title: "Zion National Park" content: days may become quite warm, reaching ; nights are often . Winter storms can last several days and make roads icy. Zion roads are plowed, except the Kolob Terrace Road which is closed when covered with snow. Winter driving conditions last from November through March. Archaeologists have divided the long span of Zion's human history into three cultural periods: the Archaic, Protohistoric and Historic periods. Each period is characterized by distinctive technological and social adaptations. The first human presence in the region dates to 8,000 years ago when family groups camped where they could hunt or collect plants and seeds.


title: "Zion National Park" content: About 2,000 years ago, some groups began growing corn and other crops, leading to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Later groups in this period built permanent villages called pueblos. Archaeologists call this the Archaic period and it lasted until . Baskets, cordage nets, and yucca fiber sandals have been found and dated to this period. The Archaic toolkits included flaked stone knives, drills, and stemmed dart points. The dart points were attached to wooden shafts and propelled by throwing devices called atlatls. By , some of the archaic groups developed into an early branch of seminomadic Anasazi, the Basketmakers. Basketmaker sites


title: "Zion National Park" content: have grass- or stone-lined storage cists and shallow, partially underground dwellings called pithouses. They were hunters and gatherers who supplemented their diet with limited agriculture. Locally collected pine nuts were important for food and trade. Both the Virgin Anasazi and the Parowan Fremont disappear from the archaeological record of southwestern Utah by . Extended droughts in the 11th and 12th centuries, interspersed with catastrophic flooding, may have made horticulture impossible in this arid region. Tradition and archaeological evidence hold that their replacements were Numic-speaking cousins of the Virgin Anasazi, such as the Southern Paiute and Ute. The newcomers migrated on


title: "Zion National Park" content: a seasonal basis up and down valleys in search of wild seeds and game animals. Some, particularly the Southern Paiute, also planted fields of corn, sunflowers, and squash to supplement their diet. These more sedentary groups made brownware vessels that were used for storage and cooking. The Historic period begins in the late 18th century with the exploration of southern Utah by Padres Silvestre Vélez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Domínguez. The padres passed near what is now the Kolob Canyons Visitor Center on October 13, 1776, becoming the first people of European descent known to visit the area. In


title: "Zion National Park" content: 1825, trapper and trader Jedediah Smith explored some of the downstream areas while under contract with the American Fur Company. In 1847, Mormon farmers from the Salt Lake area became the first people of European descent to settle the Virgin River region. In 1851, the Parowan and Cedar City areas were settled by Mormons who used the Kolob Canyons area for timber, and for grazing cattle, sheep, and horses. They prospected for mineral deposits, and diverted Kolob water to irrigate crops in the valley below. Mormon settlers named the area "Kolob"—in Mormon scripture, the heavenly place nearest the residence of


title: "Zion National Park" content: God. Settlements had expanded south to the lower Virgin River by 1858. That year, a Southern Paiute guide led young Mormon missionary and interpreter Nephi Johnson into the upper Virgin River area and Zion Canyon. Johnson wrote a favorable report about the agricultural potential of the upper Virgin River basin, and returned later that year to found the town of Virgin. In 1861 or 1862, Joseph Black made the arduous journey to Zion Canyon and was very impressed by its beauty. The floor of Zion Canyon was settled in 1863 by Isaac Behunin, who farmed corn, tobacco, and fruit trees.


title: "Zion National Park" content: The Behunin family lived in Zion Canyon near the site of today's Zion Lodge during the summer, and wintered in Springdale. Behunin is credited with naming Zion, a reference to the place of peace mentioned in the Bible. Two more families settled Zion Canyon in the next couple of years, bringing with them cattle and other domesticated animals. The canyon floor was farmed until Zion became a Monument in 1909. The Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869 entered the area after their first trip through the Grand Canyon. John Wesley Powell visited Zion Canyon in 1872 and named it "Mukuntuweap", under


title: "Zion National Park" content: the impression that that was the Paiute name. Powell Survey photographers John K. Hillers and James Fennemore first visited the Zion Canyon and Kolob Plateau region in the spring of 1872. Hillers returned in April 1873 to add more photographs to the "Virgin River Series" of photographs and stereographs. Hillers described wading the canyon for four days and nearly freezing to death to take his photographs. Paintings of the canyon by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh were exhibited at the Saint Louis World's Fair in 1904, followed by a favorable article in "Scribner's Magazine" the next year. The article and paintings, along


title: "Zion National Park" content: with previously created photographs, paintings, and reports, led to President William Howard Taft's proclamation on July 31, 1909 that created Mukuntuweap National Monument. In 1917, the acting director of the newly created National Park Service visited the canyon and proposed changing its name from the locally unpopular Mukuntuweap to Zion, a name used by the local Mormon community. The United States Congress added more land and established Zion National Park on November 19, 1919. A separate Zion National Monument, the Kolob Canyons area, was proclaimed on January 22, 1937, and was incorporated into the park on July 11, 1956. Travel


title: "Zion National Park" content: to the area before it was a national park was rare due to its remote location, lack of accommodations, and the absence of real roads in southern Utah. Old wagon roads were upgraded to the first automobile roads starting about 1910, and the road into Zion Canyon was built in 1917 leading to the Grotto, short of the present road that now ends at the Temple of Sinawava. Touring cars could reach Zion Canyon by the summer of 1917. The first visitor lodging in Zion Canyon, called Wylie Camp, was established that same year as a tent camp. The Utah


title: "Zion National Park" content: Parks Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, acquired Wylie Camp in 1923, and offered ten-day rail/bus tours to Zion, nearby Bryce Canyon, the Kaibab Plateau, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Zion Lodge complex was built in 1925 at the site of the Wylie tent camp. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed the Zion Lodge in a rustic architectural style, while the Utah Parks Company funded the construction. Work on the Zion Mount Carmel Highway started in 1927 to enable reliable access between Springdale and the east side of the park. The road opened in 1930


title: "Zion National Park" content: and park visit and travel in the area greatly increased. The most famous feature of the Zion – Mount Carmel Highway is its tunnel, which has six large windows cut through the massive sandstone cliff. In 1896, local rancher John Winder improved the Native American footpath up Echo Canyon, which later became the East Rim Trail. Entrepreneur David Flanigan used this trail in 1900 to build cableworks that lowered lumber into Zion Canyon from Cable Mountain. More than of lumber were lowered by 1906. The auto road was extended to the Temple of Sinawava, and a trail built from there


title: "Zion National Park" content: to the start of the Narrows. Angel's Landing Trail was constructed in 1926 and two suspension bridges were built over the Virgin River. Other trails were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Zion National Park has been featured in numerous films, including "The Deadwood Coach" (1924), "Arizona Bound" (1927), "Nevada" (1927), "Ramrod" (1947) and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969). Zion Canyon Scenic Drive provides access to Zion Canyon. Traffic congestion in the narrow canyon was recognized as a major problem in the 1990s and a public transportation system using propane-powered shuttle buses was instituted in


title: "Zion National Park" content: the year 2000. As part of its shuttle fleet, Zion has two electric trams each holding up to 36 passengers. Usually from early April through late October, the scenic drive in Zion Canyon is closed to private vehicles and visitors ride the shuttle buses. On April 12, 1995, heavy rains triggered a landslide that blocked the Virgin River in Zion Canyon. Over a period of two hours, the river carved away part of the only exit road from the canyon, trapping 450 guests and employees at the Zion Lodge. A one-lane, temporary road was constructed within 24 hours to allow


title: "Zion National Park" content: evacuation of the Lodge. A more stable — albeit temporary — road was completed on May 25, 1995 to allow summer visitors to access the canyon. This road was replaced with a permanent road during the first half of 1996. The Zion–Mount Carmel Highway can be travelled year-round. Access for oversized vehicles requires a special permit, and is limited to daytime hours, as traffic through the tunnel must be one way to accommodate large vehicles. The -long Kolob Canyons Road was built to provide access to the Kolob Canyons section of the park. This road often closes in the winter.


title: "Zion National Park" content: In March 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which designated and further protected of park land as the Zion Wilderness. In September 2015, flooding trapped a party of seven in Keyhole Canyon, a slot canyon in the park. The flash flood killed all seven members of the group, whose remains were located after a search lasting several days. The nine known exposed geologic formations in Zion National Park are part of a super-sequence of rock units called the Grand Staircase. Together, these formations represent about 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged


title: "Zion National Park" content: sedimentation in that part of North America. The formations exposed in the Zion area were deposited as sediment in very different environments: Uplift affected the entire region, known as the Colorado Plateaus, by slowly raising these formations more than higher than where they were deposited. This steepened the stream gradient of the ancestral Virgin and other rivers on the plateau. The faster-moving streams took advantage of uplift-created joints in the rocks. Eventually, all Cenozoic-aged formations were removed and gorges were cut into the plateaus. Zion Canyon was cut by the North Fork of the Virgin River in this way. During


title: "Zion National Park" content: the later part of this process, lava flows and cinder cones covered parts of the area. High water volume in wet seasons does most of the downcutting in the main canyon. These flood events are responsible for transporting most of the 3 million short tons (2.7 million metric tons) of rock and sediment that the Virgin River transports yearly. The Virgin cuts away its canyon faster than its tributaries can cut away their own streambeds, so tributaries end in waterfalls from hanging valleys where they meet the Virgin. The valley between the peaks of the Twin Brothers is a notable


title: "Zion National Park" content: example of a hanging valley in the canyon. The Great Basin, Mojave Desert, and Colorado Plateau converge at Zion and the Kolob canyons. This, along with the varied topography of canyon–mesa country, differing soil types, and uneven water availability, provides diverse habitat for the equally diverse mix of plants and animals that live in the area. The park is home to 289 bird, 79 mammals, 28 reptiles, 7 fish, and 6 amphibian species. These organisms make their homes in one or more of four life zones found in the Park: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Desert conditions persist on


title: "Zion National Park" content: canyon bottoms and rocky ledges away from perennial streams. Sagebrush, prickly pear cactus, and rabbitbrush, along with sacred datura and Indian paintbrush, are common. Utah penstemon and golden aster can also be found. Milkvetch and prince's plume are found in pockets of selenium-rich soils. Common daytime animals include mule deer, rock squirrels, pinyon jays, and whiptail and collared lizards. Desert cottontails, jackrabbits, and Merriam's kangaroo rats come out at night. Cougars, bobcats, coyotes, badgers, gray foxes, and ring-tail cats are the top predators. Cooler conditions persist at mid-elevation slopes, from . Stunted forests of pinyon pine and juniper coexist here


title: "Zion National Park" content: with manzanita shrubs, cliffrose, serviceberry, scrub oak, and yucca. Stands of ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, manzanita and aspen populate the mesas and cliffs above . Golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons, and white-throated swifts can be seen in the area.Desert bighorn sheep were reintroduced in the park in 1973. California condors were reintroduced in the Arizona Strip and in 2014 the first successful breeding of condors in the park was confirmed. Nineteen species of bat also live in the area. Boxelder, Fremont cottonwood, maple, and willow dominate riparian plant communities. Animals such as bank beavers, flannel-mouth suckers, gnatcatchers, dippers, canyon


title: "Zion National Park" content: wrens, the virgin spinedace, and water striders all make their homes in the riparian zones. Guided horseback riding trips, nature walks, and evening programs are available from late March to early November. The Junior Ranger Program for ages 6 to 12 is active from Memorial Day to Labor Day at the Zion Nature Center. Rangers at the visitor centers in Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyons can help visitors plan their stay. A bookstore attached to the Zion Canyon visitor center offers books, maps, and souvenirs. The Grotto in Zion Canyon, the visitor center, and the viewpoint at the end of


title: "Zion National Park" content: Kolob Canyons Road have the only designated picnic sites. Seven trails with round-trip times of half an hour (Weeping Rock) to 4 hours (Angels Landing) are found in Zion Canyon. Two popular trails, Taylor Creek (4 hours round trip) and Kolob Arch (8 hours round trip), are in the Kolob Canyons section of the park, near Cedar City. Hiking up into The Narrows from the Temple of Sinawava is popular in summer; however, hiking beyond Big Springs requires a permit. The entire Narrows from Chamberlain's Ranch is a 16-mile one way trip that typically takes 12 hours of strenuous hiking.


title: "Zion National Park" content: A shorter alternative is to enter the Narrows via Orderville Canyon. Both Orderville and the full Narrows require a back country permit. Entrance to the Parunuweap Canyon section of the park downstream of Labyrinth Falls is prohibited. Other often-used backcountry trails include the West Rim and LaVerkin Creek. The more primitive sections of Zion include the Kolob Terrace and the Kolob Canyons. A network of trails totaling 50 miles in distance connect Zion's northwest corner of the park (Lee Pass Trailhead) to its southeast section (East Rim Trailhead). Popularly known as the Zion Traverse, the route offers backpackers a diverse


title: "Zion National Park" content: experience of the park. Zion is a center for rock climbing, with short walls like Touchstone, Moonlight Buttress, Spaceshot, and Prodigal Son being very popular. Lodging in the park is available at Zion Lodge, located halfway through Zion Canyon. Three campgrounds are available: South and Watchman at the far southern side of the park, and a primitive site at Lava Point in the middle of the park off Kolob Terrace Road. Overnight camping in the backcountry requires permits. Lodging, food, and entertainment are also offered on the east side of the park along the Zion–Mount Carmel Highway and in Mount


title: "Zion National Park" content: Carmel Junction. Adjacent to the park on the south is the town of Springdale, Utah, which offers services such as lodging, food, and entertainment. Driving through the east side of Zion to U.S. Route 89 allows access to Bryce Canyon National Park in the north or to the north rim of the Grand Canyon in the south. Due to the narrowness of the Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel, RVs and buses must obtain a special pass and can only drive through the tunnel during limited hours. Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near


title: "Purple martin" content: Purple martin The purple martin ("Progne subis") is the largest North American swallow. They are known for their speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked. Purple martins are a kind of swallow, of the genus "Progne". Like other members of this genus, they are larger than most of the other swallows. The average length from bill to tail is . Adults have a slightly forked tail. Adult males are entirely black with glossy steel blue sheen, the only swallow in North America with such coloration.


title: "Purple martin" content: Adult females are dark on top with some steel blue sheen, and lighter underparts. Subadult females look similar to adult females minus the steel blue sheen and browner on the back. Subadult males look very much like females, but solid black feathers emerge on their chest in a blotchy, random pattern as they molt to their adult plumage. This species was first described by Linnaeus in his "Systema naturae" in 1758 as "Hirundo subis". The current genus name refers to Procne ("Πρόκνη"), a mythological girl who was turned into a swallow to save her from her husband. She had killed


title: "Purple martin" content: their son to avenge the rape of her sister. The specific "subis" is Latin and refers to a type of bird that breaks eagles’ eggs; it may have been applied to this species because of its aggression towards birds of prey when it is nesting. The species of this genus are very closely related, and some view the purple martin, gray-breasted martin, snowy-bellied martin, and southern martin, as a superspecies. Purple martins' breeding range is throughout temperate North America. Their breeding habitat is open areas across eastern North America, and also some locations on the west coast from British Columbia


title: "Purple martin" content: to Mexico. Martins make their nests in cavities, either natural or artificial. In many places, humans put up real or artificial hollow gourds, or houses for martins, especially in the east, where purple martins are almost entirely dependent on such structures. As a result, this subspecies typically breeds in colonies located in proximity to people, even within cities and towns. This makes their distribution patchy, as they are usually absent from areas where no nest sites are provided. Western birds often make use of natural cavities such as old woodpecker holes in trees or saguaro cacti. The purple martin migrates


title: "Purple martin" content: to the Amazon basin in winter. Its winter range extends into Ecuador but does not seem to ascend far up the Andean foothills. The first record of this species in Europe was a single bird on Lewis, Scotland, on 5–6 September 2004, and the second was on the Azores on 6 September 2004. Purple martins suffered a severe population crash in the 20th century widely linked to the release and spread of European starlings in North America. Starlings and house sparrows compete with martins for nest cavities. Where purple martins once gathered by the thousands, by the 1980s they had


title: "Purple martin" content: all but disappeared. The population of eastern purple martins (nominate form "P. s. subis") is dependent on artificial martin houses of wood or aluminum and fake plastic gourds, supplied by individuals and organizations fond of the bird. This tradition was in place even before the population crash; Native Americans are said to have hollowed out gourds and erected them for this purpose. The situation requires continual maintenance, as European starlings and house sparrows compete with martins as cavity-nesters, and will fight with martins over nest sites. Starlings have even been known to kill purple martins, especially nestling young, and house


title: "Purple martin" content: sparrows have been known to evict purple martins from their nests. Thus, unmonitored purple martin houses are often overtaken by more aggressive, non-native species. Purple martin proponents are motivated by the concern that the purple martin would likely vanish from eastern North America were it not for this assistance. Wintering in South America, purple martins migrate to North America in spring to breed. Spring migration is somewhat staggered, with arrivals in southern areas such as Florida and Texas in January, but showing up in the northern United States in April and in Canada as late as May. Males usually arrive


title: "Purple martin" content: at a site before females. Fall migration is also staggered, as birds head south when the breeding season is over. Some birds leave as early as July and others stay as late as October. Martins generally migrate over land, through Mexico and Central America. When not breeding, martins form large flocks and roost together in great numbers. This behavior begins just prior to the southern migration and continues on the wintering grounds. Males arrive in breeding sites before females, and establish their territory. A territory can consist of several potential nest sites. After forming a pair, both the male and


title: "Purple martin" content: female inspect available nest sites. This process is complicated by the fact that artificial nest sites could be houses with many rooms, clustered gourds, or single gourds. The nest is made inside the cavity of such artificial structures and retains a somewhat flat appearance. The nest is a structure of primarily three levels: the first level acts as a foundation and is usually made up of twigs, mud, small pebbles and in at least a few reported cases, small river mollusk shells were used; the second level of the nest is made up of grasses, finer smaller twigs; the third


title: "Purple martin" content: level of construction composing the nest, is a small compression usually lined with fresh green leaves where the eggs are laid. Three to six eggs are laid, and the female is the main incubator, with some help from the male. Purple martins are generally known to raise only a single brood. Fledging, when the young leave the nest, occurs at about one month, after which the parents continue to feed the fledgling young. Purple martins are aerial insectivores, meaning that they catch insects from the air. The birds are agile hunters and eat a variety of winged insects. Rarely, they


title: "Purple martin" content: will come to the ground to eat insects. They usually fly relatively high, so, contrary to popular opinion, mosquitoes do not form a large part of their diet. Recent research, however, does indicate that the Purple Martin feeds on invasive fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and that they may make up a significant portion of their diet. Purple martins are fairly noisy, chirping and making sounds that have been described as chortles, rattles, and croaks. The various calls are said to be "throaty and rich" and can be rendered as "tchew-wew", "pew pew", "choo", "cher", "zweet" and "zwrack". The males have


title: "Purple martin" content: a gurgling and guttural courtship song, a dawn song, and even a subsong used at the end of the breeding season. Tapes of purple martin song are sold to attract martins to newly established birdhouses. Purple martin The purple martin ("Progne subis") is the largest North American swallow. They are known for their speed and agility in flight, and when approaching their housing, will dive from the sky at great speeds with their wings tucked. Purple martins are a kind of swallow, of the genus "Progne". Like other members of this genus, they are larger than most of the other


title: Agave content: Agave Agave (, , ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Some agave species are also native to tropical areas of South America. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies (see semelparity). Some species are known by the name "century plant". "Agave tequilana", agave azul or blue agave, is used in the production of tequila. Agave nectar, also called agave syrup, a sweetener derived from Agave sap, is used as an alternative to sugar in cooking, and can be added to breakfast


title: Agave content: cereals as a binding agent. Agaves are succulents with a large rosette of thick, fleshy leaves, with most species ending in a sharp terminal spine. The stout stem is usually short, the leaves apparently springing from the root. Along with plants from the related genus "Yucca", various "Agave" species are popular ornamental plants in hot, dry climates, as they require very little water to survive. Each rosette is monocarpic and grows slowly to flower only once. During flowering, a tall stem or "mast" ("quiote" in Mexico) grows from the center of the leaf rosette and bears a large number of


title: Agave content: short, tubular flowers. After development of fruit, the original plant dies, but suckers are frequently produced from the base of the stem, which become new plants. It is a common misconception that agaves are cacti. They are not related to cacti, nor are they closely related to "Aloe" whose leaves are similar in appearance. "Agave" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including "Batrachedra striolata", which has been recorded on "A. shawii". The agave root system, consisting of a network of shallow rhizomes, is designed to help the agave efficiently capture


title: Agave content: moisture from rain, condensation and dew. In addition to growing from seeds, most agaves produce 'pups' – young plants from runners. "Agave vilmoriniana" (the octopus agave) produces hundreds of pups on its bloom stalk. Agave leaves store the plant's water and are crucial to its continued existence. The coated leaf surface prevents evaporation. The leaves also have sharp, spiked edges. The spikes discourage predators from eating the plant or using it as a source of water and are so tough that ancient peoples used them for sewing needles. The sap is acidic. Some agaves bloom at a height up to


title: Agave content: so that they are far out of reach to animals that might attack them. Smaller species, such as "Agave lechuguilla", have smaller bloom stalks. In the APG III system, the genus is placed in the subfamily Agavoideae of the broadly circumscribed family Asparagaceae. Some authors prefer to place it in the segregate family Agavaceae. Traditionally, it was circumscribed to be composed of about 166 species, but it is now usually understood to have about 208 species. In the Cronquist system and others, "Agave" was placed in the family Liliaceae, but phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences later showed it did not


title: Agave content: belong there. In the APG II system, "Agave" was placed in the family Agavaceae. When this system was superseded by the APG III system in 2009, the Agavaceae were subsumed into the expanded family Asparagaceae, and "Agave" was treated as one of 18 genera in the subfamily Agavoideae. "Agave" had long been treated as a genus of about 166 species, but this concept of "Agave" is now known to be paraphyletic over the genera "Manfreda", "Polianthes", and "Prochnyanthes". These genera are now combined with "Agave" as "Agave" "sensu lato", which contains about 208 species. In some of the older classifications,


title: Agave content: "Agave" was divided into two subgenera, "Agave" and "Littaea", based on the form of the inflorescence. These two subgenera are probably not monophyletic. Agaves have long presented special difficulties for taxonomy; variations within a species may be considerable, and a number of named species are of unknown origin and may just be variants of original wild species. Spanish and Portuguese explorers probably brought agave plants back to Europe, but the plants became popular in Europe during the 19th century, when many types were imported by collectors. Some have been continuously propagated by offset since then, and do not consistently resemble


title: Agave content: any species known in the wild, although this may simply be due to the differences in growing conditions in Europe. Some commonly grown species include "Agave americana", "Agave angustifolia", "Agave tequilana", "Agave attenuata," "Agave parviflora", "Agave murpheyi", "Agave vilmoriniana", "Agave palmeri", "Agave parryi" and "Agave victoriae-reginae". One of the most familiar species is "Agave americana", a native of tropical America. Common names include century plant, "maguey" (in Mexico), or American aloe (not related to the genus "Aloe"). The name "century plant" refers to the long time the plant takes to flower. The number of years before flowering occurs depends on


title: Agave content: the vigor of the individual plant, the richness of the soil, and the climate; during these years the plant is storing in its fleshy leaves the nourishment required for the effort of flowering. "Agave americana", century plant, was introduced into southern Europe about the middle of the 16th century, and is now widely cultivated as an ornamental, as it is in the Americas. In the variegated forms, the leaf has a white or yellow marginal or central stripe. As the leaves unfold from the center of the rosette, the impression of the marginal spines is conspicuous on the still erect


title: Agave content: younger leaves. The plant is reported being hardy to -9.5 - -6.5c or Zone 8b 15-20f. Being succulents they tend to rot if kept too wet. In areas like America's Pacific North West, they might be hardy for cold winter temperature, but need protection the winter rain. They mature very slowly and die after flowering, but are easily propagated by the offsets from the base of the stem. Blue "A. americana" occurs in abundance in the Karoo, and arid highland regions of South Africa. Introduced by the British settlers in 1820, the plant was originally cultivated and used as emergency


title: Agave content: feed for livestock. Today it is used mainly for the production of syrup and sugar. "A. attenuata" is a native of central Mexico and is uncommon in its natural habitat. Unlike most species of agave, "A. attenuata" has a curved flower spike from which it derives one of its numerous common names - the foxtail agave. "A. attenuata" is also commonly grown as a garden plant. Unlike many agaves, "A. attenuata" has no teeth or terminal spines, making it an ideal plant for areas adjacent to footpaths. Like all agaves, "A. attenuata" is a succulent and requires little water or


title: Agave content: maintenance once established. "Agave azul" (blue agave) is used in the production of tequila. In 2001, the Mexican Government and European Union agreed upon the classification of tequila and its categories. All 100% blue agave tequila must be made from the "Agave tequilana" 'Weber's Blue' agave plant, to rigorous specifications and only in certain Mexican states. The hybridized genus ×"Mangave" is created by cross-breeding species of "Manfreda" and "Agave". The ethnobotany of the agave was described by William H. Prescott in 1843: But the miracle of nature was the great Mexican aloe, or maguey, whose clustering pyramids of flowers, towering


title: Agave content: above their dark coronals of leaves, were seen sprinkled over many a broad acre of the table-land. As we have already noticed its bruised leaves afforded a paste from which paper was manufactured, its juice was fermented into an intoxicating beverage, pulque, of which the natives, to this day, are extremely fond; its leaves further supplied an impenetrable thatch for the more humble dwellings; thread, of which coarse stuffs were made, and strong cords, were drawn from its tough and twisted fibers; pins and needles were made from the thorns at the extremity of its leaves; and the root, when


title: Agave content: properly cooked, was converted into a palatable and nutritious food. The agave, in short, was meat, drink, clothing, and writing materials for the Aztec! Surely, never did Nature enclose in so compact a form so many of the elements of human comfort and civilization! There are four major parts of the agave that are edible: the flowers, the leaves, the stalks or basal rosettes, and the sap (in Spanish: "aguamiel", meaning "honey water"). Each agave plant will produce several pounds of edible flowers during its final season. The stalks, which are ready during the summer, before the blossom, weigh several


title: Agave content: pounds each. Roasted, they are sweet and can be chewed to extract the "aguamiel", like sugarcane. When dried out, the stalks can be used to make didgeridoos. The leaves may be collected in winter and spring, when the plants are rich in sap, for eating. The leaves of several species also yield fiber: for instance, "Agave sisalana", sisal hemp, "Agave decipiens", false sisal hemp. "Agave Americana" is the source of pita fiber, and is used as a fiber plant in Mexico, the West Indies and southern Europe. During the development of the inflorescence, sap rushes to the base of the


title: Agave content: young flower stalk. Agave nectar (also called agave syrup), a sweetener derived from the sap, is used as an alternative to sugar in cooking, and can be added to breakfast cereals as a binding agent. The sap of "A. americana" and other species is used in Mexico and Mesoamerica to produce "pulque", an alcoholic beverage. The flower shoot is cut out and the sap collected and subsequently fermented. By distillation, a spirit called "mezcal" is prepared; one of the best-known forms of mezcal is tequila. When dried and cut in slices, the flowering stem forms natural razor strops, and the


title: Agave content: expressed juice of the leaves will lather in water like soap. The natives of Mexico used the agave to make pens, nails, and needles, as well as string to sew and make weavings. Leaf tea or tincture taken orally is used to treat constipation and excess gas. It is also used as a diuretic. Root tea or tincture is taken orally to treat arthritic joints. Several agave species are also considered to have potential as effective bioenergy crops. Agave's ability to grow in naturally water-limited environments could help to reduce the food vs. fuel trade-off. The agave, especially "Agave murpheyi",


title: Agave content: was a major food source for the prehistoric indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. The Hohokam of southern Arizona cultivated large areas of agave. The Navajo similarly found many uses for the agave plant. A beverage is squeezed from the baked fibers, and the heads can be baked or boiled, pounded into flat sheets, sun dried, and stored for future use. The baked, dried heads are also boiled and made into an edible paste, eaten whole, or made into soup. The leaves are eaten boiled, and the young, tender flowering stalks and shoots are roasted and eaten as well.


title: Agave content: The fibers are used to make rope, the leaves are used to line baking pits, and the sharp pointed leaf tips are used to make basketry awls. Agave Agave (, , ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Some agave species are also native to tropical areas of South America. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies (see semelparity). Some species are known by the name "century plant". "Agave tequilana", agave azul or blue agave, is used in the production of tequila.


title: Peyote content: Peyote Lophophora williamsii () or peyote () is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. "Peyote" is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, peyōtl , meaning "glisten" or "glistening". Other sources translate the Nahuatl word as "Divine Messenger". Peyote is native to Mexico and southwestern Texas. It is found primarily in the Chihuahuan Desert and in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí among scrub. It flowers from March through May, and sometimes as late as September. The flowers are pink, with thigmotactic anthers (like "Opuntia"). Known for its psychoactive properties


title: Peyote content: when ingested, peyote is used worldwide, having a long history of ritualistic and medicinal use by indigenous North Americans. Peyote contains the hallucinogen mescaline. The various species of the genus "Lophophora" grow low to the ground and they often form groups with numerous, crowded shoots. The blue-green, yellow-green or sometimes reddish-green shoots are mostly flattened spheres with sunken shoot tips. They can reach heights of from and diameters of . There are often significant, vertical ribs consisting of low and rounded or hump-like bumps. From the cusp areoles arises a tuft of soft, yellowish or whitish woolly hairs. Spines are


title: Peyote content: absent. Flowers are pink or white to slightly yellowish, sometimes reddish. They open during the day, are from 1 to 2.4 cm long, and reach a diameter from 1 to 2.2 cm. The cactus produces flowers sporadically; these are followed by small edible pink fruit. The club-shaped to elongated, fleshy fruits are bare and more or less rosy colored. At maturity, they are brownish-white and dry. The fruits do not burst open on their own and they are between 1.5 and 2 cm long. They contain black, pear-shaped seeds that are 1 to 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide.


title: Peyote content: The seeds require hot and humid conditions to germinate. Peyote contains a large spectrum of phenethylamine alkaloids. The principal one is mescaline for which the content of "Lophophora williamsii" is about 0.4% fresh (undried) and 3–6% dried. Peyote is extremely slow growing. Cultivated specimens grow considerably faster, sometimes taking less than three years to go from seedling to mature flowering adult. More rapid growth can be achieved by grafting peyote onto mature San Pedro root stock. The top of the above-ground part of the cactus, the crown, consists of disc-shaped buttons. These are cut above the roots and sometimes dried.


title: Peyote content: When done properly, the top of the root forms a callus and the root does not rot. When poor harvesting techniques are used, however, the entire plant dies. Currently in South Texas, peyote grows naturally but has been over-harvested, to the point that the state has listed it as an endangered species. The buttons are generally chewed, or boiled in water to produce a psychoactive tea. Peyote is extremely bitter and most people are nauseated before they feel the onset of the psychoactive effects. "L. williamsii" is native to southern North America, mainly distributed in Mexico. In the United States


title: Peyote content: it grows in Southern Texas. In Mexico it grows in the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in the north to San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. It is primarily found at elevations of and exceptionally up to in the Chihuahuan desert, but is also present in the more mild climate of Tamaulipas. Its habitat is primarily in desert scrub, particularly thorn scrub in Tamaulipas. It is common on or near limestone hills. When used for its psychoactive properties, common doses for pure mescaline range from roughly 200 to 400 mg. This translates to a dose of roughly 10


title: Peyote content: to 20 g of dried peyote buttons of average potency; however, potency varies considerably between samples, making it difficult to measure doses accurately without first extracting the mescaline. The effects last about 10 to 12 hours. Peyote is reported to trigger rich visual or auditory effects (see synesthesia). In addition to psychoactive use, some Native American tribes use the plant in the belief it may have curative properties. They employ peyote to treat such varied ailments as toothache, pain in childbirth, fever, breast pain, skin diseases, rheumatism, diabetes, colds, and blindness. The US Dispensatory lists peyote under the name "Anhalonium",


title: Peyote content: and states it can be used in various preparations for neurasthenia, hysteria and asthma. Peyote also contains an alkaloid called peyocactin. It is now called hordenine. Peyote poisoning has been a concern in California. In 2005 researchers used radiocarbon dating and alkaloid analysis to study two specimens of peyote buttons found in archaeological digs from a site called Shumla Cave No. 5 on the Rio Grande in Texas. The results dated the specimens to between 3780 and 3660 BCE. Alkaloid extraction yielded approximately 2% of the alkaloids including mescaline in both samples. This indicates that native North Americans were likely


title: Peyote content: to have used peyote since at least five-and-a-half thousand years ago. Specimens from a burial cave in west central Coahuila, Mexico have been similarly analyzed and dated to 810 to 1070 CE. From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by indigenous peoples, such as the Huichol of northern Mexico and by various Native American tribes, native to or relocated to the Southern Plains states of present-day Oklahoma and Texas. Its usage was also recorded among various Southwestern Athabaskan-language tribal groups. The Tonkawa, the Mescalero, and Lipan Apache were the source or first practitioners of peyote religion in the regions


title: Peyote content: north of present-day Mexico. They were also the principal group to introduce peyote to newly arrived migrants, such as the Comanche and Kiowa from the Northern Plains. The religious, ceremonial, and healing uses of peyote may date back over 2,000 years. Under the auspices of what came to be known as the Native American Church, in the 19th century, American Indians in more widespread regions to the north began to use peyote in religious practices, as part of a revival of native spirituality. Its members refer to peyote as "the sacred medicine", and use it to combat spiritual, physical, and


title: Peyote content: other social ills. Concerned about the drug's psychoactive effects, between the 1880s and 1930s, U.S. authorities attempted to ban Native American religious rituals involving peyote, including the Ghost Dance. Today the Native American Church is one among several religious organizations to use peyote as part of its religious practice. Some users claim the drug connects them to God. Traditional Navajo belief or ceremonial practice did not mention the use of peyote before its introduction by the neighboring Utes. The Navajo Nation now has the most members of the Native American Church. Dr. John Raleigh Briggs (1851–1907) was the first to


title: Peyote content: draw scientific attention of the Western scientific world to peyote. Louis Lewin described "Anhalonium lewinii" in 1888. Arthur Heffter conducted self experiments on its effects in 1897. Similarly, Norwegian ethnographer Carl Sofus Lumholtz studied and wrote about the use of peyote among the Indians of Mexico. Lumholtz also reported that, lacking other intoxicants, Texas Rangers captured by Union forces during the American Civil War soaked peyote buttons in water and became "intoxicated with the liquid". A study published in 2007 found no evidence of long-term cognitive problems related to peyote use in Native American Church ceremonies, but researchers stressed their


title: Peyote content: results may not apply to those who use peyote in other contexts. A four-year large-scale study of Navajo who regularly ingested peyote found only one case where peyote was associated with a psychotic break in an otherwise healthy person; other psychotic episodes were attributed to peyote use in conjunction with pre-existing substance abuse or mental health problems. Later research found that those with pre-existing mental health issues are more likely to have adverse reactions to peyote. Peyote use does not appear to be associated with hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (a.k.a. "flashbacks") after religious use. Peyote does not seem to be


title: Peyote content: associated with physical dependence, but some users may experience psychological dependence. Peyote can have strong emetic effects, and one death has been attributed to esophageal bleeding caused by vomiting after peyote ingestion in a Native American patient with a history of alcohol abuse. Peyote is also known to cause potentially serious variations in heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and pupillary dilation. Research into the huichol natives of central-western Mexico, who have taken peyote regularly for an estimated 1,500 years or more, found no evidence of chromosome damage in either men or women. The Huichol religion consists of four principal deities:


title: Peyote content: Corn, Blue Deer, Peyote, and the Eagle, all descended from their Sun God, "Tao Jreeku". Schaefer has interpreted this to mean that peyote is the soul of their religious culture and a visionary sacrament that opens a pathway to the other deities. of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances allows nations to exempt certain traditional uses of substances from prohibition: However, this exemption would apply only if the peyote cactus were ever explicitly added to the Schedules of the Psychotropic Convention. Currently the Convention applies only to chemicals. Peyote and other psychedelic plants are neither listed nor regulated by the Convention.


title: Peyote content: Mescaline is listed as a Schedule III controlled substance under the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but peyote is specifically exempt. Possession and use of peyote plants is legal. Non-drug uses of peyote in religious ceremonies by the Native American Church and its members are exempt from registration. This law has been codified as a statute in the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, and made part of the common law in "Peyote Way Church of God, Inc. v. Thornburgh", (5th Cir. 1991); it is also in administrative law at the which states for "Special Exempt Persons": Section


title: Peyote content: 1307.31 Native American Church. The listing of peyote as a controlled substance in Schedule I does not apply to the nondrug use of peyote in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, and members of the Native American Church so using peyote are exempt from registration. Any person who manufactures peyote for or distributes peyote to the Native American Church, however, is required to obtain registration annually and to comply with all other requirements of law. "U.S. v. Boyll", 774 F.Supp. 1333 (D.N.M. 1991) addresses this racial issue specifically and concludes: For the reasons set out in this


title: Peyote content: Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Court holds that, pursuant to 21 C.F.R. § 1307.31 (1990), the classification of peyote as a Schedule I controlled substance, see 21 U.S.C. § 812(c), Schedule I(c)(12), does not apply to the importation, possession or use of peyote for 'bona fide' ceremonial use by members of the Native American Church, regardless of race. Following the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 1994, United States federal law (and many state laws) protects the harvest, possession, consumption and cultivation of peyote as part of "bona fide religious ceremonies" (the federal statute is the


title: Peyote content: American Indian Religious Freedom Act, codified at , "Traditional Indian religious use of the peyote sacrament", exempting only use by Native American persons. US v. Boyll expanded permitted use to all persons engaged in traditional Indian use, regardless of race. All US states with the exception of Idaho and Texas allow usage by non-native, non-enrolled persons in the context of ceremonies of the Native American Church. Some states such as Arizona additionally exempt any general bona fide religious activity or spiritual intent. US jurisdictions enacted these specific statutory exemptions in reaction to the US Supreme Court's decision in "Employment Division


title: Peyote content: v. Smith", , which held that laws prohibiting the use of peyote that do not specifically exempt religious use nevertheless do not violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Peyote is listed by the United States DEA as a Schedule I controlled substance. Peyote Lophophora williamsii () or peyote () is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. "Peyote" is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, peyōtl , meaning "glisten" or "glistening". Other sources translate the Nahuatl word as "Divine Messenger". Peyote is native to Mexico and southwestern Texas. It is found primarily


title: "Gila monster" content: Gila monster The Gila monster ("Heloderma suspectum", ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. A heavy, typically slow-moving lizard, up to long, the Gila monster is the only venomous lizard native to the United States and one of only two known species of venomous lizards in North America, the other being its close relative, the Mexican beaded lizard ("H. horridum"). Although the Gila monster is venomous, its sluggish nature means it represents little threat to humans. However, it has acquired a fearsome reputation, and is sometimes killed despite


title: "Gila monster" content: being protected by state law in Arizona. =Back-History= In this species, the largest extant lizard native to North America north of the Mexican border (non-natives like green iguanas are larger), snout-to-vent length is from . The tail is about 20% of the body size and the largest specimens may reach in total length. Body mass is typically in the range of , with 11 males having been found to average . Reportedly, the very heaviest, largest specimens can weigh as much as . The Gila monster has one close living relative, the beaded lizard ("H. horridum"), as well as many


title: "Gila monster" content: extinct relatives in the Helodermatidae, the evolutionary history of which may be traced back to the Cretaceous period. The genus "Heloderma" has existed since the Miocene, when "H. texana" lived, and fragments of osteoderms from the Gila monster have been found in late Pleistocene (10,000–8,000 years ago) deposits near Las Vegas, Nevada. Because the helodermatids have remained relatively unchanged morphologically, they are occasionally regarded as living fossils. Although the Gila monster appears closely related to the monitor lizards (varanids) of Africa, Asia and Australia, their wide geographical separation and the unique features not found in the varanids indicate the Gila


title: "Gila monster" content: monster is better placed in a separate family. The name "Gila" refers to the Gila River Basin in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona, where the Gila monster was once plentiful. "Heloderma" means "studded skin", from the Ancient Greek words "helos" (ἧλος), "the head of a nail or stud", and "derma" (δέρμα), "skin". "Suspectum" comes from the describer, paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, who suspected the lizard might be venomous due to the grooves in the teeth. The Gila monster is found in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, a range including Sonora, Arizona, parts of California, Nevada, Utah,


title: "Gila monster" content: and New Mexico (potentially including Baja California). They inhabit scrubland, succulent desert, and oak woodland, seeking shelter in burrows, thickets, and under rocks in locations with ready access to moisture. In fact, Gila monsters seem to like water and can be observed immersing themselves in puddles of water after a summer rain. They avoid living in open areas such as flats and farmland. Gila monsters spend 90% of their time underground in burrows or rocky shelters. They are active in the morning during the dry season (spring and early summer); later in the summer, they may be active on warm


title: "Gila monster" content: nights or after a thunderstorm. They maintain a surface body temperature of about . Gila monsters are slow in sprinting ability, but they have relatively high endurance and maximal aerobic capacity (VO max) for a lizard. They are preyed upon by coyotes and raptors. The Gila monster eats small birds, mammals, frogs, smaller lizards, insects, and carrion. The Gila monster feeds primarily on bird and reptile eggs, and eats infrequently (only five to ten times a year in the wild), but when it does feed, it may eat up to one-third of its body mass. It uses its extremely acute


title: "Gila monster" content: sense of smell to locate prey, especially eggs. Its sense of smell is so keen, it can locate and dig up chicken eggs buried deep and accurately follow a trail made by a rolling egg. Prey may be crushed to death if large or eaten alive if small, swallowed head-first, and helped down by muscular contractions and neck flexing. Unusually, after food has been swallowed, the Gila monster immediately resumes tongue flicking and search behavior, probably as a result of a history of finding clumped prey such as eggs and young in nests. Gila monsters are able to climb trees


title: "Gila monster" content: and cacti in search of eggs. In the Old West, the pioneers believed a number of myths about the Gila monster, including that the lizard had foul or toxic breath and that its bite was fatal. "The Tombstone Epitaph" of Tombstone, Arizona, wrote about a Gila monster that a local person caught on May 14, 1881: On May 8, 1890, southeast of Tucson, Arizona Territory, Empire Ranch owner Walter Vail captured and thought he had killed a Gila monster. He tied it to his saddle and it bit the middle finger of his right hand and wouldn't let go. A


title: "Gila monster" content: ranch hand pried open the lizard's mouth with a pocketknife, cut open his finger to stimulate bleeding, and then tied saddle strings around his finger and wrist. They summoned Dr. John C. Handy of Tucson, who took Vail back to Tucson for treatment, but Vail experienced swollen and bleeding glands in his throat for sometime afterward. Dr. Handy's friend, Dr. George Goodfellow of Tombstone, was among the first to research the actual effects of Gila monster venom. "Scientific American" reported in 1890 that "The breath is very fetid, and its odor can be detected at some little distance from the


title: "Gila monster" content: lizard. It is supposed that this is one way in which the monster catches the insects and small animals which form a part of its food supply—the foul gas overcoming them." Goodfellow offered to pay local residents $5.00 for Gila monster specimens. He bought several and collected more on his own. In 1891 he purposefully provoked one of his captive lizards into biting him on his finger. The bite made him ill and he spent the next five days in bed, but he completely recovered. When "Scientific American" ran another ill-founded report on the lizard's ability to kill people, he


title: "Gila monster" content: wrote in reply and described his own studies and personal experience. He wrote that he knew several people who had been bitten by Gila monsters but had not died from the bite. Goodfellow published articles about rattlesnake and Gila monster bites in "Scientific American" and "Southern California Practitioner". The Gila monster produces venom in modified salivary glands in its lower jaw, unlike snakes, whose venom is produced in the upper jaw. The Gila monster lacks the musculature to forcibly inject the venom; instead, the venom is propelled from the gland to the tooth by chewing. Capillary action brings the venom


title: "Gila monster" content: out of the tooth and into the victim. The teeth are loosely anchored, which allows them to be broken off and replaced throughout life. Gila monsters have been observed to flip over while biting the victim, presumably to aid the flow of the venom into the wound. Because the Gila monster's prey consists mainly of eggs, small animals, and otherwise "helpless" prey, the Gila monster's venom is thought to have evolved for defensive rather than for hunting use. A defensive use would explain the Gila monster's bright warning coloration. Although the venom is a neurotoxin as toxic as that of


title: "Gila monster" content: a coral snake, "H. suspectum" produces only small amounts. The Gila monster's bite is not fatal to healthy adult humans. No reports of fatalities have been confirmed after 1939, and those recorded prior to that year are possibly iatrogenic, or resulting from attempts to treat the bite itself. The Gila monster can bite quickly (especially by swinging its head sideways) and hold on tenaciously and painfully. If bitten, the victim may need to fully submerge the attacking lizard in water to break free from its bite or physically yank the lizard free, risking severe lacerations in the process from the


title: "Gila monster" content: lizard's sharp teeth. Symptoms of the bite include excruciating pain, edema, and weakness associated with a rapid drop in blood pressure. One zoological journalist, when giving a report about the pain of a bite, described it as "the worst pain [he] had ever experienced ... it's like hot lava coursing through your veins". It is generally regarded as the most painful venom produced by any vertebrate. More than a dozen peptides and other substances have been isolated from the Gila monster's venom, including hyaluronidase, serotonin, phospholipase A, and several kallikrein-like glycoproteins responsible for the pain and edema caused by a


title: "Gila monster" content: bite. Four potentially lethal toxins have been isolated from the Gila monster's venom, including horridum venom, which causes hemorrhage in internal organs and exophthalmos (bulging of the eyes), and helothermine, which causes lethargy, partial paralysis of the limbs, and hypothermia in rats. Most are similar in form to vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), which relaxes smooth muscle and regulates water and electrolyte secretion between the small and large intestines. These bioactive peptides are able to bind to VIP receptors in many different human tissues. One of these, helodermin, has been shown to inhibit the growth of lung cancer. The constituents of


title: "Gila monster" content: the lizard's venom that have received the most attention from researchers are the bioactive peptides, including helodermin, helospectin, exendin-3, and exendin-4. Exendin-4 has formed the basis of a class of medications for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists. Exenatide was the first product in the class to reach the market and was launched in 2005. In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug exenatide (marketed as Byetta) for the management of type 2 diabetes. It is a synthetic version of a protein, exendin-4, derived from the Gila monster's saliva. In a three-year


title: "Gila monster" content: study with people with type 2 diabetes, exenatide led to healthy sustained glucose levels and progressive weight loss. The effectiveness is because the lizard protein is about 50% identical to glucagon-like peptide-1 analog (GLP-1), a hormone released from the human digestive tract that helps to regulate insulin and glucagon. The lizard protein remains effective much longer than the human hormone, helping diabetics keep their blood sugar levels under control. Exenatide slows the emptying of the stomach and causes a decrease in appetite, contributing to weight loss. The saliva of the Gila monster contains many chemicals which can be deadly. One


title: "Gila monster" content: of these has been shown to affect memory. Several companies have been researching the abilities of this chemical to help memory loss due to various diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and ADHD. Gilatide, derived from exendin-4, has been shown to dramatically heighten memory in a study with mice. Gilatide is likely to be researched further to provide help to Alzheimer's patients. The Gila monster emerges from hibernation in January or February and mates in May and June. The male initiates courtship by flicking his tongue to search for the female's scent. If the female rejects his advances, she will


title: "Gila monster" content: bite him and crawl away. When successful, copulation has been observed to last from 15 minutes to as long as two and a half hours. The female lays eggs in July or August, burying them in sand below the surface. The clutch consists of two to 12 eggs: five is the average. The incubation lasts nine months, as the hatchlings emerge during April through June the following year. The hatchlings are about long and can bite and inject venom upon hatching. The juveniles typically have larger bands of pink scales than adults, although the banded Gila monster ("H. s. cinctum")


title: "Gila monster" content: has a tendency to retain the band pattern. "H. suspectum" sexually matures at three to five years old. After egg-laying, adult Gila monsters gradually spend less time on the surface to avoid the hottest part of the summer (although they may be active in the evening), eventually starting their hibernation around November. Little is known about the social behavior of "H. suspectum", but they have been observed engaging in male-male combat, in which the dominant male lies on top of the subordinate one and pins it with its front and hind limbs. Both lizards arch their bodies, pushing against each


title: "Gila monster" content: other and twisting around in an effort to gain the dominant position. A wrestling match ends when the pressure exerted forces them to separate, although bouts may be repeated one after the other. These bouts are typically observed just before the mating season. Those with greater strength and endurance are thought to win more often and enjoy greater reproductive success. Although the Gila monster has a low metabolism and one of the lowest lizard sprint speeds, it has one of the highest aerobic scope values (the increase in oxygen consumption from rest to maximum metabolic exertion) among lizards, allowing them


title: "Gila monster" content: to engage in intense aerobic activity for a sustained period of time. Males have been observed to have higher aerobic scopes than females, presumably because of sexual selection for a trait advantageous in prolonged combat. The Gila monster may live up to 20 years in the wild, or 30 in captivity. Urban sprawl and habitat destruction have adversely affected Gila monster numbers. In 1952, they became the first venomous animal to be given legal protection. Gila monsters are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. In 1963, the San Diego Zoo became the first zoo to successfully breed Gila monsters


title: "Gila monster" content: in captivity. Though the Gila monster is venomous, its laggard movement means it poses little threat to humans. However, it has a fearsome reputation and is often killed by humans because of fear. Among Native American tribes, the Gila monster had a mixed standing. The Apache believed its breath could kill a man, and the Tohono O'Odham and the Pima believed it possessed a spiritual power that could cause sickness. In contrast, the Seri and the Yaqui believed the Gila monster's hide had healing properties. The Gila monster has even starred as a monster in the film "The Giant Gila


title: "Gila monster" content: Monster" (though the titular monster was actually portrayed by a Mexican beaded lizard). It played a minor role in the motion picture "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre". Myths about the animal include that the animal's breath is toxic enough to kill humans, that it can spit venom and that it can leap several feet in the air to attack. Another myth held that the Gila monster did not have an anus and therefore expelled waste from its mouth, the source of its venom and "fetid breath". The official mascot of Eastern Arizona College located in Thatcher, Arizona, is Gila


title: "Gila monster" content: Hank, a gun-toting, cowboy-hat-wearing Gila monster. A similar character as an old western outlaw was seen in 2011 animated film "Rango", called Bad Bill; the character was voiced by Ray Winstone. In 2017, the Vegas Golden Knights selected a Gila monster, named Chance, as the official mascot. Gila monster The Gila monster ("Heloderma suspectum", ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. A heavy, typically slow-moving lizard, up to long, the Gila monster is the only venomous lizard native to the United States and one of only two known


title: Salou content: attractions are the Dragon Khan, a massive B&M "mega-looper"; Furius Baco, which is one of the fastest roller coasters in Europe; and Hurakan Condor, a tall falling-tower ride which is 100 metres tall. In 2012 a new roller coaster called opened adjacent to the Dragon Khan. The park also has a grand multi-media show, called the "FiestaAventura", every night between the end of June and the end of August which features fireworks, fountains and parade floats. Ferrari Land, with the highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe, opened in 2017, and will also include the world's first Ferrari hotel. Salou


title: "Shannon Cole" content: Australia national football team for a training camp, he was not promoted for the 22 squad against Qatar. His second call was on 19 January 2009 against Indonesia and played 73 minutes in his debut. Shannon Cole Shannon Cole (born 4 August 1984 in Sydney) is an Australian footballer who last played as a Winger for Western Sydney Wanderers. Cole attended St Ambrose primary school, Concord West, and St Patrick's College, Strathfield. In 2003, he studied drama at the University of Western Sydney for 1.5 years before putting the degree on hold to pursue a football career. Cole's early football


title: "Closure (business)" content: common form of voluntary closure would be when those involved in an organization such as a social club, a band, or other non-profit organization decide to cease operating. Once the organization has paid any outstanding debts and completed any pending operations, closure may simply mean that the organization ceases to exist. If an organization has debts that cannot be paid, it may be necessary to perform a liquidation of its assets. If there is anything left after the assets are converted to cash, in the case of a for-profit organization, the remainder is distributed to the stockholders; in the case


title: CD-ROM content: CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write to or erase—CD-ROMs, i.e. it is a type of read-only memory. During the 1990s, CD-ROMs were popularly used to distribute software and data for computers and fourth generation video game consoles. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player, while data (such as software or digital video) is only usable on a computer (such as ISO 9660 format PC CD-ROMs). The CD-ROM format was


title: CD-ROM content: developed by Japanese company Denon in 1982. It was an extension of Compact Disc Digital Audio, and adapted the format to hold any form of digital data, with a storage capacity of 553 MiB. CD-ROM was then introduced by Denon and Sony at a Japanese computer show in 1984. The "Yellow Book" is the technical standard that defines the format of CD-ROMs. One of a set of color-bound books that contain the technical specifications for all CD formats, the "Yellow Book", standardized by Sony and Philips in 1983, specifies a format for discs with a maximum capacity of 650 MiB.


title: CD-ROM content: CD-ROMs are identical in appearance to audio CDs, and data are stored and retrieved in a very similar manner (only differing from audio CDs in the standards used to store the data). Discs are made from a 1.2 mm thick disc of polycarbonate plastic, with a thin layer of aluminium to make a reflective surface. The most common size of CD-ROM is 120 mm in diameter, though the smaller Mini CD standard with an 80 mm diameter, as well as shaped compact discs in numerous non-standard sizes and molds (e.g., business card-sized media), are also available. Data is stored on


title: CD-ROM content: the disc as a series of microscopic indentations. A laser is shone onto the reflective surface of the disc to read the pattern of pits and lands ("pits", with the gaps between them referred to as "lands"). Because the depth of the pits is approximately one-quarter to one-sixth of the wavelength of the laser light used to read the disc, the reflected beam's phase is shifted in relation to the incoming beam, causing destructive interference and reducing the reflected beam's intensity. This is converted into binary data. Several formats are used for data stored on compact discs, known as the


title: CD-ROM content: Rainbow Books. The "Yellow Book", published in 1988, defines the specifications for CD-ROMs, standardized in 1989 as the ISO/IEC 10149 / ECMA-130 standard. The CD-ROM standard builds on top of the original Red Book CD-DA standard for CD audio. Other standards, such as the "White Book" for Video CDs, further define formats based on the CD-ROM specifications. The "Yellow Book" itself is not freely available, but the standards with the corresponding content can be downloaded for free from ISO or ECMA. There are several standards that define how to structure data files on a CD-ROM. ISO 9660 defines the standard


title: CD-ROM content: file system for a CD-ROM. ISO 13490 is an improvement on this standard which adds support for non-sequential write-once and re-writeable discs such as CD-R and CD-RW, as well as multiple sessions. The ISO 13346 standard was designed to address most of the shortcomings of ISO 9660, and a subset of it evolved into the UDF format, which was adopted for DVDs. The bootable CD specification was issued in January 1995, to make a CD emulate a hard disk or floppy disk, and is called El Torito. Data stored on CD-ROMs follows the standard CD data encoding techniques described in


title: CD-ROM content: the "Red Book" specification (originally defined for audio CD only). This includes cross-interleaved Reed–Solomon coding (CIRC), eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM), and the use of pits and lands for coding the bits into the physical surface of the CD. The structures used to group data on a CD-ROM are also derived from the "Red Book". Like audio CDs (CD-DA), a CD-ROM "sector" contains 2,352 bytes of user data, composed of 98 frames, each consisting of 33-bytes (24 bytes for the user data, 8 bytes for error correction, and 1 byte for the subcode). Unlike audio CDs, the data stored in these sectors


title: CD-ROM content: corresponds to any type of digital data, not audio samples encoded according to the audio CD specification. To structure, address and protect this data, the CD-ROM standard further defines two sector modes, Mode 1 and Mode 2, which describe two different layouts for the data inside a sector. A track (a group of sectors) inside a CD-ROM only contains sectors in the same mode, but if multiple tracks are present in a CD-ROM, each track can have its sectors in a different mode from the rest of the tracks. They can also coexist with audio CD tracks as well, which


title: CD-ROM content: is the case of mixed mode CDs. Both Mode 1 and 2 sectors use the first 16 bytes for header information, but differ in the remaining 2,336 bytes due to the use of error correction bytes. Unlike an audio CD, a CD-ROM cannot rely on error concealment by interpolation; a higher reliability of the retrieved data is required. To achieve improved error correction and detection, Mode 1, used mostly for digital data, adds a 32-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code for error detection, and a third layer of Reed–Solomon error correction using a Reed-Solomon Product-like Code (RSPC). Mode 1 therefore


title: CD-ROM content: contains 288 bytes per sector for error detection and correction, leaving 2,048 bytes per sector available for data. Mode 2, which is more appropriate for image or video data (where perfect reliability may be a little bit less important), contains no additional error detection or correction bytes, having therefore 2,336 available data bytes per sector. Note that both modes, like audio CDs, still benefit from the lower layers of error correction at the frame level. Before being stored on a disc with the techniques described above, each CD-ROM sector is scrambled to prevent some problematic patterns from showing up. These


title: CD-ROM content: scrambled sectors then follow the same encoding process described in the "Red Book" in order to be finally stored on a CD. The following table shows a comparison of the structure of sectors in CD-DA and CD-ROMs: The net byte rate of a Mode-1 CD-ROM, based on comparison to CD-DA audio standards, is 44,100 Hz × 16 bits/sample × 2 channels × 2,048 / 2,352 / 8 = 153.6 kB/s = 150 KiB/s. This value, 150 KiB/s, is defined as "1× speed". Therefore, for Mode 1 CD-ROMs, a 1× CD-ROM drive reads 150/2 = 75 consecutive sectors per second. The


title: CD-ROM content: playing time of a standard CD is 74 minutes, or 4,440 seconds, contained in 333,000 blocks or sectors. Therefore, the net capacity of a Mode-1 CD-ROM is 682 MB or, equivalently, 650 MiB. For 80 minute CDs, the capacity is 737 MB (703 MiB). "CD-ROM XA" is an extension of the "Yellow Book" standard for CD-ROMs that combines compressed audio, video and computer data, allowing all to be accessed simultaneously. It was intended as a bridge between CD-ROM and CD-i (Green Book) and was published by Sony and Philips in 1991. "XA" stands for eXtended Architecture. CD-ROM XA defines two


title: CD-ROM content: new sector layouts, called Mode 2 Form 1 and Mode 2 Form 2 (which are different from the original Mode 2). XA Mode 2 Form 1 is similar to the Mode 1 structure described above, and can interleave with XA Mode 2 Form 2 sectors; it is used for data. XA Mode 2 Form 2 has 2,324 bytes of user data, and is similar to the standard Mode 2 but with error detection bytes added (though no error correction). It can interleave with XA Mode 2 Form 1 sectors, and it is used for audio/video data. Video CDs, Super Video


title: CD-ROM content: CDs, Photo CDs, Enhanced Music CDs and CD-i use these sector modes. The following table shows a comparison of the structure of sectors in CD-ROM XA modes: When a disc image of a CD-ROM is created, this can be done in either "raw" mode (extracting 2,352 bytes per sector, independent of the internal structure), or obtaining only the sector's useful data (2,048/2,336/2,352/2,324 bytes depending on the CD-ROM mode). The file size of a disc image created in raw mode is "always" a multiple of 2,352 bytes (the size of a block). Disc image formats that store raw CD-ROM sectors include


title: CD-ROM content: CCD/IMG, CUE/BIN, and MDS/MDF. The size of a disc image created from the data in the sectors will depend on the type of sectors it is using. For example, if a CD-ROM mode 1 image is created by extracting only each sector's data, its size will be a multiple of 2,048; this is usually the case for ISO disc images. On a 74-minute CD-R, it is possible to fit larger disc images using raw mode, up to 333,000 × 2,352 = 783,216,000 bytes (~747 MiB). This is the upper limit for raw images created on a 74 min or ≈650


title: CD-ROM content: MiB "Red Book" CD. The 14.8% increase is due to the discarding of error correction data. Pre-pressed CD-ROMs are mass-produced by a process of stamping where a glass master disc is created and used to make "stampers", which are in turn used to manufacture multiple copies of the final disc with the pits already present. Recordable (CD-R) and rewritable (CD-RW) discs are manufactured by a different method, whereby the data are recorded on them by a laser changing the properties of a dye or phase transition material in a process that is often referred to as "burning". CD-ROM capacities are


title: CD-ROM content: normally expressed with binary prefixes, subtracting the space used for error correction data. A standard 120 mm, "700 MB" CD-ROM can actually hold about 737 MB (703 MiB) of data with error correction (or 847 MB total). In comparison, a single-layer DVD-ROM can hold 4.7 GB of error-protected data, more than 6 CD-ROMs. CD-ROM discs are read using CD-ROM drives. A CD-ROM drive may be connected to the computer via an IDE (ATA), SCSI, SATA, FireWire, or USB interface or a proprietary interface, such as the Panasonic CD interface, LMSI/Philips, Sony and Mitsumi standards. Virtually all modern CD-ROM drives can


title: CD-ROM content: also play audio CDs (as well as Video CDs and other data standards) when used with the right software. CD-ROM drives employ a near-infrared 780 nm laser diode. The laser beam is directed onto the disc via an opto-electronic tracking module, which then detects whether the beam has been reflected or scattered. CD-ROM drives are rated with a speed factor relative to music CDs. If a CD-ROM is read at the same rotational speed as an audio CD, the data transfer rate is 150 KiB/s, commonly called "1×". At this data rate, the track moves along under the laser spot


title: CD-ROM content: at about 1.2 m/s. To maintain this linear velocity as the optical head moves to different positions, the angular velocity is varied from 500 rpm at the inner edge to 200 rpm at the outer edge. The 1× speed rating for CD-ROM (150 KiB/s) is different from the 1× speed rating for DVDs (1.32 MiB/s). By increasing the speed at which the disc is spun, data can be transferred at greater rates. For example, a CD-ROM drive that can read at 8× speed spins the disc at 1600 to 4000 rpm, giving a linear velocity of 9.6 m/s and a


title: CD-ROM content: transfer rate of 1200 KiB/s. Above 12× speed most drives read at Constant angular velocity (CAV, constant rpm) so that the motor is not made to change from one speed to another as the head seeks from place to place on the disc. In CAV mode the "×" number denotes the transfer rate at the outer edge of the disc, where it is a maximum. 20× was thought to be the maximum speed due to mechanical constraints until Samsung Electronics introduced the SCR-3230, a 32x CD-ROM drive which uses a ball bearing system to balance the spinning disc in the


title: CD-ROM content: drive to reduce vibration and noise. As of 2004, the fastest transfer rate commonly available is about 52× or 10,400 rpm and 7.62 MiB/s. Higher spin speeds are limited by the strength of the polycarbonate plastic of which the discs are made. At 52×, the linear velocity of the outermost part of the disc is around 65 m/s. However, improvements can still be obtained using multiple laser pickups as demonstrated by the Kenwood TrueX 72× which uses seven laser beams and a rotation speed of approximately 10×. The first 12× drive was released in late 1996. Above 12× speed, there


title: CD-ROM content: are problems with vibration and heat. CAV drives give speeds up to 30× at the outer edge of the disc with the same rotational speed as a standard constant linear velocity (CLV) 12×, or 32× with a slight increase. However, due to the nature of CAV (linear speed at the inner edge is still only 12×, increasing smoothly in-between) the actual throughput increase is less than 30/12: in fact, roughly 20× average for a completely full disc, and even less for a partially filled one. Problems with vibration, owing to limits on achievable symmetry and strength in mass-produced media, mean


title: CD-ROM content: that CD-ROM drive speeds have not massively increased since the late 1990s. Over 10 years later, commonly available drives vary between 24× (slimline and portable units, 10× spin speed) and 52× (typically CD- and read-only units, 21× spin speed), all using CAV to achieve their claimed "max" speeds, with 32× through 48× most common. Even so, these speeds can cause poor reading (drive error correction having become very sophisticated in response) and even shattering of poorly made or physically damaged media, with small cracks rapidly growing into catastrophic breakages when centripetally stressed at 10,000–13,000 rpm (i.e. 40–52× CAV). High rotational


title: CD-ROM content: speeds also produce undesirable noise from disc vibration, rushing air and the spindle motor itself. Most 21st-century drives allow forced low speed modes (by use of small utility programs) for the sake of safety, accurate reading or silence, and will automatically fall back if numerous sequential read errors and retries are encountered. Other methods of improving read speed were trialled such as using multiple optical beams, increasing throughput up to 72× with a 10× spin speed, but along with other technologies like 90~99 minute recordable media and "double density" recorders, their utility was nullified by the introduction of consumer DVD-ROM


title: CD-ROM content: drives capable of consistent 36× CD-ROM speeds (4× DVD) or higher. Additionally, with a 700 MB CD-ROM fully readable in under 2½ minutes at 52× CAV, increases in actual data transfer rate are decreasingly influential on overall effective drive speed when taken into consideration with other factors such as loading/unloading, media recognition, spin up/down and random seek times, making for much decreased returns on development investment. A similar stratification effect has since been seen in DVD development where maximum speed has stabilised at 16× CAV (with exceptional cases between 18× and 22×) and capacity at 4.3 and 8.5 GiB (single


title: CD-ROM content: and dual layer), with higher speed and capacity needs instead being catered to by Blu-ray drives. CD-Recordable drives are often sold with three different speed ratings, one speed for write-once operations, one for re-write operations, and one for read-only operations. The speeds are typically listed in that order; i.e. a 12×/10×/32× CD drive can, CPU and media permitting, write to CD-R discs at 12× speed (1.76 MiB/s), write to CD-RW discs at 10× speed (1.46 MiB/s), and read from CDs at 32× speed (4.69 MiB/s). Software distributors, and in particular distributors of computer games, often make use of various copy


title: CD-ROM content: protection schemes to prevent software running from any media besides the original CD-ROMs. This differs somewhat from audio CD protection in that it is usually implemented in both the media and the software itself. The CD-ROM itself may contain "weak" sectors to make copying the disc more difficult, and additional data that may be difficult or impossible to copy to a CD-R or disc image, but which the software checks for each time it is run to ensure an original disc and not an unauthorized copy is present in the computer's CD-ROM drive. Manufacturers of CD writers (CD-R or CD-RW)


title: CD-ROM content: are encouraged by the music industry to ensure that every drive they produce has a unique identifier, which will be encoded by the drive on every disc that it records: the RID or Recorder Identification Code. This is a counterpart to the Source Identification Code (SID), an eight character code beginning with "IFPI" that is usually stamped on discs produced by CD recording plants. CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write to or erase—CD-ROMs, i.e. it is a type of read-only memory. During the 1990s,


title: Viscosity content: on temperature in a non-trivial way, and simple kinetic arguments as used here are inadequate. More fundamentally, the notion of a mean free path becomes imprecise for particles that interact over a finite range, which limits the usefulness of the concept for describing real-world gases. A technique developed by Sydney Chapman and David Enskog in the early 1900s allows a more refined calculation of formula_10. It is based on the Boltzmann equation, which provides a systematic statistical description of a dilute gas in terms of intermolecular interactions. As such, their technique allows accurate calculation of formula_10 for more realistic molecular


title: Viscosity content: respect to macroscopic dimensions. Such suspensions generally exhibit non-Newtonian behavior. However, for dilute systems in steady flows, the behavior is Newtonian and expressions for formula_99 can be derived directly from the particle dynamics. In a very dilute system, with volume fraction formula_101, interactions between the suspended particles can be ignored. In such a case one can explicitly calculate the flow field around each particle independently, and combine the results to obtain formula_99. For spheres, this results in the Einstein equation: formula_103 where formula_78 is the viscosity of the suspending liquid. The linear dependence on formula_105 is a direct consequence of


title: "Joe Hietpas" content: Joe Hietpas Joseph Carl Hietpas (born May 1, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball player. Hietpas attended Northwestern University. In 2004, Hietpas was called up to the New York Mets once the roster expanded in September. He suffered an injury during batting practice one day, which forced him to be able to only play in one game, October 3, 2004, against the Montreal Expos. He came into the game as a ninth inning substitute for Todd Zeile. Because the Mets won the game, 8-1, the bottom half of the final inning was never played, and Hietpas did not receive


title: "Domestic violence" content: violence against women. The convention seeks to put an end to the toleration, in law or in practice, of violence against women and DV. In its explanatory report it acknowledges the long tradition of European countries of ignoring, "de jure" or "de facto", these forms of violence. At para 219, it states: "There are many examples from past practice in Council of Europe member states that show that exceptions to the prosecution of such cases were made, either in law or in practice, if victim and perpetrator were, for example, married to each other or had been in a relationship.


title: Apple content: Apple An apple is a sweet, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (Malus pumila). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus "Malus". The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, "Malus sieversii", is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe and were brought to North America by European colonists. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek and European Christian traditions. Apple trees are large if grown from seed. Generally apple cultivars are propagated by grafting onto


title: Apple content: rootstocks, which control the size of the resulting tree. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples, resulting in a range of desired characteristics. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses, including cooking, eating raw and cider production. Trees and fruit are prone to a number of fungal, bacterial and pest problems, which can be controlled by a number of organic and non-organic means. In 2010, the fruit's genome was sequenced as part of research on disease control and selective breeding in apple production. Worldwide production of apples in 2014 was 84.6 million tonnes, with China accounting


title: Apple content: for 48% of the total. The apple is a deciduous tree, generally standing tall in cultivation and up to in the wild. When cultivated, the size, shape and branch density are determined by rootstock selection and trimming method. The leaves are alternately arranged dark green-colored simple ovals with serrated margins and slightly downy undersides. Blossoms are produced in spring simultaneously with the budding of the leaves and are produced on spurs and some long shoots. The flowers are white with a pink tinge that gradually fades, five petaled, with an inflorescence consisting of a cyme with 4–6 flowers. The central


title: Apple content: flower of the inflorescence is called the "king bloom"; it opens first and can develop a larger fruit. The fruit matures in late summer or autumn, and cultivars exist with a wide range of sizes. Commercial growers aim to produce an apple that is in diameter, due to market preference. Some consumers, especially those in Japan, prefer a larger apple, while apples below are generally used for making juice and have little fresh market value. The skin of ripe apples is generally red, yellow, green, pink, or russetted although many bi- or tri-colored cultivars may be found. The skin may


title: Apple content: also be wholly or partly russeted i.e. rough and brown. The skin is covered in a protective layer of epicuticular wax. The exocarp (flesh) is generally pale yellowish-white, though pink or yellow exocarps also occur. The original wild ancestor of "Malus pumila" was "Malus sieversii", found growing wild in the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Xinjiang, China. Cultivation of the species, most likely beginning on the forested flanks of the Tian Shan mountains, progressed over a long period of time and permitted secondary introgression of genes from other species into the open-pollinated seeds. Significant exchange


title: Apple content: with "Malus sylvestris", the crabapple, resulted in current populations of apples being more related to crabapples than to the more morphologically similar progenitor "Malus sieversii". In strains without recent admixture the contribution of the latter predominates. In 2010, an Italian-led consortium announced they had sequenced the complete genome of the apple in collaboration with horticultural genomicists at Washington State University, using 'Golden Delicious'. It had about 57,000 genes, the highest number of any plant genome studied to date and more genes than the human genome (about 30,000). This new understanding of the apple genome will help scientists in identifying genes


title: Apple content: and gene variants that contribute to resistance to disease and drought, and other desirable characteristics. Understanding the genes behind these characteristics will allow scientists to perform more knowledgeable selective breeding. The genome sequence also provided proof that "Malus sieversii" was the wild ancestor of the domestic apple—an issue that had been long-debated in the scientific community. The center of diversity of the genus "Malus" is in eastern present-day Turkey. The apple tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated, and its fruits have been improved through selection over thousands of years. Alexander the Great is credited with finding dwarfed


title: Apple content: apples in Kazakhstan in 328 BCE. Winter apples, picked in late autumn and stored just above freezing, have been an important food in Asia and Europe for millennia. Of the many Old World plants that the Spanish introduced to Chiloé Archipelago in the 16th century, apple trees became particularly well adapted. Apples were introduced to North America by colonists in the 17th century, and the first apple orchard on the North American continent was planted in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1625. The only apples native to North America are crab apples, which were once called "common apples". Apple


title: Apple content: cultivars brought as seed from Europe were spread along Native American trade routes, as well as being cultivated on colonial farms. An 1845 United States apples nursery catalogue sold 350 of the "best" cultivars, showing the proliferation of new North American cultivars by the early 19th century. In the 20th century, irrigation projects in Eastern Washington began and allowed the development of the multibillion-dollar fruit industry, of which the apple is the leading product. Until the 20th century, farmers stored apples in frostproof cellars during the winter for their own use or for sale. Improved transportation of fresh apples by


title: Apple content: train and road replaced the necessity for storage. Controlled atmosphere facilities are used to keep apples fresh year-round. Controlled atmosphere facilities use high humidity, low oxygen, and controlled carbon dioxide levels to maintain fruit freshness. They were first used in the United States in the 1960s. In Norse mythology, the goddess Iðunn is portrayed in the "Prose Edda" (written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson) as providing apples to the gods that give them eternal youthfulness. English scholar H. R. Ellis Davidson links apples to religious practices in Germanic paganism, from which Norse paganism developed. She points out that


title: Apple content: buckets of apples were found in the Oseberg ship burial site in Norway, that fruit and nuts (Iðunn having been described as being transformed into a nut in "Skáldskaparmál") have been found in the early graves of the Germanic peoples in England and elsewhere on the continent of Europe, which may have had a symbolic meaning, and that nuts are still a recognized symbol of fertility in southwest England. Davidson notes a connection between apples and the Vanir, a tribe of gods associated with fertility in Norse mythology, citing an instance of eleven "golden apples" being given to woo the


title: Apple content: beautiful Gerðr by Skírnir, who was acting as messenger for the major Vanir god Freyr in stanzas 19 and 20 of "Skírnismál". Davidson also notes a further connection between fertility and apples in Norse mythology in chapter 2 of the "Völsunga saga" when the major goddess Frigg sends King Rerir an apple after he prays to Odin for a child, Frigg's messenger (in the guise of a crow) drops the apple in his lap as he sits atop a mound. Rerir's wife's consumption of the apple results in a six-year pregnancy and the Caesarean section birth of their son—the hero


title: Apple content: Völsung. Further, Davidson points out the "strange" phrase "Apples of Hel" used in an 11th-century poem by the skald Thorbiorn Brúnarson. She states this may imply that the apple was thought of by Brúnarson as the food of the dead. Further, Davidson notes that the potentially Germanic goddess Nehalennia is sometimes depicted with apples and that parallels exist in early Irish stories. Davidson asserts that while cultivation of the apple in Northern Europe extends back to at least the time of the Roman Empire and came to Europe from the Near East, the native varieties of apple trees growing in


title: Apple content: Northern Europe are small and bitter. Davidson concludes that in the figure of Iðunn "we must have a dim reflection of an old symbol: that of the guardian goddess of the life-giving fruit of the other world." Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that the word "apple" was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit, other than berries, including nuts, as late as the 17th century. For instance, in Greek mythology, the Greek hero Heracles, as a part of


title: Apple content: his Twelve Labours, was required to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides and pick the golden apples off the Tree of Life growing at its center. The Greek goddess of discord, Eris, became disgruntled after she was excluded from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In retaliation, she tossed a golden apple inscribed Καλλίστη ("Kalliste", sometimes transliterated "Kallisti", "For the most beautiful one"), into the wedding party. Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris of Troy was appointed to select the recipient. After being bribed by both Hera and Athena, Aphrodite tempted him with the most


title: Apple content: beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite, thus indirectly causing the Trojan War. The apple was thus considered, in ancient Greece, to be sacred to Aphrodite, and to throw an apple at someone was to symbolically declare one's love; and similarly, to catch it was to symbolically show one's acceptance of that love. An epigram claiming authorship by Plato states: Atalanta, also of Greek mythology, raced all her suitors in an attempt to avoid marriage. She outran all but Hippomenes (also known as Melanion, a name possibly derived from "melon" the Greek word


title: Apple content: for both "apple" and fruit in general), who defeated her by cunning, not speed. Hippomenes knew that he could not win in a fair race, so he used three golden apples (gifts of Aphrodite, the goddess of love) to distract Atalanta. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Hippomenes was finally successful, winning the race and Atalanta's hand. Though the forbidden fruit of Eden in the Book of Genesis is not identified, popular Christian tradition has held that it was an apple that Eve coaxed Adam to share with her. The origin of the popular identification


title: Apple content: with a fruit unknown in the Middle East in biblical times is found in confusion between the Latin words "mālum" (an apple) and "mălum" (an evil), each of which is normally written "malum". The tree of the forbidden fruit is called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in , and the Latin for "good and evil" is "bonum et malum". Renaissance painters may also have been influenced by the story of the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides. As a result, in the story of Adam and Eve, the apple became a symbol for knowledge, immortality,


title: Apple content: temptation, the fall of man into sin, and sin itself. The larynx in the human throat has been called the "Adam's apple" because of a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit remaining in the throat of Adam. The apple as symbol of sexual seduction has been used to imply human sexuality, possibly in an ironic vein. There are more than 7,500 known cultivars of apples. Cultivars vary in their yield and the ultimate size of the tree, even when grown on the same rootstock. Different cultivars are available for temperate and subtropical climates. The UK's National Fruit