'beautiful' or 'handsome' (literally: 'shapely') - in reference to the curious, pendent inflorescences with their richly wine-coloured bracts. There is a popular misconception, however, that the specific name derives from the place name 'Formosa', which is an abbreviation of the original Portuguese name for the island of Taiwan: Ilha Formosa "beautiful island". Portuguese is a romance language (i.e. derived from Latin) and the adjective formosa has passed into it unchanged in spelling and meaning from the original Latin. Leycesteria formosa is so named in recognition of its beauty, not in acknowledgment of an origin on the island now known as Taiwan. The Latin specific names of certain plants, given to indicate that they were native to Taiwan at a time when it was known as Formosa take such forms as formosae, formosana and formosensis, not the  Latin adjective/Portuguese adjective-used-as-a-proper-noun formosa.
Other common names include Himalayan honeysuckle, pheasant-eye, Elisha's tears, flowering nutmeg, spiderwort,  Cape fuchsia, whistle stick, Himalaya nutmeg,  granny's curls,partridge berry,  chocolate berry, shrimp plant/flower and treacle tree/berry It is also recorded as Symphoricarpos rivularis Suksdorf.
Contrary to the impression given by the respective common names, the plant is completely unrelated either to the nutmeg tree or to the fuchsia. Further contrary to the name "Cape fuchsia", it is not native to South Africa - the name being especially inappropriate, given that the family Caprifoliaceae as a whole is absent from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Wallich was Danish by birth and perhaps could hardly be expected to forsee that within fifty years or so the name of the worthy Justice [Leycester(ia)] would be corrupted into 'Elisha's tears' - which yet seems strangely to suit the plant, with its pendent white flowers and its persistent bracts which darken to a sombre blood red as the season advances.
Garden Shrubs and their Histories
Alice M. Coats
It is apparent from the above that the common name Elisha's tears falls into the same category (of jocular corruptions of the scientific names of plants into common names more congenial to rural British taste) as Aunt Eliza (for Antholyza) and Sally-my-handsome for Mesembryanthemum. It is also testament to a greater familiarity with the names of biblical figures - such as the Old Testament prophets - on the part of Britons of the nineteenth century, when compared to their counterparts in the twenty-first.


The results of the genetic testing undertaken by Zhang et al. have revealed that Leycesteria is most closely related to the genera Triosteum (common name -  "horse gentians" / Chinese 莛子藨属 tíng zi biāo shǔ) and Heptacodium (Chinese common name 七子花 qī zi huā = "seven son flower"). Of these, only Triosteum has fruits that are berries, the fruits of Heptacodium being dry capsules. These three genera belong to the subfamily Caprifolioideae of the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, the other two genera in the subfamily being Lonicera, the (true) honeysuckles and Symphoricarpos, the snowberries.


It is found to be a hardy evergreen, requiring a considerable degree of moisture, and a situation slightly sheltered and shaded, though the colour of its bracts would be most probably be heightened by exposure to solar light. Propagation is effected by cuttings or layers.
Joseph Paxton
Paxton's Magazine of Botany Volume VI (1839)
A deciduous, sometimes evergreen, half-woody, shrub-like plant (intermediate between a shrub and a herbaceous perennial) with young stems that are soft, hollow and upright in various shades of green, salmon pink, maroon and purple, 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) in height, which may only last for 2–5 years before collapsing and being replaced by new stems from the roots. Mature specimens, however, may have short, truly woody trunks clothed in rough, grey bark at the base. The leaves are opposite, dark green and usually cordate 6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) long and 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) broad, with an entire, wavy or even deeply-lobed margin and often an extended drip tip (commonly an adaptation to a wet climate). The flowers (bee-pollinated) are produced on 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long pendulous racemes; each flower is small, white, pale pink or rarely deep purplish pink, subtended by a purplish-pink bract, terminating - like the leaves - in a drip tip. The fruit is a berry, hard and deep pink when unripe, and fragile, soft (easily burst) and a deep purple-brown when ripe and measuring 1 cm in diameter. The berries are eaten avidly by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.
The berries are unpleasantly bitter when unripe, but, once soft and deep purple-brown in colour, are edible and sweet, having a mild flavour reminiscent of toffee or caramel. Being a recent introduction to Europe, the plant lacks any traditional uses there.


L. formosa includes within its wide range of distribution the areas of all the other known species of the genus. From the North-West Frontier Province and the Punjab it ranges the whole length of the Himalaya eastwards to south-eastern Yunnan, where it was collected by Henry near Mengtze, and north-eastwards to Szechuan and eastern Tibet, where Rehder's var. stenosepala appears to replace very largely the typical form.
A Revision of the Genus Leycesteria

- H.K. Airy-Shaw
The species is native to Pakistan, India, Nepal, East and West Himalaya,  Southwestern China (Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou), Tibet and Myanmar.


Coats notes that according to John Claudius Loudon the plant was brought into cultivation in 1824 and flowered soon afterwards in Allen and Rogers's Bolingbroke Nursery in Battersea ; and that it was grown at about the same time in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society (known at that time as the Horticultural Society of London) from seed procured from India by John Forbes Royle. It proved something of a disappointment to those whose expectations had been raised by a rather highly-coloured plate of it in Wallich's Plantae Asiaticae Rariores (1830-2) [see image of said plate in gallery below].
Its leaves are a pale dull green...it has a rambling inelegant mode of growth, and the colour of the bracts is not at all brighter than what is represented in the accompanying plate.
John Lindley
The Botanical Register (1839)
The character of the plant, as developed in an artificial climate, is far from being so good as the accounts of Indian botanists had led us to anticipate. The foliage is large and handsome, and the flowers appear to be produced numerously in terminal pendent racemes; but the most showy feature is the large bracteae at the base of the flowers, which are beautifully veined and tipped with crimson.
Dr. Lindley suggests that this latter character may be more prominently exhibited as the plant becomes older, and more inured to our system of cultivation.
Joseph Paxton
Paxton's Magazine of Botany Volume VI (1839)
L. formosa was expected, at the time of its introduction, to be frost-tender in the UK and therefore to need a sunny, South or West-facing aspect, but was soon found to prefer, on the contrary, a cool position, being a plant of dappled woodland shade.
Rallying after his initial disappointment, Lindley could concede
If grown in the shade it is most likely to be a beautiful object.
and, a century or so later, Coats could give it similarly mixed praise, prescient in her anticipation of the plant's subsequent classification, in certain other countries, as an invasive weed:
Its hardiness and ease of propagation have led to it being regarded as a background-shrub, and its peculiar merits are rather overlooked. The design of its hanging racemes is unusual and striking.
Leycesteria formosa became a popular plant in Victorian shrubberies, grown because the berries were relished by the pheasants raised as game birds on country estates - whence the English common name pheasant berry. Attempts have been made in recent years to re-popularise the species in Britain, with new cultivated varieties appearing in garden centres.


In the wild, in the eastern Himalayas and western China, the plant grows in wet, rocky woods and on cliffs, its predeliction for the latter habitat explaining its success in colonising walls - effectively artificial cliffs.
Leycesteria formosa may be grown in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. It can be pruned back hard if desired. The plant was included in a list of species observed to be resistant to gross atmospheric pollution (smoke and other particulates) compiled in the late 19th century. It is equally resistant to modern atmospheric pollution and will tolerate windy sites and the salty air of coastal localities. Furthermore, deer will not browse upon it. It is often found naturalised in the wild in southern England. In Ireland it is found in roadsides, planted wooded areas, and riverbanks.


L. formosa is a frequently-used medicinal plant in Southwest China, where it bears the common name Yi Yao. The Yi people (known also as Nuoso and Lolo) of Sichuan province use the tender shoots of the plant  in their system of traditional medicine to treat measles. The Yi (speakers of various Loloish languages of Burmese affiliation) are notable for their rich cultural heritage, having retained their ancient shamanic faith of Bimoism, which incorporates a traditional body of ethnomedicinal knowledge. Furthermore the Yi are fortunate in not having to rely solely upon oral tradition, possessing as they do written records in their own Yi script, dating back at least to the end of the fifteenth century and  - according to tradition - even farther back to the time of the Tang dynasty.
In the context of the current global pandemic, it is potentially of considerable interest that the Yi may repeatedly have been exposed to coronavirus in the course their history, discovered herbal treatments effective, in some measure, against viral diseases centuries ago, and incorporated these findings into their system of traditional medicine.
In the Poonch region of Azad Kashmir (Pakistan) a paste of the leaves (or a leaf extract) of L. formosa (known locally under the name of Jummar) is used as a hair tonic to rid the hair of dandruff and lice and the same use has been recorded in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary of the Garhwal Himalaya range of Uttarakhand province, India. A common name for the plant in 'Chamoli' (= Garhwali), spoken in Uttarakhand, is Bhenkew.
The Monpa people of Mêdog County, Southeast Tibet use unspecified plant parts of L. formosa (known locally by the common name pya-min-mon) to stem blood loss in cases of traumatic bleeding. Shan et al. append to their paper on the ethnobotany of the Monpa a table comparing Monpa plant use for a given species with the reported phytochemical/pharmacological properties of that species as reported in Chinese academic literature and note a good match in the case of L. formosa, although they note further that the plant has been reported elsewhere in China to be used not only to arrest bleeding but also in the treatment of bone fractures.
Coats  gives the common name of the shrub in Nepal as nulkuroo but does not state the language of that country from which it derives (it is not Nepali).
The Khaling people of the subtropical lowlands of Solukhumbu district, Nepal use unspecified plant parts of L. formosa as an anthelminthic. In his paper on Khaling plant names, Japanese missionary and ethnographer Sueyoshi Toba lists the Khaling name for the plant as ‘dӕnciki and the Nepali name as paDpaDe, describing the plant itself as 'an aromatic shrub, which sometimes takes parasitic form'. This description is curious on two counts, for Leycesteria formosa - at any rate when grown as an ornamental shrub in Europe - is neither notably aromatic nor a parasite, lacking as it does haustoria to tap nutrients from a host plant. The latter point, at least, may be explicable by Toba having observed (or heard described by a Khaling informant) L. formosa growing epiphytically upon a tree in a deposit of humus. The plant is certainly often to be observed growing as a lithophyte - specifically a chasmophyte - in a minimal substrate e.g. from bird droppings deposited in rock crevices or in cracks in the mortar of old walls. Indeed the plant has been observed growing as a (non-native) epiphyte on the tree fern Dicksonia squarrosa in a survey conducted recently in New Zealand.


In Standard Chinese L. formosa is best-known under the common name 鬼吹簫 (Guĭ chuī xiāo) - approximate pronunciation "gwé chwé siaaow" -  meaning ghost flute (literally ghost-blown Flute) / "xiao of the spirits", although Zhang et al. list also (in translation only) other common names rendered as "gun barrel", "hollow wood", "wild lupine" and the more cryptic "golden chicken lock".
In the semi-humoral system of Traditional Chinese medicine, as practised in southwest China, the plant is believed to remove excess "dampness" (湿; shī) and "heat" (火; huǒ), to promote blood circulation and to stop bleeding. It is also used to treat (among other diseases/disease concepts) "damp heat jaundice" (referable possibly to hepatitis), arthritic pain (notably that caused by rheumatoid arthritis), asthma, irregular menstruation, cystitis and bone fracture. L. formosa is regarded in China as the pre-eminent medicinal species of its genus and has been used there as such for millennia.


The shrub acquired its picturesque folkloric name of ghost flute (and also that of 鬼竹子 : Guǐ zhúzi :  ghost bamboo) in reference to the eerie piping sounds produced by the broken, hollow stems of the plant when blown upon by the wind.
 Nowadays in the  city, the street lights are so bright, even late at night, but it wasn't like that in the countryside when I was a lad. Moonlit nights weren't so bad, but, when you were out walking and there was no moon, it'd be pitch black and you'd start to imagine all sorts of things...
When I was a child and I and a few friends would be walking along beside these bushes,  they'd make the sound of a flute: I would always think that there really was someone playing the flute, but then I'd look around and there'd be no one there. I'd suddenly feel a bit scared and run away. It got to the point where I'd avoid going near the place where those plants grew: If I so much as caught a glimpse of one, I'd beat a hasty retreat. Maybe, in ancient times, people felt the same way and that's why they gave it the name 'ghost flute', although I expect the herb-gatherers at that time were fond of it and didn't let the sound bother them, because they knew that it was such a good medicinal plant. Later, of course, when I grew up and worked out how the plant made the sound, I realised that there was no reason to be afraid of it any more... it's the stems that make the sound, you see - because they're hollow. If the weather's right and you get a good breeze, you'll hear that rich, melodious sound, just like the blowing of a lot of flutes. and - what with all those pretty little bell flowers dancing around in the wind as well - you'd think the ghosts were blowing on them too...
In addition to the above, L.formosa has acquired a wealth of common names in the Chinese language, including:
风吹箫   : Fēng chuī xiāo : Wind(-blown) flute
夜吹箫 : Yè chuī xiāo : Night(-blowing) flute
大追风 : Dà zhuī fēng : Big chase wind
炮筒花   : Pào tǒng huā : Gun barrel flower
炮竹筒 : Pào zhútǒng : Firecracker (Pào  'gun' + zhútǒng 'bamboo tube')
炮仗筒 : Pàozhang tǒng : Firecracker (Pàozhang 'gun battle' + tǒng 'tube')
火炮花   : Huǒpào huā : Artillery flower
金鸡一把锁 : Jīnjī yī bǎ suǒ : Golden rooster lock
空心木   : Kōngxīn mù :  Hollow wood
空心草 : Kōngxīn cǎo : Hollow grass
大笔杆草 : Dà bǐgǎn cǎo : Big pen grass/Big-stalked grass
来色木   : Lái shǎi mù : (Come) colour wood
大木比替力 : Dà mù bǐ tì lì : Big wood that is a substitute for strength
鬼竹子 : Guǐ zhúzi : Ghost bamboo
梅叶竹   : Méi yè zhú : Plum-leaved bamboo
野芦柴   :Yě Lú chái : Wild reed firewood
磨倮子 : Mó luǒ zi : Grinding naked seed
猴橘子 : Hóu júzi : Monkey orange
These names refer mostly to the tubular (fistular) form of the stems, their similarity to those of bamboos and their suitability for wind instruments - as suggested by their natural tendency to whistle eerily in the wind. Those referring to (again, tubular) guns and fireworks indicate that the jointed stems of the plant explode (crack / pop) when burnt, like those of bamboo (the popping stems of which the first fireworks were manufactured to mimic ). Only one common name (Hóu júzi 'Monkey orange') references the shrub's edible berries, and does so in a somewhat disparaging manner.
The curious name Jīnjī yī bǎ suǒ, translating as 'Golden rooster lock' suggests that the plant was thought to relate in some way to the good luck / wealth-bringing symbol of the golden cockerel.


The hollow canes produced by L. formosa have been used in India to make whistles and flutes. Other uses of the plant in North India (states Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Ladakh and Sikkim) are as a green manure and as firewood.


While many sources assert that L. formosa is not toxic, there have been associated deaths of cattle reported in New Zealand and Australia, where the plant is a rampant weed, and thus the plant is best considered suspect until more conclusive evidence comes to light. Leaves and unripe berries are likely to have been the plant parts browsed.


L. formosa has yielded coumarins, monomeric flavonoids and the two biflavonoid compounds amentoflavone (3'-8" biapigenin) and its 4"'methyl derivative podocarpusflavone A. Amentoflavone and, to some extent, podocarpusflavone A  are good cAMP phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors. In the light of these findings L. formosa may be considered of potential interest in the treatment of dermatitis. Prior to the isolation of amentoflavone from Leycesteria, the only genera of Caprifoliaceae in which the compound was known to occur were Viburnum and Lonicera. (Note: the genus Viburnum is now placed, not in Caprifoliaceae, but in the related family Adoxaceae).
The leaves of L. formosa have been found to contain leucoanthocyanins, while the wood contains the fluorescent lactone aesculetin.


Leymus mollis is a species of grass known by the common names American dune grass, American dune wild-rye, sea lyme-grass, strand-wheat, and strand grass. Its Japanese name is hamaninniku. It is native to Asia, where it occurs in Japan, China, Korea, and Russia, and northern parts of North America, where it occurs across Canada and the northern United States, as well as Greenland. It can also be found in Iceland.


This is a rhizomatous perennial grass with erect stems growing up to 1.7 meters tall. The leaf blades can be nearly a meter long in ssp. mollis, and up to 1.5 centimeters wide. The flower spike is up to 34 centimeters long by 2 wide. Each spikelet may be up to 3.4 centimeters long and contain up to six florets. There are two subspecies. Subspecies villosissimus is mostly limited to arctic regions, and is mainly coastal. It is usually a smaller plant than ssp. mollis. The two subspecies are otherwise hard to tell apart, even when growing sympatrically. The most reliable character to use to distinguish them is the type of hairs on the glumes and lemmas; ssp. villosissimus has long, soft, sometimes shaggy hairs (villous), while ssp. mollis has fine, thin hairs (pilose), and generally fewer of them. There is no awn.


This grass usually grows in coastal habitat, especially on dunes. It can be an important part of dune ecology. The grass usually grows on the foredune and on embryo dunes, less often on the backdune. It is one of the first plants to establish in the process of ecological succession in the early stages of the development of a sand dune. In these loose dunes facing the ocean the plants tolerate salt spray, salty sand, little to no fresh water, unstable substrates, occasional inundation during storms, low nutrient levels, and abrasion by wind, water, and ice storms. Seedlings may become buried. This type of environment causes stress in a plant. The grass grows from a large rhizome that anchors it into shifting and unstable sands. When there are many plants on a dune, their rhizomes form a network that helps to stabilize it, preventing erosion. The network becomes "the skeleton of the foredune." This makes the grass a valuable species for landscape rehabilitation in native beach habitat.


Other plants that occur with the grass include Lathyrus japonicus, Achillea millefolium, Festuca rubra, Ammophila breviligulata, Rhus typhina, Rosa rugosa, and Arctanthemum arcticum. It also grows with mosses such as Pleurozium shreberi and Polytrichum spp. and lichens such as Cladina spp. It was observed to be one of the most common plants in the arctic nesting sites of the snow goose. It is thought that the geese prefer the overall ecosystem that hosts the grass, rather than favoring the grass itself.


Leymus mollis has been studied for possible usage in the science of wheat breeding. Wide hybridization of wheat and L. mollis has been conducted successfully since the 1960s to generate many hybrids. An important example of L. mollis hybridization with wheat occurred when the AD99 L. mollis line was hybridized with wheat. The AD99 was resistant to powdery mildew, and the resultant wheat hybrid yielded six lines that were also resistant to powdery mildew. This experiment can be used as a basis for L. mollis to be considered as a very useful genetic resource. By using Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) it was found that wheat has a complex and redundant genome. ESTs serve to identify transcribed parts of the genome. Through a comparative study it was found that L. mollis has some of these genes as well; because they are highly conserved. These genes are more prominent in L. mollis than wheat however, and are used for osmotic and drought stress tolerance. Due to their similarity though, they have the ability to be hybridized into wheat. Overall these ESTs help to provide proper tools for molecular markers to help identify possible introgression of genes into wheat, particularly in regards to osmotic stress tolerance.
Leymus mollis' relative success with wheat breeding can be demonstrated specifically by utilizing the Genetic In-Situ Hybridization (GISH) method. Comparative GISH showed that the genomes in the genus Leymus are fairly diverse. However, it was also found that chromosomes of species within this genus were able to undergo complete meiotic paring in hybridism with each other. Using the GISH technique, it was found that differences in sub-telomeric heterochromatin do not affect meiotic pairing. Because of this it can be understood that the differences between Leymus genus and Triticum (wheat) would not prevent successful hybridization. This conclusion results from the fact that Leymus is already able to overcome differences within its own genus in pairing.


Leymus mollis is generally looked at for hybridization due to it being highly adaptable and robust. To determine this adaptable nature of L. mollis, its seedlings were studied in an environment in which there was low nutrient availability. In this environment, the seedlings were very tolerant of the low nutrients and were still able to sprout. Generally, low soil moisture is considered to be an important mortality factor, yet L. mollis seedlings were able to survive successfully. The period of drought that these seedlings were tested in was 5 successive days, and L. mollis had a survival rate of 93%. This adaptability of the plant is something that is not seen in wheat seedlings, which is why it is looked at for hybridization. Being a dune grass, L. mollis also has an extensive ability to survive salinity. The viability of these seeds in the salinity was found to be higher than fifty percent following submergence for seven days. This is translatable to L. mollis being able to grow in soil with high salt content. The surrounding soil may not be viable for traditional plants, however L. mollis still retains the ability to grow. This further demonstrates the wide adaptability of L. mollis.
As a result of strong anthropogenic pressures in today’s world, one response is to look at sustainable development of our vegetative environment. Biologists are continuously looking for new ways to combat these artificial pressures, and one of the species that has potential to be more closely looked at is Leymus mollis, an extremely adaptable plant species. Specific traits of L. mollis can be proven beneficial in the hybridization and domestication of this species or a hybrid species. These traits include the species’ ability to tolerate moderate burial intensity and sustain trampling, adapt to drought and water deficiency, resist many fungal diseases such as wheat stripe rust, contain high rhizome bud viability, and tolerate salt and various diseases.
Drought tolerance: The first environmental stress factor that L. mollis exhibits tolerance to is drought and water deficiency. This wild relative of wheat has defense mechanisms that express several stress-responsive genes that allow the species to tolerate drought and water deficiency. These genetic factors leading to the adaptability of L. mollis to water deficiencies can be beneficial in artificial selection and hybridization.
Burial tolerance: Although Leymus mollis adapts well to moderate and high drought intensities, it has shown to have even a greater tolerance for moderate burial intensity and sustain the trampling present in North American subarctic environments.
Fungal disease resistance: In addition to these tolerance factors, Leymus mollis is also resistant to many fungal diseases. One example of this tolerance is with wheat stripe rust, a plant infection caused by Puccinia striiformis. As one of the most widely distributed and destructive fungal diseases in the world, many wheat crops today need new effective resistance genes and development of new resistance germplasms. Multiple types of translocation wheat lines that possess resistance to multiple different races of stripe rust fungus have been found.
Rhizome bud viability: The strong rhizome bud viability of L. mollis also contributes to the species’ adaptability. Leymus mollis rhizomes have potential to spread and colonize a large distance from a source population due to their bud’s ability to survive in seawater during seawater submergence. Although L. mollis does not have as brittle of rhizomes as some species native to the same areas, such as Ammophilia arenaria, and therefore does not break into rhizome fragments as easily, many other rhizomes have a lower viability than L. mollis rhizomes.
Salt tolerance and disease resistance: The genes for salt tolerance and disease resistance are also naturally found in L. mollis. In addition, this species has large spikes, strong rhizomes, and experiences vigorous growth in environments ranging from Siberia to Canada and Iceland and the northern parts of Japan.
All of these traits of L. mollis have the potential to be beneficial for crop improvement and domestication of new plant species in response to anthropogenic pressures and the increased need for food production.


This grass has had a number of other uses. In addition to possible wheat breeding, the drought resistance of L. mollis is suggested to be used in restoration initiatives. The Makah, Nitinaht, and Quileute used bunches of the thick roots to rub the body during bathing. Yupik peoples use the leaves to make mats, baskets, bags, and ropes for hanging fish to dry. The Hesquiat weave the leaves into handles for sacks. The Kwakwaka'wakw make baskets and hats from the leaves and traditionally have used them to line the boxes in which they cooked lupine roots. The Nitinaht used the pointed leaves to sew and tie. The Haisla and Hanaksiala used the grass to line pits in which they prepared the oil of the eulachon fish. The Quinault placed salal fruits on a bed of the leaves to dry. Inuit in Canada have traditionally used Leymus mollis to treat stomach problems and to weave baskets. They used dried leaves to insulate their boots.


While it is not a rare or threatened plant, its populations can be affected by processes that degrade and destroy its coastal habitat. Concerns include development, storm damage, and the impact of recreational activities. In some areas it has been displaced by introduced species of plants, such as Ammophila arenaria.
Cultivars available include 'Reeve' and 'Benson'. The latter was named for Benny Benson, the thirteen-year-old boy who designed the official flag of Alaska. It was bred for use in the revegetation of eroded dunes.


Liatris aspera (known as rough, button, lacerate, or tall prairie blazing star or gayfeather) is a wildflower that is found in the mid to eastern United States in habitats that range from mesic to dry prairie and dry savanna.
It is a perennial herb that grows 30 to 180 cm (1 to 6 feet) high. The inflorescence is an erect raceme with numerous, purple, button-like flower heads, short-stalked or stalkless, blooming from the top down. It flowers from mid-August through September, with seed becoming ripe in October to November. It can be purchased from specialty suppliers.
Leaves are alternate, numerous, and narrow along the entire stem. The stem is rough with short stiff hairs, and often the leaves are as well. It attracts birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies.


Liatris cylindracea (known as barrelhead blazing star, cylindric or cylindrical blazing star, Ontario blazing star, or dwarf blazing star) is a plant species in the family Asteraceae. It is native to eastern North America, where its populations are concentrated in the Midwestern United States. It is found in habitats such as prairies, limestone and sandstone outcroppings, bluffs, barrens, glades, woodlands and dunes.


The cylindrical blazing star grows from rounded or sometimes elongated corms, which produce hairless stems 20–60 cm (8–24 in) tall. At the top of the stem is a single flower head or a loose to dense cluster (raceme, spike, or panicle) of 2 to 28 flower heads. Each flower head has 10–35 florets, and is stemless or has a stem 2–10 mm (3⁄32–13⁄32 in) long that orients the head upwards. The flowers bloom in mid to late summer, starting at the top of the cluster.
The basal and cauline leaves usually have three nerves, though sometimes up to five. They are long and thin, ranging from 8 to 25 cm (3+1⁄4 to 9+3⁄4 in) long and 2 to 6 mm (3⁄32 to 1⁄4 in) wide. The leaves are mostly hairless or may have some hairs on the margins. Some plants in Kentucky and Missouri are hairy; this may indicate hybridization with Liatris hirsuta. The largest leaves are a little above the bottom of the stem; above that, the leaves become gradually smaller.
The seed are produced in fruits (cypselae) that are 5–7 mm (3⁄16–9⁄32 in) long with feathery pappi.
Its roots can reach depths of 15 ft (4.6 m).


Liatris pycnostachya, the prairie blazing star or cattail blazing star, is a perennial plant native to the tallgrass prairies of the central United States.
The flower stalks reach 60 to 120 cm (2 to 4 ft) in height, or rarely to 180 cm (6 ft). The leaves are linear, grass-like, 11 to 22 cm (4+1⁄4 to 8+3⁄4 in) long and 4 to 10 mm (0.16 to 0.39 in) wide. They grow both from the root and in great numbers on the flower stems, becoming progressively smaller higher up the stem. The end of the flower stem is covered in a spike of flower heads 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in (6 to 13 mm) across that bloom pink to purplish pink for a month in late summer, from the top down. Each flower head has 5 to 8 florets and is surrounded by overlapping pinkish bracts (phyllaries) whose tips are pointed and curve backwards. The stems, leaves, and bracts may be smooth or hairy to varying degrees. The shape of the bracts distinguishes this species from others, for example Liatris spicata, another tall Liatris species that has thickly packed spikes, but whose bracts are flat with rounded tips.
The root system is a corm that sometimes develops into a rhizome. It produces offsets and gradually forms a clump. Its native habitats include prairies, open woods, and meadows. The plant attracts birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies.
The species epithet comes from Ancient Greek πυκνός (puknós) "dense" and στάχυς (stákhus) "ear of grain", referring to the thickly packed spike of flowers.
It is a larval host to the bleeding flower moth (Schinia sanguinea).


Three have been named:
L. lineata andamanensis (Fraser 1924) - Andaman and Nicobar Islands
L. lineata indica (Fraser, 1928) - South India
L. lineata lineata (Burmeister, 1839) - Southeast Asia, Northeast India
The subspecies Libellago lineata andamanensis and L. lineata indica are now generally considered as new species, Libellago andamanensis and Libellago indica.


Libelloides coccajus, the "owly sulphur", is an owlfly species belonging to the family Ascalaphidae, subfamily Ascalaphinae.


This rare insect is present in France, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain and  Switzerland.


These owlflies mainly inhabit areas with tall grass and sunny rocky slopes, at an elevation up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level.
They have been sighted at elevations of up to 1800m on the French/Italian border in the high Susa Valley


The adults reach 25 millimetres (0.98 in) of length, with a wingspan of 45–55 millimetres (1.8–2.2 in).  The body is black and quite hairy. The eyes are large and bulging; the antennae are long and clubbed. The wings do not have scales and are partly transparent, with bright yellow areas in the first third, dark brown on the external side. An elongated black area is present towards the end of the posterior edge of the wing. The venation is black. The wings are held spread at rest, as in dragonflies. This species is rather similar to Libelloides lacteus.


Adults can be encountered from April through July.  They are diurnal predators of other flying insects. Eggs are laid in groups on stems of herbaceous plants. Larvae are fearsome predators too. They lie on the soil surface waiting for prey. They live for about two years.


Libellula comanche, the Comanche skimmer, is a species of skimmer in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
The IUCN conservation status of Libellula comanche is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' survival. The population is stable.


The neon skimmer (Libellula croceipennis) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family.
It can be found near ponds, lakes and slow moving streams in the southwest United States, Central America, and northern South America.


L. croceipennis reaches a length of 54 to 59 millimeters, of which 32 to 39 millimeters is the abdomen. The species is colored bright red on the face, on the front of the thorax, on the abdomen and on the abdominal appendages. Seen from the side, the thorax is brownish with a slight tinge of red. Furthermore, it has no patterns. Young animals, on the other hand, are reddish-brown with a yellow stripe along the top of the abdomen. The hind wings reach a length of 35 to 47 millimeters. On both wings of the males there is an amber-yellow shadow at the base, which extends to the wing triangle. The wings of the females are transparent. The pterostigma is brown and about 6 millimeters long. The legs are brown and have black bristles. The eighth abdominal segment is significantly widened in females.


Libellula cyanea, the spangled skimmer,  is a species of dragonfly in the genus Libellula, native to the United States of America. Males have a blue thorax and abdomen.
The females are brown with yellow stripes. They also have clear wings with brown wing tips.


Libellula depressa, the broad-bodied chaser or broad-bodied darter, is one of the most common dragonflies in Europe and central Asia. It is very distinctive with a very broad flattened abdomen, four wing patches and, in the male, the abdomen becomes pruinose blue.


The male and female have a broad, flattened abdomen which is brown with yellow patches down the sides. In the male the abdomen develops a blue pruinosity that covers the brown colour. Both fore and hind wings have a dark patch at the base. Both the male and female have broad antehumeral stripes. The average wingspan is approximately 70 mm. L. depressa is very distinctive and should not be confused with any other dragonflies in the region.


L. depressa is found in central and southern Europe, central Asia and the Middle East. It range extends northwards to southern Scotland, southern Sweden and southern Finland and it occurs on some Mediterranean islands including Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Menorca. Its range does not extend beyond southern Europe into Africa.
L. depressa is seen near still-water lakes and ponds, feeding on many types of small insects.  They occur in both bare and sunny locations, where it is often the first dragonfly to colonise new habitats such as newly created ponds, and well vegetated ponds. L. depressa are often seen away from water as the adults are very mobile and undergo a period of maturation away from water after emergence. The adults are also migratory.


The flight period is from April to September but are mostly seen in May and June. Their flight is very fast as they dart and dive above the water. They are very territorial and will fight with rival males and any other dragonflies they happen to encounter.  They characteristically return to a favoured perch, in the sun. When a female enters a male's territory the male will fly up and grab the female. Mating occurs on the wing and the pair are in tandem for only a brief period, often less than a minute. The pair separate and the female will find a suitable location for ovipositing, usually a stretch of open water with submerged vegetation. The female oviposits in flight, hovering above the water and dipping the tip of her abdomen in.
The eggs hatch in 4 or 5 weeks and the larvae take one to two years to develop. The larvae live in the silt and detritus at the bottom of the pond, lying buried in mud with just the head and eyes showing. After emergence the adults move away from water and undergo a period of maturation which lasts 10 to 14 days.


This species is usually placed in the genus Libellula but there is some evidence, based on RNA and DNA analysis, that this species should be placed within the genus Ladona (Artiss et al., 2001). This change is not yet generally accepted and books and field guides list this species as Libellula


Libellula incesta, the slaty skimmer,  is a dragonfly of the skimmer family, native to eastern United States and southern Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick.  Adults are 5.28 cm (2.08 in) long.  Mature males are dark blue with black heads. Females and juveniles have brown abdomens with a darker stripe down their backs. Adults fly from June to August. Larvae are habitat specialists, found in the benthos of permanent lakes.


Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. The nymphs live in the water, molting and growing until they are ready to emerge from the water and then molting a final time to reveal their wings.


Widow skimmers have large bulky bodies, with large heads. Adults have a steely blue body area but juveniles are yellow with brown stripes. Eyes are also large and close together meeting in the middle of the head. They have three pairs of legs. Legs are black in color. They have two pairs of wings: forewings and hindwings. Wings of both sexes are marked with prominent black basal bands. They keep their wings extended over their bodies. Adult males develop broad white spots at midwing as they mature. The abdomen measures 24–32 mm.  They also have a slight white hue on their abdomen and thorax.


This species can be found commonly across the United States (except in the higher Rocky Mountains areas) and in southern Ontario and Quebec.


Libellula needhami, or Needham's skimmer, is a species of skimmer in the family of dragonflies known as Libellulidae. It is found in the Caribbean, Central America, and North America.
The IUCN conservation status of Libellula needhami is "LC", least concern, with no immediate threat to the species' existence. The population is stable.
The species is named after the American entomologist James George Needham.


Males have a red face, females have a brown or yellow face.

This species can be separated from the very similar Libellula auripennis by the following:
their posterior (rear) wing veins do not become orange
their costa changes color on opposite sides of the node: outer half is lighter, inner half is darker
their hind tibia are brown, not black


The twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) is a common North American skimmer dragonfly, found in southern Canada and in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states.
It is a large species, at 50 mm (2.0 in) long. Each wing has three brown spots. In adult males, additional white spots form between the brown ones and at the bases of the hindwings; it is sometimes called the ten-spot skimmer for the number of these white spots.


Libellula quadrimaculata, known in Europe as the four-spotted chaser and in North America as the four-spotted skimmer, is a dragonfly of the family Libellulidae found widely throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
The adult stage is found between April to early September in the United Kingdom, and from mid-May to mid-August in Ireland. Larvae have a two-year developmental cycle. Adults feed predominantly on mosquitoes, gnats, and midges; the larvae feed primarily on other aquatic insect larvae and on tadpoles.
There is a variant form, praenubila Newman, which has exaggerated wing spots. This is believed to be related to water temperatures during larval development, and appears to be more common in Europe than in the Americas.
The four-spotted skimmer is the state insect of Alaska.


This active dragonfly mainly lives by ponds, vernal pools, and slow flowing rivers; they are most common in June and July.


The brown colour and the four spots on the wings make them unmistakable.


The male is considered to be highly aggressive and will defend a given territory from incursions from other males of the species. The male is known to form preferences for prominent perches and will often return to the same perches around the margins of pools and ponds whilst it patrols for intruders. Males have a favourable view of the sky during perching. They look toward a section of the sky away from the sun, with less radiation but a higher UV and blue-violet saturation. Thus, the fovea of the eyes, which is sensitive to blue and UV radiation, is optimally suited to the detection of flying insects against the blue sky. Both sexes are prolific fliers, and mating takes place in the air, rather than on perches or amongst the vegetation. The female lays her eggs on floating vegetation. They tend to be easier to approach than Broad-bodied Chasers.


The great blue skimmer (Libellula vibrans) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family.
With a total length of 50 to 63 mm, it is one of the largest skimmers. The immature forms of the skimmer are brown in color and mature forms are blue-hued.
This species is found near lakes, ponds, and slow streams in the eastern United States and rarely in southern Ontario.


Ligustrum lucidum, the broad-leaf privet, Chinese privet glossy privet, tree privet or wax-leaf privet, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the southern half of China and naturalized in many places. The name "Chinese privet" is also used for Ligustrum sinense.
The Latin specific epithet lucidum means "bright" or "shiny", referring to the leaves.


Ligustrum lucidum is an evergreen tree growing to 10 m (33 ft) tall and broad. The leaves are opposite, glossy dark green, 6–17 centimetres (2.4–6.7 in) long and 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) broad. The flowers are similar to other privets, white or near white, borne in panicles, and have a strong fragrance, which some people find unpleasant.
Ligustrum lucidum and the variegated cultivar 'Excelsum Superbum' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Native to southern China, it has been naturalized in Spain, Italy, Algeria, Canary Islands, New Zealand, Lesotho, South Africa, Japan, Korea, Australia, Norfolk Island, Chiapas, Central America, Argentina, Uruguay, and the southern United States (California, Arizona, Maryland, and the southeast from Texas to North Carolina).


Ligustrum lucidum is often used as an ornamental tree, sometimes in variegated forms. It is also one of several species of privet used as dense, evergreen hedges, which can be trained to a specific size and shape by regular pruning.
It has become an invasive species in some areas where it has been introduced, such as urban areas in the southeastern United States. It is classed as a noxious weed in New South Wales, Australia, and is similarly listed in New Zealand's National Pest Plant Accord.


The seeds are known as nu zhen zi (female chastity seed/berry) in traditional Chinese medicine and are believed to nourish liver and kidney yin and jing in the treatment of tinnitus (ringing in the ears), vertigo (dizziness), premature graying of the hair, and soreness/weakness of the lower back and knees. Due to the belief in the berries' ability to nourish the liver, they are also used in the treatment of disorders of the eye involving red or dry eyes, blurred vision, and pain.


Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet; syn. L. villosum; in Mandarin: 杻; pinyin: chǒu) is a species of privet native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, and naturalized in Réunion, the Andaman Islands, Norfolk Island, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panamá and much of the eastern and southern United States (from Texas and Florida north to Kansas, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut). The name "Chinese privet" may also refer to Ligustrum lucidum.


Ligustrum sinense is a deciduous shrub growing to 2–7 m tall, with densely hairy shoots. The leaves are opposite, 2–7 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, rarely larger, with an entire margin and a 2–8 mm petiole. The flowers are white, with a four-lobed corolla 3.5–5.5 mm long. The fruit is subglobose, 5–8 mm diameter, and considered poisonous.


The following varieties are accepted by the Flora of China:
Ligustrum sinense var. sinense
Ligustrum sinense var. concavum M.C.Chang
Ligustrum sinense var. coryanum (W.W.Sm.) Hand.-Mazz.
Ligustrum sinense var. dissimile S.J.Hao
Ligustrum sinense var. luodianense M.C.Chang
Ligustrum sinense var. myrianthum (Diels) Hoefker
Ligustrum sinense var. opienense Y.C.Yang
Ligustrum sinense var. rugosulum (W.W.Sm.) M.C.Chang


It is cultivated as an ornamental plant and for hedges. Several cultivars have been selected, including the very floriferous 'Multiflorum', the variegated cultivar 'Variegatum', and the dwarf cultivar 'Wimbei' growing to 0.5 m and with leaves only 6 mm long.

It was introduced to North America to be used for hedges and landscaping where it has now escaped from cultivation and is listed as an invasive plant in southeastern states.  It is estimated that Chinese privet now occupies over one million hectares of land across 12 states ranging from Virginia to Florida and west to Texas, with detrimental effects to biodiversity and forest health.


Ligustrum means 'binder'. It was named by Pliny and Virgil.


Ligustrum vulgare (wild privet, also sometimes known as common privet or European privet) is a species of Ligustrum native to central and southern Europe, north Africa and southwestern Asia, from Ireland and southwestern Sweden south to Morocco, and east to Poland and northwestern Iran.


It is a semi-evergreen or deciduous shrub, growing to 3 m (rarely up to 5 m) tall. The stems are stiff, erect, with grey-brown bark spotted with small brown lenticels. The leaves are borne in decussate opposite pairs, sub-shiny green, narrow oval to lanceolate, 2–6 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in mid-summer in panicles 3–6 cm long, each flower creamy-white, with a tubular base and a four-lobed corolla ('petals') 4–6 mm diameter.  The flowers produce a strong, pungent fragrance that many people find unpleasant. The fruit is a small glossy black berry 6–8 mm diameter, containing one to four seeds. The berries are poisonous to humans but readily eaten by thrushes, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.
Plants from the warmer parts of the range show a stronger tendency to be fully evergreen; these have sometimes been treated as a separate variety Ligustrum vulgare var. italicum (Mill.) Vahl, but others do not regard it as distinct.


In the British Isles it is the only native privet, common in hedgerows and woodlands in southern England and Wales, especially in chalk areas; it is less common in northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where it only occurs as an escapee from cultivation.
The species was used for hedging in Elizabethan gardens in England, but was superseded by the more reliably evergreen introduction L. ovalifolium from Japan.
A number of cultivars have been selected, including:
'Aureum' – yellow leaves.
'Buxifolium' – small, oval leaves not over 2.5 cm long.
'Cheyenne' – cold-tolerant clone selected in North America.
'Chlorocarpum' - berries green.
'Insulense' – long, narrow leaves 5–11 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad.
'Leucocarpum' – berries greenish-white.
'Lodense' – dense, dwarf shrub (the name is a portmanteau of 'low' and 'dense').
'Pyramidale' – fastigiate.
'Xanthocarpum' – berries yellow.


The species is listed as invasive as an introduced plant in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It is also fully naturalised in Mexico's highlands and Argentina.


The scarlet lily beetle, red lily beetle, or lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii), is a leaf beetle that eats the leaves, stem, buds, and flowers, of lilies, fritillaries and other members of the family Liliaceae. It lays its eggs most often on Lilium and Fritillaria species. In the absence of Lilium and Fritillaria species, there are fewer eggs laid and the survival rate of eggs and larvae is reduced. It is now a pest in most temperate climates where lilies are cultivated.


This lily beetle belongs to the order Coleoptera, and the family Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles. The adult lily beetle is about 6 to 9 mm (¼–⅜ in) in length, with relatively long legs and antennae. Its elytra (harder forewings) are bright scarlet and shiny. Its underside, legs, eyes, antennae and head are all black. It has large eyes, a slim thorax, and a wide abdomen. Each antenna is made up of 11 segments. The eyes are notched and there are two grooves on the thorax.
This lily beetle may be confused with the cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis), which also has red elytra and a black underside. The wing cases of the lily leaf beetle are dimpled and are shinier and more rounded than those of the cardinal beetle, which are relatively dull, and narrower, flatter, and more elongated. The cardinal beetle also has comb-like antennae. The lily leaf beetle is herbivorous, while the cardinal beetle preys on insects. The lily leaf beetle is also confused with unspotted ladybirds, but it is narrower in shape.


The lily leaf beetle is indigenous to parts of Europe and Asia. It is thought to have been introduced to North America through the importation of plant bulbs in 1943. First spotted in Montreal, it spread throughout Canada and appeared in Massachusetts in 1992, and by 2012 was in all six New England States, as well as New York and Washington states. In Canada it is found from the Maritime Provinces west to Manitoba. As of 2001, it spread as far west as Alberta, and as of 2017 full infestations reported as far north as the Edmonton, AB area. It has also become established as an invasive species in the United Kingdom since being first recorded in 1839, although the first colony did not become established until 1939 and it did not spread far until the 1980s, then more rapidly from the 1980s. Since then it has spread from Surrey in southern England as far north as Inverness, Scotland. It is also found in Ireland. It is also found in the Middle East and North Africa.


The beetle overwinters in the soil and emerges early in spring. The adult is generally found in moist, cool environments. It emerges in spring to feed and mate. The female can lay up to 450 eggs each season in batches of about 12 on the undersides of leaves. It arranges the red-orange to brown eggs in narrow irregular lines along the midrib, where they are more concealed. The eggs then hatch into  yellow, brown or orange larvae in about 1–2 weeks.
The larvae feed for up to 24 days, beginning underneath the leaf then working up the rest of the plant, and cause the most damage. Their preferred feeding locale is underneath the leaf or at the node where the leaf meets the stem. They then burrow in the ground to pupate in a cocoon of soil bound with saliva. In about 20 days they emerge as adults and continue to feed until winter. More than one cycle can occur in one year.


Often the first evidence of lily leaf beetle infestation is sticky brown frass piles containing larvae on leaves. The larvae remain in the frass for protection from the sun and predators. However, the fecal shield is not effective protection against parasitoids, and it may actually make it easier for parasitoids such as the wasp Lemophagus pulcher to locate the larvae.
An adult that senses danger displays a defense mechanism, thanatosis, becoming motionless, folding up its appendages and falling with its black under surface facing up, thereby helping it camouflage with the ground to get away. If unable to escape, they are also able to ‘squeak’, by rubbing two parts of their body together, which may be used to startle the attacker.
 This process is known as stridulation and could even shock a bird or any other predator that may attack the lily leaf beetle.
Lilies may first show evidence of holes chewed in the leaves from consumption, and if left unchecked rapidly progress to blackening, and total loss of the leaves, leaving only the stem. Beetles and their larvae may also inhabit and devour the developing flower buds. Invasion may occur shortly after the new plants emerge from the soil, particularly if there are nearby Fritillaria which emerge earlier than Lilium. While Lilium and Fritillaria are affected, Hemerocallis is not. All types of lily may be affected, but while Asiatic lilies are the most vulnerable, some Oriental lilies may be more resistant. Resistant types include Lilium henryi 'Madame Butterfly', Lilium speciosum 'Uchida', and Lilium 'Black Beauty'. Other garden plants affected include Convallaria majalis, Polygonatum, potato (Solanum tuberosum), flowering tobacco (Nicotiana), hollyhock (Alcea) and Hosta.


Fritillaria and Lilium specimens in Canadian gardens, particularly around Halifax, Nova Scotia are significantly affected by the lily leaf beetle. A garden in Waverley, Nova Scotia has reported decline of lily species and cultivars from 50 in 1996 to only one in 2006.


In Europe, total parasitism rate in the last instar stage averages about 90% on wild Lilium martagon, 75% in gardens and 60% in cultivated lily fields. Most lily leaf beetle parasitoids are wasps that lay eggs inside the host and effectively kill all infected individuals. Diaparsis jucunda (Ichneumonidae: Tersilochinae), dominates over 90% of the parasitoid infections in lily leaf beetle. However, in gardens and commercial fields, Tetrastichus setifer (Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae) and Lemophagus pulcher (Eulophidae: Campopleginae) become the dominant parasitoids in the later season.
There are no natural predators or parasites of lily leaf beetle in North America. In 1996, University of Rhode Island began testing the effectiveness of biological control of lily leaf beetle using six natural parasitoids from Europe. CAB International Bioscience Switzerland Center has also participated in this project from 1998 till 2001. The European parasitoid wasp Tetrastichus setifer was used in Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001; the experiment showed reduction of the beetle population. Population decline was also observed at another experiment site in Rhode Island. In 2003, another parasitoid, Lemophagus errabundus, was released in Massachusetts and is now established in the region. Similar parasitoid releases have been made in Boston with positive results.


Lilium bulbiferum, common names orange lily, fire lily, Jimmy's Bane and tiger lily, is a  herbaceous European lily with underground bulbs, belonging to the Liliaceae.
The Latin name bulbiferum of this species, meaning "bearing bulbs", refers to the secondary bulbs on the stem of the nominal subspecies.


Lilium bulbiferum reaches on average 20–90 centimetres (7.9–35.4 in) of height, with a maximum of  120 centimetres (47 in). The bulbs are ovoid, with whitish large and pointed scales and can reach about 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) of diameter. The stem is erect, the leaves are lanceolate, up to 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence has one to five short-haired flowers. They are hermaphroditic and scentless, have six upright tepals, the outer are slightly narrower than the inner ones. The flowers can reach 4–6 centimeters in length and are bright yellow-orange with reddish-brown dots. The stamens are erect, about half as long as the tepals, with red anthers. The style is orange, 35 millimetres (1.4 in) of height. The flowering period extends from May through July.
There are two varieties, L. b. var. croceum (Chaix) Baker in the western part of the range, and L. b. var. bulbiferum in its eastern part. Only the last one always produces secondary aerial bulbs (bulbils) in the axils of the upper leaves.  These bulbils fall to the ground and mature after two to three years. When manually separated from the stem they can easily used for propagating the plant.
The dwarf plants from the Maritime Alps, formerly described as var. chaixii (Elwes) Stoker, and the large plants from the region of Naples, formerly described as var. giganteum N. Terracc., are now considered as local variants of var. croceum.


L. bulbiferum is widely distributed in much of Europe from Spain to Finland and Ukraine. It grows in mountain meadows and on hillsides. They prefer calcareous soils in warm, sunny places, but also grow on slightly acid soils. They can be found at an altitude of 500–1,900 metres (1,600–6,200 ft) above sea level.


Cats are extremely sensitive to lily toxicity and ingestion is often fatal; households and gardens which are visited by cats are strongly advised against keeping this plant or placing dried flowers where a cat may brush against them and become dusted with pollen which they then consume while cleaning. Suspected cases require urgent veterinary attention. Rapid treatment with activated charcoal or induced vomiting can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed (this is time-sensitive so in some cases veterinarians may advise doing it at home), and large amounts of fluid by IV can reduce damage to kidneys to increase the chances of survival.


Lilium columbianum is a lily native to western North America. It is also known as the Columbia lily, Columbia tiger lily, or simply tiger lily (sharing the latter common name with several other lily species in its genus).


Lilium columbianum occurs in lowland and montane forest openings and meadows from southern British Columbia in Canada south to northern California and east to Montana in the northwestern United States. Mostly occurring below 2,000 m (6,600 ft), it usually blooms in June through early August. There are a few isolated populations at high elevations in the Sierra Nevada as far south as Fresno County.


Lilium columbianum is a perennial herb that grows up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) tall, and bears from few to numerous orange flowers with darker spots. The tepals are 3 to 6 cm long and the flowers are lightly scented. Like many true lilies, the leaves are arranged in whorls around the stem of the plant.


Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth and most western Washington peoples steamed, boiled or pit-cooked its bulbs. Bitter or peppery-tasting, they were mostly used as a flavoring, often in soup with meat or fish.


From seed, Lilium columbianum  requires three to five years to mature. Cultivated bulbs can be divided or bulb scales may be used to generate new plants more quickly.


Lilium lancifolium (syn. L. tigrinum) is an Asian species of lily, native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Russian Far East. It is widely planted as an ornamental because of its showy orange-and-black flowers, and sporadically occurs as a garden escapee in North America, particularly the eastern United States including New England, and has made incursions into some southern states such as Georgia.
It has the English name tiger lily, but that name has been applied to other species as well.


Like other true lilies, the flowers are borne on upright stems that are 80–200 centimetres (31–79 inches) tall and bear lanceolate leaves 6–10 cm (2+1⁄2–4 in) long and 1–2 cm (3⁄8–3⁄4 in) broad. L. lancifolium produces aerial bulblets, known as bulbils, in the leaf axils. These bulbils are uncommon in Lilium species and they produce new plants that are clones of the original plant.
The flowers are odorless. Each lasts a few days and if pollinated produce capsules with many thin seeds.


The names of names considered as varieties at some time are:
Lilium lancifolium var. densum W.Bull
Lilium tigrinum var. fortunei Standish
Lilium tigrinum var. splendens Van Houtte
Lilium tigrinum var. flore-pleno auct.
Lilium tigrinum var. erectum G.F.Wilson
Lilium tigrinum var. plenescens Waugh
Lilium lancifolium var. flaviflorum Makino
Lilium lancifolium var. fortunei (Standish) V.A.Matthews
Lilium lancifolium var. splendens (Van Houtte) V.A.Matthews
The Lilium tigrinum flore pleno, the double-flowered variety, had been exported out of Japan by William Bull since 1869.


Botanists for many years considered L. tigrinum (after Ker Gawler) the correct scientific name until it was determined that older name L. lancifolium (after Thunberg) refers to the same species, and the latter became the accepted name.


Its common name is tiger lily. Although this name is ambiguous across several species, it is correctly applied to this species alone.


A case study of the successful treatment of a cat that ingested this particular species was published 2007.


It is cultivated and wild foraged in Asia for its edible bulbs. The cultivar 'Splendens' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. In Taiwan, both the flower and bulbs are used as food, as are the other related species: L. brownii var. viridulum, L. pumilum and L. candidum.


Lilium martagon, the martagon lily or Turk's cap lily, is a Eurasian species of lily. It has a widespread native region extending from Portugal east through Europe and Asia as far east as Mongolia.


It is stem-rooting, growing between 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) and 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall. The flower colour is typically a pink-purple, with dark spots, but is quite variable, extending from near white to near black. The flowers are scented. Numerous flowers are borne on each plant, and up to 50 can be found on vigorous plants. The green stems can be flushed with purple or red and the leaves are elliptic to inverse lanceolate, mostly in whorls, up to 16 centimetres (6.3 in) long and often lightly hairy underneath.


Numerous names have been proposed at the levels of subspecies and varieties. Only two are recognized by the World Checklist.
Lilium martagon var. martagon – from Portugal to Mongolia
Lilium martagon var. pilosiusculum Freyn – Russia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, Mongolia


Horticulturally it is in Division IX (true species).
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Lilium martagon was used in hybridising with L. hansonii at the end of the 19th century by Mrs RO Backhouse of Hereford, England.


Lilium martagon, like many in the genus, is highly toxic to cats and ingestion often leads to fatal kidney failure; households and gardens which are visited by cats are strongly advised against keeping this plant or placing dried flowers where a cat may brush against them and become dusted with pollen which they then consume while cleaning. Suspected cases require urgent veterinary attention. Rapid treatment with activated charcoal and/or induced vomiting can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed (this is time-sensitive so in some cases vets may advise doing it at home), and large amounts of fluid by IV can reduce damage to kidneys to increase the chances of survival.


Lilium michiganense is a species of true lily commonly referred to as the Michigan lily. It is a wildflower present in prairie habitats in the Great Lakes and Upper Mississippi Valley regions of the United States and Canada, from South Dakota through Ontario to New York, south to Georgia and Oklahoma.
Growing to 5 ft (1.5 m) tall by 2 ft (0.61 m) broad, Lilium michiganense is a bulbous herbaceous perennial with showy flowers in summer. The flowers are orange with dark brown spots and acutely recurved petals. This plant is widely cultivated as an ornamental.
The Michigan lily is often confused with the Turk's cap lily (Lilium superbum) and with a naturalized Asian "tiger lily" Lilium lancifolium. The leaf arrangement is typically whorled, but sometimes alternate just below the inflorescence and at the very base of stem.


The Michigan lily is an endangered species in the state of New York, where it occurs in Monroe and Jefferson counties. It is listed as threatened in Tennessee.


Lilium pardalinum, also known as the leopard lily or panther lily, is a flowering bulbous perennial plant in the lily family, native to Oregon, California, and Baja California. It usually grows in damp areas. Its range includes California chaparral and woodlands habitats and the Sierra Nevada.
Typically L. pardalinum grows to about 2 metres (6.6 ft) high; the tallest and most vigorous plants can reach up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft).  The bulbs are small, and many are usually clustered together on a rhizomatous stock. The flowers are Turk's-cap shaped, red-orange, with numerous brown spots, usually flowering in July.
Subspecies
Lilium pardalinum subsp. pardalinum Kellogg -- leopard lily - southern California, Baja California
Lilium pardalinum subsp. pitkinense (Beane & Vollmer) Skinner -- Pitkin Marsh lily - northwestern California
Lilium pardalinum subsp. shastense (Eastw.) Skinner -- Shasta lily - Oregon, northern California
Lilium pardalinum subsp. vollmeri (Eastw.) Skinner -- Vollmer's lily - southwestern Oregon, northwestern California
Lilium pardalinum subsp. wigginsii (Beane & Vollmer) Skinner -- Wiggins' lily - southwestern Oregon, northwestern California
The subspecies Pitkin Marsh lily, Lilium pardalinum subsp. pitkinense, is federally listed as an endangered species.


Lilium pardalinum is cultivated by specialty plant nurseries as an ornamental plant, for use in native plant gardens and wildlife gardening; as well as providing height and colour in the flower border and for cut flowers. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Lilium philadelphicum, also known as the wood lily, Philadelphia lily, prairie lily, or western red lily, is a perennial species of lily native to North America.


The plant is widely distributed in much of Canada from British Columbia to Quebec, and parts of the United States (Northeast and Great Lakes regions plus the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains).


Lilium philadelphicum grows to a height of approximately 30 to 90 centimeters. It produces red or orange blooms between June and August.


Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum—western wood lily, native to Midwestern U.S., Great Plains, and Western U.S. regions. It is the floral emblem of the province of Saskatchewan in Canada, and is on the flag of Saskatchewan.


Lilium philadelphicum is listed as an endangered species in Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee and North Carolina. Its status is a threatened species in Kentucky and Ohio.
As the Saskatchewan provincial floral emblem, it is protected under the Provincial Emblems and Honours Act, and cannot be picked, uprooted or destroyed in any manner.


Cats are extremely sensitive to lily toxicity and ingestion is often fatal. Households and gardens that are visited by cats are strongly advised against keeping this plant or placing dried flowers where a cat may brush against them and become dusted with pollen that they then consume while cleaning. Suspected cases require urgent veterinary attention.
Rapid treatment with activated charcoal and/or induced vomiting can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed (this is time-sensitive so in some cases, vets may advise doing it at home), and large amounts of fluid by IV can reduce damage to kidneys to increase the chances of survival.


Lilium superbum grows from 3–7 feet (0.91–2.13 m) high with typically three to seven blooms, but exceptional specimens have been observed with up to 40 flowers on each stem. It is capable of growing in wet conditions. It is fairly variable in size, form, and color. The color is known to range from a deep yellow to orange to a reddish-orange "flame" coloring with reddish petal tips. The flowers have a green star at their center that can be used to distinguish L. superbum from the Asiatic "tigerlilies" that frequently escape from cultivation. It grows in swamps, woods, and wet meadows.


The roots were a food source for Native Americans, and the flowers provide nectar for hummingbirds and larger insects.


It is listed as endangered in Florida, New Hampshire, Alberta and Saskatchewan and threatened in Kentucky, and exploitably vulnerable in New York.


The Turk's cap common name is derived from the reflexed shape of the flower petals, which presumably resemble a type of hat worn by early Turkish people.


The bulbs were made into soups by some Native Americans.


Lilium washingtonianum is a North American plant species in the lily family. It is also known as the Washington lily, Shasta lily, or Mt. Hood lily. It is named after Martha Washington and not the state of Washington; in fact, as the northern range of the plant is near Mount Hood in Oregon, it does not naturally occur in the state of Washington.
Lilium washingtonianum is native to the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada of western North America. Its range is limited to the states of California and Oregon.


Lilium washingtonianum grows up to 2 m tall, and bears large fragrant white or pinkish flowers that are often decorated with purplish spots. The tepals are 6 to 9 cm long and not strongly reflexed. It is typically found in chaparral, open woods, recently burned areas, or revegetating clearcuts.
Subspecies
Lilium washingtonianum subsp. purpurascens (Stearn) M.W.Skinner - flowers aging deep pink or lavender
Lilium washingtonianum subsp. washingtonianum - flowers aging pink or white


The shy cosmet moth (Limnaecia phragmitella) is a moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It is known from all of Europe, as well as Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It is also present in North America, where it is distributed from Nova Scotia to Virginia, west to Oklahoma and north to Ontario. The habitat consists of fens and marshes.
The moth is about 15–22 mm (0.59–0.87 in). Adults are on wing in July in western Europe  and from June to August in North America. Adults have shiny yellowish-tan forewings with two white-ringed dark brown dots and some dark brown shading near the apex. The hindwing is tan shaded with gray.
The larvae feed inside the seedheads of Typha species, including Typha angustifolia and Typha latifolia. There are indications that young larvae mine in the spongy tissue of the leaf sheaths. The larvae have a whitish or pale tan body with a brown dorsal line. The dorsolateral and ventrolateral lines are composed of light brown irregular patches. The head is brown with darker brown spots and there are brown spots on the terminal abdominal segment.


The short-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), like its congener the long-billed dowitcher, is a medium-sized, stocky, long-billed shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. The genus name Limnodromus is  Ancient Greek  from limne, "marsh" and dromos, "racer". The specific griseus is Medieval Latin for "grey". The English name is from Iroquois and was first recorded in 1841.
It is an inhabitant of North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is strongly migratory; it completely vacates in breeding areas during the snow-bound months. This species favors a variety of habitats including tundra in the north to ponds and mudflats in the south. It feeds on invertebrates often by rapidly probing its bill into mud in a sewing machine fashion. It and the very similar long-billed dowitcher were considered one species until 1950. Field identification of the two American Limnodromus remains difficult today. Distinguishing wintering or juvenile short-billed dowitchers from the long-billed species is very difficult and, even given examination their subtlety different body shapes, cannot always be isolated to a particular species. They differ most substantially in vocalizations. The names of American dowitchers are misleading, as there is much overlap in their bill lengths. Only a small percentage can be identified by this character alone.


The body of adults is dark brown on top and reddish underneath. The tail has a black and white barred pattern. The legs are a yellowish color.
There are three subspecies with slight variations in appearance:
L. g. griseus has a white belly and barred flanks.
L. g. hendersoni has a reddish belly and spotted flanks.
L. g. caurinus has a white belly with heavily barred flanks and densely spotted breast.
None of these combines the reddish belly and barred flanks of the breeding plumage long-billed dowitcher. The winter plumage is largely grey. This bird can range from 23 to 32 cm (9.1 to 12.6 in) in length, 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in) in wingspan and 73–155 g (2.6–5.5 oz) in body mass.
The call of this bird is more mellow than that of the long-billed dowitcher, and is useful in identification, particularly of the difficult adult plumages.


Their breeding habitat includes bogs, tidal marshes, mudflats or forest clearings south of the tree line in northern North America. L. g. griseus breeds in northern Quebec; L. g. hendersoni breeds in north central Canada; L. g. caurinus breeds in southern Alaska and southern Yukon.
These birds nest on the ground, usually near water. Their nests are shallow depressions in clumps of grass or moss, which are lined with fine grasses, twigs and leaves. They lay four, sometimes three, olive-buff to brown eggs. Incubation lasts for 21 days and is done by both sexes.
The downy juvenile birds leave the nest soon after hatching. Parental roles are not well known, but it is believed the female departs and leaves the male to tend the chicks, which find all their own food.
They migrate to the southern United States and as far south as Brazil. This bird is more likely to be seen near ocean coasts during migration than the long-billed dowitcher. This species occurs in western Europe only as an extremely rare vagrant.


These birds forage by probing in shallow water or on wet mud. They mainly eat insects, mollusks, crustaceans and marine worms, but also eat some plant material.


Limodorum abortivum, also known as Violet Limodore or Violet bird's-nest orchid, is a species of myco-heterotrophic, achlorophyllous orchid and is native to mainland Europe, western Asia and the Mediterranean area.
It is a rhizomatous  herbaceous plant growing to 85 cm, with an inflorescence of 10-20 violet flowers produced from April to June. The leaves are reduced to scales and, although Limodorum contains photosynthetic pigments, these are insufficient to support the nutrition of the adult plant which is believed to rely entirely on a mycoheterotrophic or parasitic relationship with fungi, primarily of the family Russulaceae.  Seeds are among the largest produced by orchids and seedlings develop very slowly, remaining entirely below ground for 8–10 years before flowering.
Typical Mediterranean habitat is open woodland of evergreen oak, pine and chestnut on alkaline soil from sea level to 1,300 metres.


Limonium perezii is a species of Limonium known by the common names Perez's sea lavender and seafoam statice. It is also known as simply statice (reflecting the former name of the genus), sea lavender or marsh rosemary (common names for the genus). It is native to the coasts of the Canary Islands but are widely used in gardens throughout the world.


This is a tough perennial herb growing from a woody rhizome. The thick leaves are oval to round in shape and up to about 30 centimeters (12 in) long including the petioles, located in a basal rosette about the stem. The inflorescence is a stiff, branching panicle 15 to 45 centimeters (5.9 to 17.7 in) tall, topped with bushy clusters of flowers. The small flower has lavender sepals and white petals.


As a widely used garden plant, it is often referred to by the common names Perez's sea lavender and seafoam statice, as well as variations on the name of the genus (former name Statice, current name Limonium and common names sea lavender and marsh rosemary). It may be referred to by the Afrikaans name papierblom or the common name everlasting in South Africa.


Limonium perezii  is native to the Canary Islands, but widely cultivated as a garden plant.


The Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. The genus name Limosa is from Latin and means "muddy", from limus, "mud". The specific haemastica is from Ancient Greek and means "bloody". An 18th century name for this bird was red-breasted godwit. The English term "godwit" was first recorded in about 1416–7 and is believed to imitate the bird's call.


Adults have long dark legs and a long pink bill with a slight upward curve and dark at the tip. The upper parts are mottled brown and the underparts are chestnut. The tail is black and the rump is white. They show black wing linings in flight. The legs and feet are bluish-grey.


They migrate to South America and the Caribbean. These birds gather at James Bay before fall migration. In good weather, many birds make the trip south without stopping. They are vagrants to Europe, Australia, and South Africa.
They can perhaps be most easily seen in migration on the east coast of North America where they can be plentiful in migration in late July through early August.


Their numbers were reduced by hunting at the end of the 19th century.


Linanthus pungens (syn. Leptodactylon pungens) is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names granite prickly-phlox and granite gilia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Baja California and east to Montana and New Mexico.
This plant has been called a shrub or a perennial herb with an especially woody base. It produces several stems which may grow erect or may be short and spreading, forming a mat. Mat-forming plants are more common at higher elevations. When erect it can reach 80 centimetres (2+7⁄12 ft) in height but is usually shorter. The stems are densely covered in solid, narrow, sharp-pointed leaves. Flowers are solitary or grow in clusters at the ends of the stems. Each funnel-shaped flower is 1 to 2.5 cm (3⁄8 to 1 in) long and may be white, cream, yellowish, or pinkish in color. The flowers generally open at night, when they are pollinated by moths. The flowers and herbage are aromatic. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule with three valves, each valve holding about 5 to 10 seeds.
This plant occurs in pine forests, pinyon-juniper woodlands, sagebrush steppe, and grasslands, and their ecotones. It can be found in subalpine and alpine climates. It can be found in mountain passes and high-elevation fell fields and in lower elevation desert washes. It can tolerate a wide range of conditions, from harsh winters on exposed mountain slopes to hot summers in desert valleys. It is more common in dry climates with low levels of precipitation, and it is tolerant of drought. The plant grows in poor, shallow, rocky, sandy, and salty soils, sometimes in thin layers of soil overlying bedrock. It can grow and is common on volcanic soils, such as pumice, lava and andesite. It is a dominant species in some areas, for example, the white pine-mountain hemlock forests and shrublands in El Dorado County, California, and the sagebrush near the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station in eastern Idaho.


Linaria dalmatica is listed as a noxious weed in 12 U.S. states. It is a grassland invader native to the Mediterranean region, and it was introduced to North America in the late 1800s.  It has fast-growing strong, horizontal roots, and can withstand cold, and is a problem for farms and grasslands in the interior of British Columbia.


It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 30 to 70 centimeters tall with linear leaves 2 to 5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a raceme of flowers occupying the top of the stem. The flower is between 1 and 2 centimeters long with five lobes arranged into two lips with a spur at the end. The flower is usually light to medium purple in color. The fruit is a capsule.
There is a pale pink cultivar of the species named 'Canon Went'.


It is native to Italy, but it can be found growing wild as an introduced species in parts of western North America, including California, western Washington, and British Columbia, and it is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It occurs naturally in moist, moderately nutrient-rich places.
In the UK it is regarded as something of a weed, spreading readily on stony waste ground and walls, although it is tolerated for its attractive, long-lasting flowers which are very attractive to bees.


This plant is poisonous to livestock, though ruminants may tend to avoid consuming it. The larvae of some species of Lepidoptera (butterflies) use this plant as a food source.
In a recent study conducted in Italy the plant was found to contain a compound exhibiting antifungal activity, which drastically reduced the production of aflatoxin B1 in Aspergillus flavus Link., making it a potential natural and 'green' anti-aflatoxin B1 agent suitable for use in the food industry.


Spicebush is a deciduous shrub growing to 6–12 feet (1.8–3.7 m) tall. It has a colonial nature and often reproduces by root sprouting, forming clumps or thickets. The leaves are alternately arranged on the stem, simple, 6–15 cm (2–6 in) long and 2–6 cm (1–2 in) broad, oval or broadest beyond the middle of the leaf. They have a smooth edge with no teeth and are dark green above and paler below. The leaves, along with the stems are very aromatic when crushed with a spicy, citrusy smell, hence the common names and the specific epithet benzoin. In the fall the leaves turn a very bright and showy yellow color.
The yellow flowers grow in showy clusters which appear in early spring, before the leaves begin to grow. The flowers have 6 sepals and a very sweet odor. The ripe fruit is a red, elipsoidal, berrylike drupe, rich in lipids, about 1 cm (1⁄2 in) long and is eaten by several bird species. It has a "turpentine-like" taste and aromatic scent, and contains a large seed. Spicebush is dioecious (plants are either male or female), so that both sexes are needed in a garden if one wants drupes with viable seeds.
Like other dioecious plants, the female plants have a greater cost of reproduction compared to the male plants. In the wild, the population tends to have more males than females possibly due to the heavier reproductive costs on females.
The stem of L. benzoin has a slightly rough, but flat, bark which is covered in small, circular lenticels which give it a rough texture.


Other species in the genus Lindera also have common names containing the word "spicebush" and may appear similar. An example is Lindera melissaefolia which grows in swamps in southern US; it is differentiated by its hairy stems. Calycanthus (sweetshrub, spicebush) is in a different family within the Laurales and also has aromatic leaves.


Lindheimera texana, commonly known as Texas yellow star, is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae within the family Asteraceae. It is found in the south-western United States (Oklahoma and Texas) and northern Mexico (Coahuila). Other common names include star daisy, Texas star and Lindheimer daisy,


Lindheimera texana is a plant that is 6 to 24 inches (15 to 61 cm) tall. Leaves on the lower half on the plant are alternate and coarsely toothed, but on the upper half are opposite and smooth on the edges. Each flower head has five bright yellow ray flowers, each with two prominent veins and indented at the tip. The flowers will be at least 1–1.25 inches (2.5–3.2 cm) in diameter. The flowers will grow within 2 inches (5.1 cm) of each other.


Lineodes integra, the eggplant leafroller moth or nightshade leaftier, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is found from the southern United States (from Florida to California), south to Chile. It has also been recorded from Illinois, Michigan, Ontario and Cuba.
The wingspan is about 18 mm. The forewings are light brown with a dark brown arc which starts at the inner margin and ends in the subterminal area. There is a dark brown semicircular patch along the costa near the apex, which is outlined in white. The hindwings are greyish brown.
The larvae feed on Solanaceae species, including Solanum melongena, Physalis species, Capsicum species, Solanum viarum and Solanum lycopersicum.


Linnaea borealis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae (the honeysuckle family). Until 2013, it was the only species in the genus Linnaea. It is a boreal to subarctic woodland subshrub, commonly known as twinflower (sometimes written twin flower).
This plant was a favorite of Carl Linnaeus, founder of the modern system of binomial nomenclature, for whom the genus was named.


The perennial stems of Linnaea borealis are slender, pubescent, and prostrate, growing to 20–40 centimetres (7.9–15.7 in) long, with opposite evergreen rounded oval leaves 3–10 millimetres (0.12–0.39 in) long and 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) broad. The flowering stems curve erect, to 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) tall, and are leafless except at the base. The flowers are paired, pendulous, 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) long, with a five-lobed, pale pink corolla.


Linnaea borealis was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in Species Plantarum. It was then the sole species in the genus Linnaea. The genus name had been used earlier by the Dutch botanist Jan Frederik Gronovius, and was given in honour of Linnaeus. Linnaeus adopted the name because Linnaea borealis was his favourite plant.
Linnaea borealis is considered to be a single circumboreal species, with three generally recognized subspecies:
Linnaea borealis subsp. borealis - Europe
Linnaea borealis subsp. americana - North America (formerly classified as the species Linnaea americana)
Linnaea borealis subsp. longiflora - Asia, and western North America (from Alaska to California)
The English name "twinflower" for Linnaea borealis refers to the plant's paired flowers.


Linnaea borealis has a circumpolar distribution in moist subarctic, boreal, or cool temperate forests, extending further south at higher elevations in various mountains, in Europe south to the Alps, in Asia south to northern Japan, and in North America south to northern California and to Arizona and New Mexico in the west, and to West Virginia (and formerly Tennessee) in the Appalachian Mountains in the east.
Linnaea borealis is self-incompatible, requiring cross-pollination to produce viable seeds; since pollen dispersal is usually not far, individuals and clonal colonies can become reproductively isolated. Regardless of seed production, Linnaea plants in a particular area often spread by stolons to form clonal patches of the same genotype. Such clonal stands of Linnaea can be long-persisting, in some places remaining extant even if seed is not produced or if seedling germination or establishment does not occur.
The species was presumably common in areas south of its present range during times of Pleistocene ("Ice Age") glaciations, and its clone-forming perennial growth habit has allowed it to survive the subsequent millennia locally within this former range in various high-elevation or otherwise cool and moist habitats, including algific talus slopes with persisting underground periglacial ice.