Common kestrels measure 32–39 cm (12+1⁄2–15+1⁄2 in) from head to tail, with a wingspan of 65–82 cm (25+1⁄2–32+1⁄2 in). Females are noticeably larger, with the adult male weighing 136–252 g (4+3⁄4–8+7⁄8 oz), around 155 g (5+1⁄2 oz) on average; the adult female weighs 154–314 g (5+3⁄8–11+1⁄8 oz), around 184 g (6+1⁄2 oz) on average. They are thus small compared with other birds of prey, but larger than most songbirds. Like the other Falco species, they have long wings as well as a distinctive long tail.
Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.
The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.


In the cool-temperate parts of its range, the common kestrel migrates south in winter; otherwise it is sedentary, though juveniles may wander around in search for a good place to settle down as they become mature. It is a diurnal animal of the lowlands and prefers open habitat such as fields, heaths, shrubland and marshland. It does not require woodland to be present as long as there are alternative perching and nesting sites like rocks or buildings. It will thrive in treeless steppe where there are abundant herbaceous plants and shrubs to support a population of prey animals. The common kestrel readily adapts to human settlement, as long as sufficient swathes of vegetation are available, and may even be found in wetlands, moorlands and arid savanna. It is found from the sea to the lower mountain ranges, reaching elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft) ASL in the hottest tropical parts of its range but only to about 1,750 m (5,740 ft) in the subtropical climate of the Himalayan foothills.
Globally, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN. Its stocks were affected by the indiscriminate use of organochlorines and other pesticides in the mid-20th century, but being something of an r-strategist able to multiply quickly under good conditions it was less affected than other birds of prey. The global population has been fluctuating considerably over the years but remains generally stable; it is roughly estimated at 1–2 million pairs or so, about 20% of which are found in Europe. There has been a recent decline in parts of Western Europe such as Ireland. Subspecies dacotiae is quite rare, numbering less than 1000 adult birds in 1990, when the ancient western Canarian subspecies canariensis numbered about ten times as many birds.


When hunting, the common kestrel characteristically hovers about 10–20 m (35–65 ft) above the ground, searching for prey, either by flying into the wind or by soaring using ridge lift. Like most birds of prey, common kestrels have keen eyesight enabling them to spot small prey from a distance. Once prey is sighted, the bird makes a short, steep dive toward the target, unlike the peregrine who loves to dive from above. It can often be found hunting along the sides of roads and motorways. This species is able to see near ultraviolet light, allowing the birds to detect the urine trails around rodent burrows as they shine in an ultraviolet colour in the sunlight. Another favourite (but less conspicuous) hunting technique is to perch a bit above the ground cover, surveying the area. When the bird spots prey animals moving by, it will pounce on them. They also prowl a patch of hunting ground in a ground-hugging flight, ambushing prey as they happen across it.
Common kestrels eat almost exclusively mouse-sized mammals. Voles, shrews and true mice supply up to three-quarters or more of the biomass most individuals ingest. On oceanic islands (where mammals are often scarce), small birds (mainly passerines) may make up the bulk of its diet. Elsewhere, birds are only an important food during a few weeks each summer when inexperienced fledglings abound. Other suitably sized vertebrates like bats, swifts, frogs and lizards are eaten only on rare occasions. However, kestrels are more likely to prey on lizards in southern latitudes. In northern latitudes, the kestrel is found more often to deliver lizards to their nestlings during midday and also with increasing ambient temperature. Seasonally, arthropods may be a main prey item. Generally, invertebrates like camel spiders and even earthworms, but mainly sizeable insects such as beetles, orthopterans and winged termites will be eaten.
F. tinnunculus requires the equivalent of 4–8 voles a day, depending on energy expenditure (time of the year, amount of hovering, etc.). They have been known to catch several voles in succession and cache some for later consumption. An individual nestling consumes on average 4.2 g/h, equivalent to 67.8 g/d (3–4 voles per day).


The common kestrel starts breeding in spring (or the start of the dry season in the tropics), i.e. April or May in temperate Eurasia and some time between August and December in the tropics and southern Africa. It is a cavity nester, preferring holes in cliffs, trees or buildings; in built-up areas, common kestrels will often nest on buildings, and will reuse the old nests of corvids. The diminutive subspecies dacotiae, the sarnicolo of the eastern Canary Islands is peculiar for nesting occasionally in the dried fronds below the top of palm trees, apparently coexisting with small songbirds which also make their home there. In general, common kestrels will usually tolerate conspecifics nesting nearby, and sometimes a few dozen pairs may be found nesting in a loose colony.
The clutch is normally 3–7 eggs; more eggs may be laid in total but some will be removed during the laying time. This lasts about 2 days per egg laid. The eggs are abundantly patterned with brown spots, from a wash that tinges the entire surface buffish white to large almost-black blotches. Incubation lasts from 4 weeks to one month, both male and female will take shifts incubating the eggs. After the eggs have hatched, the parents share brooding and hunting duties. Only the female feeds the chicks, by tearing apart prey into manageable chunks. The young fledge after 4–5 weeks. The family stays close together for a few weeks, during which time the young learn how to fend for themselves and hunt prey. The young become sexually mature the next breeding season. Female kestrel chicks with blacker plumage have been found to have bolder personalities, indicating that even in juvenile birds plumage coloration can act as a status signal.
Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.


This species is part of a clade that contains the kestrel species with black malar stripes, a feature which apparently was not present in the most ancestral kestrels. They seem to have radiated in the Gelasian (Late Pliocene, roughly 2.5–2 mya, probably starting in tropical East Africa, as indicated by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data analysis and considerations of biogeography. The common kestrel's closest living relative is apparently the nankeen or Australian kestrel (F. cenchroides), which probably derived from ancestral common kestrels settling in Australia and adapting to local conditions less than one million years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene.
The rock kestrel (F. rupicolus), previously considered a subspecies, is now treated as a distinct species.
The lesser kestrel (F. naumanni), which much resembles a small common kestrel with no black on the upperside except wing and tail tips, is probably not very closely related to the present species, and the American kestrel (F. sparverius) is apparently not a true kestrel at all. Both species have much grey in their wings in males, which does not occur in the common kestrel or its close living relatives but does in almost all other falcons.


A number of subspecies of the common kestrel are known, though some are hardly distinct and may be invalid. Most of them differ little, and mainly in accordance with Bergmann's and Gloger's rules. Tropical African forms have less grey in the male plumage.
Falco tinnunculus tinnunculus Linnaeus, 1758
Temperate areas of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia north of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya mountain ranges to the NW Sea of Okhotsk region. Northern Asian populations migrate south in winter, apparently not crossing the Himalayas but diverting to the west.
F. t. rufescens Swainson, 1837
Sahel east to Ethiopia, southwards around Congo basin to S Tanzania and NE Angola.
F. t. interstinctus McClelland, 1840
Has dark heavily marked birds and has a foxed red phase but not reliably identified in the field. Breeds East Asia from Tibet to Korea and Japan, south into Indochina. Winters to the south of its breeding range, from northeastern India to the Philippines (where it is localized, e.g. from Mindanao only two records exist).
F. t. rupicolaeformis (C. L. Brehm, 1855)
Arabian Peninsula except in the desert and across the Red Sea into Africa.
F. t. neglectus Schlegel, 1873
Northern Cape Verde Islands.
F. t. canariensis (Koenig, 1890)
Madeira and western Canary Islands. The more ancient Canaries subspecies.
F. t. dacotiae Hartert, 1913 – Local name: cernícalo
Eastern Canary Islands: Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Chinijo Archipelago. A more recently evolved subspecies than canariensis.
F. t. objurgatus (Baker, 1929)
Western, Nilgiris and Eastern Ghats of India; Sri Lanka. Heavily marked, has rufous thighs with dark grey head in males.
F. t. archerii (Hartert & Neumann, 1932)
Somalia, coastal Kenya, and Socotra
F. t. alexandri Bourne, 1955
Southwestern Cape Verde Islands.
The common kestrels of Europe living during cold periods of the Quaternary glaciation differed slightly in size from the current population; they are sometimes referred to as the paleosubspecies F. t. atavus (see also Bergmann's rule). The remains of these birds, which presumably were the direct ancestors of the living F. t. tinnunculus (and perhaps other subspecies), are found throughout the then-unglaciated parts of Europe, from the Late Pliocene (ELMA Villanyian/ICS Piacenzian, MN16) about 3 million years ago to the Middle Pleistocene Saalian glaciation which ended about 130,000 years ago, when they finally gave way to birds indistinguishable from those living today. Some of the voles the Ice Age common kestrels ate—such as European pine voles (Microtus subterraneus)—were indistinguishable from those alive today. Other prey species of that time evolved more rapidly (like M. malei, the presumed ancestor of today's tundra vole M. oeconomus), while yet again others seem to have gone entirely extinct without leaving any living descendants—for example Pliomys lenki, which apparently fell victim to the Weichselian glaciation about 100,000 years ago.


The red-footed falcon (Falco vespertinus), formerly the western red-footed falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting. It is migratory, wintering in Africa. It is a regular wanderer to western Europe, and in August 2004 a red-footed falcon was found in North America for the first time on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.


The Amur falcon was formerly included herein as a subspecies but it is nowadays considered distinct. Nonetheless, it is the present species' closest relative; their relationship to other falcons is more enigmatic. They appear morphologically somewhat intermediate between kestrels and hobbies and DNA sequence data has been unable to further resolve this question, mainly due to lack of comprehensive sampling. They might be closer to the merlin than to most other living falcons, or more generally related to this species and American falcons such as the American kestrel and the aplomado falcon.
The genus name Falco is from Late Latin falx, falcis, a sickle, referencing the claws of the bird. The species name vespertinus is Latin for "of evening" from vesper, "evening".


It is a medium-small, long-winged species. The adult male is all blue-grey, except for his red undertail and legs; its underwings are uniformly grey. The female has a grey back and wings, orange head and underparts, and a white face with black eye stripe and moustaches.
Young birds are brown above and buff below with dark streaks, and a face pattern like the female. Red-footed falcons are 28–34 cm (11–13 in) in length with a wingspan of 65–75 cm (26–30 in). The average mass is 155 g (5.5 oz).


The main areas of European distribution are in southern Russia and Ukraine. The species occurs in large numbers in Hungary, Romania and Serbia. Smaller populations exist in Italy, Bulgaria and Moldova, in Austria, Slovakia and in Belarus. The red-footed falcon also breeds irregularly in the Czech Republic and in the Baltic States, occasionally also in Germany. In Asia, the breeding occurrences run in a relatively narrow band somewhat south of the taiga eastwards to the upper Lena, where they touch the range of the sister species Falco amurensis east of the Baikal. The northern border lies between the 63° and 58° north latitude, the south border around 45° north latitude. It  runs along the north slope of the Altai and then westward follows the transition of open pine forests into the treeless steppe areas of Central Asia. Further to the west, the  breeding areas on the lower reaches of the Volga and on the north coast of the Caspian Sea reach Europe. The southernmost occurrences are in the steppe areas north of the Caucasus and in South Georgia. Some isolated breeding areas are located in northern Turkey. The red-footed falcon winters in southern and eastern Africa.


Red-footed falcons were witnessed copulating several times over a week-long period and "showed a strong preference for an old magpie nest" Frequent copulation was interspersed with joint inspections of the magpie nest. The morning after the aforementioned observations, the pair was again observed and they repeated their behaviour. Both then defended against an attack by a lesser kestrel. On this day neither bird spent much time in the nest, but always remained perched beside it. At the end of the week the researchers revisited the nest. The behaviour this time was that the female sat in the nest and the male perched outside but in the same tree. Further defensive responses to lesser kestrels were observed. The male red-footed falcon hunted for large insects and fed them to the female. Copulation then occurred. After copulation, the female returned to sit in the nest until the male fed her again. This behaviour continued for several days. This pair clearly showed territorial behaviour. The frequent copulations and lengthy stay of the female in the nest suggested incubation but the researchers did not check the nest.


Researchers used a species distribution model for red-footed falcons. This model can play a crucial role in identifying key nesting sites for endangered species. According to the researchers, the red-footed falcon is officially listed as near-threatened, due to the drastic breeding population decline of the past decades. Red-footed falcons breed in colonies and in solitary pairs. They do not build a nest. In Hungary, the landscape scale distribution of rookeries remained stable, while the density and size of rookeries decreased and their location shifted to human settlements. Similar patterns were reported from other European countries. The reasons of rookery declines can be attributed to a large-scale persecution in the mid-80s resulting in a 90% population crash. Because of this, most potential breeding colonies for red-footed falcons disappeared, causing a decline in the number of breeding pairs. Conservation projects have established artificial nest box colonies to rectify this problem.
There is little evidence of this plan's effectiveness and also little evidence on recent population trends and distribution, from Northern Serbia, where 5-10% of the total European Union population is thought to breed. The researchers' main focus was on understanding the relationship between landscape scale habitat variables and red-footed falcon presence. The researchers found that the increase of natural grasslands had a positive effect on nest site presence while the increase of broad-leaved forests negatively influenced the probability of nest site presence. Their modelling approach proved successful in describing the landscape scale habitat composition of red-footed falcon breeding sites in the modelling area. Natural grasslands have a considerable impact on the probability of nest site presence. Therefore, locating their breeding sites or creating breeding sites by providing artificial colonies with the aid of our results has additional conservation and socio-economic benefits for wildlife and human population.


Near the village of Melenci (Vojvodina, northern Serbia) there were 22 red-footed falcon nests in 1991 in which offspring had been successfully brought up. The contents of four nests were checked daily from the start of incubation until the fledglings left the nests. Breeding success did not differ between the group of four nests disturbed by inspections and the remaining 18. Despite the fact that the ratio of parent bird presence (both, only female, only male) and absence differed in the comparison of the four nests, red-footed falcon parents were usually found in the close surroundings, i.e. they attended their nest. The attendance of the birds to the nests differed between the sexes during incubation as well as hatching and the nestling period, which fact can be interpreted as a difference between the roles of females and males. In 59% of the cases it was the female, while in 41% it was the male bird that was sitting on the eggs. At the time of hatching it was mostly the female (female 86%, male 14%) that was present in the nest, while after hatching it was only the female. Later on the adult birds usually took off from the branch supporting the nest, from neighbouring trees, or from abandoned rook (Corvus frugilegus) nests, rather than from the nest itself. Females participated more times in the defence of the nest than males, yet the ratios of the studied types of behaviour (alarm, repellence, attack) did not differ between the sexes. However, significant difference appeared to be present between four nests when the distribution frequency of the three behaviour types was looked at. The distribution of the reaction types of the parent birds to disturbance was significantly different in the periods of incubation, hatching and nestling, respectively. As nesting proceeded and parental investment grew, the number of repellences and attacks increased proportionally.
The survey of population size and distribution of red-footed falcons proceeded in June–July 2000 and 2001 respectively, ten years after the first census (1990 and 1991). Data of only those nests were processed in which there was breeding. Breeding Success was calculated from the number of offspring per reproductive female. During the survey in Voivodina in 1990-1991 there were 308 and 124 pairs, respectively, whereas ten years later, in the year 2000 there were 116, and in 2001 only 61 pairs of red-footed falcons. Even if the marked fluctuations observed are not considered, the red-footed falcon population breeding in Voivodina shows a declining tendency. The south-western margin of the distribution area has moved towards the northeast by about 50-70 kilometres. More than 90% of the nesting sites, including the larger nesting colonies, are found in the Banat region, i.e. east of the Tisa River. More than 90% of the red-footed falcons continue to nest in rook colonies. No significant change has occurred in their breeding success.


The red-footed falcon is a bird of prey with a diet consisting of a variety of insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds, such as great green bush-crickets, spadefoot toads, sand lizards, the common vole and bird nestlings, respectively. This bird's distinctive method of hunting is shared by the common kestrel. It regularly hovers, searching the ground below, then makes a short steep dive towards the target. When feeding their nestlings, the youngest nestlings receive the most food more frequently and more regularly. Chicks that are between 0 and 3 weeks old will get fed bigger prey like toads, lizards, bird nestlings, and great green bush-crickets, while nestlings over that age will get fed less frequently and with less variety. The diet of young nestlings consists mostly of Orthoptera and beetles with some vertebrates, while the diet of older nestlings mostly consists of Orthoptera and almost never of vertebrates.


The red-footed falcon tends to reside in typical steppe type habitats ranging from Eastern Europe to Lake Baikal in Central Asia. This is a diurnal bird of open country with some trees, often near water. They tend to migrate far south for the winter, including in areas of Africa. The red-footed falcon tends not to make their own nests, but tend to use abandoned nests made by other birds such as the hooded crow, rook, and magpie. The nests that are chosen tend to be higher than the majority of the other nests; the nests tend to be 13–20 m (43–66 ft) above the ground and within 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) of the tree top. Most of these nests tend to be near the edge of woods, avoiding nesting on solitary trees. Breeding takes place in these abandoned nests; usually breeding occurs colonially in rookeries because these birds tend to stay together in groups. This is also important because fledging success tends to be higher when these birds are in colonies and are not solitary. The red-footed falcon relies on the nests built by rooks, and with a decline in population of rooks, the number of suitable rookeries for colonial nesting has also decreased, leading humans to ideas of conservation.


A major impact on the red footed falcon's population is loss and degradation of natural nest sites. Rooks and rookeries are regularly attacked, by shooting into the nests, killing birds and cutting down the trees they were living in for the wood. Pesticides are also a huge threat as they are depleting their natural food sources, making food competitive. There is also an increased mortality caused by electrocution due to the bird's habit of sitting perched on power lines. From 1980 to 1999 intensive poisoning of rooks in Hungary forced the species to change its nest site selection habits, and large colonies have nearly disappeared there as a result, with only 38% of the population breeding colonially. As productivity is generally greater in larger colonies, further decreases may occur. The species appears to be hunted opportunistically during migration.


The global population of red-footed falcon is estimated to be between 300,000-800,000 individuals, with 26,000 to 39,000 pairs in Europe. Most of the population breeds in the steppe grasslands of Russia and central Asia, although a significant amount also breeds in the Ukraine, Romania and Hungary. In 2005, the population in Hungary was estimated to be between 700 and 800, showing a steady decline. Red-footed falcons can be considered as a classic umbrella species because they affect other species living in the community. They play a popular role in the Natura 2000 designation process. Therefore, locating their breeding sites or creating breeding sites by providing artificial colonies has additional conservation and socio-economic benefits for both wildlife and the local human population.


A conservation program, which was funded by the EU's LIFE Nature financial instrument, was initiated on January 1, 2006 with the goal of increasing and maintaining the breeding population of the species in Hungary and western Romania. This conservation project developed a method to create more nesting sites by creating artificial nest box colonies. It's pretty common for the birds to be preyed upon by martens or other mammalian predators during incubation or during the nestling state, even in the artificial colonies. Some extreme cases show that the predators may threaten the existence of every clutch in the colony. They are using many methods to repel or trap potential predators in order to avoid predation. Some of those methods are listed in this section. There are many known threatening factors and the program takes active conservation measures against them. Some of these factors include being electrocuted by electric pylons so the program locates and insulates the exposed cables. Roadside trees are a common nesting site for falcons because they are also home to corvids. Previously, only safety aspects were considered in the management of these nesting facilities. Therefore, the project will submit a conservation based management plan to the correct authorities. One of the reasons of red-footed falcon decline is the collapse of the rook population due to drastic pest control measures. Based on previous experience and information from stakeholders, a draft "corvus management plan" will be prepared to handle the conflict situations caused by rooks.
Future conservation efforts proposed include continuing to conduct regular surveys throughout the area. Figuring out additional ways to help the species is crucial. Red-footed falcons are known to use artificial colonies, therefore, they can be a useful mid-term conservation tool to prevent their population from fragmenting. Also, there may be ways to help out the species by changing farming and land-use practices in Central Europe. Surveys in Bulgaria indicated that there is a decline in available breeding sites for the birds.


Polygonum ciliinode (synonym Fallopia ciliinodis) is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to central and eastern Canada, and the north-central and eastern United States. The specific epithet is also spelt cilinode.


The species was first described by André Michaux in 1803. Michaux spelt the epithet "cilinode". Article 60 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants requires the correction of improperly formed "compounding forms", and the International Plant Names Index has corrected it to "ciliinode".
Polygonum ciliinode is part of the tribe Polygoneae of the subfamily Polygonoideae.  However, like many species in the family Polygonaceae, it has been placed in different genera within this group, including in Fallopia and Reynoutria. A 2015 molecular phylogenetic study (in which the species was treated as Fallopia cilinodis) found that it was weakly supported as a sister to the "DAP clade" (see the following cladogram), although plastid data alone placed it in the "RMF clade". The presence of extra-floral nectaries in Polygonum ciliinode suggests a relationship with the RMF clade, as this is one of the characteristics of the clade. Its relationships remain unsettled; it may represent an as-yet-unrecognized lineage in the Polygoneae.


Fallopia convolvulus, the black-bindweed or wild buckwheat, is a fast-growing annual flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae native throughout Europe, Asia and northern Africa.
Synonyms include Polygonum convolvulus L. (basionym), Bilderdykia convolvulus (L.) Dumort, Fagopyrum convolvulus (L.) H.Gross, Fagopyrum carinatum Moench, Helxine convolvulus (L.) Raf., Reynoutria convolvulus (L.) Shinners, and Tiniaria convolvulus (L.) Webb & Moq. Other old folk names include bear-bind, bind-corn, climbing bindweed, climbing buckwheat, corn-bind, corn bindweed, devil's tether, and wild buckwheat.


Black-bindweed is a herbaceous vine growing to 1–1.5 m (39–59 in) long, with stems that twine clockwise round other plant stems. The alternate triangular leaves are 1.5–6 cm long and 0.7–3 cm broad with a 6–15 (–50) mm petiole; the basal lobes of the leaves are pointed at the petiole. The flowers are small, and greenish-pink to greenish white, clustered on short racemes. These clusters give way to small triangular achenes, with one seed in each achene. The flowers have 5 sepals, the 3 outer ones are larger and show a keel. It has 5 stamens and the fruit grows to 4 mm long.
While it superficially resemble bindweeds in the genus Convolvulus there are many notable differences; it has ocrea (stipule-sheath at nodes), which Convolvulus does not; and Convolvulus has conspicuous trumpet-shaped flowers while Black-bindweed has flowers that are unobtrusive and only about 4 mm long.


Fallopia convolvulus grows most commonly on disturbed or cultivated land, in northern Europe typically on warm, sunny, well-drained sandy or limestone soil types, but in hotter, drier areas like Pakistan, on moist shady sites. It ranges from sea level in the north of its range, up to 3600 m altitude in the south in the Himalaya.


The seeds are edible, and were used in the past as a food crop, with remains found in Bronze Age middens. The seeds are too small and low-yielding to make a commercial crop, and it is now more widely considered a weed, occurring in crops, waste areas and roadsides. It can be a damaging weed when it is growing in a garden or crop, as it can not only damage the plants around which it twines, but also clog the machinery used to harvest a given crop. It is also an invasive species in North America.


Fallopia dumetorum, also known as copse bindweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Polygonaceae, native to temperate Eurasia.


Fallopia scandens, the  climbing false buckwheat, is a species of Fallopia native to North America. It is a herbaceous perennial plant which grows from to 1–5 m (39–197 in) tall. Although they are semi-erect during bloom, when they are producing fruit, they hang from their pedicels in a downward position. Both the fruit and flower are greenish-white in appearance. In North America, it is often misidentified with Fallopia dumetorum, a species endemic to Europe.


Fallugia is a monotypic genus of flowering plants containing the single species Fallugia paradoxa, which is known by the common names Apache plume and póñil. This plant is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it is found in arid habitats such as desert woodlands and scrub.


Fallugia paradoxa is an erect shrub not exceeding two meters in height. It has light gray or whitish peeling bark on its many thin branches. The leaves are each about a centimeter long and deeply lobed with the edges rolled under. The upper surface of the leaf is green and hairy while the underside is duller in color and scaly.
The flower is roselike when new, with rounded white petals and a center filled with many thready stamens and pistils. The ovary of the flower remains after the white petals fall away, leaving many plumelike lavender styles, each 3 to 5 centimeters long. The plant may be covered with these dark pinkish clusters of curling, feathery styles after flowering. Each style is attached to a developing fruit, which is a small achene. The fruit is dispersed when the wind catches the styles and blows them away. Wasps such as Polistes instabilis commonly feed on its nectar.


Fallugia paradoxa is considered valuable for erosion control in desert areas where it grows.


Fatoua villosa is an annual herb in the Moraceae (mulberry) family. Common names include mulberry weed, crabweed, or hairy crabweed in English, Kuwakusa (クワクサ（桑草）/クワ科クワクサ属) in Japanese, and Shui she ma (小蛇麻 or 水蛇麻) in Mandarin. It is native to eastern Asia, some Pacific islands, and parts of Australia (specifically in  two Australian states (Western and Queensland) Bismarck Archipelago, China, Japan, Indonesia (Java, Maluku, Sulawesi), Korea, Lesser Sunda Island, New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam). It has become an invasive species in the United States where it grows in disturbed areas such as flowerbeds, greenhouses, and agricultural fields.


F. villosa is an annual herb, and sometimes perennial herb in the deep south of the US. The entire plant is covered in both glandular and recurved hairs giving the plant a sticky feeling to the touch. The leaves resemble the leaves of mulberry giving rise to the common name of mulberry-weed. The leaves are heart shaped and up to 10 cm long with a crenate leaf margin. At the base of each leaf is a pair of stipules. It is a monoecious plant meaning that it has separate male and female flowers on the same plant. The male and female flowers are aggregated into axillary clusters. The fruit is single seeded and explosively shoots the seed up to several meters.


Media related to Fatoua villosa at Wikimedia Commons


The purple hairstreak (Favonius quercus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae distributed throughout much of Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, Caucasia, and Transcaucasia.
The larva feeds on Quercus robur, Quercus petraea,  Quercus cerris  and Quercus ilex.


Z. quercus L. (74 c, d). male above with a blue gloss and narrow black distal border, the female with the basal area of the forewing blue and often the cell of the hindwing bluish. Underside leaden-grey, with a proximally dark-edged white line before the outer third and in the anal area of the hindwing weak yellow spots. ab. obsoleta Tutt are females without any blue gloss; there occur also transitional specimens with the blue reduced (semiobsoleta). ab. pallescens Tutt are males with a pale grey greenish instead of blue gloss. In ab. excessus Tutt the hindmargin of the forewing bears a coppery streak. Courvoisier proposes the name ab. latefasciata for specimens with broader white line on the underside, ab. bellus Gerh. (74 d) are females with small orange spots at the apex of the cell of the forewing, which are reduced to two spots in ab. bipunctatus Tutt and to one in ab. unipunctus Tutt. Widely distributed, occurring throughout Europe and Asia Minor from England and the Atlantic coast to Armenia and from North Europe to the Mediterranean — Beyond the Mediterranean Sea and on the Iberian Peninsula there occurs iberica Stgr. (74 d).Larger, above very dark, the blue area of the male very sharply defined but not very extended. Underside paler silvery grey, the whitish line therefore being less prominent. — Egg semiglobular, whitish grey, granulose. The larva, which is already developed in the summer, does not leave the egg before April; it bores into the young shoots and later lies on the young leaves, especially on those of the lower twigs of old oak-trees. It is a dreadful cannibal and is evidently avoided by insect-eating birds, as it has been found unmolested in the nest of the blue tit containing young birds (Bingham-Newland). On the other hand it is much infested with ichneumons, as well as a species of Tachina, which develops after the pupation of the caterpillar (Steinfert). Adult yellowish brown with a reddish tint, on the back a row of triangles connected by a dark line, the sides greenish. On various species of oak, and said to occur also on other plants (Myrica, etc.); adult in July. The pupa rounded, brown, irregularly spotted with blackish, on the back three rows of dark spots. The butterflies occur from June till August everywhere in the plains and hills, but usually singly, in certain years more plentifully. They rest on the outer twigs of oak-bushes with the wings always closed, but sometimes flutter high up about the crowns of old oaks.


This active little butterfly is most often seen fluttering around high up in oak trees on warm sunny July and early August days. Males have a glossy purple sheen on the upperside, females have two patches on the forewing only. The underside is light grey with a white streak, edged in black, running down the middle of both wings. The hindwings have a short tail with two orange spots at the base on the underside. It is common and widespread across southern and central England and Wales, becoming rarer and more isolated in the north as far as central Scotland. In Ireland it occurs in a few isolated colonies scattered across the country but is probably still under recorded due to its reclusive habits. Males tend to stay high up in trees, females come down to lower levels to lay eggs. Both sexes feed mainly on honeydew although females are occasionally attracted to flowers whilst taking a break from egg laying.


Eggs are laid singly at the base of oak buds in late summer ready to hatch the following spring as the buds break. Both sessile oak Quercus petraea and pedunculate oak Quercus robur, Britain's two native oaks are used and also some introduced species such as Turkey oak Quercus cerris and evergreen oak Quercus ilex. In winter the eggs are easily found on close examination of bare branches. The caterpillar is fully developed inside the egg after two or three weeks but doesn't hatch until the spring whereupon it burrows into the flower buds to feed safely concealed. As it gets larger and the buds open it spins a silken retreat and feeds only at night. Pupation usually takes place in the leaf litter where it is tended by ants who bury them, but also sometimes in a crevice in the bark of the foodplant. There is one brood a year with adults on the wing in July and August.


Feniseca tarquinius, the harvester, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae, and the only member of the monotypic genus Feniseca. It is found in eastern North America.
This butterfly is the only carnivorous (i.e., insectivorous) butterfly in North America (there are a handful of carnivorous  moths, for example Fulgoraecia exigua). The larvae feed on various aphids, such as Neoprociphilus, Pemphigus, Prociphilus, and Schizoneura.
It is found in early spring until fall and is generally scarce. It lives in wooded areas near streams close to alders.
The wingspan is 23–32 mm.
Another butterfly which is possibly carnivorous is Celastrina serotina. It feeds on galls on  black cherry and possibly also on the eriophid mites that make the galls.


Ferocactus emoryi,  known commonly as Emory's barrel cactus, Coville's barrel cactus and traveler's friend, is a barrel cactus in the genus Ferocactus.


Ferocactus emoryi is spherical or cylindrical solitary barrel cactus, light green to glaucous, reaching a diameter of 60–100 centimetres (24–39 in) and a height of 2–2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in–8 ft 2 in).  It has 15 to 30 ribs with tubercles, especially in the juvenile stage. The spines are white to reddish. The central spine is very strong, 4–10 cm long, while the seven to twelve radial spines reach lengths of up to 6 cm. The large and funnel-shaped flowers are usually red or yellow, reach lengths of up to 7.5 centimeters and have a diameter of 5 to 7 centimeters. The fruit is ovoidal, about 5 cm long. The subspecies F.e. rectispinus has been found with center spines as much as ten inches (25 centimeters) in length  or even thirteen inches (32 centimeters) . These are the longest spines of any cactus.


This species is found in nature in Mexico (Sonora, Sinaloa and Baja California Sur) and in the United States (Arizona).


Ferocactus emoryi grows in the desert scrubs, hillsides, rocky slopes and gravely rocky or sandy soils, at an elevation of about 0–1,200 metres (0–3,937 ft) above sea level.


Ferocactus emoryi var. emoryi
Ferocactus emoryi var. rectispinus (Engelm.) N.P.Taylor


Media related to Ferocactus emoryi at Wikimedia Commons


Ferocactus histrix, also known as Acitrón barrel cactus (Biznaga barril de acitrón) is a species of Ferocactus native to central Mexico.
It is a large barrel cactus that can be commonly found throughout all the Central Mexican matorral. It produces an edible fruit appreciated for its sour taste.


This cactus grows as an unbranched spherical globe, and can reach more than 1 meter (3.3 ft) in height after several years. Mature plants can have their stem divided in up to 25 ribs.
Spines are light yellow, and in older specimens can measure more than 4cm in length.
The epidermis is blue-green in mature plants.
It produces yellow medium-sized flowers from early to late spring and usually the fruits are mature by summer. It flowers when the plant is 10 years or older, though in cultivation they can flower earlier.


This cactus can be found (from east to west) in Hidalgo, Querétaro, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Zacatecas and Durango which makes it one of the barrel cacti with some of the largest distribution. It grows in xeric shrublands and volcanic slopes.


Ferocactus latispinus is a species of barrel cactus native to Mexico. Originally described as Cactus latispinus in 1824 by English naturalist Adrian Hardy Haworth, it gained its current name in 1922 with the erection of the genus Ferocactus by American botanists  Britton and Rose. The species name is derived from the Latin latus "broad", and spinus "spine".  Ferocactus recurvus is a former name for the species.


The species is endemic to Mexico; the more widely distributed subspecies latispinus ranges from southeastern Durango, through Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, east to the western parts of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and Puebla, as well as to eastern Jalisco, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Mexico State. Subspecies spiralis is restricted to the southern parts of Oaxaca and Puebla. This species is typically found under nurse plants like tree canopies and shrubs. These nurse plants protect these smaller plant species below them from harsh weather conditions; being able to provide shade for the cacti in arid and sunny environments.


Ferocactus latispinus grows as a single globular light green cactus reaching the dimensions of 30 cm (12 in) in height and 40 cm (16 in) across, with 21 acute ribs. Its spines range from reddish to white in colour and are flattened and reach 4 or 5 cm long. Flowering is in late autumn or early winter. The funnel-shaped flowers are purplish or yellowish and reach 4 cm long, and are followed by oval-shaped scaled fruit which reach 2.5 cm (1 in) long.


Two subspecies are recognised, differing in their number of radial spines.
Ferocactus latispinus subsp. latispinus — 9–15 radial spines, Devil's Tongue Barrel or Crow's Claw Cactus.
Ferocactus latispinus subsp. spiralis — 5–7 radial spines.


Ferocactus latispinus is fairly commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant. It blooms at an early age which is a desirable horticultural feature. It is hardy to −4 °C, with an average minimum temperature of 10 °C.
The slime mold, Didymium wildpretii feeds on the decaying remains of F. latispinus in Mexico.


Ferocactus viridescens is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae. This rare barrel cactus is known by several common names, including coast barrel cactus, keg cactus and San Diego barrel cactus. Most of its native range in the United States is in San Diego County, California, where it is threatened by development, agriculture, and other alterations in its habitat. It is also found in northern Baja California, Mexico.
It is spherical, oblate, or nearly cylindrical, usually wider than tall, and less than 30 cm (12 in) in height. The flesh is bright green and arranged into several ribs covered in arrays of long spines. The spines, which stick straight out and may curve slightly, are red when new, dulling to gray or tan. The cactus bears yellow to greenish flowers with red or pink scales. The fruit is yellow or red.
The Latin specific epithet viridescens means "turning green".
This plant, which is hardy down to 5 °C (41 °F), must be grown under glass in temperate regions, though it may be placed outside in a sheltered spot in the warm summer months. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Ferocactus wislizeni, the fishhook barrel cactus, also called Arizona barrel cactus, candy barrel cactus, and Southwestern barrel cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to northern Mexico and the southern United States. It is a ball-shaped cactus eventually growing to a cylindrical shape, with spiny ribs and red or yellow flowers in summer.
Some sources mistakenly spell the epithet "wislizenii." The correct spelling is with one "i," per ICN article 60C.2.


The fishhook barrel cactus typically grows to a diameter of roughly 2.25 ft (0.69 m) and a height of 3–6 ft (0.91–1.83 m). However, specimens as wide as 3 ft (0.91 m) and tall as 10 ft (3.0 m) have been recorded. The common name comes from the spines, which are thick and hooked. It has a leathery asparagus green cortex (skin) with approximately 15-28 ribs per cactus. Its flowers are yellow to red-orange and appear atop the cactus fruit during the summer months. The fruits are green when unripe, yellow after the flower dries up, and persist atop the cactus long after the flower is gone, sometimes for more than a year.
In adulthood, fishhook barrel cacti generally lean southward, toward the sun, earning them the nickname "compass barrel cactus."  One theory about why this happens is, the afternoon sun is so intense it slows the growth on the exposed side, causing the plant to grow unevenly. Older barrels can lean so far they uproot themselves and fall over, especially after heavy rains when the soil is loose. Its life cycle is 50–100 years.
Like Sclerocactus, Ferocactus typically grows in areas where water flows irregularly or depressions where water can accumulate for short periods of time. They are not associated with washes and arroyos but rather grow along rocky ridges and open bajadas.
The "fishhook" spines and the armored web of spines enclosing the cactus body are a defense against herbivory. Rarely a mature barrel cactus is found hollowed out by javelina but overall prickly pear experience much higher levels of damage from more species. Barrel cactus spines pose an extreme hazard for handling, penetrating boots and gloves. The roots are quite long but very shallow.


The fishhook barrel cactus is native to southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.  More specifically, it can be found in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, El Paso County, Texas and northern Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico. It grows in gravelly or sandy soil, more commonly on bajadas than steep slopes, at 1000 to 5300 feet (300–1600 m) elevation. It prefers full sun, and does well in hot arid climates. It is, however, frost-tolerant to 5 °F (-15 °C)


The flowers are pollinated by cactus bees (Lithurge spp.).  Mule deer, birds, and javelina eat the fruit.  The birds especially like the seeds.  The people of the Sonoran Desert use the fruit for candy and jelly. The Seri and O'odham eat the flowers and use the fruit, which is sour, as emergency food. Tradition says that the barrel cactus is a source of water for people lost without water in the desert.  There are records of the southwestern Native Americans using it for that purpose, but the water contains oxalic acid and is likely to cause diarrhea if ingested on an empty stomach.
The skin thickens with age, making older cacti more fire resistant. Even so, average mortality due to fire is 50 to 67 percent within the first two years following fire.
In urban areas, the Fishhook Barrel is valued as an ornamental plant.  It is drought tolerant and good for xeriscaping, and it is also a low-maintenance full-sun plant.


Ferula communis, the giant fennel, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae. It is related to the common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), which belongs to the same family.
Ferula communis is a tall herbaceous perennial plant. It is found in Mediterranean and East African woodlands and shrublands.
It was known in antiquity as laser
or narthex.


Its young stems and inflorescences were eaten in ancient Rome, and are still eaten in Morocco today. However, culinary uses of this species are not always safe and poisoning may occur.
In Sardinia two different chemotypes of Ferula communis have been identified: poisonous (especially to animals like sheep, goats, cattle, and horses) and non-poisonous.
They differ in both secondary metabolites patterning and enzymatic composition.
The resin of the subspecies F. communis subsp. brevifolia is called “gum ammoniac of Morocco”.
The phenolic compound ferulic acid is named for the giant fennel, from which it can be isolated.
In Ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus gave mortals fire by hiding it in the plant's hollow stalk. (cite Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound)


Since antiquity, the resin of Ferula species has been used for medicinal purposes. The resin, in the form of a sticky latex, was usually extracted from the lower stalk or root, with the root resin being the finest-grade.
Where the resin of giant fennel (Ferula communis) was farmed, a small hole was pierced in its root with a sharp instrument, after clearing away all rocks and earth that cling to the exposed root. A small trench was dug beneath the root and overlayed with several smooth and flat stones at the bottom for collecting the exuded resin. The piercing was made deep enough into the root or lower stalk to ensure a steady flow of resin on its own pressure.
The resin was usually harvested in the dry and hot summer months, when dampness and moisture could not corrupt the resin. The resin hardens when exposed to the air, upon which it changes color to a brownish-red. The resin that exudes in coagulated, drop-like form is considered superior to that which runs down loosely.


In the past, rods and whips for disciplinary purposes were made from the stalk of Ferula. From this, we have latin ferire (to hit), and also the Swedish färla (disciplinary tool used in schools in the past).


Ficaria verna (formerly Ranunculus ficaria L.), commonly known as lesser celandine or pilewort, is a low-growing, hairless perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae native to Europe and Western Asia. It has fleshy dark green, heart-shaped leaves and distinctive flowers with bright yellow, glossy petals. It is now introduced in North America, where it is known by the common name fig buttercup and considered an invasive species.  The plant is poisonous if ingested raw and potentially fatal to grazing animals and livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep. For these reasons, several US states have banned the plant or listed it as a noxious weed. It prefers bare, damp ground and is considered by horticulturalists in the United Kingdom as a persistent garden weed; nevertheless, many specialist plantsmen, nursery owners and discerning gardeners in the UK and Europe collect selected cultivars of the plant, including bronze-leaved and double-flowered ones. Emerging in late winter with flowers appearing late February through May in the UK, its appearance across the landscape is regarded by many as a harbinger of spring.


Lesser celandine is a hairless perennial plant to about 25 cm high, growing in clumps of 4-10 short stems, on which the leaves are spirally-arranged or all basal. The leaf stalks  have sheathing bases, no stipules, a groove along their upper surface, and two hollows within. The leaves are cordate, 1-4 cm across, dark-green above with a distinctive variegated or mottled pattern, and pale green below. Purple-leaved varieties are common. The margins of the leaves are sometimes entire (rounded) but more often angled or weakly lobed, with hydathodes at the tips. There are two types of roots: dense clusters of thick, pale-coloured elongated tubers surrounded by patches of short, fibrous roots. Some clumps give rise to long stolons to 10 cm or more, allowing vegetative spread to produce extensive carpets of plants.
It produces large actinomorphic (radially symmetrical) flowers, up to 3 (or even 5) cm diameter, on long stalks arising individually from the leaf axils or in loose cymes at the top of the stem. There are no bracts. The flowers have a whorl of 3 sepaloid tepals and 7 to 12 glossy yellow petaloid tepals, which are sometimes tinged purple or grey on the back. Double flowered varieties also occur. The stamens and carpels are numerous, and the fruit is a single-seeded, shortly hairy achene with a very short style. In several subspecies, tubers are formed in the leaf axils after flowering. It blooms between March and May in the UK.


Ficaria verna sensu lato is native to central Europe, north Africa and the Caucasus. It is not native in North America.


Lesser celandine grows on land that is seasonally wet or flooded, especially in sandy soils, but is not found in permanently waterlogged sites. In both shaded woodlands and open areas, Ficaria verna begins growth in the winter when temperatures are low and days are short. The plants mostly propagate and spread vegetatively, although some subspecies are capable of producing up to 73 seeds per flower. Germination of seeds begins in the spring, and continues into summer. Seedlings remain small for their first year, producing only one or two leaves until the second year.
Growth and reproduction is poor in dry or acidic conditions, though the plants can handle drought well once dormant. By emerging before the forest canopy leafs out, Ficaria verna is able to take advantage of the higher levels of sunlight reaching the forest floor during late winter and early spring. By late spring, second year plants quickly age as daylight hours lengthen and temperatures rise. By the end of May, foliage has died back and plants enter a six month dormancy phase.
If disturbed, separation of the plant's numerous basal tubers is an efficient means of vegetative propagation. The plants are easily spread if the prolific tubers are unearthed and scattered by digging activities of some animals and humans. Erosion and flood events are particularly effective means of spread, as the plants are very successful at colonizing low-lying floodplains once deposited.

Ficaria verna exists in both diploid (2n=16) and tetraploid (2n=32) forms which are very similar in appearance. However, the tetraploid types prefer more shady locations and can develop up to 24 bulbils at the base of the stalk. Subspecies F. verna ssp. verna, and F. verna ssp. ficariiformis are tetraploid and capable of colonizing new areas much faster because they produce bulbils in their leaf axils in addition to root tubers. Subspecies F. verna calthifolia and F. verna verna are diploid and hybrids between subspecies often create sterile triploid forms.


In many parts of the Eastern and Northwestern United States and Canada, lesser celandine is cited as an invasive species. It poses a threat to native wildflowers, especially those ephemeral flowers with a spring-flowering lifecycle. Since Ficaria verna emerges well before most native species, it has a developmental advantage which allows it to establish and dominate natural areas rapidly. It is mainly a problem in forested floodplains, where it forms extensive mats, but can occur on upland sites as well. Once established, native plants are displaced and ground is left barren and susceptible to erosion, from June to February, during the plant's six-month dormancy phase.
In the United States, where lesser celandine is considered a plant pest to gardens, lawns, and natural areas, many governmental agencies have attempted to slow the spread of this species with limited success. As of 2014, the species was reported to be invasive and established in 25 states. USDA APHIS considers Ficaria verna to be a high risk weed which could spread across 79 percent of the United States, anticipating possible impacts to threatened and endangered riparian species. The U.S. National Park Service's Plant Conservation Alliance recommends avoiding planting lesser celandine, and instead planting native ephemeral wildflowers such as Asarum canadense, bloodroot, the native twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla), and various species of Trillium as alternatives.


Christopher Lloyd is one of several horticulturists who have recommended one of the double-flowered Flore Pleno Group for planting at the base of a hedge next to a lawn. The Daily Telegraph has even given advice on how to plant them, provided by the Royal Horticultural Society. Double-flowered plants were noted as long ago as 1625 when one was found by John Ray. The RHS specialist quarterly publication The Plantsman published a lengthy, well-illustrated article on double-flowered lesser celandine cultivars by Belgian gardener and alpine plant specialist Wim Boens in December 2017. "RHS Plant Finder" online lists around 220 named cultivars (many of these may well be very similar; nevertheless, this indicates the interest in the species among gardeners).


(Double-flowered and semi-double cultivars are unlikely to be invasive as they either cannot set seed or do not often do so. Semi-doubles may occasionally cross with single cultivars, which is probably how some of the most desirable cultivars originally arose.)
Alba Group (cream to white flowers; foliage green or variously mottled with silver and occasional splashes of purple)
Brambling (unremarkable yellow flowers; grown for its small triangular or horseshoe-shaped leaves beautifully mottled with silver-grey and purple-brown)
Brazen Hussy (bright yellow flowers; glossy dark bronze foliage)
Collarette (golden yellow double flowers with neat, button-like centres, green in the middle, and a gappy ring of outer petals; silvery-green leaves often with a central streak or splash of purple-black)
Coppernob (bright orange, single flowers; glossy dark bronze foliage)
Double Bronze (syns. Bowles's Double, Wisley Double) (semi-double rich yellow flowers with reddish-bronze reverse; green foliage streaked with silver)
Double Mud (semi-double flowers, cream petals, muddy purple-brown on the reverse; green foliage mottled with silver)
Flore Pleno Group (fully double yellow flowers, green or greenish purple on the reverse making a neat rounded centre; foliage pale green or dappled with silver)
Green Petal (a curiosity with small double flowers resembling greenish-yellow roses; distinctive green foliage splashed silver, purple and bronze)
Ken Aslet Double (syn. Ken Aslet) (sterile, fully double white, cream at centre, dark purplish reverse to the petals; plain green or slightly mottled foliage)
Salmon's White (single flowers open cream, fading almost to white, purplish-blue on reverse; dark green foliage splashed silver and black)


All plants of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) contain a compound known as protoanemonin. When the plant is wounded, the unstable glucoside ranunculin turns into the toxin protoanemonin. Contact with damaged or crushed Ficaria leaves can cause itching, rashes or blistering on the skin or mucosa. Ingesting the toxin can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, spasms, or paralysis. In one case, a patient experienced acute hepatitis and jaundice when taking untreated lesser celandine extracts internally as an herbal remedy for hemorrhoids.


On drying of these plants, the protoanemonin toxin dimerizes to non-toxic anemonin, which is further hydrolyzed to non-toxic dicarboxylic acids. Cooking of the plants also eliminates the toxicity of the plants and the plant has been incorporated in diets or herbal medicine after being dried, and ground for flour, or boiled and consumed as a vegetable.


The plant is known as pilewort by some herbalists because it has historically been used to treat piles (hemorrhoids). Lesser celandine is still recommended in several "current" herbal guides for treatment of hemorrhoids by applying an ointment of raw leaves as a cream or lanolin to the affected area. Supposedly, the knobby tubers of the plant resemble piles, and according to the doctrine of signatures this resemblance suggests that pilewort could be used to cure piles.
Nicholas Culpepper (1616 – 1654), is claimed to have treated his daughter for 'scrofula' (or Kings evil) with the plant.
The German vernacular skorbutkraut ("scurvy herb") derives from the use of young leaves, which are high in vitamin C, to prevent scurvy. However, use of lesser celandine to prevent scurvy could be considered a misnomer, tied to its similar appearance to common scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis), which shares similarly shaped leaves as well as sharing the german name skorbutkraut. The German Hager's Manual of pharmacy practice of 1900 states Ranunculus ficaria [sic] and C. officinalis both share this name and use, though there was little documentation of the toxicity of untreated Ficaria species at the time.
Most guides today point out that medicines should be made from the dried herb or by heat extraction as the untreated plants and extracts will contain protoanemonin, a mild toxin. The plant has been widely used in Russia and is sold in most pharmacies as a dried herb. The protoanemonin found in fresh leaves is an irritant and mildly toxic but is suggested to have antibacterial properties if used externally. The process of heating or drying turns the Ranunculaceae toxin to anemonin which is non-toxic and may have antispasmodic and analgesic properties.
Mesolithic Hunter gatherers in Europe consumed the roots of the plant as a source of carbohydrates boiled, fried or roasted.


The poet William Wordsworth was very fond of the flower and it inspired him to write three poems including the following from his ode to the celandine:
I have seen thee, high and low,
Thirty years or more, and yet
'T was a face I did not know;
[...]
Upon Wordsworth's death it was proposed that a celandine be carved on his memorial plaque inside St Oswald's Church, Grasmere, but unfortunately the greater celandine Chelidonium majus was mistakenly used.
Edward Thomas wrote a poem entitled "Celandine". Encountering the flowers in a field, the narrator is reminded of a past love, now dead. He also remarked on banks of celandines in his early prose work "In Pursuit of Spring" (1913).
C. S. Lewis mentions celandines in a key passage of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when Aslan comes to Narnia and the whole wood passes "in a few hours or so from January to May". The children notice "wonderful things happening. Coming suddenly round a corner into a glade of silver birch trees Edmund saw the ground covered in all directions with little yellow flowers - celandines".
D. H. Lawrence mentions celandines frequently in Sons and Lovers. They appear to be a favorite of the protagonist, Paul Morel;
"...going down the hedgeside with the girl, he noticed the celandines, scalloped splashes of gold, on the side of the ditch.
'I like them,' he said, 'when their petals go flat back with the sunshine. They seem to be pressing themselves at the sun.'
And then the celandines ever after drew her with a little spell."


The European pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. One of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers, it hybridizes to a limited extent with the collared flycatcher. It breeds in most of Europe and across the Western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering mainly in tropical Africa.  It usually builds its nests in holes on oak trees.
This species practices polygyny, usually bigamy, with the male travelling large distances to acquire a second mate. The male will mate with the secondary female and then return to the primary female in order to help with aspects of child rearing, such as feeding.
The European pied flycatcher is mainly insectivorous, although its diet also includes other arthropods. This species commonly feeds on spiders, ants, bees and similar prey.
The European pied flycatcher has a very large range and population size and so it is of least concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).


The European pied flycatcher is an Old World flycatcher, part of a family of insectivorous songbirds which typically feed by darting after insects. The Latin word ficedula means “small fig-eating bird”. The term hypoleuca comes from two Greek roots, hupo, “below”, and leukos, “white”.
The species was described in Linnaeus's Fauna Svecica (1746), a work that was not binomial and that is therefore unavailable nomenclaturally. Later, in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae
and the next edition of Fauna Svecica (1761), Linnaeus confounded this flycatcher with the Eurasian blackcap and the Whinchat. To this point, the European Pied Flycatcher still lacked a proper valid binominal name. The species was finally named as Motacilla hypoleuca by German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764. However, he described this species anonymously in the appendix of a sales catalogue of the collection of Adriaan Vroeg, popularly known simply as the “Adumbratiunculae” among ornithologists. The authorship of the Adumbratiunculae could later be attributed to Pallas. Given the initial anonymity of the publication and the inferred authorship by external evidence, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature advocates that Pallas's name should appear enclosed in square brackets in the species' name. Thus, the correct form of the scientific name of the European pied plycatcher is Ficedula hypoleuca ([Pallas], 1764).
Ficedula hypoleuca currently has four recognized subspecies: the nominate F. h. hypoleuca ([Pallas], 1764), F. h. speculigera (Bonaparte, 1850), F. h. iberiae (Witherby, 1928), and F. h. tomensis (Johansen, 1916). The subspecies F. h. muscipeta (Bechstein, 1792) is currently considered synonymous with F. h. hypoleuca, but could represent an actual distinct subspecies. The name F. h. atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1766) is a junior subjective synonym of F. h. hypoleuca; and the name F. h. sibirica Khakhlov, 1915 is invalid, the correct form being F. h. tomensis (Johansen, 1916).


This is a 12–13.5 centimetres (4.7–5.3 in) long bird. The breeding male is mainly black above and white below, with a large white wing patch, white tail sides and a small forehead patch. The Iberian subspecies iberiae (known as Iberian pied flycatcher) has a larger forehead patch and a pale rump. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles have the black replaced by a pale brown, and may be very difficult to distinguish from other Ficedula flycatchers, particularly the collared flycatcher, with which this species hybridizes to a limited extent.
The bill is black, and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. As well as taking insects in flight, this species hunts caterpillars amongst the oak foliage, and will take berries. It is therefore a much earlier spring migrant than the more aerial spotted flycatcher, and its loud rhythmic and melodious song is characteristic of oak woods in spring.

They are birds of deciduous woodlands, parks and gardens, with a preference for oak trees. They build an open nest in a tree hole, and will readily adapt to an open-fronted nest box. 4–10 eggs are laid.
The very similar Atlas pied flycatcher, of the mountains of north west Africa was formerly classed as subspecies of the European pied flycatcher.


The European pied flycatcher has a very large range and population size, and is thus deemed to be of least concern by the IUCN. This species occupies areas of many different countries in Europe and northern Africa, also being present in the west Asian portion of Russia. More specifically, the nominate subspecies F. h. hypoleuca inhabits the UK, central Europe and Scandinavia, F. h. speculigera inhabits Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, F. h. iberiae inhabits in the Iberian Peninsula, and F. h. tomensis in eastern Europe and Russia. The species is noted as a vagrant species in places in other countries in Africa and South Asia, such as Sudan and Afghanistan. This flycatcher typically spends winter in tropical Africa.
The European pied flycatcher is a terrestrial bird, typically inhabiting open forests, woodlands, and towns. In 2005, the European population was listed to hold 3–7 million pairs.


The European pied flycatcher predominately practices a mixed mating system of monogamy and polygyny. Their mating system has also been described as successive polygyny. Within the latter system, the males leave their home territory once their primary mates lays their first eggs. Males then create a second territory, presumably in order to attract a secondary female to breed. Even when they succeed at acquiring a second mate, the males typically return to the first female to exclusively provide for her and her offspring. Males will sometimes care for both mates if the nests of the primary and secondary female are close together. The male may also care for both mates once the offspring of the primary female have fledged. The male bird usually does not exceed two mates, practicing bigamy. Only two cases of trigyny had been observed.


In an experiment conducted from 1948 to 1964 in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, two hundred and fifty nest boxes were carefully recorded for their locations and then analyzed for their inhabitance. The median breeding dispersal (the distance between successive nests) of the European pied flycatcher ranges from about 52–133 metres (171–436 ft), with the average distance between nest sites being about 45 metres (148 ft). This distance typically depended on the breeding density in each year. The study found little evidence to suggest a difference in breeding dispersal between years or between monogamous and polygynous males. As a result, the data for the separate categories could be combined. The breeding dispersal over longer distances could result in both mate fidelity as well as mate change, the latter of which occurs either while the previous mate is still alive, or following the death of the mate. The breeding dispersal distances of birds that survive more than three breeding seasons were studied, and the results showed that the site fidelity increased with more successive breeding attempts. The same long-term study also found that older European pied flycatchers, both male and female, were more likely to move shorter distances between breeding seasons than younger birds were. When mates were observed to re-establish their pair bond, they tended to occupy certain areas that were near the nest site established in the previous breeding season. In addition, female birds were less likely to return to a former breeding site following the death of, or divorce from, their former partner. When a pair divorces, the females have been observed to move greater distances away than the males. As a result, females that keep the same mates from year to year end up moving shorter distances for each mating period than those that divorce. Divorce has little influence on the likelihood of males moving away from their original nest site. The study found that males that keep the same mate do not move significantly smaller distances than males that divorce.


Since most bird species exhibit monogamous mating behaviors, the polygynous behavior of the European pied flycatcher has sparked much research. There are three main hypotheses that seek to explain why females settle polygynously when it lowers their overall fitness and reproductive success compared to a monogamous relationship.


The second hypothesis claims that deception from the male flycatcher explains a female's choice to mate with an already-mated male despite the relative decrease in reproductive success. The deception arises from the polyterritoriality of the males, meaning that the males are able to deceive the females through the use of separate territories. This hypothesis attempts to describe why males have developed polyterritorial behavior. The typical long distances between nest sites suggest that males acquire multiple nest sites to facilitate the deception of the secondary female. A study showed that females leave the male upon discovering that he is already mated, as long as she discovers this fact before laying season. However, another experiment with European pied flycatchers in Norway produced results that refute the deception hypothesis. The secondary female birds in their study raised larger clutches than primary females. The study also showed that deception is not an evolutionarily stable strategy for males, because secondary females would notice the frequent visits to the primary females and then elect to choose another mate. According to the deception hypothesis, already-mated males display polyterritorial behavior that increases their chances of acquiring another mate. Unmated males were shown to display mating behavior, consisting mostly of singing, at their nest site. On the other hand, already-mated males would need to disrupt their singing at their secondary territories in order to return to their primary nest. This can occur both before and after the time of their second mating. As a result, it decreases the chance that females would be deceived, leading to an evolutionarily unstable strategy.


The third hypothesis asserts that females settle for polygyny because it is hard to find unmated males. This theory assumes that there is aggression between females to find mates and asserts that polyterritoriality actually helps to alleviate this aggression, allowing the second female a place to settle and breed peacefully. Although the deception hypothesis suggests that males are more successful at farther secondary territories because they can hide their marital status, the female-female aggression suggests that males occupy distant secondary territories to reduce aggression between the primary and secondary females. Primary females display aggression and prevent other females from settling near the initial nest to ensure that they acquire the male parental care. Primary females were seen in experiments to visit the second territory and behave aggressively towards the secondary female. The number of such visits decreased with increasing distance between the nests. It is also important for the primary female to be able to detect an intruding female as soon as possible, because the longer the intruder has been present in a territory, the more difficult it will be to evict the female. Female flycatchers are known to have the capacity to identify the songs of their own mates and check if they establish a second territory. The primary male was also shown to spend less time in the second territories during incubation periods than before they acquired a secondary mate, especially with greater distances between the two territories.


Studies were also done to examine the amount of contribution the male European pied flycatcher provided in parental care as well as why some females choose to mate with mated males. When older and younger monogamous males were compared, there was no difference in feeding rate between each nest. When females were studied, scientists found that monogamous and primary females benefited significantly more from the male in terms of parental care than polygynous females did. The latter group could only partially compensate for the absence of a male, leading to secondary females and widows raising fewer offspring than the monogamous pairs did. In the study, differences in mates and the qualities of the territories were slight and therefore not considered, since they lead to no advantages for females to choose between the territories belonging to monogamous or already-mated males. The results of the study suggest that the males can control multiple territories and are thus able to deceive females into accepting polygyny, while the females do not have enough time to discover the marital status of the males.
In terms of male parental care to clutches, the rate of male incubation feeding was directly related to the physical condition of the males, and negatively correlated with the ambient temperature. Polygynously mated females also received far less feeds than monogamously mated females, despite having no difference in the food delivery rates by the male. The reduction in delivery rate to the polygynously mated females led to a negative effect on their incubation efficiency, because the females needed to spend more time away from the nest acquiring food. This also prolonged the incubation period when compared to monogamous females. The male feeding behavior is related to the reproductive value as represented by the nests, as well as to the costs and benefits of incubation feeding.


The main diet of the European pied flycatcher is insects. In fact, their name comes from their habit of catching flying insects, but they also catch insects or arthropods from tree trunks, branches, or from the ground. Studies have found that the majority of food catches were made from the ground. It was also found that airborne prey were captured more during the early part of the season (May to June) than in the later part (August to September); the converse trend appeared in prey taken from trees. There are also many overlaps in the foraging techniques with the collared flycatcher, the spotted flycatcher, and the common redstart.
Courtship feeding, or incubation feeding, occurs when the male feeds the female in the pairing, egglaying stages, and incubation. An interpretation of this behavior is that it strengthens the pair bond between mates.


The diet of the European pied flycatcher is composed nearly entirely of insects. One study analyzed the stomach contents of birds during the breeding season and found that ants, bees, wasps  and beetles made up the main diet. Ants made up approximately 25% of the diet.
Food given to nestlings include spiders, butterflies, moths, flies, mosquitoes, ants, bees, wasps, and beetles. For Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera, larvae appear to be consumed more than adult insects; the opposite is true for other insect orders. There is also variation between the proportions of larvae and adult insects between different habitats. Nestlings were also found to consume more spiders, butterfly, and moth larvae, while adult flycatchers consume more ants.


It has on average decreased in population by 25% within the last 25 years. It has ceased to breed in several parts of its former range within Britain. It is a very rare and irregular breeder in Ireland, with only one or two pairs recorded as breeding in most years. Records of its location can be found on that National Biodiversity Network. In the Netherlands it have declined by 90% due to nestlings peaks mistiming.


mid-September to mid-April: lives in sub Saharan Africa
mid April to end of May: migrates and arrives in countries such as the United Kingdom
June to August: breeding season, one brood only
August to mid September: flies back to sub Saharan Africa


They breed in upland broadleaf woodland. This means that in Britain they are limited due to geography to the North and West. They prefer mature oak woodland, but also breed in mature upland ash and birch woods.
They require very high horizontal visibility - a low abundance of shrub and understorey, but with high proportion of moss and grass. Grazing needs to be managed to maintain this open character, but also allow the occasional replacement trees.
They will sometimes use mature open conifer woodland where natural tree holes occur.  Generally they prefer trees that have tree holes, i.e. dead trees, or dead limbs on healthy trees.  They also like lichens that grow on trees.


Ficinia spiralis (pīngao, pīkao, or golden sand sedge) is a coastal sedge endemic to New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands). Originally widespread, it has suffered severely from competition with introduced marram grass and animal grazing and now has only a patchy distribution.


Pīngao is a stout, grass-like plant, 30–90 cm tall, from the sedge family, found on active sand dunes. It is found only in New Zealand and is easily distinguished from other dune species such as spinifex or marram grass. Seen from a distance, pīngao patches have a distinctive orange hue.
Most plants produce long, prostrate, tough rope-like stolons that creep along the sand surface until buried by shifting sand, leaving just the upper portion of leaves exposed. Some southern South Island populations produce dense tussock-like plants without extensive stolons.
Numerous tough, roughly textured leaves are borne in dense tufts on well-spaced, short, upright stems (tillers), along the length of stolons. The narrow leaves are 2–5 mm wide, with colour ranging from bright green when young through golden yellow to a deep orange on mature plants.
 Small, dark brown flowers appear in spring and are arranged spirally in tight clusters around the upper 10–30 cm of the upright stem (culm), interspersed with leaf-like bracts. The seeds are shiny, dark brown, egg-shaped, 3–5 mm long, and ripen and fall in early summer. Pīngao can also reproduce vegetatively with its stolons.


One Māori name for pīngao (or pikao, in Ngai Tahu dialect) is ngā tukemata o Tāne, or "Tāne's eyebrows".
In the beginning of time there was a great conflict between Tane Mahuta, God of the Forest, and his brother Takaroa, God of the Sea. Takaroa was jealous of Tane Mahuta's success in separating Ranginui, the Sky Father from Papa-tu-a-nuku the Earth Mother. Tane Mahuta tried to end the warring between them and as a sign of peace plucked out his eyebrows and gave them to Takaroa. Takaroa's jealousy was so great that he could not find it in his heart to forgive Tane, and threw the eyebrows back onto the shore. There they grow today as Pikao, the Golden Sand Sedge, as the boundary between the forest and the sea, and in his continuing anger, Takaroa is still fighting against the domains of Tane Mahuta.
Leaves from pīngao, which turn bright yellow as they dry, are used by Māori in traditional weaving, especially the construction of hats (pōtae), bags (kete), and mats (whāriki). It is also used to create decorative tukutuku panels in a wharenui. The length, width, and strength of the leaves for weaving vary among pīngao populations growing in different areas. Leaves were also used by Māori for thatching.


Ficus microcarpa, also known as Chinese banyan, Malayan banyan, Indian laurel, curtain fig, or gajumaru (ガジュマル), is a tree in the fig family Moraceae. It is native in a range from China through tropical Asia and the Caroline Islands to Australia. It is widely planted as a shade tree and frequently misidentified as F. retusa or as F. nitida (syn. F. benjamina).


Ficus microcarpa was described in 1782 by Carl Linnaeus the Younger. The species has a considerable number of synonyms. In 1965, E. J. H. Corner described seven varieties (and two forms of Ficus microcarpa var. microcarpa) which were regarded as synonyms under the name of Ficus microcarpa in the latest Flora Malesiana volume.
Hill's weeping fig was first formally described as a species, Ficus hillii, by Frederick Manson Bailey in the Botany Bulletin of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, based on the type specimen collected in the "scrubs of tropical Queensland'".  In 1965, it was reassigned by E. J .H. Corner as a variety of F. microcarpa, namely F. microcarpa var. hillii.


Ficus microcarpa is a tropical tree with smooth light-gray bark and entire oblanceolate leaves about 2-2.5 inches (5–6 cm) long which in Mediterranean climates grows to about forty feet (twelve meters) tall and with an equal spread of crown. Where conditions are favorable for the banyan habit (tropical and humid subtropical) it grows much larger, producing great numbers of prop roots.
The largest known specimen is Auntie Sarah's Banyan at the Menehune Botanical Gardens near Nawiliwili, Kauai, Hawai'i which is 110.0 feet (33.53 meters) in height, 250 feet (76.2 meters) in crown spread, and having over one thousand aerial trunks.
The F. microcarpa with the thickest trunk is also in Hawai'i, at Keaau Village, Puna District, on the Big Island.  Its main trunk is 28.0 feet (8.53 meters) thick at breast height.  It is also 195.0 feet (59.44 meters)  in limb spread.  Only slightly smaller is the "Banyan at Lomteuheakal" in Vanuatu, a F. microcarpa  with a main trunk 27.15 feet thick (26 meters circumference).


Ficus microcarpa is native to tropical Asia, southern China, Taiwan, islands of the Western Pacific and Australia. A tropical and subtropical species, the tree requires a warm climate and a humid atmosphere. It can nevertheless withstand temperatures close to 0 °C. The species occurs mainly at low elevations, and its natural habitats include tropical rainforests, river edges, coasts, swamps and mangroves.


Ficus microcarpa was widely distributed as an ornamental plant and is one of the most common street trees in warm climates. Outside its original range, the species has been introduced to North Africa, Iraq, Pakistan, Japan and Hawaii. In America, it was introduced in Florida and Central America and the South, where it is commonly grown as an ornamental species.
In urbanized areas, trees can grow in cracks, walls, buildings and other masonry elements. It seems that the species can tolerate urban pollutants in soil moisture, including sulfur dioxide, lead and cadmium, as well as salt.
The symbiotic pollinating fig wasp, Eupristina verticillata, was introduced along with F. microcarpa. Such an introduction, however, can be delayed: in Brazil - where specimens of the tree had been used in gardening since the nineteenth century, when it was introduced by the architect Auguste François Marie Glaziou into various public parks of Rio de Janeiro - the appearance of saplings began only during the 1970s. Such saplings are considered to be very aggressive, as they can grow in the walls of buildings, bridges, highways, and other concrete structures.
The tree is considered a major invasive species in Hawaii, Florida, Bermuda, Central America, and South America. F. microcarpa is widely used as a street and ornamental tree in areas of coastal California that are free of regular frost. Its strong roots can lift sidewalks and pavements, and many California cities no longer recommend planting them. In Southern California, a population of the symbiotic fig wasp is now established, which allows the ornamental trees to produce fertile fruit. Seeds are spread by fruit-eating birds, and F. microcarpa can now spread without direct human help. Naturalized populations have been found in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties, including on buildings, bridges, and other structures, and as an epiphyte on other trees, especially palm trees. It is commonly used as an ornamental tree in most of Spain's Mediterranean coast, as in the Balearic and the Canary islands. Ficus microcarpa can also be found on the southern coast of Sicily, in Rhodes and Cyprus. It is considered an invasive plant in Israel, although it is not widespread.


The pollinating fig wasp associated with Ficus microcarpa is Eupristina verticillata. In addition, 19 non-pollinating fig wasp species parasitize Ficus microcarpa figs.
These fig wasps are from different families, which include those of the Eurytomidae and Pteromalidae families.
In some parts of its introduced range, it is very attractive to avian wildlife: in São Paulo, Brazil, ten species of birds were listed as feeding on its fruits, especially  Turdus rufiventris, Pitangus sulphuratus, Turdus leucomelas, Thraupis sayaca and Celeus flavescens. Its fruit and leaves are also sought after and eaten by the parrot Aratinga leucophthalmus.  Although invasive, its hardiness makes it an important species for the attraction of avian wildlife in urban environments.


Ficus microcarpa is cultivated as an ornamental tree for planting in gardens, parks, and in containers as an indoor plant and bonsai specimen. In Southeast Asia, it is cultivated as a shade tree because of its dense foliage. Its ability to produce discards also makes it easy to drive in hedge or bush.
As a tropical and subtropical tree, it is suitable for temperatures above 20 °C all year long, which explains why it is generally sold as a houseplant. It can, however, withstand relatively low temperatures, suffering damage only below 0 °C. High humidity (70% - 100%) is preferable and seems to favor the development of aerial roots. The species can be propagated easily by cuttings, either in water or directly in a substrate of sand or potting soil.
Ficus Emerald Green is an Australian cultivar with glossy, green foliage and upright growth habit that can be used in a formal garden setting as a hedgerow. The cultivar can also be trained to look similar to a 'lollipop' in a container.


The plant is also used in traditional medicine in India, Malaysia, China and Japan. In Japan, the bark, the aerial roots and dried leaves are traditionally used against pain and fever, while in China the plant is traditionally used among others against the flu, the malaria, bronchitis and rheumatism. The pharmacological properties of Ficus microcarpa would include antioxidant activities, antibacterial, anticarcinogen and anti diabetic agents.


In Southeast Asia, F. microcarpa, among other species, is thought to be home to spirits, such as Pontianak (folklore). In China, large fig trees can be associated with beneficial spirits and vital energy ("Qi"). In Singapore, some trees are associated with places of worship among Buddhists and Taoists.


Ficus petiolaris, commonly known as the petiolate fig and rock fig, is a fig that is endemic to Mexico from Baja California and Sonora south to Oaxaca. It grows from 10–20 feet high. It grows best with moderate water and partial shade. A unique feature is white hairs on the vein axils. Other common names include the Baja California rock fig, Palmer wild fig, and Brandegee wild fig.


They are trees that reach a size of 30 metres in height, or 8 to 10 m when it's cultivated as a houseplant. The trunk has a yellowish greenish color. The leaves are heart-shaped, on the front they are bright green and on the back they have a tuft of whitish hairs. The flowers and fruits are green, spherical in shape, with red and velvety spots. The crown of the tree is rounded.


German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth described this species in 1817.


Ficus: generic name that is derived from the Latin name given to the fig .
Petiolaris: Latin epithet meaning "with petiole".


Originally from Mexico, it is present in warm, semi-warm and temperate climates, between 550 and 1200 meters above sea level. Wild plant, associated with deciduous and sub-deciduous tropical forests, thorny forest, mesophilic mountain forest, oak and pine forests. In the Baja California Peninsula, this plant occurs from the southern Sierra de la Asamblea in central Baja California south into the Cape region of Baja California Sur, also present on many adjacent Gulf of California islands.


The bark was traditionally used by the Aztecs to make paper, known as amate. Many of the remaining Aztec codices were written on amate.
In the 16th century, Francisco Hernández de Toledo relates: "the cooking of the roots and bark moisten the tongue of those who have a fever, relieves the pains of the chest and if they are not removed milk evacuates bile and phlegmatic humors by the Upper or lower duct. Cure inveterate ulcers of the lips or any other. " In the 20th century, Maximino Martinez, referred to as astringent, to heal fractures, cracks in gums, herpes and pectoral.
In Mexico, this species is recommended against intestinal parasites, herpes, cough, spleen stones, to regulate menstruation and heal fractures.
In Sonora it is advised in cases of goiter, chest pains, phlegm, wounds and ulcers. In Morelos it is used to attenuate the fever. The treatment includes latex, juice or resin.
In Michoacán, against the hepatitis the macerated bark is prepared and put to soak one day to apply baths, in addition to taking it fasting for nine days.


Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree, or ashvattha tree (in India and Nepal). The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in three major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hindu and Jain ascetics consider the species to be sacred and often meditate under it. This is the tree under which Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The sacred fig is the state tree of the Indian states of Odisha and Haryana.


Ficus religiosa is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended drip tip; they are 10–17 centimetres (3.9–6.7 in) long and 8–12 centimetres (3.1–4.7 in) broad, with a 6–10 centimetres (2.4–3.9 in) petiole. The fruits are small figs 1–1.5 centimetres (0.39–0.59 in) in diameter, green ripening to purple.
F. religiosa has a very long lifespan, ranging on average between 900 and 1,500 years. In some of its native habitats, it has been reportedly found living for over 3,000 years. Some trees have been reported to be more than 2,000 years old, like the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a peepal tree in the ancient city of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka which is estimated to be more than 2,250 years old and is regarded as the "Oldest historical tree in the world with religious importance".


Ficus religiosa is native to most of the Indian subcontinent – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and India including the Assam region, Eastern Himalaya and the Nicobar Islands, as well as part of Indochina – the Andaman Islands, Thailand, Myanmar and Peninsular Malaysia. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, particularly in the rest of tropical Asia, but also in Iran, Florida and Venezuela.


Ficus religiosa suitably grows at altitudes ranging from 10 metres (33 ft) up to 1,520 metres (4,990 ft). Due to the climatic conditions which are prevalent throughout different heat zones, it can grow at latitudes ranging from 30°N to 5°S. It can tolerate air temperatures ranging between 0 °C (32 °F) to 35 °C (95 °F), beyond this upper limit its growth diminishes.  It grows on a wide variety of soils but preferably needs deep, alluvial sandy loam with good drainage. It is also found on shallow soils including rock crevices.


Ficus religiosa is associated with Blastophaga quadriceps, an agaonid wasp which acts as its pollinator as this wasp lays its eggs only on trees of this species.


Ficus religiosa is tolerant to various climate zones (Köppen climate classification categories of Af, Am, Aw/As, Cfa, Cwa and Csa) and various types of soils. In Paraguay the tree species occurs in forests at lower elevations, and in China the species has been reported growing at altitudes ranging from 400 metres (1,300 ft) to 700 metres (2,300 ft). In India, being a native species, it occurs both naturally in wild as well as cultivated up to altitudes of 1,520 metres (4,990 ft).


Ficus religiosa is tolerant to widely varying climatic conditions such as Tropical rainforest climate where the region receives more than 60 millimetres (6.0 cm) of precipitation per month, Tropical monsoon climate where average precipitation ranges from 60 millimetres (6.0 cm) in the driest month to 100 millimetres (10 cm), Tropical savanna climate with dry summer where average precipitation ranges from 60 millimetres (6.0 cm) per month in summers to 100 millimetres (10 cm) per month in winters, Warm temperate climate, wet all year where average temperature ranges from 0 °C (32 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F) and it is wet all year, as well as Warm temperate climate with dry summer where average temperature ranges from 0 °C (32 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F) and summers are dry.


Unlike most epiphytic jungle figs, which ring the stems of dicotyledonous support trees from the outside, the epiphytic bushes of F. religiosa are not true stranglers. Their roots penetrate inside the stem of the support, eventually splitting it from within. Ficus religiosa has been listed as an "environmental weed" or "naturalised weed" by the Global Compendium of Weeds (Randall, 2012). It has been assigned an invasiveness high risk score of 7 in a risk assessment prepared for the species' invasiveness in Hawaii by PIER. Such a high score predicts it will become a major pest in suitable climate zones. The major reasons for its invasive behaviour are its fast-growing nature, tolerance to various climate zones and soil types, reported lifespan of over 3,000 years, and its suffocating growth habit as it often begins life as an epiphyte.


The earliest known record of Ficus religiosa in human culture is the use of peepal leaf motifs in the pottery of the Helmand culture, found at Mundigak site, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, dating back to third millennium BCE.
The peepal tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.  In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, "I am the Peepal tree among the trees, Narada among the Deva Rishi (Divine sages), Bhrigu among the Saptha-Maharishis, Chitraratha among the Gandharvas, And sage Kapila among the Siddhas."


Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath a Ficus religiosa. The site is in present-day Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India. The original tree was destroyed, and has been replaced several times.  A branch of the original tree was rooted in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka in 288 BCE and is known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi; it is the oldest living human-planted flowering plant (angiosperm) in the world.
In Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the tree's massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist or animist shrines. Not all Ficus religiosa can be called a Bodhi Tree. A Bodhi Tree must be able to trace its parent to another Bodhi Tree and the line goes on until the first Bodhi Tree under which Gautama is said to have gained enlightenment.