P. oleracea is one of very few plants able to utilize both CAM and C4 photosynthesis pathways, for a long time believed to be incompatible with each other despite biochemical similarities. P. oleracea will switch from C4 to CAM pathways during times of drought and there is transcription regulation and physiological evidence for C4-CAM hybrid photosynthesis during mild drought.


P. oleracea was recorded in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum. Due to the great variability, a large number of subspecies and varieties have been described as species of their own, but according to other publications, they all fall within the range of variation of P. oleracea. The synonyms P. oleracea subsp. sativa, P. sativa, and P. oleracea var. sativa, which are more common in the literature, refer to a somewhat more robust form in cultivation with larger seeds that cannot be separated from the species. Approximately 40 cultivars of P. oleracea are currently grown.
The flowering plant more commonly known as winter purslane (Claytonia perfoliata) is a member of the Montiaceae family and is not closely related.


Purslane has an extensive distribution, assumed to be mostly anthropogenic (or hemerochoric), extending from North Africa and Southern Europe through the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to Malesia and Australasia. The species status in the Americas is uncertain. In general, it is often considered an exotic weed, but there is evidence that the species was in Crawford Lake deposits (Ontario) in 1350–1539, suggesting that it reached North America in the pre-Columbian era. Scientists suggested that the plant was already eaten by Native Americans, who spread its seeds. How it reached the Americas is currently unknown.


Compared to other common crops, P. oleracea is more tolerant of pests due to its waxy cover which protects the plant from insects and diseases. In some instances P. oleracea is even known to have antifungal properties. However some phytotoxic metabolites of Drechslera indica, a fungus, can cause necrosis on purslane. Dichotomophthora portulacae, another fungus, can cause stem rot.
Schizocerella pilicornis and Hypurus bertrandi are known to feed on Portulaca oleracea. In some instances they may help control the competitiveness of P. oleracea to prevent weed infestation in fields where P. oleracea is not wanted, however they do not stop it from growing completely.


Raw purslane is 93% water, 3% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, purslane supplies 20 calories, and rich amounts (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin E (81% DV) and vitamin C (25% DV), with moderate content (11–19% DV) of several dietary minerals (table). Purslane is a rich source of alpha-linolenic acid, an essential omega-3 fatty acid.


All parts of purslane are edible raw or cooked. The seeds can be eaten raw or used to make a flour.
The plant may be eaten as a leaf vegetable. William Cobbett noted that it was "eaten by Frenchmen and pigs when they can get nothing else. Both use it in salad, that is to say, raw". It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Mexico. The stems, leaves and flower buds are all edible raw or cooked. Purslane may be used fresh as a salad, stir-fried, or cooked as spinach is, and because of its mucilaginous quality it also is suitable for soups and stews. The sour taste is due to oxalic and malic acid, the latter of which is produced through the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway that is seen in many xerophytes (plants living in dry conditions), and is at its highest when the plant is harvested in the early morning.
Aboriginal Australians use the seeds of purslane to make seedcakes. Greeks, who call it andrákla (αντράκλα) or glistrída (γλιστρίδα), use the leaves and the stems with feta cheese, tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, and olive oil. They add it in salads, boil it, or add it to casseroled chicken. In Turkey, besides being used in salads and in baked pastries, it is cooked as a vegetable similar to spinach, or is mixed with yogurt to form a tzatziki variant. In Egypt, it is also cooked like spinach as a vegetable dish, but not in salads.
In Kurdistan, people commonly make a kind of soup from it called palpina soup (شۆربای پەڵپینە). In the Alentejo region of Portugal, purslane is used to cook a traditional soup (sopa de beldroegas) which is topped with soaked bread, poached eggs and/or goats' cheese. In Mexico and the American Southwest, the plant is consumed as "verdolagas."


Soil salination on agricultural soils can cause a decrease in crop yields, and it is no longer possible to grow salt-sensitive species on that soil. Purslane has a high tolerance for salt toxicity, which makes it suitable for cropping in areas where irrigation is necessarily carried out with water having a high chloride-based salinity.
Purslane can remove salt from the cultivation medium under saline conditions. As an intercrop or during one growing season, it can remove 210 kg/ha of chloride and 65 kg/ha of sodium when cultivated at 6.5 dS *m⁻¹, allowing growth of salt-sensitive plants on saline soils. Purslane has a positive effect of companion plants in salty conditions, such as tomatoes.


Archaeobotanical finds are common at many Mediterranean prehistoric sites. In historic contexts, seeds have been retrieved from a protogeometric layer in Kastanas, as well as from the Samian Heraion dating to the 7th century BC. In the 4th century BC, Theophrastus names purslane, andrákhne (ἀνδράχνη), as one of the several summer pot herbs that must be sown in April (Enquiry into Plants 7.1.2). As Portulaca it figures in the long list of comestibles enjoyed by the Milanese given by Bonvesin de la Riva in his "Marvels of Milan" (1288).
In antiquity, its healing properties were thought so reliable that Pliny the Elder advised wearing the plant as an amulet to expel all evil (Natural History 20.210).
Verdolaga, the Spanish word for purslane, is a nickname for South American football clubs with green-white schemes in their uniforms, including Colombia's Atletico Nacional and Argentina's Ferrocarril Oeste. Afro-Colombian singer Totó la Momposina sings a song entitled “La Verdolaga”.


Portulaca pilosa is a species of flowering succulent plant in the purslane family, Portulacaceae, that is native to the Americas. Its common names include pink purslane,  kiss-me-quick and hairy pigweed. Its range extends from the southern United States and the Caribbean as far south as Brazil.
It is a succulent with linear leaves and pink flowers.


The name is derived from pilose, which means to be covered with long soft hairs. Portulaca pilosa is a highly variable species. It exhibits morphological variability during development with the immature plants having wider, longer and flatter leaves than its mature counterparts. The mature leaves are narrower, shorter and more hemispheric in cross section.
Physical differences may also occur due to the variable habitat that this species can be found in. Plants that grow in an arid environment tend to have the greatest density of hairs. Plants that grow in a moister environment tend to have less hairs. Plants with very dense hair under a certain condition will produce growth with fewer hairs under a moist condition, showing its variability of growth. Habit is also governed by its habitat. Plants growing in moist, warm environments tend to branch rather quickly into a spreading habit, with a secondary growth which is erect. Plants in dry and cool environments do the opposite in that they grow erect first and then branch more slowly. This type has a more compact habit.
Specimens from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and New Mexico exhibit all morphologic conditions. Those from Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma usually tend to occur in shallow, sandy soils, often on rocky outcrops, and are often highly branched, compact, short, and not very pilose (hairy).


Portulaca pilosa is a pantropical species  which according to some sources is native to the Americas, and according to others to Asia or even to both.  In the Americas P. pilosa can be found in Mexico, West indies, Central America, and as far south in South America as Brazil. And in the United States, they are typically concentrated in the southern parts such as Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Mississippi among other states.  P. pilosa is a documented invasive species throughout the Hawaiian Islands, the Galapagos Islands, New Caledonia, and Christmas Island (PIER.org 2012).  In Hawaii, P. pilosa is officially documented from the coastline to dry lava flows at over 2,000 feet in elevation  yet can be found up to nearly 6,000 feet in the Pohakuloa Saddle region.
In Cuba, portulaca pilosa is commonly called "Diez de la mañana", i.e. the 10 a.m. flower. In other Latin countries, it is known as "flor Diez del día."


The plants are annual, and the flowering can be from late spring to early fall. They grow and flower year-round in south Florida. This plant is somewhat unusual in that it can grow under a range of different environments, including dry soils, beaches, and disturbed habitats. This plant also grows on roadsides and railroads, on limestone, granitic, and sandstone outcrops.


The roots are fibrous to semi-fleshy. The trichomes are rather obvious at the nodes and are in inflorescence. The branch size range from 3-25 centimeters. The leaf blades are linear to oblong-lanceolate, which is intermediate of the two. They can also be terete to hemispheric, with a range of size (5-20 x 1–3 mm). The plant has an acute apex with involucre-like bract of about six to nine. Flowers range from .5 to 1.2 centimeters in diameter. The color of the petals can range from darkish pink to purple. The flower shape is obovate with 3-5 x 1.5-3 millimeters in size. The stamens in size of 5-12 millimeters but can reach up to 37 millimeters. The stigmas can be of the size of between 3-6 millimeters. The capsules are oval with a 1.5 to 4.3 millimeters in diameter. The seeds are black or leaden with a nearly circular shape. The size ranges from .4 to .6 millimeters in diameter. The surface cells are loosely arranged. The number of chromosomes is 16, which is 2n = 8.


It has been said that the species of Portulaca pilosa in Brazil has been used as a traditional remedy to cause diuresis, antipyresis and analgesia. Studies have shown that its extracts have renal effects. It has also been seen that in rats, such extracts cause an increase in potassium excretion without a concomitant change in water diuresis or sodium excretion.


Potamogeton crispus, the crisp-leaved pondweed, curly pondweed, curly-leaf pondweed or curled pondweed, is a species of aquatic plant (hydrophyte) native to Eurasia but an introduced species and often a noxious weed in North America.


Curly-leaf pondweed is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a flattened, branching stem up to a meter long. The submerged leaves are alternately arranged.  The leaves are sessile, linear or oblong in shape, 25–95 millimetres (1–3+3⁄4 in) long and 5–12 millimetres (3⁄16–15⁄32 in) wide. The leaves may be bright green, olive green or (especially later in the season) fibrous and brownish and have noticeably serrated margins, a feature that distinguishes them from other pondweeds. The leaves usually have wavy edges but this is not always apparent, especially on new growth. Turions occur in leaf axils and at stem tips.

The inflorescence is a short spike of flowers emerging above the water surface. It flowers from May until October.
The turions of the plant develop along with the fruits and germinate, leaving the newly sprouted plants to overwinter.
Although quite variable, P. crispus is usually a straightforward plant to identify. Hybrids with various other pondweeds are recorded, but these do not usually closely resemble P. crispus.
There are described hybrids with Potamogeton trichoides (P. × bennettii Fryer), P.perfoliatus (P. × cooperi (Fryer) Fryer), P. alpinus (P. × olivaceus Baagøe ex G.Fisch.), P.lucens (P. × cadburyae Dandy & G.Taylor), P. praelongus (P. × undulatus Wolgf.), P. ochreatus (P. × jacobsii Z.Kaplan, Fehrer & Hellq.) and P. friesii (P. × lintonii Fryer).


Potamogeton crispus is native to a wide range of countries in Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia (Sumatra), Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam); Africa, the Middle East, Australia, and Europe. It has been introduced to the Americas and New Zealand.


Curly pondweed is widespread and common across most of its native range, growing in standing and slow-flowing water including small ponds and ditches. It is strictly a lowland plant and requires fine substrates in standing or slow-flowing calcareous water. However, it is tolerant of significant nutrient pollution, and this has allowed it to persist in intensively farmed areas where more sensitive pondweeds have declined. Its production of both seed and turions makes it relatively resistant to disturbance such as dredging, in contrast to some of the larger broad-leaved pondweeds, although cutting down to the sediment surface in the early growing season may inhibit turion production.


This pondweed is considered an invasive species in much of North America. It was introduced to the Great Lakes and inland lakes within that region. The plant thrives in conditions normally less habitable to native plant species. It is also able to survive beneath the surface of frozen waterways and resume its rapid vegetative growth before other water plants can regrow.  It competes with native plant life and sometimes displaces it. Curly pondweed may clog waterways, inhibiting aquatic recreation, and is considered a nuisance in some areas. It has also been introduced to South America and New Zealand.


Potamogeton crispus is sometimes cultivated as a pond plant, and generally speaking makes a good garden plant. Since it starts to die back rather early, it is probably a good idea to cut it back in July after it has flowered. In common with other pondweeds of this group it roots poorly from stem cuttings and is best propagated by division of the rhizomes or from turions. As it has proved invasive in some areas, curly pondweed should not be grown outside its native range.


Potamogeton natans, commonly known as broad-leaved pondweed, floating pondweed, or floating-leaf pondweed, is an aquatic species in the genus Potamogeton native to quiet or slow-flowing freshwater habitats throughout the Holarctic Kingdom.


It produces both floating and submersed leaves on the same plant. The floating leaves are ovate to oblong-ovate and almost always cordate at the base.  They are dark green, leathery, opaque, with translucent longitudinal veins.  They are 5 to 10 cm long, pointed at the tips, and rounded at the base.
The stipules are 4 to 17 cm long.
The submerged grass-like structures are called phyllodes, are actually modified leaf stalks.
The stems are cylindrical, without many branches, and grow from 1 to 2 metres.
The main difference between this species and other pondweeds is a discoloured flexible joint just below the top of the long leaf stalk.
The flower spikes are dense, and cylindrical.  They are 5 to 10 cm long, pointed at the tip and rounded at the base.  It flowers from May to September.
The fruits are 4 to 5 mm long and obovate.


Potamogeton nodosus is a species of aquatic plant known by the common names longleaf pondweed  and Loddon pondweed. It is native to Eurasia and the Americas, where it is widespread and can be found in water bodies such as ponds, lakes, ditches, and streams. This is a perennial herb producing a thin, branching stem easily exceeding a meter in maximum length. The leaves are linear to widely lance-shaped and up to 15 centimeters long by 4 wide. Both floating leaves and submerged leaves are borne on long petioles, a distinguishing characteristic. The inflorescence is a spike of many small flowers arising from the water on a peduncle.


Potamogeton perfoliatus (claspingleaf pondweed,  perfoliate pondweed, redhead grass) is a perennial aquatic plant in the family Potamogetonaceae occurring in both standing and flowing freshwater habitats. It is widely distributed globally, occurring in all continents except South America and Antarctica.


Perfoliate pondweed grows from a robust creeping perennial rhizome, intermittently producing round stems up to 3 m long. The submerged leaves are oval and translucent, with no stalk, 20–115 mm long and 7–42 mm wide, clasping the stem (perfoliate), a flat apex, and 5-12 veins on either side of the midrib. They vary considerably in colour and may be bright green, dark green, yellowish, olive or brownish. There are no floating leaves. The stipules are rather delicate and usually fall off quite soon after the new leaf has unfurled. The insignificant flowers are produced between June and September. Fruits are 4 mm across, olive green in colour.
Two subspecies have been described. Subspecies perfoliatus occurs in the Old World. In North America, populations on the eastern seaboard and the Gulf States are considered to be subsp. bupleuroides. Since many pondweeds, including P. perfoliatus, vary naturally in response to growing conditions, it is possible that these variants are ecotypes rather than genuine subspecies. The related P. richardsonii was formerly considered a subspecies of P. perfoliatus, but is now classed as a separate species.
Like most other broadleaved pondweeds, perfoliate pondweed is tetraploid, with 2n=52.
Over much of its range, perfoliate pondweed is unlikely to be confused with any other pondweed species except perhaps P. praelongus. In North America it could be confused with P. richardsonii, but the latter has stipules that disintegrate to persistent fibres even on the lower part of the stem, whereas those of P. perfoliatus disintegrate entirely.
However, perfoliate pondweed regularly hybridises with  other Potamogeton species including P. crispus (P. × cooperi (Fryer) Fryer), P. gramineus (P. × nitens Weber), P.lucens (P. × salicifolius Wolfg.), P. alpinus (P. × prussicus Hagstr.), P. berchtoldii (P. × mysticus Morong), P. wrightii (P. × anguillanus Koidz.), P. maackianus (P. × leptocephalus Koidz.), P. alpinus (P. × prussicus Hagstr.), P. nodosus (P. × assidens Z. Kaplan, Zalewska-Gałosz et M. Ronikier), P. richardsonii (P. × absconditus Z. Kaplan, Fehrer & Hellq.), P. epihydrus (P. × versicolor Z. Kaplan, Hellq. and Fehrer) and P. praelongus (P. × cognatus Asch. & Graebn.). The first three of these are quite common. A triple hybrid, P. gramineus × lucens × perfoliatus (P. × torssandrii (Tiselius) Dörfler), is also known. Many of these hybrids are perennial and long-lived, sometimes occurring in the absence of one or even both parents. Therefore, care should be taken with identification of unusual specimens.


Potamogeton perfoliatus (perfoliate meaning that the leaf encircles the stem) was one of the original species named by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (1753).
DNA analysis indicates that P. perfoliatus is one of the broad-leaved pondweed clade (section Potamogeton) and is probably most closely related to P. richardsonii.


Potamogeton perfoliatus has a broad global distribution, occurring in all continents except South America and Antarctica. It has been recorded from Asia (Afghanistan, India, Indonesia (Sumatra), Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), Australia, North America (Eastern and SE USA), Europe south to Spain, Central Italy and the Balkans and including Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland and Iceland, North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt), the Near and Middle East.  It is widespread in lakes and rivers in the British Isles and Ireland, and is common in much of Eurasia and North America, but has a more scattered distribution towards the southern edge of its range.


P. perfoliatus grows in a wide range of freshwater habitats including lakes, rivers and streams, large ponds, canals and larger drains and ditches. It does not tolerate drying out, and the most robust plants tend to occur in >1 m water depth. Unlike most other broad-leaved pondweeds it is reasonably tolerant of water flow and so can use running waters to a significant extent. It is not especially sensitive to water chemistry provided that the water remains reasonably clear and is not too base-poor, occurring in such diverse habitats as exposed Scottish lochs and lowland fenland rivers. However, at high nutrient concentrations it is vulnerable to shading from phytoplankton and epiphytic algae and filamentous algae. It may also grow in brackish or estuarine habitats, notably in Chesapeake Bay. However, elevated salt concentrations have a negative effect on both growth and flowering.
Waterbirds, fish, water beetles and caddis larvae can all be important grazers of perfoliate pondweed, reducing its biomass or even eliminating it locally.
Perfoliate pondweed is less threatened than other broadleaved pondweeds, but it is listed as Vulnerable in Spain and the Netherlands and Endangered in Flanders. There are ongoing efforts to restore populations in Chesapeake Bay, where this was formerly a co-dominant species.
Perfoliate pondweed is the commonest of the so-called Magnopotamion group of pondweeds. These are a characteristic floristic component of the protected Habitats Directive habitat Type 'Natural eutrophic lakes with Magnopotamion'.


Perfoliate pondweed is not widely cultivated, which is perhaps surprising as it is not ecologically demanding and is an attractive plant. In common with other pondweeds of this group it roots poorly from stem cuttings and is best propagated by division of the rhizomes. It is easy to grow in a garden pond or even in a barrel, but unlike some other submerged plants needs to be able to root in a suitable substrate such as sand or aquatic compost. Keeping nutrient levels low helps to prevent smothering by algae and more invasive aquatic plants. Plants being established should be weighted down initially to allow them to root, and benefit from being planted among other aquatic plants that can act as a 'nursery'. Transplants have a high survival rate once established.
P. perfoliatus may also be established from seed, which should be sown on a suitable substrate in shallow water. The seed should be left uncovered, or covered only with a minimal amount of substrate to hold the seed in place and allow root development, as seed buried more than 1 cm deep either does not germinate or the seedlings die. The seed typically germinates within about 10 days.
Although it is possible to grow perfoliate pondweed in fish ponds, it would be vulnerable to fish predation initially, so should be protected during establishment.


Potentilla argentea, known as hoary cinquefoil, silver cinquefoil, silvery cinquefoil, or silver-leaf cinquefoil, is a perennial herb (or forb) in the family Rosaceae. Potentilla argentea is native to Europe, Asia Minor, and Siberia, and is introduced throughout temperate areas in North America and in New Zealand.


The basal leaves are palmate, generally in groups of five, grey-green above and silvery-white and tomentose below. With multiple flowers per plant, the flowers bloom a few at a time from late Spring to mid-Summer. Flowers are about 1 to 1.5 cm wide, and are five-petaled, with the petals rounded, wedge-shaped, and separated, sulpher-yellow coloured, in leafy cymes. Its growth habit is upright or sprawling, to 0.5 m high.
Potentilla argentea thrives in sunny, disturbed, and well-drained areas at elevations from sea level to 2000 m.


Potentilla canadensis, the dwarf cinquefoil, is a  species of cinquefoil (genus Potentilla) native to North America.
The Iroquois take a pounded infusion of the roots as an antidiarrheal. The Natchez give the plant as a drug for those believed to be bewitched.
Along with Potentilla simplex, the plant is an indicator of impoverished soil.


Potentilla erecta (syn. Tormentilla erecta, Potentilla laeta, Potentilla tormentilla, known as the (common) tormentil, septfoil or erect cinquefoil ) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family (Rosaceae).


Potentilla erecta is a low, clump-forming plant with slender, procumbent to arcuately upright stalks, growing 10–30 centimetres (3.9–11.8 in) tall and with non-rooting runners. It grows wild predominantly in Europe and western Asia, mostly on acid soils and in a wide variety of habitats such as mountains, heaths, meadows, sandy soils and dunes.
This plant flowers from May to August/September. There is one yellow, 7–11 millimetres (0.28–0.43 in) wide flower, growing at the tip of a long stalk. There are almost always four notched petals, each between 3 and 6 mm long. Four petals are rather uncommon in the rose family. The petals are somewhat longer than the sepals. There are 20–25 stamens.
The radical leaves have a long petiole, whilst the leaves on the flowering stalks are usually sessile or with short petioles. The glossy leaves are alternate, ternate, consisting of three obovate leaflets with serrated margins. The paired stipules are leaflike and palmately lobed.
There are 2–8 dry, inedible fruits.


Potentilla erecta is found wild throughout Europe, Scandinavia and West Asia.
Potentilla erecta is almost ubiquitous in the British Isles, recorded in almost all 10 km squares except close to the Wash. and is listed as a species of least concern. It is very common in grasslands, heaths, moors and mountains, bogs including roadsides and pastures, mostly on acidic soils but avoiding chalk. It is a component of British National Vegetation Classification community M25 (Molinia caerulea–Potentilla erecta mire).


In North America Potentilla erecta is found in the east as an introduced species.


The rhizomatous root is thick.  It has little value for food use  because of its bitterness and low caloric value. The roots are a main ingredient of a bitter liqueur from Bavaria and the Black Forest area, called Blutwurz. It is also used in Ukraine along with honey in horilka.
The plant is used in herbal medicine as an astringent because of its tannin content, which is unusually high for a herbaceous plant. Structurally-related phlobaphenes, used as a red dye for leather known as tormentil red, can be extracted from the root of the common tormentil along with the triterpene alcohol tormentiol.  Aqueous extracts of the rhizomes are reported to have low toxicity in rats and mice.


Potentilla gracilis, known as slender cinquefoil  or graceful cinquefoil, is a species of cinquefoil. It ranges from Alaska down the west coast of Canada and the United States, and Colorado.
Named varieties are:
Potentilla gracilis var. elmeri (Rydb.) Jeps. – combleaf cinquefoil
Potentilla gracilis var. flabelliformis (Lehm.) Nutt.
This perennial herb is variable in morphology, growing several erect stems up to a meter tall from a branching caudex and rhizome unit. The leaves are palmate and compound, each divided into five to seven wide lance-shaped leaflets with toothed edges. The leaflets are hairy, with many more hairs on the undersides, making them lighter in color than the top surfaces. The basal leaves are borne on very long petioles. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and reduced. The inflorescence is a cyme of several flowers, each with usually five sepals, lower bracts, and yellow petals.
It is a larval host to the two-banded checkered skipper.


Potentilla norvegica is a species of cinquefoil known by the common names rough cinquefoil, ternate-leaved cinquefoil, and Norwegian cinquefoil. It is native to Europe, Asia, and parts of North America, and it can be found elsewhere as an introduced species.


Potentilla simplex, also known as common cinquefoil or old-field five-fingers or oldfield cinquefoil, is a perennial herb in the Rosaceae (rose) family native to eastern North America from Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador south to Texas, Alabama, and panhandle Florida.
Potentilla simplex is a familiar plant with prostrate stems that root at nodes, with yellow flowers and 5-parted palmately pinnate leaves arising from stolons (runners) on separate stalks. Complete flowers bearing 5 yellow petals (about 4-10 mm long) bloom from March to June. It bears seed from April to July. It is commonly found in woodlands, fields, and disturbed areas. Along with Potentilla canadensis, the plant is an indicator of impoverished soil.
Pollinators include mason bees, small carpenter bees, cuckoo bees, halictid bees, syrphid flies, tachinid flies, blow flies, and others. Less common pollinators are wasps and butterflies. Rabbits and groundhogs eat the foliage.
Young shoots and leaves are edible as a salad or pot herb.


Prasophyllum colensoi is a species of orchid endemic to New Zealand where it is commonly known as the leek orchid. It has a single tubular, dark green leaf and up to twenty scented, yellowish-green to reddish-brown flowers. It is similar to P. hectori, the only other species of Prasophyllum found in New Zealand, but is distinguished from it by its smaller size, fewer flowers and different habitat.


Prasophyllum colensoi is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single dark green, tube-shaped leaf 120–350 mm (5–10 in) long and 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) wide with a whitish base. The free part of the leaf is 80–120 mm (3–5 in) long. Between five and twenty lightly scented flowers are crowded along a flowering spike 30–120 mm (1–5 in) long. The flowers are yellowish-green to reddish-brown and 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) long. As with others in the genus, the flowers are inverted so that the labellum is above the column rather than below it. The dorsal sepal is more or less egg-shaped, 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. The lateral sepals are linear to lance-shaped, about the same size as the dorsal sepal or slightly narrower and almost parallel to each other. The petals are 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide and turned downwards. The labellum is egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, about 4 mm (0.2 in) wide with its outer end turned upwards so that the tip often extends between the lateral sepals. There is a thick, fleshy callus in the centre of the labellum. Flowering occurs from October to March.


Prasophyllum colensoi was first formally described in 1853 by Joseph Dalton Hooker and the description was published in The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843. The specific epithet (colensoi) honours William Colenso.


This leek orchid is widespread on both the North and South Islands of New Zealand where it grows in grassland, between herbs and around the edge of bogs.


Prenanthes is a genus of plant in the family Asteraceae, often referred to as rattlesnake root.
Molecular analysis in 2009 revealed that the genus as traditionally envisioned is polyphyletic, meaning that it is a conglomeration of species not closely related to one another. All but one species will be moved to other genera, leaving only Prenanthes purpurea. The species, sometimes called purple lettuce, is widespread across much of Europe and the Middle East.
formerly included
see Aetheorhiza Askellia Brickellia Chondrilla Crepidiastrum Crepis Emilia Erythroseris Faberia Hololeion Hypochaeris Ixeris Kovalevskiella Lactuca Lapsanastrum Launaea Lygodesmia Nabalus Notoseris Paraprenanthes Parasenecio Picrosia Sonchella Sonchus Soroseris Stephanomeria Trixis Youngia


Primula farinosa, the bird's-eye primrose, is a small perennial plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Northern Europe and northern Asia, and (rarely) farther south at high altitudes in the mountains of southern Europe. This primrose thrives on grazed meadows rich in lime and moisture.


This small, Arctic–alpine primrose grows from 3–20 centimetres (1.2–7.9 in) in height. The leaves are set in rosettes and are 2–10 centimetres (0.8–4 in) long and 1–2 centimetres (0.4–0.8 in) broad, smooth on top, powdery-white on the underside. The violet-blue flowers appear in early spring, and often in rounded clusters on top of a powdery stem when the plant is older.


Primula hendersonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to western North America, from California north to southern British Columbia and Idaho. Common names include broad-leaved shooting star, Henderson's shooting star, mosquito bills, and sailor caps.


P. hendersonii is summer deciduous, dying back to the ground after the rains cease. It has basal clumps of leaves, 2–16 cm, with nodding flowers 6–25 mm long on stems 10–30 cm tall. The flowers are magenta to deep lavender to white, with the stamens thrust out and the sepals bent back. It is highly variable and hybridizes with Primula clevelandii, from which it can be distinguished by its reddish or purplish stem.


In California, it occurs in the northwest (except the north coast), the Cascade Range, the Sierra Nevada foothills, the Central Valley, the San Francisco Bay Area, the north Inner South Coast Ranges, and the San Bernardino Mountains. It is generally found in open woodlands, from sea level in British Columbia, up to 1,900 m (6,234 ft) altitude in California.


It needs good drainage, and needs a dry summer period. Plants germinated from seed may take 3–5 years to produce flowers. For some plants, with frequent light fertilization and moisture, dormancy may be delayed, and flowering time may be decreased to 1–2 years. Another technique to speed flowering is to place them in a cooler after dormancy, then bring them to a shadehouse in midsummer. It can be propagated by division in winter. It prefers shade when inland.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


The leaves and roots can be eaten when roasted or boiled, but are reported to be poisonous when eaten raw.


Jepson Flora Project: Dodecatheon hendersonii
Plants of British Columbia: Dodecatheon hendersonii
"Dodecatheon hendersonii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 16 February 2006.
ITIS 23962
Cullina, William, and Cullina, Bill (2000) The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada, Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 0-395-96609-4.
Las Pilitas Incredible Edibles
"Wildflowers of Henry W. Coe State Park" brochure, Larry Ulrich, 2002


Primula meadia (syn. Dodecatheon meadia), the shooting star or eastern shooting star, is a species of flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. It is native to the eastern United States and Canada, spanning north from Manitoba and New York, south to Texas and Florida.
It has a wide natural habitat, being found in both forests and prairies. It is most often found in calcareous areas. It can be locally common in some areas of its range, however, it can become rare on its geographic edges.


Primula meadia is a perennial, growing to 8–20 in (203–508 mm) high, with flowers that emerge from a basal rosette of leaves (scapose). It blooms in the spring. The flowers are nodding, and form an umbel. Its seeds are dispersed by gusts of wind that shake the erect scapes.
This species is geographically widespread, and has considerable morphological variation across its range. Most southern population have white petals, while northern populations have white to pink, lavender, or magenta petals.


Primula meadia and the white-flowered form P. meadia f. album have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Primula meadia 'Goliath' is a cultivar that grows larger flowers on taller scapes.


Primula parryi, or Parry's primrose, is a herbaceous perennial native to wet areas from the subalpine zone to alpine tundra in the Rocky Mountains from Montana to Arizona and New Mexico.
Flowers are magenta with yellow eyes. In the high mountains, they bloom in summer; at lower elevations, in late spring.
The whole plant has a skunklike smell.
Asa Gray named Parry's primrose for Charles Christopher Parry, who discovered it in 1861. Parry had previously named Grays Peak after him.


Primula veris, the cowslip, common cowslip, or cowslip primrose (syn. Primula officinalis Hill), is a herbaceous perennial  flowering plant in the primrose family Primulaceae. The species is native throughout most of temperate Europe and western Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney and in Scandinavia. This species frequently hybridizes with other Primulas such as the common primrose Primula vulgaris to form false oxlip (Primula × polyantha) which is often confused with true oxlip (Primula elatior), a much rarer plant.


The common name cowslip may derive from the old English for cow dung, probably because the plant was often found growing amongst the manure in cow pastures. An alternative derivation simply refers to slippery or boggy ground; again, a typical habitat for this plant.
The species name veris ('of spring', referring to the season) is the genitive case form of Latin ver ('spring'). However, primrose P. vulgaris, flowers earlier, from December to May in the British Isles.
Other historical common names include cuy lippe, herb peter, paigle or pagil, peggle, key flower, key of heaven, fairy cups, petty mulleins, crewel, buckles, palsywort, and plumrocks.


Primula veris is a variable evergreen or semi-evergreen perennial plant growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall and broad, with a rosette of leaves 5–15 cm long and 2–6 cm broad. The deep yellow flowers are produced in spring, in clusters of 10–30 blooms together on a single stem. Each flower is 9–15 mm broad.  Red- and orange-flowered plants occur rarely but can be locally widespread in areas where coloured primula hybrids bloom at the same time as the native cowslip, enabling cross-pollination.


The cowslip is frequently found on more open ground than the primrose, including open fields, meadows, coastal dunes, and clifftops.


The plant suffered a decline due to changing agricultural practices throughout the 1970s and 1980s in Britain. It may therefore be rare locally, though where found it may be abundant. Additionally the seeds are now often included in wildflower seed mixes used to landscape motorway banks and similar civil engineering earthworks where the plants may be seen in dense stands. This practice has led to a revival in its fortunes.


In cultivation this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


The cowslip may be confused with the closely related Primula elatior (oxlip) which has a similar general appearance and habitat, although the oxlip has larger, pale yellow flowers more like a primrose, and a corolla tube without folds.


The roots of Primula veris contain several glycosides of 5-methoxysalicylic methyl ester, such as primeverin and primulaverin. In the crude dried root, their phenolic aglycones are responsible for the typical odour reminiscent of methyl salicylate or anethole. The dried roots contain significant amounts of triterpene saponins, such as primula acid I/II, while in the flower these constituents are located in the sepals, and the dominating constituents are flavonoids. Rare side effects of the saponins can be nausea or diarrhoea while some of the phenolic constituents are possibly responsible for allergic reactions.
The subspecies macrocalyx, growing in Siberia, contains the phenolic compound riccardin C.


Cowslip leaves have been traditionally used in Spanish cooking as a salad green.  Uses in English cookery include using the flowers to flavor country wine and vinegars; sugaring to be a sweet or eaten as part of a composed salad while the juice of the cowslip is used to prepare tansy for frying.  The close cousin of the cowslip, the primrose P. vulgaris has often been confused with the cowslip and its uses in cuisine are similar with the addition of its flowers being used as a colouring agent in desserts.
English children's writer Alison Uttley in her story "The Country Child" (1931) of family life on an English farm from the perspective of a 9-year-old farmer's daughter Susan describes cowslips among the favourite flowers of her heroine and mentions her participation in preparing them for making cowslip wine, a locally important process. After its initial preparation, cowslip wine "would change to sparkling yellow wine" offered in "little fluted glasses" with a biscuit to important "morning visitors" of the farm: such as the curate coming for subscriptions,  the local squire (landowner) and an occasional dealer (of their produce). This wine "was more precious than elderberry wine, which was the drink for cold weather, for snow and sleet".
 In the midland and southern counties of England, a sweet and pleasant wine resembling the muscadel is made from the cowslip flower, and it is one of the most wholesome and pleasant of home-made wines, and slightly narcotic in its effects. In times when English wines were more used, every housewife in Warwickshire could produce her clear cowslip wine…the cowslip is still sold in many markets for this purpose, and little cottage girls still ramble the meadows during April and May in search of it…country people use it as a salad or boil it for the table.
Anne Pratt


This herb was already mentioned by Pliny the Elder for its early blooming attributes. Species from the genus Primula along with other ritual plants played a significant role in the pharmacy and mythology of the Celtic druids, likely as an ingredient of magical potions to increase the absorption of other herbal constituents. In the Middle-Ages it was also known as St. Peter's herb or Petrella and was sought after by Florentine apothecaries. Hildegard von Bingen recommended the medicinal parts only for topical use but the leaves were also consumed as food. Other common names at the time were 'Herba paralysis', 'Verbascum', primrose, or mullein leaves. It was frequently misidentified as or confused with similar species from the genus Primula.


The plain prinia (Prinia inornata), also known as the plain wren-warbler or white-browed wren-warbler, is a small cisticolid warbler found in southeast Asia. It is a resident breeder from Pakistan and India to south China and southeast Asia. It was formerly included in the tawny-flanked prinia (Prinia subflava), resident in Africa south of the Sahara. The two are now usually considered to be separate species.


These 13–14-cm long warblers have short rounded wings, a longish tail, strong legs and a short black bill. In breeding plumage, adults are grey-brown above, with a short white supercilium and rufous fringes on the closed wings. The underparts are whitish-buff. The sexes are identical.
In winter, the upperparts are a warmer brown, and the underparts more buff. The tail is longer than in summer. There are a number of races differing in plumage shade. The endemic race in Sri Lanka retains summer plumage, including the shorter tail, all year round.


This skulking passerine bird is typically found in wet lowland grassland, open woodland, scrub and sometimes gardens. The plain prinia builds its nest in a shrub or tall grass and lays three to six eggs. (The tawny-flanked prinia nests in herbage and lays two to four eggs.)
Like most warblers, the plain prinia is insectivorous. The song is a repetitive tlee-tlee-tlee.


The huhu beetle (Prionoplus reticularis) is a longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. It is the heaviest beetle found in New Zealand.


To Māori, the larval form is known as huhu (also tunga haere, tunga rākau) with the adult stage known as pepe-te-muimui. However, the larval and adult forms are commonly referred to as the huhu grub and huhu beetle, respectively.
As the huhu larva reaches maturity it ceases to bore in wood and casts its skin. This still edible stage is known in Maori as tataka. It then develops wings and legs, and while it is still white, it is known as pepe. Finally, it emerges and flies off to reproduce and is known as tunga rere.


Female adult huhu beetles oviposit their 3mm cigar-shaped eggs in clutches of 10–50, though up to 100 may be found. Eggs are laid in cryptic sites or in cracks in the bark of fallen wood. In laboratory conditions of 20°C ± 2°C and a relative humidity of c. 75%, eggs hatched in 23 ± 2 days.
Before hatching, the larva can be seen to move inside the egg and will break free from the egg using its mandibles to pierce the chorion of the egg and then enlarging the opening by chewing, although the chorion itself is not ingested. Setae that are found on abdominal segments 1-6 assist in providing support as the larva leaves the egg and excavates the initial gallery.
The whitish-coloured larvae measure up to 70 millimetres (2.8 in) long and normally feed on dead wood of gymnosperms (mainly native and introduced conifers) associated with lowland podocarp forest. Larval duration of P. reticularis is two to three years in the wild. Under laboratory conditions, larval duration has been reduced to c. 250 days using an artificial diet and maintaining a temperature of 20°C. In its final instar the larva moves to within 7.5 - 10cm of the surface of the wood before constructing the pupal chamber. The pupal chamber is constructed by enlarging the diameter of the normal gallery over a period of one to three days. This process creates fragments of wood similar to wood shavings about 3cm by 1cm in size which are then packed into the larval gallery to form a plug. Once the plug is completed the larva lines the walls of the pupal chamber with the last frass voided from its gut. The larva then undergoes a resting period of around ten to fifteen days where the abdominal segments contract and the body darkens slightly whereupon it moults into a pupa.
The pupal phase lasts around 25 days with gametogenesis being completed during this stage. Eclosion occurs with a rupture along the frontal suture followed by a longitudinal rupture to the posterior border of the mesothorax. The head, feet and wings are freed during arching movements of the body through the ruptured cuticle. The emerged adult may then enter an inactive period of three to five days prior to creating an exit tunnel out of the pupal cavity.
Following pupation and emergence, the adult beetle does not eat and lives for approximately two weeks.


The larvae of P. reticularis are edible to humans, with a long history of indigenous consumption, and their flavour has been described as like buttery chicken or peanut butter. There are different names in Māori for grubs at different stages of development, for example young larvae still actively feeding on timber are called tunga haere or tunga rākau, while full grown grubs which have ceased to feed and are preparing to pupate are called tataka and are the most prized (because there is no undigested wood pulp inside of them at this point). Huhu grubs may be consumed either raw or traditionally cooked in a hāngi, and are an especially rich source of fat in the New Zealand wilderness.


Prionoxystus robiniae, the carpenterworm moth or locust borer, is a moth of the family Cossidae. It was first described by Peck in 1818 and it is found in southern Canada and most of the United States.
The wingspan is 43–85 mm. Adults are on wing from May to July depending on the location.
The larvae feed on locust, oak, chestnut, poplar, willow, maple and ash. The species is considered a pest, because the tunnels the larvae create decrease the value of hardwood lumber.


The California root borer occurs widely in western North America from Alaska to Mexico. It spends most of its life underground feeding on the roots of most deciduous trees and shrubs, as well as some conifers, brambles, and agricultural crops such as hops and grape vines.


The 2.5 to 5.7 cm  adults, which are reddish-brown with smooth shiny wing-cases, emerge from the soil from June to early August.  The males are smaller than the females and have more strongly serrated antennae. The adults do not feed. They fly at night, seeking mates. Males appear to be more active, while females produce a pheromone to attract males. The female-produced sex pheromone compound has been identified as an isomer of 3,5-dimethyldodecanoic acid. A synthetic mixture of all four possible isomers of 3,5-dimethyldodecanoic acid is highly attractive to male P. californicus in field trials.
The life span of the adult P. californicus is 10 – 20 days. Shortly after mating the female lays single cream to yellow-brown 4.8 mm eggs, of which she can produce up to 200 in her lifetime, 1.25 to 3.8 cm below the soil surface near the roots of suitable hosts.
The larvae, cream to brown in color and strongly segmented, seek out roots shortly after hatching. They furrow and tunnel through the roots as they consume tissue, moving upward and inward and often killing apical regions.  Age distribution data suggests that larvae move from smaller to larger diameter roots as they age and grow from 6.5 mm to 7.6 cm, eventually reaching the root crown.
Pupation occurs near the soil surface in a cell constructed of soil and root material.  The 2.5 to 5 cm cream pupa look like the adults.


Prionus coriarius (sometimes referred to as "the tanner" or "the sawyer") is a species of longhorn beetle.


Prionus coriarius can reach a length of 18–45 millimetres (0.71–1.77 in). It is the most massive of European beetles. The female is larger than the male. Body is shiny, dark brown to black. The neck shield bears on each side three clearly distinct teeth.  The serrated antennae of the male are composed of 12 segments. The ventral surface of the female is hairless, while in the male is pubescent.


The larvae are polyphagous, but they mainly develop in rotten wood of deciduous and coniferous trees. They can reach a length of about 60 millimetres (2.4 in). The life cycle lasts at least 3 years. Adults can be found from July to September. Its activity is mainly crepuscular and nocturnal.


This species is  common in most of Europe and it is present in North Africa and in the Near East (Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Iran).


Probole amicaria, known generally as the friendly probole or redcheeked looper, is a species of geometrid moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in North America.
The MONA or Hodges number for Probole amicaria is 6838.


Proboscidea althaeifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Martyniaceae known by the common names desert unicorn-plant  and yellow-flowered devil's claw. It is native to the desert southwest of the United States, where it grows in sandy habitat and blooms during the hot summer. This is a perennial herb growing from a thick, tuberlike yellow root. The stem is decumbent, creeping along the ground. The shiny leaves have rounded, oval, or roughly triangular blades up to 7 centimeters long which are deeply lobed and wavy along the edges. The inflorescence is an array of many showy, fragrant, bell-shaped flowers with five lobes flaring several centimeters wide. The flower is yellow to orange or apricot with an intricate pattern of speckles and streaks, its lower lobe lined with a nectar guide. The fruit is a large seed pod many centimeters long, a cylindrical body tapering into a very long, thin, curving tail. As the fruit dries the tail cracks open and splits into two hooked, claw-like halves. These hard, dry fruits were used as tools by local Native Americans.


Proboscidea louisianica is a species of flowering plant in the family Martyniaceae. Its true native range is unclear, but probably includes parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico in North America. It occurs in other areas, including other regions in North America, Europe, Australia, and South Africa, as an introduced species. It is the most widely distributed species in its family. Common names it shares with other Proboscidea species include devil's claw and unicorn-plant. Names more specific to the species include common devil's claw, ram's horn, aphid trap, Louisiana unicorn-plant, purple-flowered devil's-claw, goat's head, and elephant tusks.


The plant is an annual herb with spreading stems up to about 80 centimeters long. The oppositely arranged  ovate leaves have blades up to 30 centimeters wide. The herbage is coated in glandular hairs carrying tiny oil droplets, making the plant feel oily to the touch and giving it a strong scent. The essential oil vaporizes into the air, and gives the landscape a "distinct acrid odor". The lobed flower corolla is lavender, "purple-cream", yellowish with purple spots, or "dull white to somewhat pinkish purple" with yellowish nectar guides and with or without purple blotches. One plant can produce up to 80 fruits. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule up to 10 centimeters long with a long, narrow, curving beak. As the fruit dries and the flesh falls away, the hard beak splits into two horns. The horns can be up to 30 centimeters long. The fruit can contain black or white seeds; white-seeded plants are more common in cultivation. The seeds can be over 43% oil.


The plant rarely self-pollinates. It is pollinated by bees; species noted on the plant include Melissodes communis, Svastra obliqua, Anthophora occidentalis, Augochlorella striata, Bombus fervidus, Bombus pensylvanicus, and Lasioglossum species.


The young green fruits are edible and can be pickled. The seeds were used as food by Native Americans.
Like those of other Proboscidea species, the dry fruits were very useful in Native American basketry. The dry horns could be incorporated into the baskets to form patterns, or used as sewing implements. They provided a black dye, especially when mixed with ash. Use of this species in basketry has been recorded among the Hopi, Apache, Havasupai, and Kawaiisu. The Tohono O'odham domesticated the species and used the dark dry fruit for the black-colored patterning in basketry designs. Many other groups probably cultivated and used it, but records of use rarely distinguish between the particular Proboscidea species utilized.
The plant is grown as an ornamental plant and a garden novelty, and it is used in floral arrangements. It is cultivated in a similar manner as okra.


The dry, hooked fruits attach to animals, and it has been suggested that the plant was introduced to South Africa by this means.  The fruits are particularly suited for catching on "the fetlocks of ungulates".
The plant can be weedy, easily taking hold in disturbed habitat types and displaying a "preference for waste places". It occurs in pastures, cultivated fields, and feedlots. It is a weed of cotton crops known to cause drastic loss of fiber yields. Its strong essential oil appears to have an allelopathic effect on cotton plants, causing necrosis of the foliage. The weed is resistant to many herbicides used in cotton, and control options include hoeing by hand.


The purple martin (Progne subis) is a passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is the largest swallow in North America. Despite its name, the purple martin is not truly purple. The dark blackish-blue feathers have an iridescent sheen caused by the refraction of incident light giving them a bright blue to navy blue or deep purple appearance. In some light they may even appear green in color.
Being migratory, their breeding range extends from central Alberta down through the eastern United States. Subspecies breed in Baja California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Most make a brief stopover in the Yucatán Peninsula or Cuba during pre-breeding migration to North America and during post-breeding migration before reaching their overwintering site in South America.
They are known for their speed, agility, and their characteristic mix of rapid flapping and gliding flight pattern. When approaching their nesting site, they will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked, just like the peregrine falcon does when hunting smaller birds.


In 1750 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the purple martin in the third volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Great American Martin". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been brought to London from the Hudson Bay area of Canada by James Isham. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the purple martin with swallows and swifts in the genus Hirundo. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Hirundo subis and cited Edwards' work.
The purple martin is now placed in the genus Progne that was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The genus name Progne is from Greek mythology. Progne or Procne (Πρόκνη), the daughter of King Pandion of Athens and wife of King Tereus of Thrace was transformed into a swallow. The specific epithet subis is Latin for a bird mentioned by the Roman author Nigidius Figulus that could break eagle's eggs. It may have been applied to this species because of its aggression toward birds of prey when it is nesting.
Three subspecies are recognised:
P. s. subis (Linnaeus, 1758) – nominate form, south Canada, east USA and east Mexico. Winters through South America east of the Andes
P. s. hesperia Brewster, 1889 – southwest USA and northwest Mexico. Perhaps winters in South America.
P. s. arboricola Behle, 1968 – west USA and north Mexico. Perhaps winters in South America.


With an average length of 20 cm (7.9 in) and a wingspan up to 38 cm (15 in), the purple martin is the largest amongst the 90 some species in the family Hirundinidae.
Measurement ranges:
Length: 7.5–7.9 in (19–20 cm)
Weight: 1.6–2.1 oz (45–60 g)
Wingspan: 15.3–16.1 in (39–41 cm)
Purple martins are sexually dimorphic. Adult males are entirely black with glossy steel blue sheen, the only swallow in North America with such coloration. Adult females are dark on top with some steel blue sheen, and lighter underparts. Adults have a slightly forked tail. Both male and female purple martins exhibit delayed plumage maturation, meaning it takes them two years before they acquire full adult plumage. Subadult females look similar to adult females minus the steel blue sheen and browner on the back. Subadult males look very much like females, but solid black feathers emerge on their chest in a blotchy, random pattern as they molt to their adult plumage.
Purple martins are quite vocal. They are known to chirp, chortle, rattle, and croak. Their various calls are described as "throaty and rich" and can be rendered as tchew-wew, pew pew, choo, cher, zweet and zwrack. The males have a gurgling and guttural courtship song, a dawn song, and even a subsong used at the end of the breeding season. Tapes of purple martin song are sold to attract martins to newly established birdhouses.
The species of this genus are very closely related, and some view the purple martin, gray-breasted martin, caribbean martin, and southern martin, as a superspecies.


Purple martins' breeding range is throughout temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open areas across eastern North America, and also some locations on the west coast from British Columbia to Mexico. Martins make their nests in cavities, either natural or artificial. In many places, humans put up real or artificial hollow gourds, or houses for martins, especially in the east, where purple martins are almost entirely dependent on such structures. As a result, this subspecies typically breeds in colonies located in proximity to people, even within cities and towns. This makes their distribution patchy, as they are usually absent from areas where no nest sites are provided. Western birds often make use of natural cavities such as old woodpecker holes in trees or saguaro cacti. The birds migrate to the Amazon basin in winter. Their winter range extends into Ecuador but does not seem to ascend far up the Andean foothills.
The first record of this species in Europe was in Colne Bridge, Yorkshire, in 1854. This sighting was later documented by Seth Lister Mosley at Tolson Museum. More recently, a single bird was spotted on the Lewis, Scotland, on 5–6 September 2004, and a second sighting was recorded on the Azores on 6 September 2004.


Wintering in Brazil, Bolivia and parts of Peru, purple martins migrate to North America in the spring to breed. Spring migration is somewhat staggered, with arrivals in southern areas such as Florida and Texas in January, but showing up in the northern United States in April and in Canada as late as May.
Arrival date to the breeding grounds tends to correlate directly with age. It is assumed that the older birds arrive on the breeding grounds first to obtain the better nesting sites. Older males typically migrate first and leave the overwintering sites in late December or early January, followed by older females. Younger birds (first yearlings) typically arrive to the breeding grounds up to two months later.
Fall migration is also staggered, as birds head south when the breeding season is over. Some birds leave as early as July and others stay as late as October. Martins generally migrate over land, through Mexico and Central America. When not breeding, martins form large flocks and roost together in great numbers. This behavior begins just prior to the southern migration and continues on the wintering grounds.
These flocks can be so large that when they take-off from these roosts to forage the activity is detected on Doppler radar as rings. Referred to as roost rings, they start small then get larger until the birds have spread out and the ring disappears.


Males arrive in breeding sites before females, and establish their territory. A territory can consist of several potential nest sites. After forming a pair, both the male and female inspect available nest sites. This process is complicated by the fact that artificial nest sites could be houses with many rooms, clustered gourds, or single gourds. The nest is made inside the cavity of such artificial structures and retains a somewhat flat appearance. The nest is a structure of primarily three levels: the first level acts as a foundation and is usually made up of twigs, mud, small pebbles and in at least a few reported cases, small river mollusk shells were used; the second level of the nest is made up of grasses, finer smaller twigs; the third level of construction composing the nest is a small compression usually lined with fresh green leaves where the eggs are laid.
Purple martins are generally known to raise only a single brood. The average clutch size is four to six eggs per nest. Females lay one egg a day and incubation begins when the penultimate (second to last) egg is laid. Incubation lasts 15–16 days and the female is the main incubator, with some help from the male. Hatching occurs over the course of two to three days. Fledging, when the young leave the nest, occurs between 26 and 32 days after hatch day. Fledglings will continue to receive care from both parents for up to a month after fledging.


Purple martins are insectivores, primarily feed by hawking, a strategy of catching insects in the air during flight. The birds are agile hunters and eat a variety of winged insects. Rarely, they will come to the ground to eat insects. They usually fly relatively high, so, contrary to popular opinion, mosquitoes do not form a large part of their diet. Research published in 2015, however, does indicate that the purple martin feeds on invasive fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and that they may make up a significant portion of their diet.


Purple martins (nominate form P. s. subis) are considered synanthropic, meaning they have developed an association with humans over time and benefit from living in close proximity to them. Through years of generational imprinting and nesting the eastern species has made a complete transition from nesting in the wild to relying on human-provided nesting sites. Initially difficult to get a colony started, once established, the colony will persist as long as nesting sites are available. Martins have a very strong "site tenacity" and if they are successful in raising a brood, will often return to the same site to nest year after year.
The human-avian relationship was in place even before the population crash in the 20th century; Cherokee were known to have hollowed out gourds and hung them on wooden snags and posts in the pre-colonial era. They erected them so that the adult birds would build nests and then feed thousands of insects to their young each day that would otherwise be eating their crops. In 1808, Chickasaws and Choctaws were observed hanging gourds for martins on stripped saplings near their cabins, as African Americans were doing likewise on long canes on the banks of the Mississippi.
Continual maintenance and protection is required, as European starlings and house sparrows compete with martins as cavity-nesters, and will fight with martins over nest sites. Thus, unmonitored purple martin houses are often overtaken by more aggressive, non-native species. Purple martin proponents are motivated by the concern that the purple martin would likely vanish from eastern North America were it not for this assistance.
There is a misconception among many people regarding purple martin temperament. Many people believe purple martins will defend their nesting sites against competitor species such as the house sparrow and European starling. However, both species are more aggressive and in most cases will instinctively fight to the death in order to obtain a nesting site. The house sparrow and European starling are known to kill adult martins, take over the nest and remove eggs or remaining young.


Purple martins suffered a severe population crash in the 20th century widely linked to the release and spread of European starlings in North America. European starlings and house sparrows compete with martins for nest cavities. Where purple martins once gathered in the thousands, by the 1980s they had all but disappeared.
Though classified as being of least concern by the IUCN, purple martins are experiencing a unique threat to their long-term survival. Nearly all eastern members of the species exclusively nest in artificial gourds and 'condo' units provided by human 'landlords', and this practice has been experiencing a steady decline. One study found that nearly 90% of landlords were 50 years of age or older, and that younger generations were not exhibiting the same enthusiasm nor possessing the resources to provide martin housing.


Progomphus obscurus, the common sanddragon, is a species of dragonfly in the family Gomphidae, found in eastern United States and southern Ontario.


Prolimacodes badia, the skiff moth, is a moth of the family Limacodidae. It is found in North America from New Hampshire to Florida, west to southern Ontario, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.
The wingspan is 24–35 mm. Adults are on wing from May to September.
The larvae feed on the leaves of a wide variety of trees and shrubs, including birch, blueberry, cherry, chestnut, Ostrya virginiana, oak, poplar, Myrica gale and willow.


Promachus rufipes, known generally as the red-footed cannibalfly or bee panther, is a species of robber flies (insects in the family Asilidae).


It is native to western North America from Alberta and British Columbia to California to Montana, where it usually grows in shady, damp areas, such as forest understory. Additional populations have been found in the Black Hills of Wyoming and South Dakota as well as in the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan. A typical west coast habitat is in forest floors of California oak woodlands, where common understory flora associates may include Coastal woodfern, Dryopteris arguta; Maidenhair fern, Adiantum jordanii and False Solomon's seal, Maianthemum racemosum.


It is an erect, few-branched perennial herb growing up to a meter tall from a rhizome. Its narrow, fuzzy stems bear wide, oval-shaped, pointed leaves up to 15 centimeters long and hairless to hairy, often with hairs along the edges and on the veins underneath. The inflorescence at the tips of branches produce one to three drooping, hanging flowers which may be hidden in the cover of the large leaves. The flower is bell-shaped with six white to green veiny tepals and six protruding stamens with large anthers. The fruit is an orange to bright red berry just under a centimeter wide.


Prosartes smithii is a North American species of flowering plants known by the common name largeflower fairybells. It is native to western North America from Vancouver Island in British Columbia south as far as Monterey County in California. It grows in shady forest and woodland, including redwood forests.
Prosartes smithii is an erect, branching perennial herb growing up to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall. Its narrow, fuzzy stems bear wide, oval-shaped, pointed leaves up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long and mostly hairless. The inflorescence produces up to seven drooping, hanging flowers which may be hidden in the cover of the large leaves. The flower is cylindrical to bell-shaped with six white to green-tinged tepals each up to 3 cm (1.2 in) long. The fruit is an oval-shaped orange or red berry just over 1 cm (0.4 in) long.


Prosartes trachycarpa, the roughfruit fairybells,  rough-fruited fairybells or rough-fruited mandarin, is a North American species of plants in the lily family. The species is widespread, known from British Columbia to Ontario and south to Arizona and New Mexico. One isolated population was reported from Isle Royale in Lake Superior.
The flowers are delicate and hang down. The berry is larger than a Saskatoon, pincherry or chokecherry, about the size of a grocery store cherry or small grape. The rough-fruited fairybell can be found in the same locale as other native fruits such as Saskatoons and chokecherries. This perennial is 30 centimeters (12 in) to 60 centimeters (24 in) in height.  The leaves alternate and are about 3 centimeters (1.2 in) to 8 centimeters (3.1 in)  Berries begin yellow, then orange and when fully ripe are red. The surface of the fruit feels fuzzy and velvety.
The images of the rough-fruited fairy bell here were photographed as one was climbing up the riverbank of the South Saskatchewan River, south of Saskatoon. The first nations ate fairybells, and a previous name was dog feet.
The specimen shown in the photograph, Prosartes trachycarpa (rough-fruited fairybell) was found in western Canada.  The species is listed amongst plants found in the Prince Albert National Park and Riding Mountain National Park and are considered a common range plant of northern Saskatchewan.


The berries have historically been eaten by Blackfeet Native Americans.


Prosopis pubescens, commonly known as screwbean mesquite,  is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, southern Nevada and Utah) and northern Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora).


This plant grows to about 7 m (23 ft). It has light brown bark, usually short, straight spines 1 to 3 centimeters long, twice-compound leaves, and numerous small yellowish flowers appearing in elongate spikes. The tightly twisted seedpods (legumes) are up to 5 centimeters long and very much resemble turned screws. This morphology may have been an evolutionary defense against seed predators such as bean weevils (Bruchinae). The seeds germinate after being scarified in the digestive tracts of animals that eat them. The plant also grows in a clockwise spiral.


It is found along streams and valleys in deserts, particularly in damp or saline soil. It grows alongside common plants of this habitat type, such as arrowweed (Pluchea sericea) and tamarisks. It can be found on playas and other areas of alkaline substrates. This and other mesquite species are dominant plants in the Mesquite Bosque-mesquite woodlands, a common habitat type in the desert southwest region.
Many types of animals readily eat the seedpods, including several bird and rodent species and coyotes. Many species of birds nest and roost in the trees, and small mammals find shelter in thicketlike stands.


Like those of other Prosopis species, Screwbean Mesquite has nutritious seedpods that can be eaten. The Pimas cooked the pods in dirt-covered pits over intervals of a few days. Mesquite is a traditional Native American food source, being used to make meal, cakes and syrup. Used as a staple food for centuries by desert dwellers, this high protein meal contains good quantities of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc, and is rich in the amino acid lysine as well. Mesquite is high in fiber, moderate in sugar, and 8% protein. It has a sweet, rich, molasses-like flavor with a hint of caramel which blends well into smoothies or other drinks, especially those made with cacao and maca. The fruits may be used as a coffee substitute.


Native Americans found Screwbean wood valuable for building, for making tools and weapons, and as firewood. The wood is durable and considered attractive, and it may be used in woodworking. Some Native Americans also used the root bark to prepare a treatment for wounds.


Prosopis velutina, commonly known as velvet mesquite, is a small to medium-sized tree.  It is a legume adapted to a dry, desert climate.  Though considered to be a noxious weed in states outside its natural range, it plays a vital role in the ecology of the Sonoran Desert.


The velvet mesquite is native to the Sonoran, Mojave, and Chihuahuan Deserts. It grows at elevations below 4,000 to 5,000 feet in desert grasslands and near washes. The main distribution is in central and southern Arizona and in adjacent Sonora, Mexico. Near waterways, mesquites can form deciduous woodlands called bosques.


Velvet mesquite can grow to 30–50 ft (9–15 m) tall or more.  It grows larger in areas with ample water, smaller in open, dry grasslands.  The youngest branches may be green and photosynthetic.  Young bark is reddish-brown and smooth.  As it matures, it becomes a dark, dusty gray or brown and takes on a shredded texture.  Yellow thorns up to one inch long appear on the young branches.  The leaves are about 3–6 in (7.5–15 cm) long, fine, and bipinnately compound.  They fold closed at night.
The taproot sinks deep into the earth, far deeper than the height of the tree, taking advantage of water sources inaccessible to most plants.  Roots extend to about 50 ft (15 m), but depths as much as 175 ft (53 m) have been recorded.
The mesquite is deciduous, losing its leaves in winter, and leafs out again in the spring when all danger of frost is past.  Because of its deep root system, it keeps its leaves in the dry months of summer in all but the most severe drought years.  The flowers are yellow and form in the spring (after the leaves) in dense cylindrical clusters (catkins) roughly 4 in (10 cm) long.  Long seedpods (legumes) form from the flowers.  They are bright green and look somewhat like pea pods when young. Mature, dry pods are hard and contain several hard, dry, brown seeds.  The seeds need to be scarified before they can germinate.  This scarification typically takes place in the digestive tracts of animals, which eat the seeds and then disperse them widely, as the seed takes days to pass through the animal.


The mesquite contributes greatly to the desert ecosystem.  Coyotes, round-tailed ground squirrels, collared peccaries, mule deer, white-tailed deer, and jackrabbits all eat mesquite pods, as do livestock when they are available. Birds feed on the flower buds.  As a member of the legume family, mesquites fix nitrogen in the soil.  Mesquites can serve as nurse trees to young cacti, such as the saguaro. The shade of its branches provides protection for small mammals, especially burrowing animals.  Native Americans used the seeds for food, grinding them into a flour.  The bark was used for baskets and fabrics and the wood for firewood and building.  The leaves and gum were used as medicine.
The range of the velvet mesquite has changed because of grazing.  Cattle not only dispersed mesquite seeds, but they also overgrazed the land, resulting in fewer range fires to control the mesquite population.  Mesquites grew more densely and spread into what had been grassland.  Consequently, velvet mesquite is considered an invasive species or noxious weed in several states.  However, mesquite bosques cover only a small fraction of the area they covered before human settlement.  Agriculture, firewood cutting, housing developments, and the lowering of the water table have all contributed to the loss of native mesquite stands.


Velvet mesquite is a common choice for residential and commercial xeriscaping in Tucson and Phoenix, cities which are inside its natural range.  An established mesquite tree needs little or no watering, and is an attractive ornamental plant.
Medicinal uses: Sore throats were treated with a hot tea made from a blend of the clear sap plus inner red bark.  Stomachaches were treated with a tea made from the fresh leaves.  Toothache was treated by chewing the soft inner bark of the root.  For flagging appetite, a tea made from the dried leaves was taken before meals.
Cosmetic uses: Most important to a select number of folks was mesquite's use against hair loss.   This treatment was used by men only, and consisted of the black sap that oozes from mesquite wounds (not the clear sap) mixed with other secret herbs and applied to the scalp.  Special mesquite herbal soap for "macho" hair is still available in parts of Mexico.
Bark was used for baskets and fabrics.
Wood is important for firewood and for flavor when grilling meat.


Mesquite pods are an important source of food for humans as well as native wildlife.  Pods are considered a slow-release food due to galactomannin gums which have been found to lower glycemic responses.  Their glycemic index is 25%, compared to 60% for sweet corn, and 100% for white sugar.
Dried and toasted, the pods are ground into mesquite meal and mesquite flour.  Both flour and meal are used to make cakes, breads, muffins, and pancakes.


Prosotas nora, the common lineblue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in Asia to Australia. The species was first described by Rudolf Felder in 1860.


Male upperside: purplish brown or purplish with a dark tint, some specimens brown with a very slight purplish sheen seen only in certain lights. Forewings and hindwings: nearly uniform, both with slender black anteciliary lines, the hindwing in addition with the costal and dorsal margins paler; in most specimens with a subterminal black spot in interspace 2, sometimes seen only by transparency from the underside; tail black tipped with white. Underside: brown, hoary, brownish or pale dull brown. Forewing: a subbasal pair of transverse white strigae, a shorter pair along the discocellulars and a discal pair; these strigae all narrowly edged on the inner sides of each pair with fuscous which gives the appearance of transverse bands somewhat darker than the ground colour; the subbasal pair extend from vein 1 to vein 12, the discocellular pair from upper to lower apex of cell and the discal pair are very irregular and dislocated at each vein, the whole having the appearance of a dark sinuous band; terminal markings often very faint and ill defined or again fairly prominent and consisting of a double subterminal series of transversely linear, sometimes lunular, dark spots, with edgings paler than the ground colour; lastly, an anteciliary dark line. Hindwing: with transverse pairs of white, inwardly fuscous-edged strigae similar to those on the forewing, but even more irregular and broken; the subbasal pair extended from costa to vein 1, below which the dorsal area is whitish, the discocellular pair extend from the costa and posteriorly coalesce with the discal pair which are as irregular and dislocated as in the forewing; terminal markings similar to those on the forewing, but the double subterminal series of dark spots more lunular and a prominent round black subterminal spot crowned with ochraceous in interspace 2. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen dark brown; the shafts of the antennae speckled with white; beneath: the palpi fringed with black, thorax dark greyish brown, abdomen white.
Female upperside: brownish purple, sometimes fuscous. Forewings and hindwings: as in the male with anteciliary dark lines, but differ as follows: Forewing: an iridescent bluish sheen from base outwards to disc; hindwing; a slender more or less prominent white line edging the anteciliary black line on the inner side, a sub terminal geminate (paired) double black spot in interspace 1 and a similar larger single spot in interspace 2. Underside: ground colour paler and brighter than in the male, the markings similar but more neatly and generally more clearly defined; both forewings and hindwings in most of the specimens have a white terminal line before the anteciliary dark line. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen much as in the male.


Peninsular India from the outer Himalayas to Travancore, avoiding the desert tracts; Sri Lanka; Assam; Myanmar; Cambodia; Tenasserim; the Andamans and Nicobars; extending into the Malayan subregion and to the Philippines.


Protea cynaroides, also called the king protea, is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.
The king protea is the national flower of South Africa. It also is the flagship of the Protea Atlas Project, run by the South African National Botanical Institute.
The king protea has several colour forms and horticulturists have recognized 81 garden varieties, some of which have injudiciously been planted in its natural range. In some varieties the pink of the flower and red borders of leaves are replaced by a creamy yellow. This unusual flower has a long vase life in flower arrangements, and makes for an excellent dried flower.
Protea cynaroides is adapted to survive wildfires by its thick underground stem, which contains many dormant buds; these will produce the new growth after the fire.


Protea cynaroides is a species of protea in the huge family Proteaceae. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. It has Gondwanan distribution, which means that it is mainly spread across the Southern Hemisphere, from Southern Africa, across to Australia, to South America, although certain species are also found in equatorial Africa, India, southern Asia and Oceania as well.
Protea cynaroides is further placed within the subfamily Proteoideae, which is found mainly in Southern Africa.  This subfamily is defined as those species having cluster roots, solitary ovules and indehiscent fruits. Proteoideae is further divided into four tribes: Conospermeae, Petrophileae, Proteae and Leucadendreae. The genus Protea, and hence P. cynaroides, is placed under the tribe Proteae.


The name of the plant family Proteaceae as well as the genus Protea, both to which P. cynaroides belongs to, derive from the name of the Greek god Proteus, a deity that was able to change between many forms. This is an appropriate image, seeing as both the family and the genus are known for their astonishing variety and diversity of flowers and leaves.
The specific epithet cynaroides refers to the artichoke-like appearance of the flower-heads: the artichoke belongs to the genus Cynara.


P. cynaroides is a woody shrub with thick stems and large dark green, glossy leaves. Most plants are one metre in height when mature, but may vary according to locality and habitat from 0.35 to 2 metres (1 ft 2 in to 6 ft 7 in) in height. The "flowers" of P. cynaroides are actually composite flower heads (termed an inflorescence) with a collection of flowers in the centre, surrounded by large colourful bracts, from about 120 to 300 millimetres (5 to 12 in) in diameter. Large, vigorous plants produce six to ten flower heads in one season, although some exceptional plants can produce up to forty flower heads on one plant. The colour of the bracts varies from a creamy white to a deep crimson, but the soft pale pink bracts with a silvery sheen are the most prized.


Protea cynaroides grows in a harsh environment with dry, hot summers and wet, cold winters. Several adaptions include tough, leathery leaves, which helps to prevent excessive loss of moisture, and a large taproot which penetrates deep into the soil to reach underground moisture. Like most other Proteaceae, P. cynaroides has proteoid roots, roots with dense clusters of short lateral rootlets that form a mat in the soil just below the leaf litter. These enhance solubilisation of nutrients, thus allowing nutrient uptake in the low-nutrient, phosphorus-deficient soils of its native fynbos habitat.

The flowers are fed at by a range of nectarivorous birds, mainly sunbirds and sugarbirds, including the orange-breasted sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea), southern double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus), malachite sunbird (Nectarinia famosa), and the Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer). In order to reach the nectar, the bird must push its bill into the inflorescence. As it does so, its bill and face gets brushed with pollen, thereby allowing for possible pollination.
Along with birds, a host of insects are attracted to the flowerhead, such as bees, for example the Cape honeybee, and various beetle species such as rove beetles and the beetles of the huge family Scarabaeidae such as the protea beetle Trichostetha fascicularis and monkey beetles.
Like many other Protea species, P. cynaroides is adapted to an environment in which bushfires are essential for reproduction and regeneration. Most Protea species can be placed in one of two broad groups according to their response to fire: reseeders are killed by fire, but fire also triggers the release of their canopy seed bank, thus promoting recruitment of the next generation; resprouters survive fire, resprouting from a lignotuber or, more rarely, epicormic buds protected by thick bark. P. cynaroides is a resprouter as it shoots up new stems from buds in its thick underground stem after a fire.


The king protea is the national flower of South Africa and as such lends its name to the national cricket team, whose nickname is "the Proteas" In the early 1990s there was a political debate as to how and if the flower should be incorporated onto the national rugby teams shirts, perhaps replacing the controversial springbok.


Protea laurifolia, also known as the grey-leaf sugarbush, is a shrub from South Africa. It is native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Another vernacular name for this species is laurel sugarbush. In Afrikaans this species is known by the common names of louriersuikerbos, lourier-suikerbos, suikerbos and suikerkan.
Protea laurifolia was first described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1806.


Protea laurifolia is a tall, erect shrub which can grow up to eight metres in height. The leaves are grey to bluish green and short-stalked with horny margins. It flowers from mid-Autumn to early Winter, or from April to November. The plant is monoecious with both sexes in each flower.
It is similar to P. neriifolia, but has a more westerly distribution. P. neriifolia has sessile (no petiole) leaves, which curve upwards and are often somewhat more greenish.


This plant species is endemic to South Africa, but occurs in both the Northern and Western Cape provinces. It is found from Nieuwoudtville to Franschhoek and Anysberg. In the Western Cape it occurs in the Elands Kloof in the Hottentots Holland Mountains and the Agterwitzenberg Vlakte in the Skurweberg Mountains, part of the Koue Bokkeveld mountain range.


It grows in sandy or granite soils, at altitudes of 400 to 1,200 metres. It is usually found in a fynbos habitat, but sometimes also grows on shale, or in renosterveld or scrubland.
The adult plants are killed by the periodic wildfires of its habitat, but its seeds survive these events. The fruits are woody and persistent, which means they are retained on the plant after senescence. The burnt skeletons of trees release the seeds from the retained dry flower heads in the season following a wildfire. The seeds are dispersed by means of the wind.


The hybrid cultivar 'Rose Mink' was selected by Dennis Perry and is sold in the US as an ornamental plant. It is fairly frost-hardy in southern Californian gardens.


The status of world population is not considered threatened. It was first assessed as 'least concern' by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) in 2009. According to the 2019 SANBI assessment the overall population is decreasing, but it was nonetheless still assessed as 'least concern'.


Protea nitida, commonly called wagon tree, waboom or blousuikerbos, is a large, slow-growing Protea endemic to South Africa. It is one of the few Protea species that grows into trees, and the only one that has usable timber.


Protea nitida is a slow-growing tree, with very thick white-grey bark, that varies considerably in height. It is normally about 5 meters tall, but in good conditions it may reach a height of up to 10 meters, with a trunk diameter of 1 meter. The young leaves are crimson, but they become a bluish, sea-green colour in later life. These leaves are described as "oblong to elliptic", "hairless" and "leathery". Large, bisexual flower heads appear all through the year, especially in winter, and bear sweet nectar. Small nuts are released about a year after flowering.
Throughout their distribution, a dwarf, multi-stemmed form with narrow green leaves also occurs—at one point regarded as a distinct species, Protea reticulata.


The natural range of Protea nitida is from the Cape Peninsula, all the way to the Bokkeveld escarpment and into the Eastern Cape. It grows on mountain slopes of all altitudes and in the right conditions, they can form large open woodlands. Though they are not threatened, in many areas they have been cleared for timber, often to be replaced by commercial pine plantations.


The common name wagon tree and waboom originates from the use of its wood in making wagon wheels pre-1800.


It is listed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute as 'least concern'.


Proxys punctulatus, the black stink bug, is a species of stink bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, Central America, and North America.


Prumnopitys taxifolia, the mataī (Māori: mataī) or black pine, is an endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon there.
It grows up to 40 m high, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are linear to sickle-shaped, 10–15 mm long and 1.5–2 mm broad. The seed cones are highly modified, reduced to a central stem 3–4 cm long bearing 1-6 scales, each scale maturing berry-like, 10–15 mm long, violet-purple with a soft edible pulp covering the single seed. The seeds are dispersed by the New Zealand pigeon (kererū), which eats the 'berries' and passes the seeds in its droppings.


The scientific name taxifolia derives from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the yew (Taxus). In the past the species, like the other species of Prumnopitys, was often included in Podocarpus; in this species under the name Podocarpus spicatus. It is distinguished from Prumnopitys ferruginea (miro) by the shorter, more slender leaves and the globose violet-purple cones.


The timber of this tree was used extensively in New Zealand for flooring during the mid-20th century. Mataī is not threatened, although as a forest-type it has been greatly reduced through widespread logging. Very few intact examples of mataī-dominated forest remain.


The dunnock (Prunella modularis) is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is by far the most widespread member of the accentor family; most other accentors are limited to mountain habitats. Other common names of the dunnock include: hedge accentor, hedge sparrow or hedge warbler.


The dunnock was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He coined the binomial name of Motacilla modularis. The specific epithet is from the Latin modularis "modulating" or "singing". This species is now placed in the genus Prunella that was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1816.
The name "dunnock" comes from the English dun (dingy brown, dark-coloured) and the diminutive ock, and "accentor" is from post-classical Latin and means a person who sings with another. The genus name Prunella is from the German Braunelle, "dunnock", a diminutive of braun, "brown".
Eight subspecies are recognised:
P. m. hebridium Meinertzhagen, R, 1934 – Ireland and the Hebrides  (west of Scotland)
P. m. occidentalis (Hartert, 1910) – Scotland (except the Hebrides), England, Wales and west France
P. m. modularis (Linnaeus, 1758) – north and central Europe
P. m. mabbotti Harper, 1919 – Iberian Peninsula, south-central France and Italy
P. m. meinertzhageni Harrison, JM & Pateff, 1937 – Balkans
P. m. fuscata Mauersberger, 1971 – south Crimean Peninsula (north coast of the Black Sea)
P. m. euxina Watson, 1961 – northwest and north Turkey
P. m. obscura (Hablizl, 1783) – northeast Turkey, Caucasus and north Iran
Some taxonomists have recently suggested that dunnock might be better treated as three species, with P. m. mabbotti and P. m. obscura being elevated from subspecies status.


A European robin-sized bird, the dunnock typically measures 13.5–14 cm (5.3–5.5 in) in length. It possesses a streaked back, somewhat resembling a small house sparrow. Like that species, the dunnock has a drab appearance which may have evolved to avoid predation. It is brownish underneath, and has a fine pointed bill. Adults have a grey head, and both sexes are similarly coloured.
Unlike any similar sized small brown bird, dunnocks exhibit frequent wing flicking, especially when engaged in territorial disputes or when competing for mating rights. This gives rise to one of their common names, "shufflewing".
The main call of the dunnock is a shrill, persistent tseep along with a high trilling note, which betrays the bird's otherwise inconspicuous presence. The song is rapid, thin and tinkling, a sweet warble which can be confused with that of the Eurasian wren, but is shorter and weaker.


Dunnocks are native to large areas of Eurasia, inhabiting much of Europe including Lebanon, northern Iran, and the Caucasus. They are the only commonly found accentor in lowland areas; all the others inhabit upland areas. Dunnocks were successfully introduced into New Zealand during the 19th century, and are now widely distributed around the country and some offshore islands. Favoured habitats include woodlands, shrubs, gardens, and hedgerows where they typically feed on the ground, often seeking out detritivores as food.


Dunnocks are territorial and may engage in conflict with other birds that encroach upon their nests. Males sometimes share a territory and exhibit a strict dominance hierarchy. Nevertheless, this social dominance is not translated into benefits to the alpha male in terms of reproduction, since paternity is usually equally shared between males of the group. Furthermore, members of a group are rarely related, and so competition can result.
Female territorial ranges are almost always exclusive. However, sometimes, multiple males will co-operate to defend a single territory containing multiple females. Males exhibit a strong dominance hierarchy within groups: older birds tend to be the dominant males and first-year birds are usually sub-dominant. Studies have found that close male relatives almost never share a territory.
The male's ability to access females generally depends on female range size, which is affected by the distribution of food. When resources are distributed in dense patches, female ranges tend to be small and easy for males to monopolise. Subsequent mating systems, as discussed below, reflect high reproductive success for males and relatively lower success for females. In times of scarcity, female territories expand to accommodate the lack of resources, causing males to have a more difficult time monopolising females. Hence, females gain a reproductive advantage over males in this case.


The dunnock possesses variable mating systems. Females are often polyandrous, breeding with two or more males at once, which is quite rare among birds. This multiple mating system leads to the development of sperm competition amongst the male suitors. DNA fingerprinting has shown that chicks within a brood often have different fathers, depending on the success of the males at monopolising the female.  Males try to ensure their paternity by pecking at the cloaca of the female to stimulate ejection of rival males' sperm. Dunnocks take just one-tenth of a second to copulate and can mate more than 100 times a day. Males provide parental care in proportion to their mating success, so two males and a female can commonly be seen provisioning nestlings at one nest.
Other mating systems also exist within dunnock populations, depending on the ratio of male to females and the overlap of territories. When only one female and one male territory overlap, monogamy is preferred. Sometimes, two or three adjacent female territories overlap one male territory, and so polygyny is favored, with the male monopolising several females.  Polygynandry also exists, in which two males jointly defend a territory containing several females.  Polyandry, though, is the most common mating system of dunnocks found in nature.  Depending on the population, males generally have the best reproductive success in polygynous populations, while females have the advantage during polyandry.
Studies have illustrated the fluidity of dunnock mating systems. When given food in abundance, female territory size is reduced drastically. Consequently, males can more easily monopolise the females. Thus, the mating system can be shifted from one that favours female success (polyandry), to one that promotes male success (monogamy, polygynandry, or polygyny).


The dunnock builds a nest (predominantly from twigs and moss and lined with soft materials such as wool or feathers), low in a bush or conifer, where adults typically lay three to five unspotted blue eggs.