The hartebeest (/ˈhɑːrtəˌbiːst/; Alcelaphus buselaphus), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an African antelope.  It is the only member of the genus Alcelaphus. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be independent species. A large antelope, the hartebeest stands just over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at the shoulder, and has a typical head-and-body length of 200 to 250 cm (79 to 98 in). The weight ranges from 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb). It has a particularly elongated forehead and oddly-shaped horns, a short neck, and pointed ears. Its legs, which often have black markings, are unusually long. The coat is generally short and shiny. Coat colour varies by the subspecies, from the sandy brown of the western hartebeest to the chocolate brown of the Swayne's hartebeest. Both sexes of all subspecies have horns, with those of females being more slender. Horns can reach lengths of 45–70 cm (18–28 in). Apart from its long face, the large chest and the sharply sloping back differentiate the hartebeest from other antelopes. A conspicuous hump over the shoulders is due to the long dorsal processes of the vertebrae in this region.
Gregarious animals, hartebeest form herds of 20 to 300 individuals. They are very alert and non-aggressive. They are primarily grazers, with their diets consisting mainly of grasses. Mating in hartebeest takes place throughout the year with one or two peaks, and depends upon the subspecies and local factors. Both males and females reach sexual maturity at one to two years of age. Gestation is eight to nine months long, after which a single calf is born. Births usually peak in the dry season. The lifespan is 12 to 15 years.
Inhabiting dry savannas and wooded grasslands, hartebeest often move to more arid places after rainfall. They have been reported from altitudes on Mount Kenya up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The hartebeest was formerly widespread in Africa, but populations have undergone drastic decline due to habitat destruction, hunting, human settlement, and competition with livestock for food. Each of the eight subspecies of the hartebeest has a different conservation status. The Bubal hartebeest was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1994. While the populations of the red hartebeest are on the rise, those of the Tora hartebeest, already Critically Endangered, are falling. The hartebeest is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia; but has been introduced into Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is a popular game animal due to its highly regarded meat.


The scientific name of the hartebeest is Alcelaphus buselaphus. First described by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1766, it is classified in the genus Alcelaphus and placed in the family Bovidae. In 1979, palaeontologist Elisabeth Vrba supported Sigmoceros as a separate genus for Lichtenstein's hartebeest, a kind of hartebeest, as she assumed it was related to Connochaetes (wildebeest). She had analysed the skull characters of living and extinct species of antelope to make a cladogram, and argued that a wide skull linked Lichtenstein's hartebeest with Connochaetes. However, this finding was not replicated by Alan W. Gentry of the Natural History Museum, who classified it as an independent species of Alcelaphus. Zoologists such as Jonathan Kingdon and Theodor Haltenorth considered it to be a subspecies of A. buselaphus. Vrba dissolved the new genus in 1997 after reconsideration. An MtDNA analysis could find no evidence to support a separate genus for Lichtenstein's hartebeest. It also showed the tribe Alcelaphini to be monophyletic, and discovered close affinity between the Alcelaphus and the sassabies (genus Damaliscus)—both genetically and morphologically.


Eight subspecies are identified, of which two – A. b. caama and A. b. lichtensteinii – have been considered to be independent species. However, a 1999 genetic study by P. Arctander of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues, which sampled the control region of the mitochondrial DNA, found that these two formed a clade within A. buselaphus, and that recognising these as species would render A. buselaphus paraphyletic (an unnatural grouping). The same study found A. b. major to be the most divergent, having branched off before the lineage split to give a combined caama/lichtensteinii lineage and another that gave rise to the remaining extant subspecies. Conversely a 2001 phylogenetic study, based on D–loop and cytochrome b analysis by Øystein Flagstad (of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim) and colleagues, found that the southern lineage of A. b. caama and A. lichtensteinii diverged earliest. Analysis of skull structure supports partition into three major divisions: A. b. buselaphus division (nominate, also including A. b. major division), A. b. tora division (also including A. b. cokii and A. b. swaynei) and A. b. lelwel division. Another analysis of cytochrome b and D-loop sequence data shows a notable affinity between the A. b. lelwel and A. b. tora  divisions.
The eight subspecies, including the two controversial ones, are:
† A. b. buselaphus (Pallas, 1766) : Known as the bubal hartebeest or northern hartebeest. Formerly occurred across northern Africa, from Morocco to Egypt. It was exterminated by the 1920s. It was declared extinct in 1994 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
A. b. caama (Saint-Hilaire, 1803) : Known as the red hartebeest or Cape hartebeest. Formerly occurred in southern Angola; northern and eastern savannahs of Namibia; central, southern and southwestern Botswana; Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Free State, Northwest and Gauteng provinces and western KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa. Presently has been eliminated from all these areas except Northern Cape, central and southwestern Botswana and Namibia. Major re-introductions have taken place in these countries. The population of this hartebeest is on the rise.
A. b. cokii Günther, 1884: Known as Coke's hartebeest or kongoni. Native to and confined within Kenya and northern Tanzania.
A. b. lelwel (Heuglin, 1877) : Known as the Lelwel hartebeest. Formerly found in northern and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo; southeastern and southwestern Sudan; and the northwestern extreme of Tanzania. Drastic population decrease since the 1980s has confined most individuals to protected areas inside and outside its range.
A. b. lichtensteinii (Peters, 1849) : Known as Lichtenstein's hartebeest. Inhabits the miombo woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. It is native to Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
A. b. major (Blyth, 1869) : Known as the western hartebeest. Formerly occurred widely in Mali, Niger, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, southwestern Chad, Cameroon, western Central African Republic and Benin. Nowadays it occurs in much lower numbers mainly in protected areas of these countries. It is probably extinct in Gambia.
A. b. swaynei (Sclater, 1892) : Known as Swayne's hartebeest. Restricted to the southern Rift Valley in Ethiopia. It formerly occurred throughout the Rift Valley, and its range extended eastward into northwestern Somalia. It has disappeared from Somalia by 1930. Its populations are very low and on the decline.
A. b. tora Gray, 1873 : Known as the tora hartebeest. Formerly occurred in northwestern Ethiopia and western and southwestern Eritrea. Its present status is unclear, though locals have reported small numbers from these areas.


In 2000, a study scrutinised two major populations of the Swayne's hartebeest, from the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary and the Nechisar National Park, for mitochondrial (D-loop) and nuclear (microsatellite) variability in an attempt to estimate the levels of genetic variation between the populations and within the subspecies. The results showed a remarkable differentiation between the two populations; that from the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary showed more genetic diversity than the one from the Nechisar National Park. Another revelation was that the translocation of the individuals from the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974 had not made a significant contribution to the gene pool of the Nechisar National Park. Additionally, the Swayne hartebeest populations were compared with a large red hartebeest population, and both subspecies were found to have a high degree of genetic variation. The study advocated in situ conservation of the Swayne's hartebeest and a renewed attempt at its translocation in order to conserve genetic diversity and increase its population in both the protected areas.
The diploid number of chromosomes in the hartebeest is 40. Hybrids are usually reported from areas where ranges of two subspecies overlap. Hybrids between the Lelwel and Tora hartebeest have been reported in eastern Sudan and western Ethiopia, in a stretch southward from the Blue Nile to about 9° N latitude. A study proved a male hybrid of the red hartebeest and the blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus) to be sterile. Sterility of the hybrid was attributed to difficulties in segregation during meiosis, indicated by azoospermia and a low number of germ cells in its seminiferous tubules.
There are three well-defined hybrids between the subspecies:
Alcelaphus lelwel x cokii: Known as the Kenya Highland hartebeest or the Laikipia hartebeest. It is a cross between the Lelwel and Coke's hartebeest. This hybrid is lighter in colour and larger than Coke's hartebeest. It is a light buff with reddish-tawny upper parts, and the head is longer than in Coke's hartebeest. Both sexes have horns, which are heavier as well as longer than those of the parents. It was formerly distributed throughout the western Kenyan highlands, between Lake Victoria and Mount Kenya, but is now believed to be restricted to the Lambwe Valley (south-west Kenya) and Laikipia and nearby regions of west-central Kenya.
The Jackson's hartebeest does not have a clear taxonomic status. Like the form above, it is regarded as a hybrid between the Lelwel and Coke's hartebeest, and has a similar distribution. The African Antelope Database (1998) treats it as synonymous to the Lelwel hartebeest. From Lake Baringo to Mount Kenya, the Jackson's hartebeest significantly resembles the Lelwel hartebeest, whereas from Lake Victoria to the southern part of the Rift Valley it tends to be more like the Coke's hartebeest.
Alcelaphus lelwel x swaynei : Also known as the Neumann's hartebeest, named after traveller and hunter Arthur Henry Neumann. This is considered to be a cross between the Lelwel hartebeest and Swayne's hartebeest. The face is longer than that of the Swayne's hartebeest. The colour of the coat is a golden brown, paler towards the underparts. The chin has a hint of black and the tail ends in a black tuft. Both sexes have longer horns than the Swayne's hartebeest. The horns grow in a wide "V" shape, unlike the wide bracket shape of Swayne's hartebeest and the narrow "V" of Lelwel hartebeest, curving backward and slightly inward. It occurs in Ethiopia, in a small area to the east of Omo River and north of Lake Turkana, stretching north-east of Lake Chew Bahir to near Lake Chamo.


The genus Alcelaphus emerged about 4.4 million years ago in a clade whose other members were Damalops, Numidocapra, Rabaticeras, Megalotragus, Oreonagor, and Connochaetes. An analysis using phylogeographic patterns within hartebeest populations suggested a possible origin of Alcelaphus in eastern Africa. Alcelaphus quickly radiated across the African savannas, replacing several previous forms (such as a relative of the hirola). Flagstad and colleagues showed an early split in the hartebeest populations into two distinct lineages around 0.5 million years ago – one to the north and the other to the south of the equator. The northern lineage further diverged into eastern and western lineages, nearly 0.4 million years ago, most probably as a result of the expanding central African rainforest belt and subsequent contraction of savanna habitats during a period of global warming. The eastern lineage gave rise to the Coke's, Swayne's, Tora and Lelwel hartebeest; and from the western lineage evolved the Bubal and western hartebeest. The southern lineage gave rise to Lichtenstein's and red hartebeest. These two taxa are phylogenetically close, having diverged only 0.2 million years ago. The study concluded that these major events throughout the hartebeest's evolution are strongly related to climatic factors, and that there had been successive bursts of radiation from a more permanent population—a refugium—in eastern Africa; this could be vital to understanding the evolutionary history of not only the hartebeest but also other mammals of the African savanna.
The earliest fossil record dates back to nearly 0.7 million years ago. Fossils of the red hartebeest have been found in Elandsfontein, Cornelia (Free State) and Florisbad in South Africa, as well as in Kabwe in Zambia. In Israel, hartebeest remains have been found in northern Negev, Shephelah, Sharon Plain and Tel Lachish. This population of the hartebeest was originally limited to the open country of the southernmost regions of the southern Levant. It was probably hunted in Egypt, which affected the numbers in the Levant, and disconnected it from its main population in Africa.


A large antelope with a particularly elongated forehead and oddly shaped horns, the hartebeest stands just over 1 m (3 ft 3 in) at the shoulder, and has a typical head-and-body length of 200 to 250 cm (79 to 98 in). The weight ranges from 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb). The tail, 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 in) long, ends in a black tuft. The other distinctive features of the hartebeest are its long legs (often with black markings), short neck, and pointed ears. A study correlated the size of hartebeest species to habitat productivity and rainfall. The western hartebeest is the largest subspecies, and has a characteristic white line between the eyes. The red hartebeest is also large, with a black forehead and a contrasting light band between the eyes. The large Lelwel hartebeest has dark stripes on the front of its legs. Coke's hartebeest is moderately large, with a shorter forehead and longer tail in comparison to the other subspecies. Lichtenstein's hartebeest is smaller, with dark stripes on the front of the legs, as in the Lelwel hartebeest. The Swayne's hartebeest is smaller than the Tora hartebeest, but both have a shorter forehead and similar appearance.
Generally short and shiny, the coat varies in colour according to subspecies. The western hartebeest is a pale sandy-brown, but the front of the legs are darker. The red hartebeest is a reddish-brown, with a dark face. Black markings can be observed on the chin, the back of the neck, shoulders, hips and legs; these are in sharp contrast with the broad white patches that mark its flanks and lower rump. The Lelwel hartebeest is a reddish tan. Coke's hartebeest is reddish to tawny in the upper parts, but has relatively lighter legs and rump. Lichtenstein's hartebeest is reddish brown, though the flanks are a lighter tan and the rump whitish. The Tora hartebeest is a dark reddish brown in the upper part of the body, the face, the forelegs and the rump, but the hindlegs and the underbelly are a yellowish white. The Swayne's hartebeest is a rich chocolate brown with fine spots of white that are actually the white tips of its hairs. Its face is black save for the chocolate band below the eyes. The shoulders and upper part of the legs are black. Fine textured, the body hair of the hartebeest is about 25 mm (1 in) long. The hartebeest has preorbital glands (glands near the eyes) with a central duct, that secrete a dark sticky fluid in Coke's and Lichtenstein's hartebeest, and a colourless fluid in the Lelwel hartebeest.
Both sexes of all subspecies have horns, with those of females being more slender. Horns can reach lengths of 45–70 cm (18–28 in); the maximum horn length is 74.9 cm (29+1⁄2 in), recorded from a Namibian red hartebeest. The horns of the western hartebeest are thick and appear U-shaped from the front and Z-shaped from the sides, growing backward at first and then forward, ending with a sharp backward turn. The horns of the red and the Lelwel hartebeest are similar to those of the western hartebeest, but appear V-shaped when viewed from the front. The Lichtenstein's hartebeest has thick parallel ringed horns, with a flat base. Its horns are shorter than those of other subspecies, curving upward then sharply forward, followed by an inward turn at an angle of about 45° and a final backward turn. The horns of Swayne's hartebeest are thin and shaped like parentheses, curving upward and then backward. The horns of the Tora hartebeest are particularly thin and spread out sideways, diverging more than in any other subspecies.
Apart from its long face, the large chest and the sharply sloping back differentiate the hartebeest from other antelopes. The hartebeest shares several physical traits with the sassabies (genus Damaliscus), such as an elongated and narrow face, the shape of the horns, the pelage texture and colour, and the terminal tuft of the tail. The wildebeest have more specialised skull and horn features than the hartebeest. The hartebeest exhibits sexual dimorphism, but only slightly, as both sexes bear horns and have similar body masses. The degree of sexual dimorphism varies by subspecies. Males are 8% heavier than females in Swayne's and Lichtenstein's hartebeest, and 23% heavier in the red hartebeest. In one study, the highest dimorphism was found in skull weight. Another study concluded that the length of the breeding season is a good predictor of dimorphism in pedicle (the bony structures from which the horns grow) height and skull weight, and the best predictor of the horn circumference.


Active mainly during daytime, the hartebeest grazes in the early morning and late afternoon, and rests in shade around noon. Gregarious, the species forms herds of up to 300 individuals. Larger numbers gather in places with abundant grass. In 1963, a congregation of 10,000 animals was recorded on the plains near Sekoma Pan in Botswana. However, moving herds are not so cohesive, and tend to disperse frequently. The members of a herd can be divided into four groups: territorial adult males, non-territorial adult males, young males, and the females with their young. The females form groups of five to 12 animals, with four generations of young in the group. Females fight for dominance over the herd. Sparring between males and females is common. At three or four years of age, the males can attempt to take over a territory and its female members. A resident male defends his territory and will fight if provoked. The male marks the border of his territory through defecation.
Hartebeest are remarkably alert and cautious animals with highly developed brains. Generally calm in nature, hartebeest can be ferocious when provoked. While feeding, one individual stays on the lookout for danger, often standing on a termite mound to see farther. At times of danger, the whole herd flees in a single file after an individual suddenly starts off. Adult hartebeest are preyed upon by lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs; cheetahs and jackals target juveniles. Crocodiles may also prey on hartebeest.
The thin long legs of the hartebeest provide for a quick escape in an open habitat; if attacked, the formidable horns are used to ward off the predator. The elevated position of the eyes enables the hartebeest to inspect its surroundings continuously even as it is grazing. The muzzle has evolved so as to derive maximum nutrition from even a frugal diet. The horns are also used during fights among males for dominance in the breeding season; the clash of the horns is loud enough that it can be heard from hundreds of metres away. The beginning of a fight is marked with a series of head movements and stances, as well as depositing droppings on dung piles. The opponents drop onto their knees and, after giving a hammer-like blow, begin wrestling, their horns interlocking. One attempts to fling the head of the other to one side to stab the neck and shoulders with his horns. Fights are rarely serious, but can be fatal if they are.
Like the sassabies, hartebeest produce quiet quacking and grunting sounds. Juveniles tend to be more vocal than adults, and produce a quacking call when alarmed or pursued. The hartebeest uses defecation as an olfactory and visual display. Herds are generally sedentary, and tend to migrate only under adverse conditions such as natural calamities. The hartebeest is the least migratory in the tribe Alcelaphini (which also includes wildebeest and sassabies), and also consumes the least amount of water and has the lowest metabolic rate among the members of the tribe.


Several parasites have been isolated from the hartebeest. These parasites regularly alternate between hartebeest and gazelles or wildebeest. Hartebeest can be infected with theileriosis due to Rhipicephalus evertsi and Theileria species. South of the Sahara, common parasites include Loewioestrus variolosus, Gedoelstia cristata and G. hassleri. The latter two species can cause serious diseases such as encephalitis. However, parasites are not always harmful – 252 larvae were found in the head of one Zambian individual without any pathogenicity. Nematodes, cestodes, paramphistomes; and the roundworm Setaria labiatopapillosa have also been isolated from the hartebeest. In 1931, a red hartebeest in Gobabis (southwestern Africa) was infected with long, thin worms. These were named Longistrongylus meyeri after their collector, T. Meyer.


Hartebeest are primarily grazers, and their diets consist mostly of grasses. A study in the Nazinga Game Ranch in Burkina Faso found that the hartebeest's skull structure eased the acquisition and chewing of highly fibrous foods. The hartebeest has much lower food intake than the other members of Alcelaphini. The long thin muzzle of the hartebeest assists in feeding on leaf blades of short grasses and nibbling off leaf sheaths from grass stems. In addition to this, it can derive nutritious food even from tall senile grasses. These adaptations of the hartebeest enable the animal to feed well even in the dry season, which is usually a difficult period for grazers. For instance, in comparison with the roan antelope, the hartebeest is better at procuring and chewing the scarce regrowth of perennial grasses at times when forage is least available. These unique abilities could have allowed the hartebeest to prevail over other animals millions of years ago, leading to its successful radiation across Africa.
Grasses generally comprise at least 80 percent of the hartebeest's diet, but they account for over 95 percent of their food in the wet season, October to May. Jasminum kerstingii is part of the hartebeest's diet at the start of the rainy season. Between seasons, they mainly feed on the culms of grasses. A study found that the hartebeest is able to digest a higher proportion of food than the topi and the wildebeest. In areas with scarce water, it can survive on melons, roots, and tubers.
In a study of grass selectivity among the wildebeest, zebra, and the Coke's hartebeest, the hartebeest showed the highest selectivity. All animals preferred Themeda triandra over Pennisetum mezianum and Digitaria macroblephara. More grass species were eaten in the dry season than in the wet season.


Each hartebeest subspecies is listed under a different conservation status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The species as a whole is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. The hartebeest is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia.
The Bubal hartebeest has been declared extinct since 1994. German explorer Heinrich Barth, in his works of 1857, cites firearms and European intrusion among the reasons for the decrease in its numbers. It was extinct in Tunisia by the late 19th century. The last individual was shot in Missour (Algeria) in 1925.
Coke's hartebeest is listed as Least Concern. This species has been greatly affected by habitat destruction, and about 42,000 Coke's hartebeest occur today in Mara, Serengeti National Park, and Tarangire National Park in Tanzania and Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. The population is decreasing, and 70% of the population lives in protected areas.
The Lelwel hartebeest is listed as Endangered, and numbers have declined greatly since the 1980s, when its population was over 285,000. It was formerly distributed mainly in the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, northern and northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan. Fewer than 70,000 individuals are left. Most of the population nowadays is found in Chad in the Salamat region and the Zakouma National Park (Chad), the National Park population benefiting from improved protection and seeing an increase in population since the 1980s; Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park and Bamingui-Bangoran National Park and Biosphere Reserve in the Central African Republic, where the populations have been falling; Rumanyika Orugundu Game Reserve and Ibanda Game Reserve in Tanzania; and Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda.
Lichtenstein's hartebeest is listed as Least Concern, and occurs in protected areas such as the Selous Game Reserve and in the wild in southern and western Tanzania and Zambia.
The red hartebeest is listed as Least Concern. It is the most widespread, with increasing numbers after its reintroduction into protected and private areas. However, it has been extinct in Lesotho since the twentieth century. Its population is estimated to be over 130,000 (as of 2008), mostly in southern Africa. In Namibia, the largest population occurs in the Etosha National Park. A reintroduced population is flourishing in the Malolotja Nature Reserve (Eswatini), outside its range. However, numbers have seen a sharp fall in southwestern Botswana.
The Tora hartebeest is listed as Critically Endangered; the IUCN has ascertained that fewer than 250 mature individuals survive as of 2008. They are possibly extinct in Sudan due to excessive hunting and agricultural expansion, but may still exist in smaller numbers in Eritrea and Ethiopia. There have been unconfirmed reports of sightings by locals of the Tora hartebeest southeast of the Dinder National Park, from where it had disappeared before 1960.
Swayne's hartebeest is listed as Endangered, and is close to being Critically Endangered. The total population in 2008 was less than 600, of which the mature specimens numbered within 250. It is confined to four major protected areas: the Senkele Wildlife Sanctuary, Nechisar National Park, Awash National Park and Maze National Park. The hartebeest in Senkele have to compete with the livestock of the Oromo people. A study in the Nechisar National Park during 2009 and 2010 found a considerable increase in the livestock of the Oromos (49.9% and 56.5% increase during 2006 and 2010, respectively), illegal resource exploitation, and habitat loss as major threats to the Swayne's hartebeest populations there.
The western hartebeest is listed as Near Threatened. It has been eliminated from most of its range, including the southwestern savannas and Boucle du Baoulé National Park in Mali; southwestern Niger; southern Senegal; Gambia; Ivory Coast; Burkina Faso. Small populations survive in Bafing National Park and the area bounded by Bamako, Bougouni and Sikasso in Mali; Tamou Reserve in Niger; Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal; Comoé National Park in Ivory Coast; Diefoula forest and Nazinga Game Ranch in Burkina Faso; Pendjari National Park in Benin; and Bouba Njida, Bénoué, and Faro National Parks in Cameroon.


Hartebeest are popular game and trophy animals as they are prominently visible and hence easy to hunt. Pictorial as well as epigraphic evidence from Egypt suggests that in the Upper Palaeolithic age, Egyptians hunted hartebeest and domesticated them. The hartebeest was a prominent source of meat, but its economic significance was lower than that of gazelles and other desert species. However, from the beginning of the Neolithic age, hunting became less common and consequently the remains of the hartebeest from this period in ancient Egypt, where it is now extinct, are rare.
In a study on the effect of place and sex on carcass characteristics, the average carcass weight of the male red hartebeest was 79.3 kg (174+3⁄4 lb) and that of females was 56 kg (123 lb). The meat of the animals from Qua-Qua region had the highest lipid content—1.3 g (20 gr) per 100 g (3+1⁄2 oz) of meat. Negligible differences were found in the concentrations of individual fatty acids, amino acids, and minerals. The study considered hartebeest meat to be healthy, as the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids was 0.78, slightly more than the recommended 0.7.


Alces alces is called a "moose" in North American English, but an "elk" in British English. The word "elk" in North American English refers to a completely different species of deer, Cervus canadensis, also called the wapiti. A mature male moose is called a bull, a mature female a cow, and an immature moose of either sex a calf.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the etymology of the species is "of obscure history". In Classical Antiquity, the animal was known as ἄλκη álkē in Greek and alces in Latin, words probably borrowed from a Germanic language or another language of northern Europe. By the 8th century, during the Early Middle Ages, the species was known as Old English: elch, elh, eolh, derived from the Proto-Germanic: *elho-, *elhon- and possibly connected with the Old Norse: elgr. Later, the species became known in Middle English as elk, elcke, or elke, appearing in the Latinized form alke, with the spelling alce borrowed directly from Latin: alces. Noting that elk "is not the normal phonetic representative" of the Old English elch, the Oxford English Dictionary derives elk from Middle High German: elch, itself from Old High German: elaho.
The word "elk" has cognates in other Indo-European languages, e.g. elg in Danish/Norwegian; älg in Swedish; alnis in Latvian; Elch in German; and łoś in Polish. In the continental European languages, these forms of the word "elk" always refer to Alces alces.
The youngest elk bones in Great Britain were found in Scotland and are roughly 3,900 years old. The elk was probably extinct on the island before 900 AD. The word "elk" remained in usage because of English-speakers' familiarity with the species in Continental Europe; however, without any living animals around to serve as a reference, the meaning became rather vague, and by the 17th century "elk" had a meaning similar to "large deer". Dictionaries of the 18th century simply described "elk" as a deer that was "as large as a horse".
Confusingly, the word "elk" is used in North America to refer to a different animal, Cervus canadensis, which is also called by the Algonquian indigenous name, "wapiti". The British began colonizing America in the 17th century, and found two common species of deer for which they had no names. The wapiti appeared very similar to the red deer of Europe (which itself was then almost extinct in Southern Britain) although it was much larger and was not red; the two species are indeed closely related, though distinct behaviorally and genetically. The moose was a rather strange-looking deer to the colonists, and they often adopted local names for both. In the early days of American colonization, the wapiti was often called a gray moose and the moose was often called a black moose, but early accounts of the animals varied wildly, adding to the confusion.
The word "moose" had first entered English by 1606 and is borrowed from the Algonquian languages (compare the Narragansett moos and Eastern Abenaki mos; according to early sources, these were likely derived from moosu, meaning "he strips off"), and possibly involved forms from multiple languages mutually reinforcing one another. The Proto-Algonquian form was *mo·swa.
Early European explorers in North America, particularly in Virginia where there were no moose, called the wapiti "elk" because of its size and resemblance to familiar-looking deer like the red deer. The moose resembled the "German elk" (the moose of continental Europe), which was less familiar to the British colonists. For a long time neither species had an official name, but were called a variety of things. Eventually, in North America the wapiti became known as an elk while the moose retained its indigenous name. In 1736, Samuel Dale wrote to the Royal Society of Great Britain:
The common light-grey moose, called by the Indians, Wampoose, and the large or black-moose, which is the beast whose horns I herewith present. As to the grey moose, I take it to be no larger than what Mr. John Clayton, in his account of the Virginia Quadrupeds, calls the Elke ... was in all respects like those of our red-deer or stags, only larger ... The black moose is (by all that have hitherto writ of it) accounted a very large creature. ... The stag, buck, or male of this kind has a palmed horn, not like that of our common or fallow-deer, but the palm is much longer, and more like that of the German elke.


Alcis repandata has a wingspan reaching 30–45 mm. This is an extremely variable species, typically being buff or grey with black bars along the costa, but often with a broad blackish band across the forewings.
Meyrick describes it - The head is grey mixed with whitish and fuscous. The forewings are light ochreous-brown, sprinkled with black and sometimes with whitish. The first line is curved, the median line is twice sinuate and dark fuscous, sometimes partly confluent. The second line is dark fuscous, roundly projecting above and below the middle. The subterminal is waved and pale or whitish, partially dark-margined. There is a blackish discal spot before the median. The hindwings are as the forewings, but the lines are less marked and regular. There is a discal dot beyond median. Melanic forms are also common, especially in industrial areas. In all but the darkest variations the most characteristic feature is a pale zigzag line across the hindwing. The larva is pale greenish-ochreous, brown-marked, sometimes suffused with dark grey, dusted with yellow. The dorsal line is brown or dark grey, distinct on segments 2–4, often obsolete elsewhere. Segments 5-12 sometimes have pale dorsal diamonds. See also Prout (1912–16)
This species is rather similar to Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) and its congeners. See Townsend et al.


The chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar), or simply chukar/Chakor, is a Palearctic upland gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partridge and Przevalski's partridge and treated in the past as conspecific particularly with the first. This partridge has well marked black and white bars on the flanks and a black band running from the forehead across the eye and running down the head to form a necklace that encloses a white throat. Native to Asia, the species has been introduced into many other places and feral populations have established themselves in parts of North America and New Zealand. This bird can be found in parts of the Middle East and temperate Asia.


This species is relatively unaffected by hunting or loss of habitat. Its numbers are largely affected by weather patterns during the breeding season. The release of captive stock in some parts of southern Europe can threaten native populations of rock partridge and red-legged partridge with which they may hybridize.
British sportsmen in India considered the chukar as good sport although they were not considered to be particularly good in flavour. Their fast flight and ability to fly some distance after being shot made recovery of the birds difficult without retriever dogs. During cold winters, when the higher areas are covered in snow, people in Kashmir have been known to use a technique to tire the birds out to catch them.


In the non-breeding season, chukar partridge are found in small coveys of 10 or more (up to 50) birds. In summer, chukars form pairs to breed. During this time, the cocks are very pugnacious in their calling and fighting. During winter they descend into the valleys and feed in fields. They call frequently during the day and especially in the mornings and evenings. The call is loud and includes loud repeated chuck notes and sometimes duetting chuker notes. Several calls varying with context have been noted. The most common call is a "rallying call" which when played back elicits a response from birds and has been used in surveys, although the method is not very reliable. When disturbed, it prefers to run rather than fly, but if necessary it flies a short distance often down a slope on rounded wings, calling immediately after alighting. In Utah, birds were found to forage in an area of about 2.6 km² (1.0 sq mi) and travel up to 4.8 km (3.0 mi) to obtain water during the dry season. The home range was found to be even smaller in Idaho.
The breeding season is summer. Males perform tidbitting displays, a form of courtship feeding where the male pecks at food and a female may visit to peck in response. The males may chase females with head lowered, wing lowered and neck fluffed. The male may also perform a high step stiff walk while making a special call. The female may then crouch in acceptance and the male mounts to copulate, while grasping the nape of the female. Males are monogamous. The nest is a scantily lined ground scrape, though occasionally a compact pad is created with a depression in the centre. Generally, the nests are sheltered by ferns and small bushes, or placed in a dip or rocky hillside under an overhanging rock. About 7 to 14 eggs are laid. The eggs hatch in about 23–25 days. In captivity they can lay an egg each day during the breeding season if eggs are collected daily. Chicks join their parents in foraging and will soon join the chicks of other members of the covey.
As young chukars grow, and before flying for the first time, they utilize wing-assisted incline running as a transition to adult flight. This behaviour is found in several bird species, but has been extensively studied in chukar chicks, as a model to explain the evolution of avian flight.
Chukar will take a wide variety of seeds and some insects as food. It also ingests grit. In Kashmir, the seeds of a species of Eragrostis was particularly dominant in their diet while those in the US favoured Bromus tectorum. Birds feeding on succulent vegetation make up for their water needs but visit open water in summer.
Chukar roost on rocky slopes or under shrubs. In the winter, birds in the US selected protected niches or caves. A group may roost in a tight circle with their heads pointed outwards to conserve heat and keep a look out for predators.
Chukar are sometimes preyed on by golden eagles.
Birds in captivity can die from Mycoplasma infection and outbreaks of other diseases such as erysipelas.


The name is onomatopoeic and mentions of chakor in Sanskrit, from northern Indian date back to the Markandeya Purana (c. 250-500 AD). In North Indian and Pakistani culture, as well as in Hindu mythology, the chukar sometimes symbolizes intense, and often unrequited, love. It is said to be in love with the moon and to gaze at it constantly. Because of their pugnacious behaviour during the breeding season they are kept in some areas as fighting birds.


The natural range of the red-legged partridge is France, Spain and Portugal. However, it was introduced from France to Great Britain in the 18th century, and has since become an important gamebird there. As it is a mediterranean species, it thrives in hot, dry areas with sandy soil. The ability to breed two clutches simultaneously has led to it being extensively reared in captivity, and released for shooting. The breeding of chukars (Alectoris chukar) and red-legged/chukar hybrids is prohibited, due to its impact on wild populations of red-legs. The red-legged partridge is believed to be in decline across its range.


Many red-legged partridges are kept and bred in captivity in New Zealand aviaries where the population is considered secure at the moment. These particular birds are all descendants from one of the last attempts at introducing the species to the wild by the (Auckland) Acclimatisation Society.
A consignment of 1500 eggs was sent from the United Kingdom in July 1980. However, the boxes were delayed by two days and had evidently over-heated en route. There was further delay in getting the eggs through customs and quarantine clearance. By the time they reached Massey University (which had been invested in to take on the project), hopes were not high and only 135 chicks were hatched. Two further consignments totaling 638 eggs were sent mid-1981. From these only 53 chicks hatched. The plan was to rear these birds and put them through six breeding cycles in two years using controlled lighting and thus establish a substantial breeding nucleus. The programme at Massey was soon terminated and all the birds dispersed to other breeders, primarily the game farm at Te Ahoha which had already produced some young, but some were also given to the Wildlife Service. At the end of the 1983 breeding season, the population had increased to 940 birds.
The current actual status of wild, self-sustaining red-legged partridges in New Zealand is questionable. Back-yard agriculturalists and gamebird breeders/preserves hold most of the population. Some zoos and farm-parks exhibit this species. It is not frequently eaten by the public.
Similar species is the chukar partridge which is not allowed to be kept in captivity and has been naturalized in the South Island as an upland game bird since the 1930s. The chukar partridge's population has been in decline since the late 1980s. Other introduced gamebirds are bobwhite quail, brown quail, California quail, guinea fowl, blue peafowl, wild turkey,  and pheasant. Major management efforts are made for the more valued of these species, such as bobwhites and pheasants.


Alisma plantago-aquatica is a hairless plant that grows in shallow water, consists of a fibrous root, several basal long stemmed leaves 15–30 centimetres (6–12 inches) long, and a triangular stem up to 1 metre (3+1⁄2 feet) tall. It has branched inflorescence bearing numerous small flowers, 1 cm (1⁄2 in) across, with three round or slightly jagged, white or pale purple petals. The flowers open in the afternoon. There are three blunt green sepals and 6 stamens per flower. The carpels often exist as a flat single whorl. It flowers from June until August. The fruits appear as a ring of seeds inside each flower.


The species is widespread across most of Europe and Asia from Portugal and Morocco to Japan, Kamchatka and Vietnam. It is also regarded as native in northern and central Africa as far south as Tanzania, and in Australia. It is reportedly naturalized in southern Africa, New Zealand, Alaska, British Columbia, Washington state and Connecticut. Some sources maintain that the species is widespread across North America, but these reports appear to have been based on misidentified specimens. It is found on mud or in fresh waters.


The diet of adult American alligators from central Florida lakes is dominated by fish, but the species is highly opportunistically based upon local availability. In Lake Griffin, fish made up 54% of the diet by weight, with catfish being most commonly consumed, while in Lake Apopka, fish made up 90% of the food and mostly shad were taken; in Lake Woodruff, the diet was 84% fish and largely consists of bass and sunfish. Unusually in these regions, reptiles and amphibians were the most important nonpiscivore prey, mostly turtles and water snakes. In southern Louisiana, crustaceans (largely crawfish and crabs) were found to be present in the southeastern American alligators, but largely absent in southwestern American alligators, which consumed a relatively high proportion of reptiles, although fish were the most recorded prey for adults, and adult males consumed a large portion of mammals.
In East Texas, diets were diverse and adult American alligators took mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates (e.g. snails) in often equal measure as they did fish.


Chives are grown for their scapes and leaves, which are used for culinary purposes as a flavoring herb, and provide a somewhat milder onion-like flavor than those of other Allium species.
Chives have a wide variety of culinary uses, such as in traditional dishes in France, Sweden, and elsewhere. In his 1806 book Attempt at a Flora (Försök til en flora), Anders Jahan Retzius describes how chives are used with pancakes, soups, fish, and sandwiches. They are also an ingredient of the gräddfil sauce with the traditional herring dish served at Swedish midsummer celebrations. The flowers may also be used to garnish dishes.
In Poland and Germany, chives are served with quark. Chives are one of the fines herbes of French cuisine, the others being tarragon, chervil and parsley. Chives can be found fresh at most markets year-round, making them readily available; they can also be dry-frozen without much impairment to the taste, giving home growers the opportunity to store large quantities harvested from their own gardens.


Allium tricoccum is a perennial growing from an ovoid-conical shaped bulb that is 2–6 cm long. Plants typically produce a cluster of 2–6 bulbs that give rise to broad, flat, smooth, light green leaves, that are 20–30 cm long including the narrow petioles, often with deep purple or burgundy tints on the lower stems. The bulbs are white and surrounded by brownish to grayish sheathing. Each cluster of bulbs gives rise to one flowering stem. The flowers are arranged into an umbel that has an erect scape that is typically 10–40 cm long. The inflorescence has two ovate bracts that enclose the flowers before they open and fall away at anthesis. The flowering stem is persistent after fruiting. The flowering most commonly occurs after the leaves have died back, unlike the similar Allium ursinum, in which leaves and flowers can be seen at the same time. Ramps grow in close groups strongly rooted just beneath the surface of the soil. Flowering occurs in June or July into August. The flowers have white, cream or yellowish tepals which are 4–7mm long. The stamens are about as tall as the tepals and the filaments of the stamens have widened bases and are inserted on the corolla. After flowering and fertilization green fruits are produced that are three-lobed and open by way of three valves. The seeds are round, black, and shiny.


Adults are 6–7 mm long, with yellow stripes on the thorax and cross banding on the abdomen with four longitudinal, yellow stripes or spots on the fourth and fifth tergite. The face is yellow and lacks a complete median stripe. Males have holoptic eyes and females have dichoptic eyes.
Eggs are white, oval, and about 0.84 mm in length. Larvae reach 8–9 mm. They are bumpy and slug-like.


Allotropa virgata is in the family Ericaceae and is the only species of the genus Allotropa. It is a perennial plant that gets its common names from the distinct white and red or maroon stripes along its erect peduncle. A. virgata are nongreen as they lack chlorophyll, instead obtaining nutrition from neighboring green plants through a fungal intermediate.
Its common names include sugarstick, candystriped allotropa and barber's pole.


Alnus glutinosa, the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations where its association with the bacterium Frankia alni enables it to grow in poor quality soils. It is a medium-sized, short-lived tree growing to a height of up to 30 metres (98 feet). It has short-stalked rounded leaves and separate male and female flowers in the form of catkins. The small, rounded fruits are cone-like and the seeds are dispersed by wind and water.
The common alder provides food and shelter for wildlife, with a number of insects, lichens and fungi being completely dependent on the tree. It is a pioneer species, colonising vacant land and forming mixed forests as other trees appear in its wake. Eventually common alder dies out of woodlands because the seedlings need more light than is available on the forest floor. Its more usual habitat is forest edges, swamps and riverside corridors. The timber has been used in underwater foundations and for manufacture of paper and fibreboard, for smoking foods, for joinery, turnery and carving. Products of the tree have been used in ethnobotany, providing folk remedies for various ailments, and research has shown that extracts of the seeds are active against pathogenic bacteria.


The common alder is native to almost the whole of continental Europe (except for both the extreme north and south) as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Asia its range includes Turkey, Iran and Kazakhstan, and in Africa it is found in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. It is naturalised in the Azores. It has been introduced, either by accident or by intent, to Canada, the United States, Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Its natural habitat is in moist ground near rivers, ponds and lakes but it can also grow in drier locations and sometimes occurs in mixed woodland and on forest edges. It tolerates a range of soil types and grows best at a pH of between 5.5 and 7.2. Because of its association with the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Frankia alni, it can grow in nutrient-poor soils where few other trees thrive.


The common alder is most noted for its symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Frankia alni, which forms nodules on the tree's roots. This bacterium absorbs nitrogen from the air and fixes it in a form available to the tree. In return, the bacterium receives carbon products produced by the tree through photosynthesis. This relationship, which improves the fertility of the soil, has established the common alder as an important pioneer species in ecological succession.
The common alder is susceptible to Phytophthora alni, a recently evolved species of oomycete plant pathogen probably of hybrid origin. This is the causal agent of phytophthora disease of alder which is causing extensive mortality of the trees in some parts of Europe. The symptoms of this infection include the death of roots and of patches of bark, dark spots near the base of the trunk, yellowing of leaves and in subsequent years, the death of branches and sometimes the whole tree. Taphrina alni is a fungal plant pathogen that causes alder tongue gall, a chemically induced distortion of female catkins. The gall develops on the maturing fruits and produces spores which are carried by the wind to other trees. This gall is believed to be harmless to the tree. Another, also harmless, gall is caused by a midge, Eriophyes inangulis, which sucks sap from the leaves forming pustules.
The common alder is important to wildlife all year round and the seeds are a useful winter food for birds. Deer, sheep, hares and rabbits feed on the tree and it provides shelter for livestock in winter. It shades the water of rivers and streams, moderating the water temperature, and this benefits fish which also find safety among its exposed roots in times of flood. The common alder is the foodplant of the larvae of a number of different butterflies and moths and is associated with over 140 species of plant-eating insect. The tree is also a host to a variety of mosses and lichens which particularly flourish in the humid moist environment of streamside trees. Some common lichens found growing on the trunk and branches include tree lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria), Menneguzzia terebrata and Stenocybe pullatula, the last of which is restricted to alders. Some 47 species of mycorrhizal fungi have been found growing in symbiosis with the common alder, both partners benefiting from an exchange of nutrients. As well as several species of Naucoria, these symbionts include Russula alnetorum, the milkcaps Lactarius obscuratus and Lactarius cyathula, and the alder roll-rim Paxillus filamentosus, all of which grow nowhere else except in association with alders. In spring, the catkin cup Ciboria amentacea grows on fallen alder catkins.
As an introduced species, the common alder can affect the ecology of its new locality. It is a fast-growing tree and can quickly form dense woods where little light reaches the ground, and this may inhibit the growth of native plants. The presence of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria and the annual accumulation of leaf litter from the trees also alters the nutrient status of the soil. It also increases the availability of phosphorus in the ground, and the tree's dense network of roots can cause increased sedimentation in pools and waterways. It spreads easily by wind-borne seed, may be dispersed to a certain extent by birds and the woody fruits can float away from the parent tree. When the tree is felled, regrowth occurs from the stump, and logs and fallen branches can take root. In the Midwestern United States, Alnus glutinosa is a highly invasive terrestrial plant and is prohibited in Indiana.  A. glutinosa is classed as an environmental weed in New Zealand.


The common alder is used as a pioneer species and to stabilise river banks, to assist in flood control, to purify water in waterlogged soils and to moderate the temperature and nutrient status of water bodies. It can be grown by itself or in mixed species plantations, and the nitrogen-rich leaves falling to the ground enrich the soil and increase the production of such trees as walnut, Douglas-fir and poplar on poor quality soils. Although the tree can live for up to 160 years, it is best felled for timber at 60 to 70 years before heart rot sets in.
On marshy ground it is important as coppice-wood, being cut near the base to encourage the production of straight poles. It is capable of enduring clipping as well as marine climatic conditions and may be cultivated as a fast-growing windbreak. In woodland natural regeneration is not possible as the seeds need sufficient nutrients, water and light to germinate. Such conditions are rarely found at the forest floor and as the forest matures, the alder trees in it die out. The species is cultivated as a specimen tree in parks and gardens, and the cultivar 'Imperialis' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Red alder is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft). The official tallest red alder (as of 1979) stands 32 m (105 ft) tall in Clatsop County, Oregon (US). The trunks range from 25 to 50 centimetres (10 to 19+1⁄2 in) in diameter. The bark is mottled, ashy-gray and smooth, often colonized by white lichen and moss. The leaves are ovate, 7 to 15 centimetres (2+3⁄4 to 6 in) long, with bluntly serrated edges and a distinct point at the end; the leaf margin is revolute, the very edge being curled under, a diagnostic character which distinguishes it from all other alders. The leaves turn yellow in the autumn before falling. The male flowers are dangling reddish catkins 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) long in early spring. Female flowers occur in clusters of (3) 4–6 (8). Female catkins are erect during anthesis, but otherwise pendant. They develop into small, woody, superficially cone-like oval dry fruit 2 to 3 cm (3⁄4 to 1+1⁄4 in) long. The seeds develop between the woody bracts of the 'cones' and are shed in late autumn and winter. Red alder seeds have a membranous winged margin that allows long-distance dispersal.
Specimens can live to about 60 years of age before being seriously afflicted by heart rot.


The scientific name of Smooth Alder is Alnus serrulata (Aiton) Willd., synonymous with Alnus noveboracensis Britton, Alnus rubra Desfontaines ex Spach, Alnus rugosa (Du Roi) Sprengel, Alnus rugosa (Du Roi) Sprengel var. serrulata (W. Aiton) H. Winkler, Alnus serrulata (W. Aiton) Willdenow var. subelliptica Fernald, and Betula serrulata W. Aiton.
It has English common names including common alder, tag alder, hazel alder, and smooth alder.


Aloe arborescens is endemic to the south eastern part of Southern Africa. Specifically, this range includes the countries of South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. It has the third largest distribution amongst the aloe genus. Although Aloe arborescens has adapted to many different habitats, its natural habitat usually consists of mountainous areas, including rocky outcrops and exposed ridges. Its common name krantz aloe refers to the Afrikaans word "krans" (spelling possibly influenced by German "Kranz"), which means a rocky cliff.  Its habitat can vary, and it is one of only a few species of aloe that is found growing from sea level up to the tops of mountains.
It is also widely distributed (to the point of becoming naturalized) in the western Mediterranean, Australia, California, Japan, South Korea and the Marshall Islands. It is an invasive species in Portugal.


Aloe arborescens is valued by gardeners for its succulent green leaves, large vibrantly-colored flowers, and winter blooming. The sweet nectar attracts birds, butterflies, and bees. With a minimum temperature of 10 °C (50 °F), in temperate regions it is grown under glass. The cultivar A. arborescens 'Variegata' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. In Southern Africa, Aloe arborescens is traditionally planted around kraals (domestic stock enclosures) as a living fence or security hedge. It often happens that the position of old kraals can still be seen many years after they have been abandoned, because the aloes persist. It is easily propagated by cuttings.


Aloe ferox is a tall, single-stemmed aloe, that can grow to 10 feet (3.0 m) in height. Its leaves are thick and fleshy, arranged in rosettes, and have reddish-brown spines on the margins with smaller spines on the upper and lower surfaces. The leaf surfaces of young plants are covered in spines; however, as they get taller and less vulnerable to grazing, the leaves begin to lose most of their spines except for those along the leaf margins. Plants in the western part of its natural range tend to keep more of their leaf surface spines.
Its flowers are a uniform orange or red, and stand between 2 and 4 feet (0.61 and 1.22 m) above the leaves, in multi-branched inflorescences.
It is a variable species, and plants may differ physically from area to area, due to local conditions. This aloe is frequently confused with the related Aloe excelsa species, to the north, and they do look very similar when fully grown. However the flowers are different, with the racemes of Aloe excelsa being far shorter and slightly curved.
Altogether, the bitter aloe can be distinguished from its closest relatives: by its more compact, erect leaves with 6mm reddish-brown teeth on the margins and also on the keel of the leaf near the leaf tip; by their erect candelabra inflorescences, which bear up to eight very dense, cylindrical, symmetrical, 50–80 cm racemes; and by their un-curved, tubular flowers with brown inner segment tips.


Aloe ferox is known by several names - most commonly as the bitter aloe, but also as the Cape aloe, red aloe and tap aloe.
Aloe ferox plants are propagated mainly from seed and head cuttings, with plants sowed with approximately one meter separations. From seed, it takes about 4 to 5 years for the plants to reach the first harvest. At the time of harvest, each leaf weighs about 1.5 kg to 2 kg. Aloe ferox prefers dry-tropical climates, open areas, sandy-loamy soils, full sun, and moderate watering with a good drainage system.


The species has several synonyms: A. barbadensis Mill., Aloe indica Royle, Aloe perfoliata L. var. vera and A. vulgaris Lam. Some literature identifies the white-spotted form of Aloe vera as Aloe vera var. chinensis; and the spotted form of Aloe vera may be conspecific with A. massawana. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as Aloe perfoliata var. vera, and was described again in 1768 by Nicolaas Laurens Burman as Aloe vera in Flora Indica on 6 April and by Philip Miller as Aloe barbadensis some ten days after Burman in the Gardener's Dictionary.
Techniques based on DNA comparison suggest Aloe vera is relatively closely related to Aloe perryi, a species endemic to Yemen. Similar techniques, using chloroplast DNA sequence comparison and ISSR profiling have also suggested it is closely related to Aloe forbesii, Aloe inermis, Aloe scobinifolia, Aloe sinkatana, and Aloe striata. With the exception of the South African species A. striata, these Aloe species are native to Socotra (Yemen), Somalia, and Sudan. The lack of obvious natural populations of the species has led some authors to suggest Aloe vera may be of hybrid origin.


A. vera is considered to be native only to the south-east Arabian Peninsula in the Al Hajar Mountains in north-eastern Oman. However, it has been widely cultivated around the world, and has become naturalized in North Africa, as well as Sudan and neighboring countries, along with the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, and Madeira Islands. It has also naturalized in the Algarve region of Portugal, and in wild areas across southern Spain, especially in the region of Murcia.
The species was introduced to China and various parts of southern Europe in the 17th century. It is widely naturalized elsewhere, occurring in arid, temperate, and tropical regions of temperate continents. The current distribution may be the result of cultivation.


Aloe vera has been widely grown as an ornamental plant. The species is popular with modern gardeners as a topical medicinal plant and for its interesting flowers, form, and succulence. This succulence enables the species to survive in areas of low natural rainfall, making it ideal for rockeries and other low water-use gardens. The species is hardy in zones 8–11, and is intolerant of heavy frost and snow. The species is relatively resistant to most insect pests, though spider mites, mealy bugs, scale insects, and aphid species may cause a decline in plant health. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
In pots, the species requires well-drained, sandy potting soil, and bright, sunny conditions. Aloe plants can turn red from sunburn under too much direct sun, though gradual acclimation may help. The use of a good-quality commercial propagation mix or packaged "cacti and succulent mix" is recommended, as they allow good drainage. Terra cotta pots are preferable as they are porous. Potted plants should be allowed to completely dry before rewatering. When potted, aloes can become crowded with "pups" growing from the sides of the "mother plant". Plants that have become crowded can be divided and repotted to allow room for further growth, or the pups can be left with the mother plant. During winter, Aloe vera may become dormant, during which little moisture is required. In areas that receive frost or snow, the species is best kept indoors or in heated glasshouses.
Houseplants requiring similar care include haworthia and agave.
There is large-scale agricultural production of Aloe vera in Australia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, India, Jamaica, Spain, where it grows well, even inland, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, along with the USA to supply the cosmetics industry.


Two substances from Aloe vera – a clear gel and its yellow latex – are used to manufacture commercial products. Aloe gel typically is used to make topical medications for skin conditions, such as burns, wounds, frostbite, rashes, psoriasis, cold sores, or dry skin. Aloe latex is used individually or manufactured as a product with other ingredients to be ingested for relief of constipation. Aloe latex may be obtained in a dried form called resin or as "aloe dried juice".
There is conflicting evidence regarding whether Aloe vera is effective as a treatment for wounds or burns. There is some evidence that topical use of aloe products might relieve symptoms of certain skin disorders, such as psoriasis, acne, or rashes.
Aloe vera gel is used commercially as an ingredient in yogurts, beverages, and some desserts, but at high or prolonged doses, ingesting aloe latex or whole leaf extract can be toxic. Use of topical aloe vera in small amounts is likely to be safe.


Aloe vera may be prepared as a lotion, gel, soap or cosmetics product for use on skin as a topical medication. For people with allergies to Aloe vera, skin reactions may include contact dermatitis with mild redness and itching, difficulty with breathing, or swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat.


Aloin, a compound found in the semi-liquid latex of some Aloe species, was the common ingredient in over-the-counter (OTC) laxative products in the United States until 2002 when the Food and Drug Administration banned it because manufacturers failed to provide the necessary safety data. Aloe vera has potential toxicity, with side effects occurring at some dose levels both when ingested and when applied topically. Although toxicity may be less when aloin is removed by processing, Aloe vera ingested in high amounts may induce side effects, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea or hepatitis. Chronic ingestion of aloe (dose of 1 gram per day) may cause adverse effects, including hematuria, weight loss, and cardiac or kidney disorders.
Aloe vera juice is marketed to support the health of the digestive system, but there is neither scientific evidence nor regulatory approval for this claim. The extracts and quantities typically used for such purposes are associated with toxicity in a dose-dependent way.


Orally ingested non-decolorized aloe vera leaf extract was listed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment among "chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity".
Use of topical aloe vera is not associated with significant side effects. Oral ingestion of aloe vera is potentially toxic, and may cause abdominal cramps and diarrhea which in turn can decrease the absorption of drugs.


This perennial bunchgrass is variable in appearance. It produces bunches of erect stems between 20 and about 70 centimeters in height. The leaves are 2-15 cm long; the basal leaves are the longest and the few stem leaves are long-sheathing. The cylindrical inflorescence is a few centimeters long and blooms with white to yellow to bright orange anthers about 0.5-0.8 mm long.
The leaf blades are narrow, about 1-8 mm wide. The flowers are attached to branches, rather than the main axis of the inflorescence.


The Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) is a member of the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. It is native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley.
Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians, and appeared in much of their artwork. Because of their popularity chiefly as an ornamental bird, escapees are common and feral populations have become established in Western Europe, the United States, and New Zealand.


The Egyptian goose is believed to be most closely related to the shelducks (genus Tadorna) and their relatives, and is placed with them in the subfamily Tadorninae. It is the only extant member of the genus Alopochen, which also contains closely related prehistoric and recently extinct species. mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data suggest that the relationships of Alopochen to Tadorna need further investigation.


It swims well and in flight looks heavy, more like a goose than a duck, hence the English name. It is 63–73 cm (25–29 in) long.
The sexes of this species are identical in plumage but the males average slightly larger. There is a fair amount of variation in plumage tone, with some birds greyer and others browner, but this is not sex- or age-related. A large part of the wings of mature birds is white, but in repose the white is hidden by the wing coverts. When it is aroused, either in alarm or aggression, the white begins to show. In flight or when the wings are fully spread in aggression, the white is conspicuous.
The voices and vocalisations of the sexes differ, the male having a hoarse, subdued duck-like quack which seldom sounds unless it is aroused. The male Egyptian goose attracts its mate with an elaborate, noisy courtship display that includes honking, neck stretching and feather displays. The female has a far noisier raucous quack that frequently sounds in aggression and almost incessantly at the slightest disturbance when tending her young.


This is a largely terrestrial species, which will also perch readily on trees and buildings. Egyptian geese typically eat seeds, leaves, grasses and plant stems. Occasionally, they will eat locusts, worms, or other small animals.  Until the goslings are a few weeks old and strong enough to graze, they feed largely on small aquatic invertebrates, especially freshwater plankton. As a result, if anoxic conditions lead to the production of botulinum toxin and it gets passed up the food chain via worms and insect larvae insensitive to the toxin, entire clutches of goslings feeding on such prey may die. The parents, who do not eat such organisms to any significant extent, generally remain unaffected.
Both sexes are aggressively territorial towards their own species when breeding and frequently pursue intruders into the air, attacking them in aerial "dogfights". Egyptian geese have been observed attacking aerial objects such as drones that enter their habitat as well. Neighbouring pairs may even kill another's offspring for their own offsprings' survival, as well as for more resources.
This species will nest in a large variety of situations, especially in holes in mature trees in parkland. The female builds the nest from reeds, leaves and grass and both parents take turns incubating the eggs. Egyptian geese usually pair for life. Both the male and female care for the offspring until they are old enough to care for themselves. Such parental care, however, does not include foraging for the young, who, being precocial, forage for themselves.
In their native range, predators of Egyptian geese include leopards, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, crocodiles and Old World vultures.


The mantled howler belongs to the New World monkey family Atelidae, the family that contains the howler monkeys, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys and muriquis. It is a member of the subfamily Alouattinae and genus Alouatta, the subfamily and genus containing all the howler monkeys. The species name is A. palliata; a pallium was a cloak or mantle worn by ancient Greeks and Romans. This refers to the long guard hairs, known as a "mantle", on its sides.
Three subspecies are recognized:
Ecuadorian mantled howler, Alouatta palliata aequatorialis, in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru;
Golden-mantled howler, Alouatta palliata palliata, in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua;
Mexican howler, Alouatta palliata mexicana, in Mexico and Guatemala.
Two additional subspecies of the mantled howler are sometimes recognised, but these are more generally recognised as subspecies of the Coiba Island howler, Allouatta coibensis. However, mitochondrial DNA testing of their status has been inconclusive:
Azuero howler, Alouatta palliata trabeata, in Panama;
Alouatta palliata coibensis, in Panama.


The mantled howler's appearance is similar to other howler monkeys of the genus Alouatta except for coloration. The mantled howler is primarily black except for a fringe of yellow or golden brown guard hairs on the flanks of the body earning the common name "mantled" howler monkey. When the males reach maturity, the scrotum turns white. Females are between 481 and 632 mm (18+7⁄8 and 24+7⁄8 in) in body length, excluding tail, and males are between 508 and 675 mm (20.0 and 26.6 in). The prehensile tail is between 545 and 655 mm (21.5 and 25.8 in) long. Adult females generally weigh between 3.1 and 7.6 kg (6+7⁄8 and 16+3⁄4 lb), while males typically weigh between 4.5 and 9.8 kg (9 lb 15 oz and 21 lb 10 oz). Average body weights can vary significantly between monkey populations in different locations. The brain of an adult mantled howler is about 55.1 g (1+15⁄16 oz), which is smaller than that of several smaller monkey species, such as the white-headed capuchin.
The mantled howler shares several adaptations with other species of howler monkey that allow it to pursue a folivorous diet, that is, a diet with a large component of leaves. Its molars have high shearing crests, to help it eat the leaves, and males have an enlarged hyoid bone near the vocal cords. This hyoid bone amplifies the male mantled howler's calls, allowing it to locate other males without expending much energy.


The mantled howler is diurnal and arboreal. Movement within the rainforest canopy and floor includes quadrupedalism (walking and running on supports), bridging (crossing gaps by stretching), and climbing. It will also sometimes leap to get to another limb.
However, the mantled howler is a relatively inactive monkey. It sleeps or rests the entire night and about three quarters of the day. Most of the active period is spent feeding, with only about 4% of the day spent on social interaction.  This lethargy is an adaptation to its low energy diet. It uses its prehensile tail to grasp a branch when sleeping, resting or when feeding. It can support its entire body weight with the tail, but more often holds on by the tail and both feet. A study has shown that the mantled howler reuses travel routes to known feeding and resting sites, and appears to remember and use particular landmarks to help pick direct routes to its destination.


The mantled howler gets the name "howler" from the calls made by the males, particularly at dawn and dusk, but also in response to disturbances. These calls are very loud and can be heard from several kilometers. The calls consist of grunts and repeated roars that can last for four to five seconds each. The volume is produced by the hyoid bone — a hollow bone near the vocal cords — amplifying the sound made by the vocal cords. Male mantled howlers have hyoid bones that are 25 times larger than similarly sized spider monkeys, and this allows the bone to act like the body of a drum in amplifying the calls. Females also call but their calls are higher in pitch and not as loud as the males'. The ability to produce these loud roars is likely an energy saving device, consistent with the mantled howler's low energy diet. The roars allow the monkey to locate each other without moving around or risking physical confrontations.  The mantled howler uses a wide range of other sounds, including barks, grunts, woofs, cackles and screeches.  It uses clucking sounds to maintain auditory contact with other members of its group.
The mantled howler also uses non-vocal communication, such as "urine rubbing" when in a distressful social situation. This consists of rubbing the hands, feet, tail and/or chest with urine. It marks its scent by rubbing its throat on branches. Lip smacking and tongue movements are signals used by females to indicate an invitation to mate. Genital displays are used to indicate emotional states, and group members shake branches, which is apparently a playful activity.
The mantled howler is usually indifferent to the presence of humans. However, when it is disturbed by people, it often express its irritation by urinating or defecating on them. It can accurately hit its observers despite being high in the trees.


The mantled howler uses a polygamous mating system in which one male mates with multiple females. Usually, the alpha male monopolises the breeding opportunities, but if the alpha male is distracted, a lower-ranking male can get an opportunity to mate. And in some groups, lower-ranking males do get regular mating opportunities and do sire offspring. Alpha males generally maintain their status for about 2+1⁄2 to 3 years, during which time they may father 18 or so infants. Females become sexually mature at 36 months, males at 42 months. Females reaching sexual maturity are typically 42 months old by their first birth. They undergo a regular estrus cycle, with an average duration of 16.3 days, and display sexual skin changes, particularly swelling and color change (from white to light pink) of the labia minora. The copulatory sequence begins when a receptive female approaches a male and engages in rhythmic tongue flicking. The male responds with the same tongue movements before the female turns while elevating her rump, which allows for mating to begin. Females apparently also use chemical signals, since males smell the females' genitals and taste their urine. The gestational period is 186 days; births can occur at any time of year. The infant's fur is silver at birth, but turns pale or gold after a few days. After that, the fur starts to darken, and the infant takes on the adult coloration at about 3 months old.
The infant is carried under its mother, clinging to its mother's chest, for the first 2 or 3 weeks of its life. After that, it is carried on its mother's back. At about 3 months the mother will usually start to push the infant off, but will still carry the infant some of the time until it is 4 or 5 months old. After the young can move on its own, the mother will carry it across difficult gaps in the trees. Juveniles play among themselves much of the time. Infants are weaned at 1+1⁄2 years old at which point maternal care ends. Adult females typically give birth every 19 to 23 months, assuming the prior infant survived to weaning.
The mantled howler differs from other howler monkey species in that the males' testes do not descend until they reach sexual maturity.  Upon reaching sexual maturity, the young monkeys are usually evicted from their natal group, although the offspring of a high-ranking female may get to stay in its natal group. However, many infants do not reach sexual maturity; high-ranking adults sometimes harass or kill the offspring of lower-ranking monkeys to eliminate competition to their own offspring for an opportunity to remain with the group upon reaching maturity. Natal emigration is performed by both sexes, with 79% of all males and 96% of the females leaving their original social group. When a male from outside the group ousts the previous alpha male, he normally kills any infants so that the mothers come into estrus quickly and are able to mate with him. Predators, such as cats, weasels, snakes and eagles, also kill infants.  As a result, only about 30% of mantled howler infants live more than one year. The highest reproductive success occurs in the middle-ranking females, with the alpha position lower possibly because of competitive pressures, and infant mortality appears to be lower when the timing of births in a group of females is clustered. If it survives infancy, the mantled howler's lifespan is typically 25 years.


The mantled howler is native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. Within Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, the mantled howler is found in locations throughout the countries. In Colombia and Ecuador, it is found in a narrow corridor bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Andes Mountains to the east and also in Colombia in a small area near the Caribbean Sea close to the Panama border. In Guatemala, the mantled howler is found through the central part of the country, and into southeastern Mexico south of the Yucatán Peninsula. The mantled howler is among the most commonly seen and heard primates in many Central American national parks, including Manuel Antonio, Corcovado, Monteverde and Soberania. The mantled howler lives in several different types of forest, including secondary forest and semi-deciduous forest but is found in higher densities in older areas of forest and in areas containing evergreen forest.  The mantled howler is sympatric with another howler monkey species, the Guatemalan black howler, A. pigra, over a small part of its range, in Guatemala and Mexico near the Yucatan Peninsula.


Alsophila pometaria, the fall cankerworm, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by the KJV Bible[Joel 1:4]. It is found in North America from Nova Scotia west to Alberta, south to Colorado and California and zones of Spain


The larvae feed on a large variety of deciduous trees and shrubs, including Ulmus, Fraxinus and Acer. Other recorded hosts include hackberry, oak, various members of the rose family, walnut and willow. The larvae hatch and are active in the spring. These insects are called fall cankerworms because the females emerge from the soil in November, mate and lay their eggs in clusters on hardwood trees.
There are some natural enemies of this species. Many birds eat the caterpillars. The ground beetle, Calosoma frigidum also feeds on the caterpillars. The wasp, Telenomus alsophilae, parasitizes the eggs.


The cap is 3–10 cm (1.2–3.9 in) in diameter and, depending on its age, ranges in shape from egg-shaped to convex to somewhat flattened. The cap surface is smooth and white, sometimes with a pale tan- or cream-colored tint in the center. The surface is either dry or, when the environment is moist, slightly sticky. The flesh is thin and white, and does not change color when bruised. The margin of the cap, which is rolled inwards in young specimens, does not have striations (grooves), and lacks volval remnants. The gills, also white, are crowded closely together. They are either free from attachment to the stipe or just barely reach it. The lamellulae (short gills that do not extend all the way to the stipe) are numerous, and gradually narrow.
The white stipe is 6–14 cm (2.4–5.5 in) by 0.7–1.8 cm (0.3–0.7 in) thick, solid (i.e., not hollow), and tapers slightly upward. The surface, in young specimens especially, is frequently floccose (covered with tufts of soft hair), fibrillose (covered with small slender fibers), or squamulose (covered with small scales); there may be fine grooves along its length. The bulb at the base of the stipe is spherical or nearly so. The delicate ring on the upper part of the stipe is a remnant of the partial veil that extends from the cap margin to the stalk and covers the gills during development. It is white, thin, membranous, and hangs like a skirt. When young, the mushrooms are enveloped in a membrane called the universal veil, which stretches from the top of the cap to the bottom of the stipe, imparting an oval, egg-like appearance. In mature fruit bodies, the veil's remnants form a membrane around the base, the volva, like an eggshell-shaped cup. On occasion, however, the volva remains underground or gets torn up during development. It is white, sometimes lobed, and may become pressed closely to the stipe. The volva is up to 3.8 cm (1.5 in) in height (measured from the base of the bulb), and is about 2 mm thick midway between the top and the base attachment. The mushroom's odor has been described as "pleasant to somewhat nauseous", becoming more cloying as the fruit body ages. The cap flesh turns yellow when a solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH, 5–10%) is applied (a common chemical test used in mushroom identification). This characteristic chemical reaction is shared with A. ocreata and A. virosa, although some authors have expressed doubt about the identity of North American A. virosa, suggesting those collections may represent four-spored A. bisporigera. Tulloss suggests that reports of A. bisporigera that do not turn yellow with KOH were actually based on white forms of A. phalloides. Findings from the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona and in central Mexico, although "nearly identical" to A. bisporigera, do not stain yellow with KOH; their taxonomic status has not been investigated in detail.


Amanita bisporigera is considered the most toxic North American Amanita mushroom, with little variation in toxin content between different fruit bodies. Three subtypes of amatoxin have been described: α-, β, and γ-amanitin. The principal amatoxin, α-amanitin, is readily absorbed across the intestine, and 60% of the absorbed toxin is excreted into bile and undergoes enterohepatic circulation; the kidneys clear the remaining 40%. The toxin inhibits the enzyme RNA polymerase II, thereby interfering with DNA transcription, which suppresses RNA production and protein synthesis. This causes cellular necrosis, especially in cells which are initially exposed and have rapid rates of protein synthesis. This process results in severe acute liver dysfunction and, ultimately, liver failure. Amatoxins are not broken down by boiling, freezing, or drying. Roughly 0.2 to 0.4 milligrams of α-amanitin is present in 1 gram of A. bisporigera; the lethal dose in humans is less than 0.1 mg/kg body weight. One mature fruit body can contain 10–12 mg of α-amanitin, enough for a lethal dose. The α-amanitin concentration in the spores is about 17% that of the fruit body tissues.  A. bisporigera also contains the phallotoxin phallacidin, structurally related to the amatoxins but considered less poisonous because of poor absorption. Poisonings (from similar white amanitas) have also been reported in domestic animals, including dogs, cats, and cows.
The first reported poisonings resulting in death from the consumption of A. bisporigera were from near San Antonio, Mexico, in 1957, where a rancher, his wife, and three children consumed the fungus; only the man survived. Amanita poisoning is characterized by the following distinct stages: the incubation stage is an asymptomatic period which ranges from 6 to 12 hours after ingestion. In the gastrointestinal stage, about 6 to 16 hours after ingestion, there is onset of abdominal pain, explosive vomiting, and diarrhea for up to 24 hours, which may lead to dehydration, severe electrolyte imbalances, and shock. These early symptoms may be related to other toxins such as phalloidin. In the cytotoxic stage, 24 to 48 hours after ingestion, clinical and biochemical signs of liver damage are observed, but the patient is typically free of gastrointestinal symptoms. The signs of liver dysfunction such as jaundice, hypoglycemia, acidosis, and hemorrhage appear. Later, there is an increase in the levels of prothrombin and blood levels of ammonia, and the signs of hepatic encephalopathy and/or kidney failure appear. The risk factors for mortality that have been reported are age younger than 10 years, short latency period between ingestion and onset of symptoms, severe coagulopathy (blood clotting disorder), severe hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice), and rising serum creatinine levels.


Amanita fulva, commonly called the tawny grisette or the orange-brown ringless amanita, is a basidiomycete mushroom of the genus Amanita. It is found frequently in deciduous and coniferous forests of Europe, and possibly North America.


Amanita gemmata has ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid spores measuring 8–10 by 6.5–7.5 μm with an average Q-ratio (the fraction of length/width) of 1.35; they are not amyloid. The spores are smooth, thin-walled, and they contain one to several small oil droplets.  The basidia (spore-bearing cells of the hymenium) are usually four-spored, club shaped, and measure 30–40 by 8–11 μm.
The gill tissue is divergent, meaning that the cells are more or less parallel near the center of the gill, but bend outwards near the end of the gill. The hyphae in this tissue are cylindrical to inflated, thin walled, hyaline (translucent) to yellowish, and measure 2.2–9 μm wide; the hyphae in the central strand are narrower and typically cylindrical. The hyphae of the subhymenium (a layer of tissue directly under the hymenium) are interwoven. These hyphae are branched, cylindrical to slightly inflated, hyaline, and  6–9 μm wide. The hyphae of the cap cuticle are filamentous, interwoven, and radially arranged. They are cylindrical, 2.7–4 μm wide, thin-walled, hyaline to yellowish, and gelatinize when mounted in potassium hydroxide. The cap tissue is also interwoven, with hyphae that are cylindrical to somewhat inflated, 3.7–14.6 μm wide, thin-walled, branched, and hyaline to yellowish. Caulocystidia are abundant on the apex of the stem; they are club-shaped to cylindrical, thin-walled, hyaline, and measure 3–9 μm wide. The annulus tissue comprises interwoven cylindrical hyphae measuring 3–9 μm wide. Sphaerocysts (inflated, spherical cells) are also present in the annulus tissue; they are club shaped to ellipsoidal, with dimensions of 29–55 by 30–70 μm. The warts on the cap surface (remnants of the universal veil) comprise loosely interwoven cylindrical to inflated thin-walled hyphae that are 3.5–8 μm wide. Sphaerocysts in this tissue are 58.5–70.2 by 17.5–40 μm, ellipsoidal, and hyaline. The volval tissue is interwoven, with cylindrical, hyaline hyphae that are 4.4–7.3 μm wide. The sphaerocysts here are ellipsoidal to roughly spherical, hyaline, and measure 35–70 by 20–35 μm. In A. gemmata, where they are most abundant in the region just below the cap cuticle, these refractive cells are scattered, and have a width of 3.7–6 μm. Clamp connections are rare in the hyphae of A. gemmata; they are present in the annulus, gill tissue, subhymenium, and cap tissue.


Amanita gemmata is a mycorrhizal fungus, meaning it forms a mutually beneficial relationship with the roots of compatible host plants. Through the association, the plant provides the fungus with a carbon source, and the fungus provides the plant with several benefits such as nutrients and protection from pathogens. Largent and collaborators (1980) document mycorrhizal associations of A. gemmata with Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) and Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta), and Nieto and Carbone with Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster) in Spain. The fungus favours sandy and slightly acidic soils, and is often found in association with Norway Spruce (Picea abies). The mushroom grows either singly, scattered, or in groups in coniferous and mixed forests, especially along paths and roads.
The species is distributed in areas of Asia and Europe. It is widely distributed (as a species cluster, not the actual Amanita gemmata) in North America, where it has been found as far south as Ixtlán de Juárez, Mexico. The species has been reported from the Dominican Republic. In South America, it is known from Chile and Colombia. In Asia, the mushroom has been collected from Iran and China.


Amanita jacksonii, also known as Jackson's slender amanita,American Slender Caesar, and Eastern Caesar's Amanita,
is a species of fungus in the family Amanitaceae. It is a reddish-orange colored mushroom species extending from the Province of Quebec, Canada to at least the State of Hidalgo, Mexico. It was given its current name in 1984 by Canadian mycologist René Pomerleau. It can be identified by its yellow gills, large, white, sacklike volva, and bright orange or orange-red cap, which has lined margins.


Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine and birch plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees.
Arguably the most iconic toadstool species, the fly agaric is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually red mushroom, and is one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture, including in video games—e.g., the extensive use of a recognizable Amanita muscaria in the Mario franchise and its Super Mushroom power up—and television—e.g., the houses in The Smurfs franchise.
Despite its easily distinguishable features, Amanita muscaria is a fungus with several known variations, or subspecies. These subspecies are slightly different, some having yellow or white caps, but they are all usually called fly agarics, and they are most of the time recognizable by their notable white spots. Recent DNA fungi research, however, has shown that some of these variations are not the same species at all, such as the peach-colored fly agaric (Amanita persicina) for example, but the common name 'fly agaric' clings on.
Although poisonous, death due to poisoning from A. muscaria ingestion is quite rare. Parboiling twice with water draining weakens its toxicity and breaks down the mushroom's psychoactive substances; it is eaten in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. All Amanita muscaria varieties, but in particular A. muscaria var. muscaria, are noted for their hallucinogenic properties, with the main psychoactive constituents being the neurotoxins ibotenic acid and muscimol. A local variety of the mushroom was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the indigenous peoples of Siberia and by the Sámi, and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on possible traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in other places such as the Middle East, Eurasia, North America, and Scandinavia.


Amanita muscaria is the type species of the genus. By extension, it is also the type species of Amanita subgenus Amanita, as well as section Amanita within this subgenus. Amanita subgenus Amanita includes all Amanita with inamyloid spores. Amanita section Amanita includes the species with patchy universal veil remnants, including a volva that is reduced to a series of concentric rings, and the veil remnants on the cap to a series of patches or warts. Most species in this group also have a bulbous base. Amanita section Amanita consists of A. muscaria and its close relatives, including A. pantherina (the panther cap), A. gemmata, A. farinosa, and A. xanthocephala. Modern fungal taxonomists have classified Amanita muscaria and its allies this way based on gross morphology and spore inamyloidy. Two recent molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed this classification as natural.


Amanita muscaria varies considerably in its morphology, and many authorities recognize several subspecies or varieties within the species. In The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy, German mycologist Rolf Singer listed three subspecies, though without description: A. muscaria ssp. muscaria, A. muscaria ssp. americana, and A. muscaria ssp. flavivolvata.
However, a 2006 molecular phylogenetic study of different regional populations of A. muscaria by mycologist József Geml and colleagues found three distinct clades within this species representing, roughly, Eurasian, Eurasian "subalpine", and North American populations. Specimens belonging to all three clades have been found in Alaska; this has led to the hypothesis that this was the centre of diversification for this species. The study also looked at four named varieties of the species: var. alba, var. flavivolvata, var. formosa (including var. guessowii), and var. regalis from both areas. All four varieties were found within both the Eurasian and North American clades, evidence that these morphological forms are polymorphisms rather than distinct subspecies or varieties. Further molecular study by Geml and colleagues published in 2008 show that these three genetic groups, plus a fourth associated with oak–hickory–pine forest in the southeastern United States and two more on Santa Cruz Island in California, are delineated from each other enough genetically to be considered separate species. Thus A. muscaria as it stands currently is, evidently, a species complex. The complex also includes at least three other closely related taxa that are currently regarded as species: A. breckonii is a buff-capped mushroom associated with conifers from the Pacific Northwest, and the brown-capped A. gioiosa and A. heterochroma from the Mediterranean Basin and from Sardinia respectively. Both of these last two are found with Eucalyptus and Cistus trees, and it is unclear whether they are native or introduced from Australia.
Amanitaceae.org lists four varieties as of May 2019, but says that they will be segregated into their own taxa "in the near future". They are:


Amanita muscaria is a cosmopolitan mushroom, native to conifer and deciduous woodlands throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including higher elevations of warmer latitudes in regions such as Hindu Kush, the Mediterranean and also Central America. A recent molecular study proposes that it had an ancestral origin in the Siberian–Beringian region in the Tertiary period, before radiating outwards across Asia, Europe and North America. The season for fruiting varies in different climates: fruiting occurs in summer and autumn across most of North America, but later in autumn and early winter on the Pacific coast. This species is often found in similar locations to Boletus edulis, and may appear in fairy rings. Conveyed with pine seedlings, it has been widely transported into the southern hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America, where it can be found in the southern Brazilian states of Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul.
Ectomycorrhizal, Amanita muscaria forms symbiotic relationships with many trees, including pine, oak, spruce, fir, birch, and cedar. Commonly seen under introduced trees, A. muscaria is the fungal equivalent of a weed in New Zealand, Tasmania and Victoria, forming new associations with southern beech (Nothofagus). The species is also invading a rainforest in Australia, where it may be displacing the native species. It appears to be spreading northwards, with recent reports placing it near Port Macquarie on the New South Wales north coast. It was recorded under silver birch (Betula pendula) in Manjimup, Western Australia in 2010. Although it has apparently not spread to eucalypts in Australia, it has been recorded associating with them in Portugal. Commonly found throughout the great Southern region of western Australia, it is regularly found growing on Pinus radiata.