Scaled quail inhabit dry, open valleys, plains, foothills, rocky slopes, draws, gullies, and canyons that have a mixture of bare ground, low herbaceous growth, and scattered brushy cover. Good scaled quail habitat is characterized by low-growing grasses with forbs and shrubs. Overall ground cover is between 10 and 50%. Trees and shrubs should be less than 6.6 feet (2.0 m) tall. Scaled quail avoid the dense growth associated with streamsides. Transmitter-fitted scaled quail had individual home range sizes of 52 and 60 acres (21 and 24 ha).
An absolute requirement by scaled quail for a source of open water has not been established; there is some debate in the literature whether there is such a requirement. Scaled quail have been reported as inhabiting an area 7 or 8 miles (11 or 13 kilometres) from the nearest water in Arizona. In New Mexico, it was not unusual to find Scaled Quail 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometres) from water. Wallmo  observed winter coveys 3 and 7 miles (4.8 and 11.3 kilometres) from water in Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas.
In Arizona, scaled quail summer habitat is seldom within 660 feet (200 m) of water. Scaled quail were observed drinking at stock tanks from April to June (which was a dry period during the course of the study) every 2 to 3 days. In Oklahoma, scaled quail often migrate to farms and ranches in winter and are thus closer to a source of water in winter than in summer. DeGraaf and others  reported that in winter, scaled quail are usually found within 1.25 miles (2.01 km) of a source of water.


Feeding cover: scaled quail use grass clumps and shrubs for cover while feeding. In one study they were frequently seen crossing 82 to 165 feet (25 to 50 metres) of bare ground. When disturbed, scaled quail hid in snakeweed (Gutierrezia spp.) or in grass clumps. In June and July foraging occurs on open grasslands which are not used at other times.
Loafing cover: scaled quail coveys occupy loafing or resting cover after early morning feeding periods. Scaled quail occupy desert grassland or desert scrub with a minimum of one loafing covert per approximately 70 acres (28 hectares). In northwestern Texas, loafing coverts were characterized by: (1) overhead woody cover, (2) lateral screening cover, (3) a central area with bare soil, and (4) one or more paths through the lateral cover. Covert heights ranged from 1.6 to 5.9 feet (0.49 to 1.80 m) high and 2.6 to 6.9 feet (0.79 to 2.10 m) in diameter. Cholla formed all or part of the overhead cover of 85% of coverts, even though they were dominant at only 12% of the study locations. In areas where scaled quail occur without cholla, woody species such as wolfberry (Lycium spp.) and mesquite are important for overhead cover. In Oklahoma pinyon-juniper habitats, scaled quail use the shade of tree cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata) and human-made structures. In Arizona, scaled quail occupied wolfberry and mesquite 1.7 to 5 feet (0.52 to 1.52 m) tall for loafing cover. This overhead cover provides midday shade, but is open at the base to allow easy escape from predators. In Oklahoma, winter home ranges always contained skunkbush sumac, tree cholla, or human-made structures providing overhead cover.
Night-roosting cover: scaled quail roosts were observed in yucca (Yucca angustifolia), tree cholla, and true mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus)-yucca-fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) vegetation types. The height of vegetation used for night roosts was less than 1.6 feet (0.49 m).
Nesting cover: In March or April winter coveys spread out into areas with less cover. This use of areas with less cover coincides with a seasonal decrease in the number of raptors in the same area. Scaled quail nests are constructed under tufts of grasses, and are sheltered by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), creosotebush (Larrea tridentata), mesquite, catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii), cactus, or yucca; under dead Russian-thistle (Salsola kali), mixed forbs, or soapweed yucca; or sheltered in old machinery or other human-made debris. In Oklahoma, 66% of nests were in one of four situations: (1) dead Russian-thistle, (2) machinery and junk, (3) mixed forbs, and (4) soapweed yucca. In New Mexico, ordination of breeding birds and vegetative microhabitats indicated that scaled quail were associated with increased levels of patchiness and increased cover of mesquite and cactus.


Scaled quail are opportunistic eaters. Seeds are consumed year-round. Large seeds (such as those of mesquite and snakeweed) are important in Scaled quail diets. Other seeds include those of elbowbush (Forestiera angustifolia), catclaw acacia, mesquite, hackberry (Celtis spp.), Russian-thistle, rough pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), and sunflowers, ragweeds (Ambrosia spp.), and other Asteraceous plants. Scaled quail consume more grass seeds than do other quail species. Other dietary components include leaves, fruits, and insects. Summer diets are high in green vegetation and insects, which are also important sources of moisture.
In Oklahoma, small groups of scaled quail feed among soapweed yucca and in soapweed yucca-sand sagebrush ranges, weed patches, and grain stubble. Also in Oklahoma, early winter foods apparently eaten when other foods are not available included snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata), sand paspalum (Paspalum stramineum), field sandbur (Cenchrus pauciflorus), purslane (Portulaca spp.), skunkbush sumac, Fendler spurge (Euphorbia fendleri), and leaf bugs. Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) and juniper berries were always avoided. Winter foods of the scaled quail in Oklahoma include Russian-thistle and sunflower (Helianthus spp.) seeds.
In northwestern Texas, selection of foods by scaled quail was dependent on foraging techniques, availability, and seed size. Small seeds were selected when they were still on the plant and could be easily stripped, but were not eaten once they had fallen, presumably because they were too small and/or too hard to find. Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) was a staple in winter diets; it was not highly selected but was consumed in proportion to its availability (and lack of availability of choice items). Generally, in Texas grass seeds (mainly tall dropseed [Sporobolus asper] and rough tridens [Tridens muticus]) were major constituents of scaled quail diets. This was attributed to a precipitation pattern that resulted in a relatively higher amount of grass seed available, and a lower amount of available forbs. In the same study green vegetation formed a higher proportion of the diet than reported for other areas.
In southwestern Texas, chestnut-bellied scaled quail consumed woody plant seeds and green vegetation. The seeds of brush species comprised 68% of the contents of 32 scaled quail crops. Green food, chiefly wild carrot (Daucus carota) and clover (Trifolium spp.) made up 7.17%. Elbowbush was the single most important source, followed by Roemer acacia (Acacia roemeriana), desert-yaupon (Schaefferia cuneifolia), and spiny hackberry (Celtis pallida).
In southeastern New Mexico, staples (comprising at least 5% of scaled quail diet in both summer and winter) were mesquite and croton (Croton spp.) seeds, green vegetation, and snout beetles. Nonpreferred foods eaten in winter and available but not consumed in summer included broom snakeweed (the main winter food), crown-beard (Verbesina encelioides), cycloloma (Cycloloma atriplicifolium), and lace bugs. Mesquite seeds and broom snakeweed seeds together made up 75% of the winter diet. Grasshoppers were a summer staple. Insect galls, cicadas, scarab beetles, spurge (Euphorbia spp.), plains bristlegrass (Setaria macrostachya) seeds, and white ratany (Krameria grayi) were consumed in a less pronounced seasonal pattern. Another study reported substantial amounts of prairie sunflower seeds (Helianthus petiolaris) and pigweed (Amaranthus spp.) seeds in the diet of scaled quail.
Scaled quail feed in alfalfa (Medicago spp.) fields.


In Arizona, potential scaled quail predators include mammals, birds, and reptiles. Most scaled quail kills are made by avian predators including northern harrier (Circus cyaneus), red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), American kestrel (Falco sparverius), prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus), and great horned owl (Bubo virginianus). In New Mexico, predators on scaled quail include hawks, owls, coyote (Canis latrans), and snakes. In Colorado, potential predators of scaled quail include coyote, gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), kit fox (V. velox), bobcat (Lynx rufus), northern harrier, rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus), prairie falcon, peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), American kestrel, golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
Scaled quail are popular gamebirds.


Callophrys dumetorum dumetorum
Callophrys dumetorum oregonensis Gorelick, [1970] (Washington, Oregon)


Callophrys henrici, the Henry's elfin or woodland elfin, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. In Canada it is found from southern Manitoba to southern Nova Scotia. It has two main groups of populations in the United States; the first is found along the Atlantic Coast and uses various hollies (Ilex) as host plants; and the second is found mainly in the north and the Appalachians where they use redbud (Cercis canadensis) as a host plant. Henry's elfin is increasing in New England because of an introduced buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) it now uses as a host plant. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.


The upperside of the wings is a dark brown color. The underside of the wings is strongly two toned with the basal area being dark brown black. The hindwing postmedian line has white at both ends. The outer edge of the hindwing is frosted and the outer edge of the forewing is sometimes green toned. The hindwing has tails that are short and stubby. In the southeast, these tails are longer. The male lacks a stigma. Henry's elfin's wingspan measures 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in)


Similar species in the Henry's elfin's range include the frosted elfin (Callophrys irus), the brown elfin (Callophrys augustinus), and the hoary elfin (Callophrys polios).
The frosted elfin is slightly larger, males have a stigma, the underside of the hindwing has more frosting, and there is usually a dark spot near the hindwing outer margin.
The brown elfin is more reddish brown, males have a stigma, it lacks hindwing tails, and the underside of the hindwing has no frosting.
The hoary elfin is smaller, males have a stigma, it lacks hindwing tails, the underside of the hindwing outer margin is completely frosted, and the forewing outer margin is also frosted.


Henry's elfin can be found in a wide range of habitats such as barrens, coastal holly forests, open woodlands, mesquite woodlands, etc.


This butterfly may be encountered from early May to early June in the north and March to April in the south.


Males perch at about human eye level to await females.(Males will sometimes perch high in tree tops or will perch very low to the ground.) Females lay their eggs singly on the host plant flower buds or on host plant leaves near the buds. The eggs are pale green but turn a whitish color before hatching. The larva is quite variable. It varies from greenish yellow to red brown to maroon. It has subdorsal spots that may be white, yellow, green, or red green and has a lateral stripe which may be yellow or a reddish color. Some individuals have a faint yellow or reddish middorsal stripe. The pupa is orange brown and is mottled with a dark brown-black color. The pupa hibernates in leaf litter. Henry's elfin has one brood per year.


Host plants used by Henry's elfin:
Redbud, Cercis canadensis
Dahoon holly, Ilex cassine
American holly, Ilex opaca
Yaupon holly, Ilex vomitoria
Black buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula
Mexican buckeye Ungnadia speciosa
Vaccinium species
Viburnum species, including Maple-leaf viburnum, Viburnum acerifolium


Callophrys niphon, the eastern pine elfin, is a species of Lycaenidae that is native to North America.


It is similar to the western pine elfin but has two dark bars instead of one in the forewing underside cell with strong patterning on the underside. The wingspan ranges from 22–27 mm (0.87–1.06 in).


There is one flight from March to April in the south, while it occurs between mid-May and early June in the north. Females will lay eggs singly on flower buds. The caterpillars eat both the flower and the developing seedpods. Chrysalids hibernate in loosely formed cocoons beneath litter below the plant. Larval foods include jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and white pine (Pinus strobus).


They range across most of the eastern United States and the southern parts of the provinces of Canada. Within this range they tend to sandy areas with pine trees.


The green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.


The genus name Callophrys is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name rubi derives from Rubus (bramble), one of the host plants.


Callophrys rubi rubi Europe, Caucasus, Kopet Dag
Callophrys rubi fervida Staudinger, 1901 Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, Asia Minor
Callophrys rubi  borealis Krulikovsky, 1890 Urals
Callophrys rubi sibirica Heyne, [1895] Tien-Shan, Altai, Siberia, Transbaikalia, Far East, Amur, Ussuri and Sakhalin.


Callophrys rubi has a wingspan reaching about 26–30 millimetres (1.0–1.2 in) in length. The oversides of the wings are a uniform dull brown, with two paler patches on the male's forewings made up of scent scales. The undersides are a bright green with a thin white line, often reduced to a faint row of dots or even missing altogether. The iridescent green colour of the undersides is a structural colour caused by diffraction and interference of light by microscopic repeating structures forming a diffraction grating in the wing scales. The caterpillars are green with yellow markings along the back. Like other members of the family they are rather sluglike.


These butterflies can be found at the end of March, with flight time usually lasting until the end of June, but they are sometimes seen in July and early August. They never rest with their wings open, to maintain their green camouflage. The males exhibit territorial behavior.
The eggs are laid singly. The caterpillars are not known to be tended by ants, unlike some lycid larvae, but the pupae, which are formed at ground level, emit squeaks that attract ants and it is thought that ants will always bury any that are found. Green hairstreaks overwinter as pupae and are univoltine, having one generation of adult butterflies per year.
The larva is recorded as feeding on Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinum uliginosum, Betula, Rubus idaeus, Vicia cracca, Trifolium medium, Calluna vulgaris, Frangula, Rhamnus, Ribes, Spiraea, Caragana, Chamaecytisus, Hedysarum, Genista, Trifolium  and Hippophae rhamnoides in different parts of its range.
This polyphagous species probably has one of the largest range of food plants of any British butterfly. Early butterfly collectors thought that the only food plant was bramble (blackberry) Rubus fruticosus but as its habits became better understood the list grew and will probably continue to do so. Depending on the habitat it will use common rock rose Helianthemum nummularium, bird's-foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus, gorse Ulex europaeus, broom Cytisus scoparius, Dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria, bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, dogwood Cornus sanguinea, buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica, cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix and bramble.


The wide range of food plants means that this butterfly is able to use a wide range of habitats including chalk downland, heathland, moorland and clearings in woodland. It is present in wetlands as well as on poor dry meadows, at an elevation of about 0–2,300 metres (0–7,546 ft).


Callophrys rubi is found in most of Europe, North Africa, Russia, Asia Minor, Siberia, Amurland, Baluchistan and Chitral. It is still widespread across most of the UK, although many colonies have been lost in recent years. In Mediterranean countries it is quite localised and it is usually found near the coasts.


Callopistria floridensis, the Florida fern moth or Florida fern caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found from North America (including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, New Brunswick, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas), south through the Caribbean (including Cuba), Mexico and Central America (including Costa Rica) to Ecuador.
The wingspan is about 29 mm (1.1 in). Adults are on wing year round in Florida and the tropics.
The larvae feed on various ferns, including Nephrolepis exaltata and Pteris vittata. They are highly variable in coloration, ranging from green to brown, black or reddish. It is an occasional pest in greenhouses.  The larvae were recently discovered to have high levels of arsenic when feeding on P. vittata, and are the only known terrestrial animal to accumulate arsenic.


Callopistria mollissima, the pink-shaded fern moth, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae (the owlet moths).
The MONA or Hodges number for Callopistria mollissima is 9631.


Calluna vulgaris, common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to 20 to 50 centimetres (8 to 20 in) tall, or rarely to 1 metre (40 in) and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade. It is the dominant plant in most heathland and moorland in Europe, and in some bog vegetation and acidic pine and oak woodland.  It is tolerant of grazing and regenerates following occasional burning, and is often managed in nature reserves and grouse moors by sheep or cattle grazing, and also by light burning.
Calluna was separated from the closely related genus Erica by Richard Anthony Salisbury, who devised the generic name Calluna probably from the Ancient Greek Kallyno (καλλύνω), "beautify, sweep clean", in reference to its traditional use in besoms. The specific epithet vulgaris is Latin for 'common'. Calluna is differentiated from Erica by its corolla and calyx each being in four parts instead of five.


Calluna vulgaris is extremely cold-hardy, surviving severe exposure and freezing conditions well below −20 °C (−4 °F).  It is native to Europe, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the Azores. It has been introduced into many other places worldwide with suitable climates, including North America, Australia, New Zealand and the Falkland Islands.


Despised until the 19th century for its associations with the most rugged rural poverty, heather's growth in popularity may be paralleled with the vogue for alpine plants. It is a very popular ornamental plant in gardens and for landscaping, in lime-free areas where it will thrive, but it is very hard to grow in less acidic soil.


There are many named cultivars, selected for variation in flower colour and for different foliage colour and growing habits.
Different cultivars have flower colours ranging from white, through pink and a wide range of purples, and including reds. The flowering season with different cultivars extends from late July to November in the northern hemisphere. The flowers may turn brown but still remain on the plants over winter, and this can lead to interesting decorative effects. Cultivars with ornamental foliage are usually selected for reddish and golden leaf colour. A few forms can be silvery grey. Many of the ornamental foliage forms change colour with the onset of winter weather, usually increasing in intensity of colour. Some forms are grown for distinctive young spring foliage.
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
'Alicia' (Garden Girls series)
'Annemarie'
'Beoley Gold'
'County Wicklow'
'Dark Beauty'
'Dark Star'
'Darkness'
'Elsie Purnell'
'Firefly'
'Kerstin'
'Kinlochruel'
'Peter Sparkes'
'Robert Chapman'
'Silver Queen'
'Sister Anne'
'Spring Cream'
'Tib'
'Velvet Fascination'
'Wickwar Flame'
'White Coral'


Heather is an important food source for various sheep and deer which can graze the tips of the plants when snow covers low-growing vegetation. Willow grouse and red grouse feed on the young shoots and seeds of this plant. Both adult and larva of the heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis) feed on it, and can cause extensive mortality in some instances. The larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species also feed on the plant, notably the small emperor moth Saturnia pavonia.
Formerly heather was used to dye wool yellow and to tan leather. With malt, heather is an ingredient in gruit, a mixture of flavourings used in the brewing of heather-beer during the Middle Ages before the use of hops. Thomas Pennant wrote in A Tour in Scotland (1769) that on the Scottish island of Islay "ale is frequently made of the young tops of heath, mixing two thirds of that plant with one of malt, sometimes adding hops".
From time immemorial heather has been used for making besoms, a practice recorded in "Buy Broom Buzzems" a song probably written by William Purvis (Blind Willie) (1752–1832) from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
Heather honey is a highly valued product in moorland and heathland areas, with many beehives being moved there in late summer.  Not always as valued as it is today, it was dismissed as mel improbum, "unwholesome honey" by Dioscurides. Heather honey has a characteristic strong taste, and an unusual texture, for it is thixotropic, being a jelly until stirred, when it becomes a syrup like other honey, but then sets again to a jelly. This makes the extraction of the honey from the comb difficult, and it is therefore often sold as comb honey.
White heather is regarded in Scotland as being lucky, a tradition brought from Balmoral to England by Queen Victoria and sprigs of it are often sold as a charm and worked into bridal bouquets.
Heather stalks are used by a small industry in Scotland as a raw material for sentimental jewellery. The stalks are stripped of bark, dyed in bright colours and then compressed with resin.
Calluna vulgaris herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea for treatment of disorders of the kidneys and urinary tract.


The plant was introduced to New Zealand and has become an invasive weed in some areas, notably the Tongariro National Park in the North Island and the Wilderness Reserve (Te Anau) in the South Island, overgrowing native plants. Heather beetles have been released to stop the heather, with preliminary trials successful to date.


Phenolic compounds in the shoots of Calluna vulgaris include chlorogenic acid and a novel phenolic glycoside, most of which are found in greater number during the summer.
The nectar of Calluna vulgaris contains a megastigmane, callunene, that is inhibitory at naturally occurring concentrations to a common trypanosome parasite of bumble bees, Crithidia bombi.  Koch et al. elucidate the mechanism of activity that results in the loss of the parasite's flagellum, leading to reduced infectivity, because the flagellum is crucial to anchoring in the insect gut.


Heather is seen as iconic of Scotland, where the plant grows widely. When poems like Bonnie Auld Scotland speak of "fragrant hills of purple heather', when the hero of Kidnapped flees through the heather, when heather and Scotland are linked in the same sentence, the heather talked about is Calluna vulgaris.
Purple heather is one of the two national flowers of Norway.


Calocedrus decurrens, with the common names incense cedar and  California incense-cedar (syn. Libocedrus decurrens Torr.), is a species of coniferous tree native to western North America. It is the most widely known species in the genus, and is often simply called 'incense cedar' without the regional qualifier.


Calocedrus decurrens is a large tree, typically reaching heights of 30–40 meters (100–130 ft) and a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in). The largest known tree, located in Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, California, is 47.98 m (157 ft 5 in) tall with a 12-meter (39-foot-4-inch) circumference trunk and a 17.5-meter (57+1⁄2 ft) spread. Specimens form a broad conic crown of spreading branches. The bark is orange-brown weathering grayish, smooth at first, becoming fissured and exfoliating in long strips on the lower trunk on old trees. Specimens can live to over 500 years old.
The foliage is produced in flattened sprays with scale-like leaves 2–15 millimeters (3⁄32–19⁄32 in) long; they are arranged in opposite decussate pairs, with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced, so forming apparent whorls of four; the facial pairs are flat, with the lateral pairs folded over their bases. The leaves are bright green on both sides of the shoots, with only inconspicuous stomata. The foliage, when crushed, gives off an aroma somewhat akin to shoe-polish.
The seed cones are 20–35 mm (3⁄4–1+3⁄8 in) long, pale green to yellow, with four (rarely six) scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs; the outer pair of scales each bears two winged seeds, the inner pair(s) usually being sterile and fused together in a flat plate. The cones turn orange to yellow-brown when mature about 8 months after pollination. The pollen cones are 6–8 mm (1⁄4–5⁄16 in) long.


The bulk of the tree's range is in the United States, from central-southwestern Oregon through most of California and the extreme west of Nevada, as well as a short distance into northwest Mexico in northern Baja California.
It grows at altitudes of 50–2,900 m (160–9,510 ft).


At lower elevations, associated trees include oaks and ponderosa pine. Giant sequoia bears similarities to the species, but has sharp leaves. In the south–southwest U.S. some have confused bushy junipers for incense cedar.
With its thick basal bark, the incense cedar is one of the most fire- and drought-tolerant plants in California. Although the tree is killed by hot, stand-replacing crown fire, it spreads rapidly after lower-intensity burns. This has given the incense cedar a competitive advantage over other species such as the bigcone Douglas-fir in recent years. Incense cedar is more shade tolerant than Douglas-fir, but not as much so as grand or white fir. It grows slowly when needed to outlast competition.
This tree is the preferred host of a wood wasp, Syntexis libocedrii a species which lays its eggs in the smoldering wood immediately after a forest fire. The tree is also host to incense-cedar mistletoe (Phoradendron libocedri), a parasitic plant which can often be found hanging from its branches. Fire scars provide an entry point for Tyromyces amarus (pocket dry rot). Gymnosporangium rust disease afflicts the trees, but is rarely fatal.
For numerous birds during the wintertime, Calocedrus decurrens has been seen to be used for foraging. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in areas of the Western Sierra Nevada in California, numerous species of birds are thought to use the incense cedar as a "foraging substrate" so that they can attain as much food as needed. Human impacts on these trees due to forest management practices have caused issues for many of these birds, threatening the use of the incense cedar as a forage substrate.


The wood is soft and light, and has a pleasant odor and is generally resistant to rot. It has been used for external house siding, interior paneling, and to make moth-resistant hope chests. It was once the primary material for wooden pencils, because it is soft and tends to sharpen easily without forming splinters.


Calocedrus decurrens is cultivated as an ornamental tree, for planting in gardens and parks. It is used in traditional, xeriscapic, native plant, and wildlife gardens; and also in designed natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects in California. It is valued for its columnar form and evergreen foliage textures.
The tree is also grown in gardens and parks in cool summer climates, including the Pacific Northwest in the Northwestern United States and British Columbia, eastern Great Britain and continental Northern Europe. In these areas it can develop an especially narrow columnar crown, an unexplained consequence of the cooler climatic conditions that is rare in trees within its warm summer natural range in the California Floristic Province. Other cultivated species from the family Cupressaceae can have similar crown forms.


This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, and has the cultivar 'Berrima Gold'.


Various species in the family Cupressaceae can be utilized for the creation of essential oils. Scientific studies have shown that these essential oils have "strong antimicrobial properties." Antimicrobial properties are those properties of a substance that lower the levels of microbes, such as bacteria and viruses. These antimicrobial properties could potentially be used for therapies in developing countries, although more testing and clinical trials should be done before such measures are implemented.


Calochortus argillosus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family which is known by the common name clay mariposa lily.
It is endemic to coastal central California, where it grows in hard clay soils in the local mountains.


Calochortus argillosus is a perennial herb producing an unbranching stem to heights between 40–60 centimetres (16–24 in). The leaf at the base of the stem is narrow in shape, reaching up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long, and withering away at flowering.
The inflorescence bears 1 to 4 erect bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three sepals and three petals up to 4 centimeters long. The petals are rounded in shape and white to pink in base color with a central spot or streaking of red, purple, and yellow.
The fruit is a narrow capsule up to 6 centimeters long.


Calochortus clavatus is a species of mariposa lily known by the common name clubhair mariposa lily. It is endemic to California where it is found in forests and on chaparral slopes.


The Calochortus clavatus lily produces tall stems up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) in height and only basal leaves.
Atop the stem is a lily bloom with sepals up to 4 centimeters long. The petals are up to 5 centimeters long and yellow with a darker line or series of bands near the base, which are often red. The cup of the flower is filled with hairs which have clubbed ends. The anthers are often deep purple.
The capsule fruit is up to 9 centimeters long.
Varieties
Varieties of Calochortus clavatus include:
Calochortus clavatus var. avius — northwestern Sierra Nevada foothills
Calochortus clavatus var. clavatus  —
Calochortus clavatus var. gracilis — slender Mariposa lily; western Transverse Ranges (San Gabriels, Santa Susanas, Santa Monicas, & Simi Hills.)
Calochortus clavatus var. pallidus
Calochortus clavatus var. recurvifolius — Arroyo de la Cruz mariposa lily; southern outer Coast Range north of Arroyo de la Cruz— Piedras Blancos, San Luis Obispo County.


Calochortus gunnisonii (Gunnison's mariposa lily) is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family. It is native to the western United States, primarily in the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Washington state (Grant County, northwestern Nebraska (Sioux County) and eastern Idaho (Fremont County).
Calochortus gunnisonii is a bulb-forming perennial with straight stems up to 55 cm tall. Flowers are white to purple with darker purple markings.
Varieties
Calochortus gunnisonii var. gunnisonii - most of species range
Calochortus gunnisonii var. perpulcher Cockerell - New Mexico


Calochortus invenustus is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name plain mariposa lily.
It is native to the mountain ranges of central and southern California, where it grows in the coniferous forests. It has also been found in the Bodie Hills in Mineral County, Nevada.


Calochortus invenustus is a perennial herb which produces a slender, mostly unbranched stem up to 50 centimeters tall. There is a basal leaf 10 to 20 centimeters long which withers at flowering.
The inflorescence bears 1 to 6 erect bell-shaped flowers in a loose cluster. Each flower has three sepals and three petals which are usually white to light purple and may have spotting low at the base and greenish streaking on the outer surfaces.
The fruit is an angled capsule up to 7 centimeters long.


Calochortus kennedyi is a North American species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name desert mariposa lily.
It is native to the deserts of the Southwestern United States (Arizona, southern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah and western Texas), and northern Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua). In California it is found in the Mojave Desert and rain shadowed eastern slopes of the Transverse Ranges.
Species is named for plant collector William L. Kennedy.


Calochortus kennedyi is a perennial herb which produces a slender, unbranching, sometimes twisting stem up to 50 centimeters tall, but generally shorter. There is a basal leaf 10 to 20 centimeters long which is waxy in texture and withers at flowering.
The inflorescence consists of 1 to 6 erect bell-shaped flowers in a loose cluster. Each flower has three sepals and three petals which are usually spotted at the bases. The petals may be 5 centimeters long and are yellow, orange, or red in color.
The fruit is an angled, striped capsule up to 6 centimeters in length.
Varieties
Calochortus kennedyi var. kennedyi - most of species range
Calochortus kennedyi var. munzii — Arizona, Sonora, Mojave Desert in California


Calochortus leichtlinii is a species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common names Leichtlin's mariposa, smokey mariposa, and mariposa lily.
The plant is native to the Sierra Nevada and Modoc Plateau of California and adjacent parts of the Great Basin in southeastern Oregon and western Nevada. It grows in coniferous forest and chaparral habitats, including the lowest grassy hills—such as along the Sierra Nevada boundary with the Central Valley and agriculture.
The small underground bulbs were eaten by the Native Americans.


Calochortus leichtlinii is a perennial herb producing an erect, unbranching stem up to 60 centimeters tall. The basal leaf is 10 to 15 centimeters long and withers by flowering.
The inflorescence is a loose cluster of 1 to 5 erect, bell-shaped flowers. Each flower has three petals 1 to 4 centimeters long which are white, pinkish, or dull blue in color and spotted with yellow and dark red or black and hairy at the bases. These color patterns vary widely among different regional and local populations.
The fruit is a narrow capsule up to 6 centimeters long.


Calochortus luteus, the yellow mariposa lily, is a mariposa lily endemic to California.


The  primarily bright deep yellow flower is 3–5 cm across and perianth bulb-shaped, lined red-brown inside, often also with central red-brown blotch and sparse hair inside. It is a perennial herb.


This species is found on coastal prairie, grasslands and some open forest floors. Its range is along the coastal ranges from region to the northern Santa Barbara County Channel Islands and mainland, Northwestern California, the Sacramento Valley, and the Sierra Nevada foothills from there to the Tehachapi Mountains.


Calochortus luteus is used in landscape design, with  "non-habitat sourced" bulbs available from native plant nurseries and societies, to grow as an ornamental plant in gardens and for restoration  projects.


Calochortus nuttallii, also known as the sego lily, is a bulbous perennial plant that is endemic to the Western United States. It is the state flower of Utah.


The plant is native to a number of western states, being found throughout Utah and Wyoming, large parts of eastern Nevada, and parts of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. It grows in dry, brushy or grassy slopes and desert high country.


Calochortus nuttallii are around 15–45 cm (6–18 inches) in height and have linear leaves.
Plants have 1 to 4 flowers, each with 3 white petals (and 3 sepals) which are tinged with lilac (occasionally magenta) and have a purplish band radiating from the yellow base. A yellow petaled form with deep purple bands is known from Petrified Forest National Park. The yellow petaled form was also observed in a "super bloom" near the Orange Cliffs District of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, on the north side of the Colorado River near Hite, Utah in May 2019. The plant blooms in early summer, with flowers that can be up to 3 inches across.


Calochortus nuttallii is a species within the genus Calochortus, in a sub-group generally referred to as Mariposa Lilies. The specific epithet nuttallii, named for the English botanist and zoologist, Thomas Nuttall, was ascribed to the species by the American botanists John Torrey and Asa Gray when it was officially described in 1857.


A number of former varieties of Calochortus nuttallii have been reclassified as distinct species:
Calochortus nuttallii var. aureus  (S.Watson) Ownbey  is currently Calochortus aureus  S.Watson
Calochortus nuttallii var. australis  Munz  is currently Calochortus invenustus  Greene
Calochortus nuttallii var. bruneaunis  (A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.) Ownbey   is currently Calochortus bruneaunsis A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.
Calochortus nuttallii var. leichtlinii  (Hook.f.) Smiley  is currently Calochortus leichtlinii  Hook.f.
Calochortus nuttallii var. panamintensis  Ownbey   is currently Calochortus panamintensis  (Ownbey) Reveal
Calochortus nuttallii var. subalpinus  M.E.Jones  is currently Calochortus leichtlinii  Hook.f.


Native Americans had culinary uses for the bulbs, seeds, and flowers of the plant. Bulbs were roasted, boiled, or made into a porridge by the Hopi, Havasupai, Navajo, Southern Paiute, Gosiute, and Ute peoples. The Hopi used the yellow flower ceremonially.
The Shoshone taught the Mormon pioneer immigrants to use the bulb for badly needed food. This resulted in the sego lily being formally designated as the Utah State Flower in 1911. Sego is derived from the Shoshone word seego. The sego lily was commemorated by the Sego Lily Dam, a flood-prevention infrastructure project in the shape of a giant sego lily, built in Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City in 2017.


Calochortus nuttallii is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its attractive tulip-shaped flowers and to attract/support native pollinator species.  It prefers a deep, sandy soil with good drainage, and is cold-hardy. Plants can be propagated from newly formed bulblets which take two years to flower.


Calochortus pulchellus is a rare species of flowering plant in the lily family known by the common name Mt. Diablo fairy-lantern or Mount Diablo globelily.
Calochortus pulchellus is endemic to California, where it is mainly restricted to Mount Diablo of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. There are historical occurrences in the North California Coast Ranges, within Marin, Solano, Napa, and Humboldt Counties.
It grows in chaparral and woodland habitats, currently only known on the bayside−western slopes of Mount Diablo.


Calochortus pulchellus is a perennial herb growing a branching stem up to about 30 centimeters tall. The basal leaf is up to 40 centimeters long and does not wither at flowering; there are 2 or 3 smaller leaves farther up the stem.
The inflorescence is a solitary flower or a cluster of several flowers, which are nodding and usually spherical with all their petal tips touching. The three sepals and three petals are 2 or 3 centimeters long and pale to deep yellow. The petals are thinly hairy inside and often fringed with yellow hairs.
The fruit is a winged capsule 2-3 centimeters in length.
formerly included
Calochortus pulchellus var. amabilis, now called Calochortus amabilis
Calochortus pulchellus var. maculosus, now called Calochortus amabilis
Calochortus pulchellus var. parviflorus, now called Calochortus monophyllus


Calochortus splendens is a North American species of mariposa lily known by the common name splendid mariposa lily.
Calochortus splendens is native to coastal mountains and valleys of California and Baja California, as far north as Lake County.  It is found in various habitats, including chaparral and woodland.


Calochortus splendens is a thin-stemmed lily with few leaves.
It bears flowers singly or in inflorescences of up to four. Each flower is ringed with smaller, ribbonlike, curling bracts. The bowl-shaped flowers are of varying shades of purple, often lavender, with a spot of darker purple at the base of each petal. The flower may have plentiful white hairs in the center and bright purple pollen.


Calochortus umbellatus is a flowering plant in the lily family found only in California in the United States.  The common name for this species is Oakland mariposa lily or Oakland star-tulip.


The species is a California endemic of limited distribution.
It grows primarily in the San Francisco Bay Region with a few isolated populations in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Nevada Counties.


Calochortus umbellatus is a branching perennial herb up to 25 cm tall. Inflorescence is sub-umbellate with 3-10 white or pale pink flowers.
This species is included on the California Native Plant Society list 4.2 of rare and endangered plants.


Calochortus venustus is a California species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name butterfly mariposa lily. It is a perennial herb that grows in grasslands and open wooded areas.


The species is endemic to California ranging from Shasta County to San Diego County, particularly common in the San Gabriel Mountains, the southern part of the Sierra Nevada, and the Coast Ranges between Oakland and Los Angeles. It thrives in the light, sandy soils of a number of habitats, both grasslands and open wooded areas, at 300–2,700 metres (980–8,860 ft) in altitude.


Calochortus venustus is a perennial herb producing a branching stem 10 to 60 centimetres tall. There is a basal leaf up to 20 centimetres long which withers by the time the plant blooms.
The inflorescence is a loose cluster of 1 to 6 erect, bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are variable in size and palette; they are often showy and intricately patterned. The petals may be a variety of colours from white to pale pink or purple to bright red or orange, sporting a large dark central blotch and a smaller, paler blotch above.  They generally have three curving sepals 2 or 3 centimetres long and three oval-shaped, clawed petals up to 5 centimetres long.
The fruit is an angled capsule 5 or 6 centimetres long.


Calochortus weedii is a North American species of flowering plants in the lily family known by the common name Weed's mariposa lily.
It is native to the Outer Southern California Coast Ranges and the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, and the Peninsular Ranges in Southern California and Baja California. It is a member of the chaparral flora. Most of the California locales occur between Santa Barbara County and San Diego County, but there is a report of an isolated population along Salmon Creek in southern Monterey County.


Calochortus weedii is a perennial herb producing a slender, branching stem 30 to 90 centimeters tall.
There is a basal leaf up to 40 centimeters long which withers by the time the plant blooms.
The inflorescence bears 2 to 6 erect, widely bell-shaped to spreading flowers. Each flower has three narrow sepals and three wider and sometimes shorter petals, each segment up to 3 centimeters long. The petals are oval or wedge-shaped and may be any of a variety of colors, from cream to deep yellow to reddish purple. The petals often have reddish brown borders and flecks, and a coating of hairs on the inner surface.
The fruit is an angled capsule 4 to 5 centimeters long.


Three taxa once considered varieties of Calochortus weedii are now generally classified as distinct species:
Calochortus weedii var. obispoensis, now called Calochortus obispoensis
Calochortus weedii var. purpurascens, now called Calochortus fimbriatus
Calochortus weedii var. vestus, now called  Calochortus fimbriatus


The black-throated magpie-jay (Calocitta colliei) is a strikingly long-tailed magpie-jay of northwestern Mexico.


The black-throated magpie-jay was formally described in 1829 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors from a specimen collected at San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico. The specimen had been obtained by members of an expedition to explore the western coast of North America captained by Frederick William Beechey on HMS Blossom. Vigors coined the binomial name Pica colleriei, with the specific epithet chosen to  honour Alexander Collie, the surgeon onboard the Blossom, who had presented the specimen to the Zoological Society of London. The black-throated magpie-jay is now one of two species placed in the genus Calocitta that was introduced in 1841 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.


The diet is the omnivorous one typical of the crow family.
The nest is also typical of the family: a big cup of sticks lined with softer material.  The female lays 3 to 7 whitish eggs with brown and gray spots.
This species interbreeds with the white-throated magpie-jay in Jalisco and Colima, where intermediate birds are common.  It has been considered a subspecies of the white-throated magpie-jay, Calocitta formosa colliei.


Calopteryx aequabilis, the river jewelwing, is a species of broad-winged damselfly. The species was first described by Thomas Say in 1839. It is one out of the 170 species of the Odonata found from northeastern Alberta to Newfoundland and south in most of the United States.


The male has a metallic blue-green body and black wing tips. The female is duller brown with smoky wing tips that have white spots near the tips. The naiad is pale brown with darker markings.


It lives near small to moderate forest streams.


Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis is a species of damselfly in the family Calopterygidae known by the common names copper demoiselle and Mediterranean demoiselle.


Subspecies include:
 Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis haemorrhoidalis (Vander Linden, 1825)
 Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis occasi Capra, 1945
 Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis asturica Ocharan, 1983
 Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis almogravensis Hartung, 1996


This species is native to the western Mediterranean Basin in Europe (Iberia, southern France, Italy, Monaco) and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia). It is common in much of its range.


It lives along rivers and streams, but also in sunny larger waters. Though it may be affected by habitat changes such as water pollution.


Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis can reach a body length of about 45–48 millimetres (1.8–1.9 in). The abdomen length is of about 34–43 millimetres (1.3–1.7 in) in males, of 31–43 millimetres (1.2–1.7 in) in females. The length of the wings is of 23–32 millimetres (0.91–1.26 in) in males, of 25–37 millimetres (0.98–1.46 in) in the females.
The males have a dark, metallic shining body, the color of which can be red-violet, golden or copper-colored. On the underside of the last three abdominal segments there red area, the so-called "red lantern" (hence the Latin species name haemorrhoidalis, meaning "blood flow"). The wings of males show a large dark area, while the females have a brown band to the wing tip and a metallic-green to bronze-colored body, with a brown belt on the back.


The flight time of this species ranges from May to September. The males have a characteristic mating dance, showing the abdomen end and spreading their wings wide. The male of this species is territorial, defending sites where females may choose to lay eggs.
This species can hybridize with Calopteryx splendens.


The banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along slow-flowing streams and rivers. It is a Eurasian species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to Lake Baikal and northwestern China.
This is a common species throughout much of its range.


This is a large damselfly with a total length of up to 48 millimetres (1.9 in) and a hindwing length of up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in).
Male and female are variable in color and pattern. The male has translucent wings which each have a broad, dark iridescent blue-black spot (or band) across the outer part. On immature individuals the spot is dark brown. The body can be a metallic blue or bluish green or a combination of both colours, depending on the time of year and location.
The dark wing patch of the male starts at the nodus (the slight dip midway down the upper edge of the wing) but can reach up to the wing-tip in southern races. In the very similar beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo), the dark patch starts before the nodus.
The female has translucent, pale green iridescent wings with a white patch near the tip (a pseudopterostigma), and a metallic green or bronze/green body.


Females can lay up to 10 eggs per minute for 45 minutes. They lay in a wide variety of emergent or floating plants, sometimes even submerging to do so.
The eggs hatch after 14 days. The larvae have very long legs and are stick-shaped. They develop over two years, usually. They tolerate muddy water and overwinter buried in mud. When they are ready to moult into an adult, they climb up a suitable reed or plant and shed their skin.


This species lives in many types of freshwater habitat, particularly open running water bodies such as streams and smaller rivers.


The banded demoiselle is a Eurasian species, and is present throughout Eurasia from the Atlantic coast to Lake Baikal and north-western China. It occurs in Taganay and Zyuratkul National Parks of Russia. It can be found at Fruška Gora in Serbia. It's found throughout the British Isles, except for the Scottish Highlands.


Clausnitzer, V. (2020). "Calopteryx splendens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T158701A138711145. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T158701A138711145.en. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
The dates 1782 and 1776 have been given in the entomological literature; Hämäläinen (2008) showed that the species was described in 1780
Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B. (2006). Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-9531399-4-8.
Brooks & Lewington (2004). Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland. British Wildlife Publishing. ISBN 0-9531399-0-5.
Calopteryx splendens (Harris, 1782) Archived 2013-05-09 at the Wayback Machine – Красная Книга Челябинской области: животные, растения, грибы /
Министерство по радиационной и экологической безопасности Челябинской области, Ин-т экологии растений и животных УрО РАН. – Екатеринбург: Изд-во Урал. ун-та, 2005. – 450 с.: ил.


The beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is a European damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along fast-flowing waters where it is most at home.


Subspecies include:
Calopteryx virgo britannica Conci, 1952
Calopteryx virgo festiva (Brullé, 1832)  (eastern Mediterranean)
Calopteryx virgo meridionalis Sélys, 1853 (western Mediterranean and south-west France)
Calopteryx virgo padana Conci, 1956 (northern Italy)
Calopteryx virgo virgo (Linnaeus, 1758)


Calopteryx virgo can reach a body length of 49–54 millimetres (1.9–2.1 in), with a length of hindwings of 31–37 millimetres (1.2–1.5 in). These large, dark damselflies have small hemispherical eyes located laterally on the head, two pairs of wings similar in shape and a slender abdomen. The basal area of the wings is transparent, otherwise wings are uniformly colored. The wings are also traversed by a dense network of veins. This species presents an evident sexual dimorphism in colour pattern.
The male usually has much more extensive pigmentation on the wings than other Calopteryx species in its range: in the south east of its range (the Balkans and Turkey) the wings are entirely metallic blue while in other areas, there are clear areas at the base and tip of the wing. Immature males show brown wings, as the metallic blue wing color develops only with age.  They have metallic blue-green bodies and blue-green eyes.
The female has dark brown iridescent wings, a white patch near the tip of the wings (called a pseudopterostigma) and a metallic green body with a bronze tip of the abdomen.
This species is rather similar to the banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens), another British damselfly with coloured wings.


The distribution of the beautiful demoiselle covers all of Europe with the exception of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and Iceland. In the north it extends to the Arctic polar sea, and thus much further north than that of the banded demoiselle. On the North African Mediterranean coast, its southern populations in Morocco and Algeria can be found.
The northern boundary in Asia following the 13-°C July isotherm, it is therefore not in the areas where the average temperature in summer below 13 °C falls, otherwise they are met with in temperate and cool regions in the entire continent with the exception of deserts and the mountains of. The eastern subspecies of C. v. japonica found on the Japanese islands is under debate as to whether it is a separate species.
The beautiful demoiselle is mostly found in lowland locations. Regular findings come from areas up to a maximum height of 980  m above sea level. Occasionally they may be found up to 1,200 meters in altitude, such as in the Alps.


The larvae live in the streams mentioned before and are mainly dependent on the water plants. The larvae need the stems and leaves, especially in areas with stronger currents to hold on. Hence it is extremely rare to find them in barren locations, flat expiring banks, or areas with a smooth stone floor. They also live in small natural lakes or ponds characteristic for limestones bedrock. They live in quieter areas between alluvial leaves or on exposed roots of the vegetation. They can be found on submerged plants such as waterweed (Elodea sp.), floods for water crowfoot (Ranunculus fluitans) or other plants, submerged from a few centimetres to several decimetres.
Compared with the larvae of the banded demoiselle the larvae of the blue-wing demoiselle prefer quieter areas of the water, since slower flow causes a more effective absorption of oxygen under water. Only in very rare cases the larvae are present in stagnant water. The substrate of the river has only a very minor importance, because the larvae reside mainly in the vegetation.
An important factor for the occurrence of blue-wing demoiselles is the oxygen in the water. The larvae is much more sensitive to oxygen deficiency  than the larvae of the banded demoiselle, hence it needs a sufficient oxygen saturation of the water. Waters with high levels of sediment and sludge, which is consumed by bacterial decomposition of oxygen are, accordingly not as a habitat for the larvae. This sensitivity qualifies it in water chemistry  as a bioindicator for the assessment of water quality. Thus they will be an indication of value in the saprobic assigned of 1.9, which represents a low to moderately polluted waters type (β-mesosaprob) and a water quality class from I to II does.
Another key factor for the occurrence of the larvae of the blue-wing demoiselle is the temperature of the water. This species prefers unlike the banded demoiselle, mainly the cooler and shadier areas of the water. The optimal temperature is a summer average 13 to 18 °C. At temperatures above 22 °C were often injuries of larvae observed and also a reduced hatch ability of eggs. The main reason is the oxygen content under higher temperatures. Individual populations may get used to permanently higher temperatures.


The habitat that the adults occupy, corresponds to the nearby larval habitat. Unlike the adults of the banded demoiselle you meet those of the beautiful demoiselle but also in forest clearings, but very rarely on the banks of larger ponds. As resting places, the insects need trees and shrubs, often resting on high herbaceous plants such as the large nettle (Urtica dioica).
The breeding habitats are similar to the larval habitat, these are cool, shady water-courses largely with a more or less strong current and near-natural vegetation and bank structure. This is mostly meadow and pasture streams in the area, they rarely pass through the forest. A distinct riparian vegetation also plays a role as a windbreak. Due to their broad wings the beautiful demoiselle can be blown away by the wind more easily than other species of dragonflies.


Mating takes place in a way that for the genus Calopteryx and is typical of an eye-catching advertising behavior precedes. The females fly over the water, always in search of suitable nesting places and fly it through the territories of males. The males who recognize the females to the reflections of the moving wings, fly towards it, once they have crossed the border area. They use a striking Schwirrflug that only in the courtship will be shown, and demonstrate the underside of its abdomen raised high. The last three segments of it are much brighter and are referred to as a "lantern" that will be presented. The male leads in this way, the female to the nesting sites ("Show flight") and circled it on the water once it has settled out. Then in turn followed by a period of hovering flight and only if the female is sitting there and so his willingness to mate signaled it comes to mating. In return, the male is on the wings of the female and begins copulation, which can last between 40 seconds and 5 minutes, the animals themselves in the "mating wheel" can rely on the vegetation.
After mating, the male releases the female again and again shows this is the nesting place, the female abdomen with drooping sit for a few seconds ("post-copulatory rest") and then follows the male. The eggs are laid in the stems of aquatic plants in the water level and below, where the female can submerge up to 90 minutes. It climbs here (unlike almost all other species of dragonflies) upside down on the stem down and stabs the eggs with the egg-laying apparatus ( ovipositor ) almost vertically into the stems. During the nesting above the water surface while the female is the male defended against other males. Both sexes mate several times a day for several weeks until her death.


The eggs, in which the embryos develop, are on average about 1.2 millimeters long and have a spindle-shaped structure with approximately 0.2 millimeters wide. At the pointed end are, as with other demoiselles also a hole structure ( Mikropylenapparat ) with four holes to enable penetration of the sperm of the male. In addition, the egg of the banded demoiselle at the front end a funnel-like appendix unknown object, which projects at the inserted egg outwardly from the plant stem. The color of the egg changes from a bright yellow when freshly laid eggs on a yellow-brown to reddish brown when older egg.
Within the egg takes place, the embryonic development of the dragonfly. For the first time this has been described for the blue-winged demoiselle 1869, but it represented the first description of the embryonic development of an insect at all. From outside the progression of the development by a slight change in length as well as by changing the shape is recognizable. It bulges on the upper part of the egg slightly, while the lower part deforms concave. The development itself can be divided into three sections:
•	the early development, when it forms after fertilization of the ovum by dividing the basic shape of body
•	definitely the development with the final formation of the body shape until they hatch from the egg
•	the larval development of the hatched larva up to the formation of the winged imago
The embryo in the egg can last between 20 days and one month.
The larval development of the Blue-winged demoiselle takes into Middle Eastern waters, usually between six and nine weeks, mainly due to the preference of cooler waters, it is usually somewhat longer than that of the banded demoiselle. At the end of larval development, it comes to winter and the development until the following year with the metamorphosis to the imago completed (univoltine development). The cooler water is a breeding, the greater the proportion of larvae that pass through the two winter periods and therefore a development of nearly two years (semivoltine development). Studies have shown that this might modify the relationship between univoltine and semivoltinen larvae within a body of water and clear in the course of the river and increase the water temperature moves toward univoltiner larvae.
Like all these predatory dragonfly larvae live. They feed primarily on insect larvae such as those of the black flies, midges, stoneflies and mayflies, as well as amphipods. They are defending their seats against other dragonfly larvae, especially those of its own kind.
The larvae are much more sensitive to changes in habitat than the banded demoiselle, especially to temperature fluctuations. Already after a few days deprivation increases mortality rapidly, and after again prevail acceptable oxygen conditions, it is still too long after, birth defects and an increased mortality rate among affected animals. This is mainly because they absorb the oxygen from the water inefficient. Was able to detect in experiments that even larvae of the banded demoiselle, who had been removed completely. The thin-skinned, tracheogenic body attachments for oxygen uptaking from the water, under normal circumstances are still less sensitive to fluctuations in the oxygen supply. The inefficiency of oxygen uptake is balanced by the choice of habitat, since both increased flow and cooler water absorption capacity.


Calosoma scrutator, also known as the fiery searcher and caterpillar hunter, is a species of ground beetle belonging to the genus Calosoma, subgenus Acalosoma. This beetle can be as large as 35 millimetres (1.4 in) long. The distribution of this species is relatively widespread, but it is nonetheless uncommon in North America. The adult beetle is known to excrete a foul-smelling oil when it is handled. The oil has been described as smelling similar to rotten milk or rancid olive oil.


Calotropis procera is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to North Africa, tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia, and Indochina. The green fruits contain a toxic milky sap that is extremely bitter and turns into a gluey coating which is resistant to soap.
Common names for the plant include Apple of Sodom, Sodom apple, king's crown, rubber bush, and rubber tree. The name Apple of Sodom and Dead Sea Apple comes from the fact that the ancient authors Josephus and Tacitus described it as growing in the area of biblical Sodom.


Some biblical commentators believe that the Sodom apple may have been the poisonous gourd (or poison-tasting gourd) that led to "death in the pot" in the Second Book of Kings (2 Kings 4:38–41). In this story, a well-meaning servant of the prophet Elisha gathers herbs and a large quantity of the unknown gourds, and casts them into the pot. After the outcry from the band of prophets, Elisha instructs them to cast flour into the stew pot, and they are saved.
In 1938, botanists Hannah and Ephraim HaReuveni, authors of "The Squill and the Asphodal" (and parents of Noga HaReuveni), speculated that Jeremiah's ar‘ar/arow‘er was the Sodom apple.
The fibre of the Sodom apple may have been used for the linen of the high priests.
The fruit is described by the Roman Jewish historian Josephus, who saw it growing near what he calls Sodom, near the Dead Sea: "...as well as the ashes growing in their fruits; which fruits have a color as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them with your hands, they dissolve into smoke and ashes." (Whiston 1737: Book IV chapter 8 section 4)
Sodom apple is listed in the Mishnah and Talmud. The fibers attached to the seeds may have been used as wicks. However the Mishnah forbids this for the Sabbath: "It may not be lighted with cedar-bast, nor with uncombed flax, nor with floss-silk, nor with willow fiber, nor with nettle fiber. – Sabbath Chapter 2"
In his Biblical Researches in Palestine, American biblical scholar Edward Robinson describes it as the fruit of the Asclepias gigantea vel procera, a tree 10–15 feet high, with a grayish cork-like bark called 'osher by the Arabs.  He says the fruit resembled "a large, smooth apple or orange, hanging in clusters of three or four." When "pressed or struck, it explodes with a puff, like a bladder or puff-ball, leaving in the hand only the shreds of the thin rind and a few fibers. It is indeed filled chiefly with air, which gives it the round form; while in the center a small slender pod runs through it which contains a small quantity of fine silk, which the Arabs collect and twist into matches for their guns."
Bedouins of the Sinai and Negev traditionally made use of the fibers of this plant for making skull-caps (tagiyah).


The plant is known to occur throughout the tropical belt and is also common in the West Indies (e.g. Jamaica), where the locals know it as "pillow cotton". When the ripe "apples" burst, the fibrous contents are ejected along with the seeds. The former are collected by the Jamaicans and used for filling pillows.


The giant milkweed is used for fibre and medicine in Southern Africa, but it rapidly invades subsistence agricultural fields reducing yields. The plant is poisonous if eaten by livestock. It thrives in the hot northern regions of Limpopo Province. This plant is also found along road verges and in drainage lines.


The milky sap contains a complex mix of chemicals, some of which are steroidal heart poisons known as "cardiac aglycones". These belong to the same chemical family as similar ones found in foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea).
The plant contains steroidal components that are the cause of its toxicity. In the case of the Calotropis glycosides, their names are calotropin, calotoxin, calactin, uscharidin and voruscharin.


John Milton alludes to this plant in his epic poem, Paradise Lost, while describing the fruit that Satan and his cohorts eat after having tempted Adam and Eve to eat an apple from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil:
...greedy they pluck'd
The Frutage fair to sight, like that which grew

Neer that bituminous Lake where Sodom flam'd;

This more delusive, not the touch, but taste

Deceav'd; they fondly thinking to allay

Thir appetite with gust, instead of Fruit

Chewd bitter Ashes, which th' offended taste

With spattering noise rejected: oft they assayd

Hunger and thirst constraining...
(bk. 10, ll. 520–528)
Marilyn Manson recorded a song named "Apple of Sodom" for the soundtrack album of the 1997 David Lynch film Lost Highway.


Calycopis isobeon, the dusky-blue groundstreak,  is a butterfly native to the Americas, ranging from Venezuela to central Texas. It is very similar to the red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and the two are sometimes treated as conspecific.


Calycoseris wrightii, commonly known as white tackstem, is an annual spring wildflower, one of two species in the genus Calycoseris; the other species is C. parryi, the yellow tackstem. They are part of the family Asteraceae.
White tackstem is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico in California, Nevada, southwestern Utah (Washington County), New Mexico, Arizona, northern Baja California, Sonora, western Texas (El Paso County).United States Department of Agriculture .
Calycoseris wrightii is a white daisy-like flower up to more than 2.0 inches (5 cm) across; when it grows supported amongst other plants it can be more than 45 cm (18 inches) tall. It has one easy distinguishing feature: the closed outside of the ray florets contain two linear purple stripes (fine reddish veins abaxially – 2 to 3 cm (1 in)). It is a spring wildflower found in the desert regions and is plentiful after winter rains. It grows up to 4000 ft (1,220 m) elevation.


Calypso is a genus of orchids containing one species, Calypso bulbosa, known as the calypso orchid, fairy slipper or Venus's slipper. It is a perennial member of the orchid family found in undisturbed northern and montane forests.  It has a small pink, purple, pinkish-purple, or red flower accented with a white lip, darker purple spottings, and yellow beard. The genus Calypso takes its name from the Greek signifying concealment, as they tend to favor sheltered areas on conifer forest floors.  The specific epithet, bulbosa, refers to the bulb-like corms.


Calypso bulbosa is a deciduous, perennial, herbaceous tuberous geophyte with a round, egg-shaped tuber as a perennial organ. It is encased in dead leaf sheaths and has elongated roots. Calypso orchids are typically 8 to 20 cm in height. At the bottom there is only a single leaf, which is stalked up to about 7 cm long. The leaves are whole eliptical lanceolate to egg-shaped blade is up to 6 cm long and up to 5 cm wide.
Plant blooms with a purple-pink hermaphroditic, zygomorphic and threefold flower. The protruding petals and sepals  are pink to purple in color, about 10 to 12 millimeters long and about 2 to 4 millimeters wide. The lip (labellum) is white to pink with pink or yellow spots. It has a wide, shoe-shaped cavity in the back and is about 15 to 25 millimeters long. A spur is absent. They do not bloom until May and June usually after snow melt. Each bulb lives no more than five years.


The generic name Calypso Salisb, which is still valid today. was described in 1806 by the English gardener Richard Anthony Salisbury (1761-1829) in the work "Paradisus Londinensis", which Salisbury with the then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865), published. Carl von Linné originally assigned the Calypso bulbosa to the genus Cypripedium in 1753. But Calypso and Cypripedium now belong to two different subfamilies.
The following generic names have been published as synonyms:
Cytherea Salisb. (1812)
Orchidium Sw. (1814)
Calypsodium Link (1829)
Norna Wahlenb. (1833)
The valid botanical species name of the Calypso orchid is: Calypso bulbosa (L.) Oakes 1842.
The Basionym Cypripedium bulbosum L. 1753 was described by Linné in "Species Plantarum".
The species names listed here are used as synonyms:
Cytherea bulbosa (L.) House (1905)
Cymbidium boreale Sw. (1799)
Limodorum boreale (Sw.) Sw. (1805)
Calypso borealis (Sw.) Salisb. (1806)
Cytherea borealis (Sw.) Salisb. (1812)
Orchidium arcticum Sw. (1814)
Orchidium boreale (Sw.) Sw. (1816)
Calypsodium boreale (Sw.) Link (1829)
Norna borealis (Sw.) Wahlenb. (1833)
Calypso occidentalis Holz. (1895)
Varieties
Four natural varieties and one nothovariety (variety of hybrid origin but established in the wild) are recognized:


This species' range is circumpolar, and includes California, the Rocky Mountain states and most of the most northerly states of the United States; most of Canada; Scandinavia much of European and Asiatic Russia;  China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan—see external links for map. It is found in subarctic swamps and marshes as well as shady places subarctic coniferous forests.
Although the calypso orchid's distribution is wide, it is very susceptible to disturbance, and is therefore classified as threatened or endangered in several U. S. states and in Sweden and Finland. It does not transplant well owing to its mycorrhizal dependence on specific soil fungi.  The corms have been used as a food source by North American native peoples.  The Nlaka'pamux of British Columbia used it as a treatment for mild epilepsy.
At least near Banff, Alberta, the calypso orchid is pollinated by bumble bees (Bombus (Pyrobombus) and B. Psithyrus).  It relies on "pollination by deception", as it attracts insects to anther-like yellow hairs at the entrance to the pouch and forked nectary-like structures at the end of the pouch but produces no nectar that would nourish them.  Insects quickly learn not to revisit it. Avoiding such recognition may account for some of the small variation in the flower's appearance.


Calyptocarpus vialis is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names for C. vialis include straggler daisy, horseherb, lawnflower, and creeping Cinderella-weed. It is native to the southern United States, Mexico, Belize, Venezuela, and the Caribbean. It has also been introduced to Argentina, Hawaii, India, Java, Australia, and Taiwan. It is one of only three species in the genus Calyptocarpus.
The opposite leaves are typically 1–3 cm (0.39–1.18 in) long and triangular to lanceolate in shape. It bears heads of yellow flowers, with around 10–20 disc florets and 3–8 ray florets, the laminae of the latter around 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long. It flowers year round. It is a weedy species, found in lawns and along other disturbed areas such as roadsides and paths.


The species complex was first described by the ornithologist John Latham in 1790 as Psittacus banksii, commemorating English botanist Sir Joseph Banks. The red-tailed black cockatoo also has the distinction of being the first bird from Eastern Australia illustrated by a European, as a female, presumably collected at Endeavour River in north Queensland, was sketched by Banks' draughtsman Sydney Parkinson in 1770. Narrowly predating Latham, English naturalist George Shaw described Psittacus magnificus from a specimen collected somewhere in the Port Jackson (now Sydney) region. For many years, the species was referred to as Calyptorhynchus magnificus, proposed by Gregory Mathews in 1927 as Shaw's name had predated Latham's 1790 description. For several decades, Mathews' proposal was accepted by many authorities, although it was unclear whether the original Port Jackson reference had actually referred to the red-tailed black or, more likely, the glossy black cockatoo. In 1994, an application to conserve Calyptorhynchus banksii as the scientific name was accepted by the ICZN. The red-tailed black cockatoo is the type species of the genus Calyptorhynchus, the name of which is derived from the Greek calypto-/καλυπτο- "hidden" and rhynchus/ρυγχος "beak". The change was first made by Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in 1826.
In 1827, Jennings proposed the name Psittacus niger for the bird. The binomial combination had already been used by Carl Linnaeus for the lesser vasa parrot in 1758, and by Johann Friedrich Gmelin for the palm cockatoo in 1788; it was thus invalid even though both other species were already known by different names at the time. Alternate common names include Banks' black cockatoo, Banksian black cockatoo, or simply black cockatoo. Indigenous people of the central Cape York Peninsula have several names for the bird:  (minha) pachang in Pakanh; (inh -) inhulg in Uw Oykangand; and (inh -) anhulg in Uw Olkola. (The bracketed prefix (inh- or minha) is a qualifier meaning 'meat' or 'animal'.)  Ngarnarrh or karnamarr are terms used by the Kunwinjku of Arnhem Land. In Central Australia, southwest of Alice Springs, the Pitjantjatjara term for the subspecies C. b. samueli is iranti. Karrak is a Noongar term derived from the call for the southwestern race C. b. naso. In the language of the Bungandidj of south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria this bird was called treen.


The red-tailed black cockatoo's closest relative is the glossy black cockatoo; the two species form the subgenus Calyptorhynchus within the genus of the same name. They are distinguished from the other black cockatoos of the subgenus  Zanda by their significant sexual dimorphism and calls of the juveniles; one a squeaking begging call, the other a vocalization when swallowing food.
A 1999 mtDNA phylogenetic study of cockatoos utilizing among others, the red-tailed black cockatoo supported the hypotheses that cockatoos originated in Australia before the Paleogene and Neogene periods (66 mya, marking the end of the Mesozoic, to 2.6 mya) and that the genus Cacatua diversified in two separate radiations to the islands of Indonesia, New Guinea, and the South Pacific.  It concluded that the first extant cockatoo to diverge from the ancestral cockatoos was the palm cockatoo, followed by a subclade containing the black cockatoos.
A 2008 mitochondrial and nuclear DNA phylogenetic study of the parrots, cockatoos and related taxa by utilizing among others the yellow-tailed black cockatoo, provides confirmatory evidence for a Gondwanaland origin of the ancestral parrots in the Cretaceous period, and an Australasia divergence of the ancestral cockatoos from the parrots in either late Cretaceous (66 mya) or Paleogene (45 mya) periods depending on baseline assumptions.
Five subspecies are recognised; they differ mainly in the size and shape of the beak, the overall bird size and female colouration:
C. b. banksii is found in Queensland and, rarely, in far northern New South Wales; it is the largest subspecies by overall body size and has a moderate-sized bill. It merges with subspecies macrorhynchus around the Gulf of Carpentaria. It has disappeared from much of its former range in northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland.
C. b. graptogyne, (Endangered) known as the south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo, is found in southwestern Victoria and southeastern South Australia in an area bordered by Mount Gambier to the west, Portland to the south, Horsham to the northeast and Bordertown to the north. The smallest of the five subspecies, it was only recognised as distinct in the 1980s. It is predominantly dependent on stands of Eucalyptus baxteri (brown stringybark), Eucalyptus camaldulensis (river redgum) and Allocasuarina luehmannii (buloke) for feeding and nesting. These tree species have been all threatened by land clearing and most remaining are on private land; possibly only 500–1000 individuals remain. The subspecies and its habitat are the subject of a national recovery plan. In 2007 local landowners are being reimbursed for assisting in regenerating suitable habitat.
C. b. macrorhynchus, given the name great-billed cockatoo by Mathews, is found across northern Australia. Although thought to be widespread and abundant, this subspecies has been little studied. It is also large and has a large beak, as its subspecific name implies. Females lack red colouration in their tails.
C. b. naso  (Vulnerable) is known as the forest red-tailed black cockatoo and is found in the southwest corner of Western Australia between Perth and Albany. This form has a larger bill, and favours marri (Corymbia (formerly Eucalyptus) calophylla), jarrah (E. marginata) and karri (E. diversicolor).
C. b. samueli exists in four scattered populations: in central coastal Western Australia from the Pilbara south to the northern Wheatbelt in the vicinity of Northam, and inland river courses in Central Australia, southwestern Queensland and the upper Darling River system in Western New South Wales. Birds of this subspecies are generally smaller with smaller bills than the nominate banksii.


Although red-tailed black cockatoos feed on a wide variety of native and introduced grains, the mainstay of their diet is eucalyptus seeds. There is a specific relationship between the species and larger-fruited species of gums. These vary across Australia but include the marri in Southwest Western Australia, Darwin woolybutt E. miniata across the north of the country, E. baxteri in Victoria and the bloodwood species Corymbia polycarpa and C. intermedia in Queensland. Cockatoos bite off branchlets with clusters of seed capsules, then hold them with their feet while chewing and harvesting seeds before littering the ground with debris. Among other seeds and nuts consumed are those of Acacia, Allocasuarina, Banksia, Grevillea and Hakea, as well as berries, fruits and various insects. Cockatoos have adapted to eating some introduced plants such as the doublegee (Emex australis). There is some evidence of consumption of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), wild turnip (Brassica tournefortii) and melon (Citrullus or Cucumis). Red-tailed black cockatoos have been implicated as agricultural pests of peanut and other crops at Lakeland Downs in Far North Queensland.  Here the cockatoos, in flocks of up to several hundred birds, have learned to sever the peanut plants above ground level before pulling the peanuts out of the ground by their stems and shelling them.  They also damage electrical cables on pivot irrigators.


Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed, Rutland beauty, bugle vine, heavenly trumpets, bellbind, granny-pop-out-of-bed and many others) is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae. It has a subcosmopolitan distribution throughout temperate regions of the North and South hemispheres.


It is an herbaceous perennial that twines around other plants, in a counter-clockwise direction, to a height of up to 2–4 m (7–13 ft), rarely 5 metres (16 ft). The pale matte green leaves are arranged spirally, simple, pointed at the tip and are arrowhead shaped, 5–10 centimetres (2–4 in) long and 3–7 centimetres (1+1⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) broad.
The flowers are white, or pale pink with five darker stripes, produced from late spring to the end of summer. In the UK, between July and September. In the bud, they are covered by large green but tinged with crimson bracts which remain but scarcely overlap and do not cover the sepals of the open flower. The open flowers are trumpet-shaped, 3–7 centimetres (1+1⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) diameter, white, or pale pink with white stripes. After flowering, the fruit develops as an almost spherical capsule, which is hidden by the bracts. It is 1 centimetre (1⁄2 in) in diameter, containing two to four large, dark brown, or black seeds that are shaped like quartered oranges.
The plant thrives in hedges, fields, borders, roadsides and open woods.


There are several species of Calystegia which and occur in similar habitats and can be difficult to distinguish, especially when not in flower. It is common practice in Britain to treat C. sepium, C. silvatica and C. pulchra as an aggregate, usually recorded as "C. sepium agg.", whenever identification is uncertain. The use of this term sometimes creates confusion about which taxon is being discussed.
The best way to separate hedge bindweed (sepium) from the other taxa is by the bracteoles, which subtend the flower and wholly or partially encompass the sepals. Hedge bindweed has two rather long, narrow bracteoles which do not touch each other, whereas both large bindweed (silvatica) and hairy bindweed (pulchra) have shorter, wider bracteoles which overlap where they meet.


Other vernacular names include greater bindweed, bearbind, hedge convolvulus, hooded bindweed, old man's nightcap, wild morning glory, bride's gown, wedlock (referring to the white gown-like flowers and the binding nature of the vine), white witches hat, belle of the ball, devil's guts and hedgebell. A common childhood pastime in the UK is to 'pop' the flowers from the sepals while chanting "Granny, granny — pop out of bed".
Several regional subspecies have been described, but they are not considered distinct by all authorities:
Calystegia sepium subsp. americana. North America.
Calystegia sepium subsp. angulata. North America.
Calystegia sepium subsp. appalachiana. Eastern North America.
Calystegia sepium subsp. binghamiae. Western North America (California).
Calystegia sepium subsp. erratica. North America.
Calystegia sepium subsp. limnophila. Southern North America.
Calystegia sepium subsp. roseata. Western Europe, coasts. Flowers pink.
Calystegia sepium subsp. sepium. Europe, Asia.
Calystegia sepium subsp. spectabilis. Siberia. Flowers often pinkish.


Calystegia sepium because of its quick growth, clinging vines and broad leaves, can overwhelm and pull down cultivated plants including shrubs and small trees. It is self-seeding (seeds can remain viable as long as 30 years) and the success of its creeping rhizomes (they can be as long as 3–4 m (10–13 ft)) cause it to be a persistent weed and have led to its classification in some American states as a noxious weed.
C. sepium is highly sensitive to glyphosate, a systemic herbicide, but eradication may require several doses.


Camassia quamash,  commonly known as camas, small camas, common camas, common camash or quamash, is a perennial herb. It is native to western North America in large areas of southern Canada and the northwestern United States.


It is a perennial herbaceous monocot with grasslike leaves emerging from a persistent bulb in a basal rosette. The stems are between 30 and 90 centimetres (12 and 35 inches) long.
The pale blue to deep blue flowers appear in late spring to early summer (May to June in their native habitat). They are arranged in a raceme at the end of the stem. Each of the radially symmetrical, star-shaped flowers has six tepals, about 2.5 cm (1 in) across, and six stamens.
The plant and its bulbs are similar to the toxic white-flowered meadow death-camas (which is not in Camassia, but part of the genus Toxicoscordion, which grows in the same areas).


There are eight subspecies;
Camassia quamash subsp. azurea – small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. breviflora – small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. intermedia – small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. linearis – small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. maxima – small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. quamash – common camas
Camassia quamash subsp. utahensis – Utah small camas
Camassia quamash subsp. walpolei – Walpole's small camas


The superseded name for Camassia quamash subsp. quamash, Camassia esculenta (Nutt.) Lindl., should not be confused with the superseded name Camassia esculenta (Ker Gawl.) B.L.Rob., (nom. illeg.) for Camassia scilloides.


The species is native to western North America in large areas of southern Canada and the northwestern United States, from British Columbia and Alberta to California and east from Washington state to Montana and Wyoming.
Though the once-immense spreads of camas lands have diminished because of modern developments and agriculture, numerous camas prairies and marshes may still be seen today. In the Great Basin, expanded settlement by whites accompanied by turning cattle and hogs onto camas prairies greatly diminished food available to native tribes and increased tension between Native Americans and settlers and travelers. Both the Bannock and Nez Perce Wars began after Nez Perce became incensed at the failure of the US government to uphold treaties, and at settlers who plowed up their camas prairies, which they depended on for subsistence.


This bulbflower naturalizes well in gardens. The bulb grows best in well-drained soil high in humus. It will grow in lightly shaded forest areas and on rocky outcrops as well as in open meadows or prairies. Additionally it is found growing alongside streams and rivers. The plants may be divided in autumn after the leaves have withered. Additionally the plant spreads by seed rather than by runners.


Camas is grown as an ornamental plant. Even in the wild, large numbers of camas can color an entire meadow blue-violet.


The bulbs of Camassia species are edible and nutritious when roasted or boiled, but should not be confused with the toxic white-flowered meadow death-camas; the bulbs are difficult to distinguish.
Camas has been a food source for many native peoples in the western United States and Canada. After being harvested in the autumn, once the flowers have withered, the bulbs are pit-roasted or boiled. The latter produced a syrup. A pit-cooked camas bulb looks and tastes something like baked sweet potato, but sweeter, and with more crystalline fibers due to the presence of inulin in the bulbs—an oligosaccharide responsible for the copious flatulence caused by excessive consumption or consumption of undercooked bulbs. Bulbs can also be dried and pounded into flour, which can be used for baking or as a thickener. Native American tribes who ate camas include the Nez Perce, Cree, Coast Salish, Lummi, and Blackfoot tribes, among many others. Camas bulbs contributed to the survival of members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–06).
Camas bulbs (and bannock made from them) are listed in the Ark of Taste.


Camissoniopsis bistorta is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names southern suncup and California suncup. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of plant community along the coast and in the coastal hills and mountain ranges. This is a hairy annual or short-lived perennial herb spreading from a basal rosette, with stems reaching up to 80 centimeters long. The leaves are narrow and sometimes toothed, and 1 to 12 centimeters in length. Toward the end of the spreading stems are nodding inflorescences of flowers, each flower with four bright yellow petals dotted with red at their bases.


This herbaceous plant grows as an annual or short-lived perennial. It can be found in a wide range of sizes, with the young plants having a mean size of approximately 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.18 in). It is covered in strigose or spreading hairs. The plant is occasionally simple, but most often several stems are present. The slender stems are prostrate or decumbent to relatively ascending, reaching 50 to 80 cm (20 to 31 in) in length, with older epidermis peeling.
The leaves are alternately-arranged and measure 1.2 to 12 cm (0.47 to 4.72 in) long. Sometimes the leaves have a constriction on them, giving them a spatulate end with less hair. The basal leaves arise on petioles up to 4 cm (1.6 in) from a rosette, and are shaped narrowly elliptic. The cauline leaves tend to be (sub)sessile, and are generally shaped lanceolate, with the margins being minutely dentate (toothed) to roughly entire (smooth).
The inflorescence is a spike that is nodding in bud. The hairs on the inflorescence are short and erect. The flowers are self-incompatible, and open at dawn. The hypanthium is 2 to 6 mm (0.079 to 0.236 in) long. There are 4 sepals, which are 5 to 8 mm (0.20 to 0.31 in) long. There are 4 yellow, fading red petals, which are 7 to 15 mm (0.28 to 0.59 in) long, with 1 to 2 red spots near the base. There are 8 stamens, with the anthers attached at the middle. The stigma exceeds the anthers and is held well above them at anthesis. The fruits measure 12 to 40 mm (0.47 to 1.57 in) in length, and 1.5 to 2.5 mm (0.059 to 0.098 in) in width. The fruits are more or less quadrangular, and are generally straight or slightly wavy and twisted. The seeds are 0.9 to 1 mm (0.035 to 0.039 in) large.


The type specimen was collected by Thomas Nuttall on his 1836 voyage to San Diego. The name bistorta means "twice-twisted," referring to the fact that the fruit does a double turn. Phylogenetic analysis place this species in a clade with Camissoniopsis hirtella and Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia. It hybridizes with C. cheiranthifolia subsp. suffruticosa.


This species is native to California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico. In California, it is found in the southwestern portion of the state, from Kern and Ventura counties south to San Diego County and inland to the Peninsular Ranges and Transverse Ranges. In Baja California, this species is found from the border to inland to Tecate south to the Colonet area. Hybrids with Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia are found on Pacific beaches between Tijuana and Ensenada.
This species is commonly found growing in sandy fields near the coast, but is also found in clay soils in grasslands to openings in coastal sage scrub and chaparral. In some locations in San Diego County, it occurs with deceptively similar looking (when young) rare plants such as Chorizanthe orcuttiana and Mucronea californica.


Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia, the beach suncup or beach evening primrose, is a species of the evening primrose family and is native to open dunes and sandy soils of coastal California, Baja California and Oregon.


The beach suncup grows prostrate along the beach surface, forming mats more than 1 m across. It forms long stems growing from a central crown, lined with silvery grey-green leaves. The prostrate form and swinging stems allow the plant to survive well on the windy, shifting sands of the coast. The four-petalled flowers open in the morning (typical among suncups) and are bright yellow, fading to reddish.


This plant is a well-defined diploid (2n = 14) species that has varying floral traits over its geographic distribution.

The specific epithet cheiranthifolia refers to the leaves having the appearance of Cheiranthus, an old name for a wallflower genus.
The two subspecies are:
Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia subsp. cheiranthifolia – A perennial herb that rarely has dense and silvery hairs, distributed from the Channel Islands to Oregon. This subspecies is generally self-pollinated.
Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia subsp. suffruticosa (S.Watson) W.L.Wagner & Hoch – A subshrub that generally has dense and silvery hairs, distributed from Baja California to Point Conception. This species is usually cross-pollinated and self-incompatible, and it hybridizes widely with Camissoniopsis bistorta.


This species grows on the coastal dunes and sandy soils from southern Oregon through California and southwards towards El Rosario in Baja California.


Campaea perlata, the pale beauty, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. The average wingspan is about 28–51 mm, and the female tends to be much larger than the male.


C. perlata is seen in almost the entire North American continent.


Alder
Ash
Basswood
Beech
Birch
Blueberry
Canada buffaloberry
Cherry
Fir
Elm
Hemlock
Maple
Oak
Photinia
Pine
Poplar
Rose
Spruce
Tamarack
Willow


Campanula lasiocarpa, also known as the mountain harebell or Alaska harebell, is a plant native to the northwestern portion of North America including the US states of Alaska and Washington, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon.


It is a member of the genus Campanula, commonly known as bellflowers. The blossoms of these flowers taste like a mixture of dandelion stems and the way honeysuckle smells, but no other purple flowers growing in the Yukon Territory should be consumed as most others range from somewhat poisonous to grotesquely perilous if eaten.


Campanula latifolia, the giant bellflower, is a species of bellflower in the family Campanulaceae. It is also known as the large campanula and the wide-leaved bellflower. It is native to Europe and western Asia and is widely grown as an ornamental plant.


Campanula latifolia is a clump-forming perennial herbaceous plant growing to a height of 60 to 120 centimetres (24 to 47 in). The stem is unbranched, erect ,and shortly pubescent, basal leaves are stalked, broadly ovate with a heart-shaped (cordate) base, while the upper leaves are ovate-lanceolate, stalkless, softly hairy with bluntly toothed margins. The inflorescence is a many-flowered terminal raceme or in the axils of upper leaves and has subtending bracts. The flowers are hermaphrodite, bell-shaped, initially erect but later nodding ,and 35 to 60 mm (1.4 to 2.4 in) long. The calyx is fused with five narrow lobes, eventually spreading. The corolla is pubescent with five dark violet-blue fused petals. There are five stamens and a pistil formed from three fused carpels. The fruit is a hairy, nodding capsule. The flowering period is from July to September.


Campanula latifolia is native to Europe and western Asia as far east as Kashmir. Its natural habitat is broad-leaved woodland, coppices, parkland and forest margins. Some occurrences are as a result of escape from cultivation.


Grows easily even in partial to full shade. Hardy in zone 5. Seeds freely to become naturalised and can spread by rhizomes. Wait until the seed heads are dark brown and then open them and spread the seed around. Withstands drought quite well.


Campanula rapunculoides, known by the common names creeping bellflower, rampion bellflower, rover bellflower, garden bluebell, creeping bluebell, purple bell, garden harebell, and creeping campanula, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. Native to central and southern Europe and west Asia,. in some parts of North America it is an extremely invasive species.


The genus Latin name ("campanula"), meaning  'small bell', refers to the bell-shape of the flower, while the specific name ("rapunculoides") refers to the similarity to Campanula rapunculus.


Campanula rapunculoides reaches on average 30–80 centimetres (12–31 in) of height, with a maximum of 120 centimetres (47 in).  The stem is simple, erect and lightly pubescent and the leaves are usually shortly hairy. The basal leaves are triangular, narrow, with a heart-shaped or rounded base, jagged edges and are up to 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long.  The upper stem leaves are sessile, lanceolate, and shortly stalked.
The inflorescence consists of  nodding spikelike racemes with numerous drooping flowers. The flowers are bright blue-violet (rarely white), 2 to 4 centimetres (0.79 to 1.57 in) long, with short petioles standing to one side in the axils of the bracts. The bracts are quite different and smaller than the leaves. The sepals are lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, entire, wide at the base up to 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in). The corolla is bell-shaped, with five deep lobes slightly ciliate. The flowering period extends from June through September. The flowers are pollinated by insects (bees, flies, butterflies, etc.) (entomophily). The fruit is a capsule with five pores near the base, where the seeds are spread.
The plant seeds abundantly (each plant can produce 15,000 seeds), and while some roots come out when it is pulled, the horizontal stolons grow vertical storage tubers, which may not be anywhere near the surface portions of the plant. These storage tubers can regrow stolons, which in turn send up shoots at some distance from the storage tubers.
This plant has its overwintering buds situated just below the soil surface (hemicryptophyte). It spreads by underground rhizomes and produces deep, taproot-shaped tubers. Both are white and fleshy. Because any piece of the roots can sprout into a new plant, it is extremely hard to eradicate.


This plant is native to Europe and western Siberia, where it grows in semi-shaded areas like open woods, the edges of denser forests, and meadowland. It has been introduced to North America, where it has become an extremely invasive weed; it chokes out other plants, and eliminating it is nearly impossible due to its multiple propagation mechanisms.
Like many related Campanula species and more distant relatives, it is edible and was historically grown for food. The roots, shoots, and leaves are all edible. The roots can be eaten raw or cooked, and the upper parts are mild-flavoured; indeed rather bland, commonplace, and somewhat chewy-leaved; the basal leaves are often cooked as a pot herb, where they blend in with other leaves unnoticably.