title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: considered to be either extinct or exceedingly rare but is not currently considered endangered, and is protected. The IUCN Red List describes five species as 'Endangered' ("Narcissus alcaracensis", "Narcissus bujei", "Narcissus longispathus", "Narcissus nevadensis", "Narcissus radinganorum"). In 1999 three species were considered endangered, five as vulnerable and six as rare. In response a number of species have been granted protected species status and protected areas (meadows) have been established such as the Negraşi Daffodil Meadow in Romania, or Kempley Daffodil Meadow in the UK. These areas often host daffodil festivals in the spring. Of all the flowering plants, the bulbous


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: have been the most popular for cultivation. Of these, narcissi are one of the most important spring flowering bulb plants in the world. Indigenous in Europe, the wild populations of the parent species had been known since antiquity. Narcissi have been cultivated from at least as early as the sixteenth century in the Netherlands, when large numbers of bulbs where imported from the field, particularly "Narcissus hispanicus", which soon became nearly extinct in its native habitat of France and Spain, though still found in the southern part of that country. The only large-scale production at that time related to the


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: double narcissus "Van Sion" and cultivars of "N. tazetta" imported in 1557. Cultivation is also documented in Britain at this time, although contemporary accounts show it was well known as a favourite garden and wild flower long before that and was used in making garlands. This was a period when the development of exotic formal gardens and parks was becoming popular, particularly in what is known as the "Oriental Period" (1560–1620). In his "Hortus Medicus" (1588), the first catalogue of a German garden's plants, Joachim Camerarius the Younger states that nine different types of daffodils were represented in his garden


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: in Nuremberg. After his death in 1598, his plants were moved by Basilius Besler to the gardens they had designed at Willibaldsburg, the bishop's palace at Eichstätt, Upper Bavaria. That garden is described in Besler's "Hortus Eystettensis" (1613) by which time there were 43 different types present. Another German source at this time was Peter Lauremberg who gives an account of the species known to him and their cultivation in his "Apparatus plantarius: de plantis bulbosis et de plantis tuberosis" (1632). While Shakespeare's daffodil is the wild or true English daffodil ("N. pseudonarcissus"), many other species were introduced, some of


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: which escaped and naturalised, particularly "N. biflorus" (a hybrid) in Devon and the west of England. Gerard, in his extensive discussion of daffodils, both wild and cultivated ("bastard daffodils") described twenty four species in London gardens (1597), ("we have them all and every one of them in our London gardens, in great abundance", p. 114). In the early seventeenth century, Parkinson helped to ensure the popularity of the daffodil as a cultivated plant by describing a hundred different varieties in his "Paradisus Terrestris" (1629), and introducing the great double yellow Spanish daffodil ("Pseudonarcissus aureus Hispanicus flore pleno" or Parkinson's Daffodil,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: see illustration) to England. Although not achieving the sensationalism of tulips, daffodils and narcissi have been much celebrated in art and literature (see The Arts). The largest demand for narcissi bulbs were large trumpet daffodils, "N. poeticus" and "N. bulbocodium", and Istanbul became important in the shipping of bulbs to western Europe. By the early baroque period both tulips and narcissi were an important component of the spring garden. By 1739 a Dutch nursery catalogue listed 50 different varieties. A catalog of a Dutch nursery from 1739 already counted 50 varieties. In 1757 Hill gave an account of the history


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: and cultivation of the daffodil in his edited version of the works of Thomas Hale, writing "The garden does not afford, in its Kind, a prettier plant than this; nor do we know one that has been so early, or so honorably mention'd by all Kinds of Writers" (see illustration). Interest grew further when varieties that could be grown indoors became available, primarily the bunch flowered (multiple flower heads) "N. tazetta" (Polyanthus Narcissus). However interest varied by country. Maddock (1792) does not include narcissi in his list of the eight most important cultivated flowering plants in England, whereas in the


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: Netherlands van Kampen (1760) stated that "N. tazetta" ("Narcisse à bouquet") is the fifth most important – ""Le Narcisse à bouquet est la premiere fleur, après les Jacinthes, les Tulipes les Renoncules, et les Anemones, (dont nous avons déja parlé,) qui merite nôtre attention"". Similarly Philip Miller, in his "Gardeners Dictionary" (1731–1768) refers to cultivation in Holland, Flanders and France, but not England, because it was too difficult, a similar observation was made by Sir James Justice at this time. However, for most species of "Narcissus" Lauremberg's dictum "Magna cura non indigent Narcissi" was much cited. Narcissi became an important


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: horticultural crop in Western Europe in the latter part of the nineteenth century, beginning in England between 1835 and 1855 and the end of the century in the Netherlands. By the beginning of the twentieth century 50 million bulbs of "N. Tazetta" "Paperwhite" were being exported annually from the Netherlands to the United States. With the production of triploids such as "Golden Spur", in the late nineteenth century, and in the beginning of the twentieth century, tetraploids like "King Alfred" (1899), the industry was well established, with trumpet daffodils dominating the market. The Royal Horticultural Society has been an important


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: factor in promoting narcissi, holding the first Daffodil Conference in 1884, while the Daffodil Society, the first organisation dedicated to the cultivation of narcissi was founded in Birmingham in 1898. Other countries followed and the American Daffodil Society which was founded in 1954 publishes "The Daffodil Journal" quarterly, a leading trade publication. Narcissi are now popular as ornamental plants for gardens, parks and as cut flowers, providing colour from the end of winter to the beginning of summer in temperate regions. They are one of the most popular spring flowers and one of the major ornamental spring flowering bulb crops,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: being produced both for their bulbs and cut flowers, though cultivation of private and public spaces is greater than the area of commercial production. Over a century of breeding has resulted in thousands of varieties and cultivars being available from both general and specialist suppliers. They are normally sold as dry bulbs to be planted in late summer and autumn. They are one of the most economically important ornamental plants. Plant breeders have developed some daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments. Many of the breeding programs have concentrated on the corona (trumpet or cup),


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: in terms of its length, shape, and colour, and the surrounding perianth or even as in varieties derived from "N. poeticus" a very reduced form. While some wild narcissi are specific in terms of their ecological requirements, most garden varieties are relatively tolerant of soil conditions, however very wet soils and clay soils may benefit from the addition of sand to improve drainage. The optimum soil is a neutral to slightly acid pH of 6.5–7.0. Bulbs offered for sale are referred to as either 'round' or 'double nose'. Round bulbs are circular in cross section and produce a single flower


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: stem, while double nose bulbs have more than one bulb stem attached at the base and produce two or more flower stems, but bulbs with more than two stems are unusual. Planted narcissi bulbs produce daughter bulbs in the axil of the bulb scales, leading to the dying off of the exterior scales. To prevent planted bulbs forming more and more small bulbs, they can be dug up every 5–7 years, and the daughters separated and replanted separately, provided that a piece of the basal plate, where the rootlets are formed, is preserved. For daffodils to flower at the end


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: of the winter or early spring, bulbs are planted in autumn (September–November). This plant does well in ordinary soil but flourishes best in rich soil. Daffodils like the sun but also accepts partial shade exposure. Narcissi are well suited for planting under small thickets of trees, where they can be grouped as 6–12 bulbs. They also grow well in perennial borders, especially in association with day lilies which begin to form their leaves as the narcissi flowers are fading. A number of wild species and hybrids such as "Dutch Master", "Golden Harvest", "Carlton", "Kings Court" and "Yellow Sun" naturalise well


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: in lawns, but it is important not to mow the lawn till the leaves start to fade, since they are essential for nourishing the bulb for the next flowering season. Blue Scilla and Muscari which also naturalise well in lawns and flower at the same time as narcissus, make an attractive contrast to the yellow flowers of the latter. Unlike Tulips, narcissi bulbs are not attractive to rodents and are sometimes planted near tree roots in orchards to protect them. The commonest form of commercial propagation is by twin-scaling, in which the bulbs are cut into many small pieces but


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: with two scales still connected by a small fragment of the basal plate. The fragments are disinfected and placed on nutrient media. Some 25–35 new plants can be produced from a single bulb after four years. Micropropagation methods are not used for commercial production but is used for establishing commercial stock. For commercial use, varieties with a minimum stem length of 30 cm are sought, making them ideal for cut flowers. Florists require blooms that only open when they reach the retail outlet. For garden plants the objectives are to continually expand the colour palette and to produce hardy forms,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: and there is a particular demand for miniature varieties. The cultivars so produced tend to be larger and more robust than the wild types. The main species used in breeding are "N. bulbocodium", "N. cyclamineus", "N. jonquilla", "N. poeticus", "N. pseudonarcissus", "N. serotinus" and "N. tazetta". "N. pseudonarcissus" gave rise to trumpet cultivars with coloured tepals and corona, while its subspecies "N. pseudonarcissus" subsp. "bicolor" was used for white tepaled varieties. To produce large cupped varieties, "N. pseudonarcissus" was crossed with "N. poeticus", and to produce small cupped varieties back crossed with "N. poeticus". Multiheaded varieties, often called "Poetaz" are


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: mainly hybrids of "N. poeticus" and "N. tazetta". For horticultural purposes, all "Narcissus" cultivars are split into 13 divisions as first described by Kington (1998), for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), based partly upon flower form (shape and length of corona), number of flowers per stem, flowering period and partly upon genetic background. Division 13, which includes wild daffodils, is the exception to this scheme. The classification is a useful tool for planning planting. Most commercially available narcissi come from Divisions 1 (Trumpet), 2 (Large cupped) and 8 (Tazetta). Growers register new daffodil cultivars by name and color with the


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: Royal Horticultural Society, which is the international registration authority for the genus. Their "International Daffodil Register" is regularly updated with supplements available online and is searchable. The most recent supplement (2014) is the sixth (the fifth was published in 2012). More than 27,000 names were registered as of 2008, and the number has continued to grow. Registered daffodils are given a division number and colour code such as 5 W-W ("Thalia"). In horticultural usage it is common to also find an unofficial Division 14: Miniatures, which although drawn from the other 13 divisions, have their miniature size in common. Over


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: 140 varieties have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (See List of Award of Garden Merit narcissus). Daffodil breeding has introduced a wide range of colours, in both the outer perianth tepal segment and the inner corona. In the registry, daffodils are coded by the colours of each of these two parts. Thus "Geranium", Tazetta (Division 8) as illustrated here with a white outer perianth and orange corona is classified as 8 W-O. All "Narcissus" species contain the alkaloid poison lycorine, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves. Members of the monocot subfamily Amaryllidoideae present


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: a unique type of alkaloids, the norbelladine alkaloids, which are 4-methylcatechol derivatives combined with tyrosine. They are responsible for the poisonous properties of a number of the species. Over 200 different chemical structures of these compounds are known, of which 79 or more are known from "Narcissus" alone. The toxic effects of ingesting "Narcissus" products for both humans and animals (such as cattle, goats, pigs and cats) have long been recognised and they have been used in suicide attempts. Ingestion of "N. pseudonarcissus" or "N. jonquilla" is followed by salivation, acute abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, then neurological and


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: cardiac events, including trembling, convulsions, and paralysis. Death may result if large quantities are consumed. The toxicity of "Narcissus" varies with species, "N. poeticus" being more toxic than "N. pseudonarcissus", for instance. The distribution of toxins within the plant also varies, for instance there is a five times higher concentration of alkaloid in the stem of "N. papyraceus" than in the bulb, making it dangerous to herbivores more likely to consume the stem than the bulb, and is part of the plant's defence mechanisms. The distribution of alkaloids within tissues may also reflect defence against parasites. The bulbs can also


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: be toxic to other nearby plants, including roses, rice, and cabbages, inhibiting growth. For instance placing cut flowers in a vase alongside other flowers shortens the life of the latter. Many cases of poisoning or death have occurred when narcissi bulbs have been mistaken for leeks or onions and cooked and eaten. Recovery is usually complete in a few hours without any specific intervention. In more severe cases involving ingestion of large quantities of bulbs, activated carbon, salts and laxatives may be required, and for severe symptoms intravenous atropine and emetics or stomach pumping may be indicated. However, ingestion of


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: large quantities accidentally is unusual because of a strong unpleasant taste. When narcissi were compared with a number of other plants not normally consumed by animals, narcissi were the most repellent, specifically "N. pseudonarcissus" Consequently, narcissus alkaloids have been used as repellents and may also discourage fungi, molds and bacteria. On 1 May 2009, a number of schoolchildren fell ill at Gorseland Primary School in Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, England, after a daffodil bulb was added to soup during a cookery class. One of the most common dermatitis problems for flower pickers, packers, florists and gardeners, "daffodil itch", involves dryness, fissures,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: scaling, and erythema in the hands, often accompanied by subungual hyperkeratosis (thickening of the skin beneath the nails). It is blamed on exposure to calcium oxalate, chelidonic acid or alkaloids such as lycorine in the sap, either due to a direct irritant effect or an allergic reaction. It has long been recognised that some cultivars provoke dermatitis more readily than others. "N. pseudonarcissus" and the cultivars "Actaea", "Camparelle", "Gloriosa", "Grande Monarque", "Ornatus", "Princeps" and "Scilly White" are known to do so. If bulb extracts come into contact with wounds, both central nervous system and cardiac symptoms may result. The scent


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: can also cause toxic reactions such as headaches and vomiting from "N. bulbocodium". Despite the lethal potential of "Narcissus" alkaloids, they have been used for centuries as traditional medicines for a variety of complaints, including cancer. Plants thought to be "N. poeticus" and "N. tazetta" are described in the Bible in the treatment for what is thought to be cancer. In the Classical Greek world Hippocrates (ca. B.C. 460–370) recommended a pessary prepared from narcissus oil for uterine tumors, a practice continued by Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. A.D. 40–90) and Soranus of Ephesus (A.D. 98–138) in the first and second centuries


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: A.D., while the Roman Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23–79), advocated topical use. The bulbs of "N. poeticus" contain the antineoplastic agent narciclasine. This usage is also found in later Arabian, North African, Central American and Chinese medicine during the Middle Ages. In China N. tazetta var. chinensis was grown as an ornamental plant but the bulbs were applied topically to tumors in traditional folk medicine. These bulbs contain pretazettine, an active antitumor compound. "Narcissus" products have received a variety of other uses. The Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus listed narcissus root in "De Medicina" among medical herbs, described as emollient,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: erodent, and "powerful to disperse whatever has collected in any part of the body". N. tazetta bulbs were used in Turkey as a remedy for abscesses in the belief they were antiphlogistic and analgesic. Other uses include the application to wounds, strains, painful joints and various local ailments as an ointment called 'Narcissimum'. Powdered flowers have also been used medically, as an emetic, a decongestant and for the relief of dysentery, in the form of a syrup or infusion. The French used the flowers as an antispasmodic, the Arabs the oil for baldness and also an aphrodisiac. In the eighteenth


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: century the Irish herbal of John K'Eogh recommended pounding the roots in honey for use on burns, bruises, dislocations and freckles, and for drawing out thorns and splinters. "N. tazetta" bulbs have also been used for contraception, while the flowers have been recommended for hysteria and epilepsy. A homeopathic medicine made from bulbs was prescribed for bronchitis and whooping cough. In the traditional Japanese medicine of kampo, wounds were treated with narcissus root and wheat flour paste; the plant, however, does not appear in the modern kampo herb list. There is also a long history of the use of "Narcissus"


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: as a stimulant and to induce trance like states and hallucinations. Sophocles referred to the narcissus as the "Chaplet of the infernal Gods", a statement frequently wrongly attributed to Socrates (see Antiquity). Extracts of "Narcissus" have demonstrated a number of potentially useful biological properties including antiviral, prophage induction, antibacterial, antifungal, antimalarial, insecticidal, cytotoxic, antitumor, antimitotic, antiplatelet, hypotensive, emetic, acetylcholine esterase inhibitory, antifertility, antinociceptive, chronotropic, pheromone, plant growth inhibitor, and allelopathic. An ethanol extract of "Narcissus" bulbs was found effective in one mouse model of nociception, para-benzoquinone induced abdominal constriction, but not in another, the hot plate test. Most of these


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: properties are due to alkaloids, but some are also due to mannosa-binding lectins. The most-studied alkaloids in this group are galantamine (galanthamine), lycorine, narciclasine, and pretazettine. It is likely that the traditional use of narcissi for the treatment of cancer was due to the presence of isocarbostyril constituents such as narciclasine, pancratistatin and their congeners. "N. poeticus" contains about 0.12g of narciclasine per kg of fresh bulbs. Acetylcholine esterase inhibition has attracted the most interest as a possible therapeutic intervention, with activity varying by a thousandfold between species, and the greatest activity seen in those that contain galantamine or epinorgalanthamine.


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: The rodent repellant properties of "Narcissus" alkaloids have been utilised in horticulture to protect more vulnerable bulbs. Of all the alkaloids, only galantamine has made it to therapeutic use in man, as the drug galantamine for Alzheimer's disease. Galantamine is an acetylcholine esterase inhibitor which crosses the blood brain barrier and is active within the central nervous system. Daffodils are grown commercially near Brecon in Powys, Wales, to produce galantamine, a drug used to combat Alzheimer's disease. Throughout history the scent of narcissi has been an important ingredient of perfumes, a quality that comes from essential oils rather than alkaloids.


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: Narcissi are also an important horticultural crop, and source of cut flowers (floriculture). The Netherlands, which is the most important source of flower bulbs worldwide is also a major centre of narcissus production. Of 16,700 hectares (ha) under cultivation for flower bulbs, narcissi account for about 1,800 hectares. In the 1990s narcissus bulb production was at 260 million, sixth in size after tulips, gladioli, irises, crocuses and lilies and in 2012 it was ranked third. About two-thirds of the area under cultivation is dedicated to about 20 of the most popular varieties. In the 2009/2010 season 470 cultivars were produced


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: on 1578 ha. By far the largest area cultivated is for the miniature "Tête-à-Tête", followed at some distance by "Carlton". The largest production cultivars are shown in Table II; "Carlton" and "Ice Follies" (Division 2: Large cup) have a long history of cultivation, together with "Dutch Master" and "Golden Harvest" (1: yellow). "Carlton" and "Golden Harvest" were introduced in 1927, and "Ice Follies" in 1953. "Carlton", with over 9000 million bulbs (350 000 tons), is among the more numerous individual plants produced in the world. The other major areas of production are the United States, Israel which exported 25 million


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: "N. tazetta" cultivar bulbs in 2003, and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom a total of 4100 ha were planted with bulbs, of which 3800 ha were Narcissi, the UK's most important bulb crop, much of which is for export, making this the largest global production centre, about half of the total production area. While some of the production is for forcing, most is for dry bulb production. Bulb production and forcing occurs in the East, while production in the south west is mainly for outdoor flower production. The farm gate value was estimated at £10m in 2007. Production


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: of both bulbs and cut flowers takes place in open fields in beds or ridges, often in the same field, allowing adaptation to changing market conditions. Narcissi grow best in mild maritime climates. Compared to the United Kingdom, the harsher winters in the Netherlands require covering the fields with straw for protection. Areas with higher rainfall and temperatures are more susceptible to diseases that attack the crops. production is based on a 1 (UK) or 2 (Netherlands) year cycle. Optimal soil pH is 6.0–7.5. Prior to planting disinfection by hot water takes place, such as immersion at 44.4 °C for


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: three hours. Bulbs are harvested for market in the summer, sorted, stored for 2–3 weeks, and then further disinfected by a hot (43.5 °C) bath. This eliminates infestations by narcissus fly and nematodes. The bulbs are then dried at a high temperature, and then stored at 15.5 °C. The initiation of new flower development in the bulb takes place in late spring before the bulbs are lifted, and is completed by mid summer while the bulbs are in storage. The optimal temperature for initiation is 20 °C followed by cooling to 13 °C. Traditionally, sales took place in the daffodil


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: fields prior to harvesting the bulbs, but today sales are handled by Marketing Boards although still before harvesting. In the Netherlands there are special exhibition gardens for major buyers to view flowers and order bulbs, some larger ones may have more than a thousand narcissus varieties on display. While individuals can visit these gardens they cannot buy bulbs at retail, which are only available at wholesale, usually at a minimum of several hundredweight. The most famous display is at Keukenhof, although only about 100 narcissus varieties are on display there. There is also a market for forced blooms, both as


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: cut flowers and potted flowers through the winter from Christmas to Easter, the long season requiring special preparation by growers. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales, associated with Saint David's Day (March 1). The narcissus is also a national flower symbolising the new year or "Newroz" in the Iranian culture. In the West the narcissus is perceived as a symbol of vanity, in the East as a symbol of wealth and good fortune (see Eastern cultures), while in Persian literature, the narcissus is a symbol of beautiful eyes. In western countries the daffodil is also associated with spring


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: festivals such as Lent and its successor Easter. In Germany the wild narcissus, "N. pseudonarcissus", is known as the "" or "Easter bell." In the United Kingdom the daffodil is sometimes referred to as the Lenten lily. Although prized as an ornamental flower, some people consider narcissi unlucky, because they hang their heads implying misfortune. White narcissi, such as "N triandrus" "Thalia", are especially associated with death, and have been called grave flowers. In Ancient Greece narcissi were planted near tombs, and Robert Herrick describes them as portents of death, an association which also appears in the myth of Persephone


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: and the underworld (see The Arts, below). The decorative use of narcissi dates as far back as ancient Egyptian tombs, and frescoes at Pompeii. They are mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible as the Rose of Sharon and make frequent appearances in classical literature. The narcissus appears in two Graeco-Roman myths, that of the youth Narcissus who was turned into the flower of that name, and of the Goddess Persephone snatched into the Underworld by the god Hades while picking the flowers. The narcissus is considered sacred to both Hades and Persephone, and to grow along the


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: banks of the river Styx in the underworld. The Greek poet Stasinos mentioned them in the "Cypria" amongst the flowers of Cyprus. The legend of Persephone comes to us mainly in the seventh century BC Homeric Hymn "To Demeter", where the author describes the narcissus, and its role as a lure to trap the young Persephone. The flower, she recounts to her mother was the last flower she reached for before being seized. Other Greek authors making reference to the narcissus include Sophocles and Plutarch. Sophocles, in "Oedipus at Colonus" utilises narcissus in a symbolic manner, implying fertility, allying it


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: with the cults of Demeter and her daughter Kore (Persephone), and by extension, a symbol of death. Jebb comments that it is "the flower of imminent death" with its fragrance being narcotic, emphasised by its pale white colour. Just as Persephone reaching for the flower heralded her doom, the youth Narcissus gazing at his own reflection portended his own death. Plutarch refers to this in his "Symposiacs" as numbing the nerves causing a heaviness in the limbs. He refers to Sophocles' "crown of the great Goddesses", which is the source of the English phrase "Chaplet of the infernal Gods" incorrectly


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: attributed to Socrates. A passage by Moschus, describes fragrant narcissi. Homer in his "Odyssey" described the underworld as having Elysian meadows carpeted with flowers, thought to be narcissus, as described by Theophrastus. A similar account is provided by Lucian describing the flowers in the underworld. The myth of the youth Narcissus is also taken up by Pausanias. He believed that the myth of Persephone long antedated that of Narcissus, and hence discounts the idea the flower was named after the youth. Virgil, the first known Roman writer to refer to the narcissus, does so in several places, for instance twice


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: in the "Georgics". Virgil refers to the cup shaped corona of the narcissus flower, allegedly containing the tears of the self-loving youth Narcissus. Milton makes a similar analogy ""And Daffodillies fill their Cups with Tears"". Virgil also mentions narcissi three times in the "Eclogues". The poet Ovid also dealt with the mythology of the narcissus. In his "Metamorphoses", he recounts the story of the youth Narcissus who, after his death, is turned into the flower, and it is also mentioned in Book 5 of his poem "Fasti". This theme of metamorphosis was broader than just "Narcissus"; for instance see crocus,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: laurel and hyacinth. Although there is no clear evidence that the flower's name derives directly from the Greek myth, this link between the flower and the myth became firmly part of western culture. The narcissus or daffodil is the most loved of all English plants, and appears frequently in English literature. Many English writers have referred to the cultural and symbolic importance of "Narcissus"). No flower has received more poetic description except the rose and the lily, with poems by authors from John Gower, Shakespeare, Milton (see Roman culture, above), Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats. Frequently the poems deal with self-love


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: derived from Ovid's account. Gower's reference to the yellow flower of the legend has been assumed to be the daffodil or "Narcissus", though as with all references in the older literature to the flower that sprang from the youth's death, there is room for some debate as to the exact species of flower indicated, some preferring "Crocus". Spenser announces the coming of the Daffodil in "Aprill" of his "Shepheardes Calender" (1579). Shakespeare, who frequently uses flower imagery, refers to daffodils twice in "The Winter's Tale" and also "The Two Noble Kinsmen". Robert Herrick alludes to their association with death in


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: a number of poems. Among the English romantic movement writers none is better known than William Wordsworth's short 1804 poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" which has become linked in the popular mind with the daffodils that form its main image. Wordsworth also included the daffodil in other poems. Yet the description given of daffodils by his sister, Dorothy is just as poetic, if not more so, just that her poetry was prose and appears almost an unconscious imitation of the first section of the Homeric "Hymn to Demeter" (see Greek culture, above). Among their contemporaries, Keats refers to


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: daffodils among those things capable of bringing "joy for ever". More recently A. E. Housman, using one of the daffodil's more symbolic names (see Symbols), wrote "The Lent Lily" in "A Shropshire Lad", describing the traditional Easter death of the daffodil. In "Black Narcissus", Rumer Godden describes the disorientation of English nuns in the Indian Himalayas, and gives the plant name an unexpected twist, alluding both to narcissism and the effect of the perfume "Narcisse Noir" (Caron) on others. The novel was later adapted into the 1947 British film of the same name. The narcissus also appears in German literature


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: such as that of Paul Gerhardt. In the visual arts, narcissi are depicted in three different contexts, mythological (Narcissus, Persephone), floral art, or landscapes. The Narcissus story has been popular with painters and the youth is frequently depicted with flowers to indicate this association. The Persephone theme is also typified by Waterhouse in his "Narcissus", the floral motif by van Scorel and the landscape by Van Gogh's "Undergrowth". Narcissi first started to appear in western art in the late middle ages, in panel paintings, particularly those depicting crucifixion. For instance that of the Westfälischer Meister in Köln in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: Cologne, where daffodils symbolise not only death but also hope in the resurrection, because they are perennial and bloom at Easter. In Chinese culture "Narcissus tazetta" subsp. "chinensis" (Chinese sacred lilies), which can be grown indoors, is widely used as an ornamental plant. It was probably introduced to China by Arab traders travelling the Silk Road prior to the Song Dynasty for medicinal use. Spring-flowering, they became associated with Chinese New Year, signifying good fortune, prosperity and good luck and there are many legends in Chinese culture associated with "Narcissus". In contrast to the West, narcissi have not played a


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: significant part in Chinese Garden art, however, Zhao Mengjian in the Southern Song Dynasty was noted for his portrayal of narcissi. Narcissus bulb carving and cultivation has become an art akin to Japanese bonsai. The Japanese novel "Narcissu" contains many references to the narcissus, where the main characters set out for the famed narcissus fields on Awaji Island. Narcissi are one of the most popular garden plants in Islamic culture. Prior to the Arab conquest of Persia, the Persian ruler Khosrau I is said to have not been able to tolerate them at feasts because they reminded him of eyes,


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: an association that persists to this day, as described by the poet Ghalib. The eye imagery is also found in a number of poems by Abu Nuwas. Another poet who refers to narcissi, is Rumi. Even the prophet Mohammed is said to have praised the narcissus. The word "daffodil" has been used widely in popular culture, from Dutch cars (DAF Daffodil) to Swedish rock bands (The Daffodils) to slurs against homosexuals and cross-dressers (as in the film "J. Edgar", when Hoover's mother explains why real-life cross-dresser Barton Pinkus was called "Daffy" (short for "Daffodil" and the equivalent of a pansy),


title: "Narcissus (plant)" content: and admonishes, "I'd rather have a dead son than a daffodil for a son". In some areas where narcissi are prevalent, their blooming in spring is celebrated in festivals. For instance, the slopes around Montreux, Switzerland and its associated riviera come alive with blooms each May ("May Snow") at the annual Narcissi Festival. Festivals are also held in many other countries. Various cancer charities around the world, such as the American Cancer Society, Cancer Society, Cancer Council, Irish Cancer Society, and Marie Curie in the UK use the daffodil as a fundraising symbol on "Daffodil Days". Narcissus (plant) Narcissus is


title: "Sea turtle" content: Sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are: the green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, flatback, and leatherback. The majority of a sea turtle's body is protected by its shell. The turtle's shell is divided into two sections: the carapace (the dorsal portion) and the plastron (the ventral portion). The shell is made up of smaller plates called scutes. The leatherback is the only sea turtle that does not have a hard shell. Instead, it bears a mosaic


title: "Sea turtle" content: of bony plates beneath its leathery skin. In general, sea turtles have a more fusiform body plan than their terrestrial or freshwater counterparts. The reduced volume of a fusiform (tapering at both ends) body means sea turtles cannot retract their head, legs, and arms into their shells for protection like other turtles can. However this more stream-lined body plan reduces drag in the water and allows the turtle to swim more easily. The leatherback is the largest species of sea turtle. Measuring 2–3 meters (6–9 ft) in length, and 1-1.5 m (3–5 ft) in width, weighing up to 700 kilograms


title: "Sea turtle" content: (1500 lb). Other species are smaller, being mostly 60–120 cm (2–4 ft) and proportionally narrower. Sea turtles, along with other turtles and tortoises, are part of the order Testudines. All species except the leatherback are in the family Cheloniidae. The leatherback is the only extant member of the family Dermochelyidae. The origin of sea turtles goes back to the Late Jurassic (150 million years ago) with genera such as "Plesiochelys", from Europe. In Africa, the first marine turtle is "Angolachelys", from the Turonian of Angola. However, neither of these are related to extant sea turtles; the oldest representative of the


title: "Sea turtle" content: lineage leading to these was "Desmatochelys padillai ", from the Early Cretaceous. A lineage of unrelated marine testudines, the pleurodire (side-necked) bothremydids, also survived well into the Cenozoic. Other pleurodires are also thought to have lived at sea, such as "Araripemys". Sea turtles constitute a single radiation that became distinct from all other turtles at least 110 million years ago. Sea turtles' limbs and brains have evolved to adapt to their diets. One of the main things sea turtles consume is jellyfish and the use of their limbs to hold, swipe, and forage their food has helped them eat more


title: "Sea turtle" content: efficiently. Originally sea turtles' limbs have evolved for locomotion but now they have evolved to aid them in the ability to get food. In addition to the evolution of limbs, sea turtles' brains have also evolved. The frontal cortex of a sea turtle's brain was not very developed. This underdevelopment caused the sea turtles to not be able to learn from their surroundings. Below is a cladogram showing the phylogenetic relationships of living and extinct sea turtles in the Chelonioidea based on Peer and Lee (2005) Sea turtles can be found in oceans except for the polar regions . The


title: "Sea turtle" content: flatback sea turtle is found solely on the northern coast of Australia. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is found solely in the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast of the United States. Sea turtles are generally found in the waters over continental shelves. During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most of their time in the pelagic zone floating in seaweed mats. Green sea turtles in particular are often found in "Sargassum" mats, in which they find shelter and food. Once the sea turtle has reached adulthood it moves closer to the shore.


title: "Sea turtle" content: Females will come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the nesting season. Sea turtles migrate to reach their spawning beaches, which are limited in numbers. Living in the ocean therefore means they usually migrate over large distances. All sea turtles have large body sizes, which is helpful for moving large distances. Large body sizes also offer good protection against the large predators (notably sharks) found in the ocean. It takes decades for sea turtles to reach sexual maturity. Mature turtles may migrate thousands of miles to reach breeding sites. After mating at sea, adult female sea turtles


title: "Sea turtle" content: return to land to lay their eggs. Different species of sea turtles exhibit various levels of philopatry. In the extreme case, females return to the beach where they hatched. This can take place every two to four years in maturity.The mature nesting female hauls herself onto the beach, nearly always at night, and finds suitable sand in which to create a nest. Using her hind flippers, she digs a circular hole deep. After the hole is dug, the female then starts filling the nest with her clutch of soft-shelled eggs. Depending on the species, a typical clutch may contain 50–350


title: "Sea turtle" content: eggs. After laying, she re-fills the nest with sand, re-sculpting and smoothing the surface, and then camouflaging the nest with vegetation until it is relatively undetectable visually. The whole process takes thirty to sixty minutes. She then returns to the ocean, leaving the eggs untended. Females may lay 1–8 clutches in a single season. Female sea turtles alternate between mating in the water and laying their eggs on land. Most sea turtle species nest individually. But ridley sea turtles come ashore en masse, known as an "arribada" (arrival). With the Kemp's ridley sea turtles this occurs during the day. Sea


title: "Sea turtle" content: turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning the developing turtle's sex depends on the temperature it is exposed to. Warmer temperatures produce female hatchlings, while cooler temperatures produce male hatchlings. The eggs will incubate for 50–60 days. The eggs in one nest hatch together over a short period of time. The baby turtles break free of the egg shell, dig through the sand, and crawl into the sea. Most species of sea turtles hatch at night. However, the Kemp's ridley commonly hatches during the day. Turtle nests that hatch during the day are more vulnerable to predators, and may encounter more


title: "Sea turtle" content: human activity on beach. Larger hatchlings have a higher probability of survival than smaller individuals, which can be explained by the fact that larger offspring are faster and thus less exposed to predation. Predators can only functionally intake so much; larger individuals are not targeted as often. A study conducted on this topic shows that body size is positively correlated with speed, so larger turtles are exposed to predators for a shorter amount of time. The fact that there is size dependent predation on chelonians has led to the evolutionary development of large body sizes. In 1987, Carr discovered that


title: "Sea turtle" content: the young of green and loggerhead seaturtles spent a great deal of their pelagic lives in floating sargassum mats. Within these mats, they found ample shelter and food. In the absence of sargassum, sea turtle young feed in the vicinity of upwelling "fronts". In 2007, Reich determined that green sea turtle hatchlings spend the first three to five years of their lives in pelagic waters. In the open ocean, pre-juveniles of this particular species were found to feed on zooplankton and smaller nekton before they are recruited into inshore seagrass meadows as obligate herbivores. Sea turtles are a species that


title: "Sea turtle" content: finds relatively low offspring survival rates. If you were to start with 1000 sea turtle eggs, you would end up with only one sexually mature subject. Starting with 1000 eggs, roughly 20% wouldn’t hatch which means from the start only 800 sea turtles will hatch and make it to the sand surface. As the sea turtles begin to move down the beach and towards the waves, only 50% or 400 of them will make it to the ocean. This is due to predation and obstacles preventing the young turtles from reaching the ocean. Continuing, once in the ocean 50% of


title: "Sea turtle" content: these sea turtles will survive to past juvenile stages of life. Once they reach adulthood only 20 sea turtles will survive, and this is without human interference. When human interference is factored in, only 2 out of 1000 sea turtles will survive to reproductive maturity. Sea turtles maintain an internal environment that is hypotonic to the ocean. To maintain hypotonicity they must excrete excess salt ions. Like other marine reptiles, sea turtles rely on a specialized gland to rid the body of excess salt ions, because reptilian kidneys cannot produce urine with a higher ion concentration than sea water. All


title: "Sea turtle" content: species of sea turtles have a lachrymal gland in the orbital cavity, capable of producing tears with a higher salt concentration than sea water. Leatherbacks face an increased osmotic challenge compared to other species of sea turtle, since their primary prey are jellyfish and other gelatinous plankton, whose fluids have the same concentration of salts as sea water. The much larger lachrymal gland found in leatherbacks may have evolved to cope with the higher intake of salts from their prey. A constant output of concentrated salty tears may be required to balance the input of salts from regular feeding, even


title: "Sea turtle" content: considering leatherback tears can have a salt ion concentration almost twice that of other species of marine turtle. Hatchlings depend on drinking sea water immediately upon entering the ocean to replenish water lost during the hatching process. Salt gland functioning begins quickly after hatching, so that the young turtles can establish ion and water balance soon after entering the ocean. Survival and physiological performance hinge on immediate and efficient hydration following emergence from the nest. Most sea turtles (those in family Cheloniidae) are poikilotherms. However the leatherback (family Dermochelyidae) are endotherms because they can maintain a body temperature warmer than


title: "Sea turtle" content: the ambient water. Green sea turtles in the relatively cooler Pacific are known to haul themselves out of the water on remote islands to bask in the sun. This behavior has only been observed in a few locations including the Galapagos, Hawaii, Europa Island, and parts of Australia. Sea turtles are air breathing reptiles that have lungs, so they regularly surface to breathe. Sea turtles spend a majority of their time underwater, so they must be able to hold their breath for long periods. Dive duration largely depends on activity. A foraging turtle may typically spend 5–40 minutes under water


title: "Sea turtle" content: while a sleeping sea turtle can remain under water for 4–7 hours. Remarkably, sea turtle respiration remains aerobic for the vast majority of voluntary dive time. When a sea turtle is forcibly submerged (e.g. entangled in a trawl net) its diving endurance is substantially reduced, so it is more susceptible to drowning. When surfacing to breathe, a sea turtle can quickly refill its lungs with a single explosive exhalation and rapid inhalation. Their large lungs permit rapid exchange of oxygen and avoid trapping gases during deep dives. Gruber and Sparks (2015) have observed the first fluorescence in a marine tetrapod


title: "Sea turtle" content: (four-limbed vertebrates). Sea turtles are the first biofluorescent reptile found in the wild. According to Gruber and Sparks (2015) fluorescence is observed in an increasing number of marine creatures (cnidarians, ctenophores, annelids, arthropods, and chordates) and is now also considered to be widespread in cartilaginous and ray-finned fishes. The two marine biologists accidentally made the observation in the Solomon Islands on a hawksbill sea turtle, one of the rarest and most endangered turtle species in the ocean, during a night dive aimed to film the biofluorescence emitted by small sharks and coral reefs. The role of biofluorescence in marine organisms


title: "Sea turtle" content: is often attributed to a strategy for attracting prey or perhaps a way to communicate. It could also serve as a way of defense or camouflage for the sea turtle hiding during night amongst other fluorescent organisms like corals. Fluorescent corals and sea creatures are best observed during night dives with a blue LED light and with a camera equipped with an orange optical filter to capture only the fluorescence light. The loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, and hawksbill sea turtles are omnivorous their entire life. Omnivorous turtles may eat a wide variety of plant and animal life including decapods,


title: "Sea turtle" content: seagrasses, seaweed, sponges, mollusks, cnidarians, echinoderms, worms and fish. However some species specialize on certain prey. The diet of green turtles changes with age. Juveniles are omnivorous, but as they mature they become exclusively herbivorous. This diet shift has an effect on the green turtle's morphology. Green sea turtles have a serrated jaw that is used to eat sea grass and algae. Leatherback turtles feed almost exclusively on jellyfish and help control jellyfish populations. Hawksbills principally eat sponges, which constitute 70–95% of their diets in the Caribbean. Marine sea turtles are caught worldwide, although it is illegal to hunt most


title: "Sea turtle" content: species in many countries. A great deal of intentional marine sea turtle harvests worldwide are for food. Many parts of the world have long considered sea turtles to be fine dining. Ancient Chinese texts dating to the fifth century B.C.E. describe sea turtles as exotic delicacies. Many coastal communities around the world depend on sea turtles as a source of protein, often harvesting several sea turtles at once and keeping them alive on their backs until needed. Coastal peoples gather sea turtle eggs for consumption. To a much lesser extent, specific species of marine sea turtles are targeted not for


title: "Sea turtle" content: their flesh, but for their shells. Tortoiseshell, a traditional decorative ornamental material used in Japan and China, comes from the carapace scutes of the hawksbill sea turtle. Ancient Greeks and ancient Romans processed sea turtle scutes (primarily from the hawksbill) for various articles and ornaments used by their elites, such as combs and brushes. The skin of the flippers is prized for use as shoes and assorted leather goods. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped the sea and its animals. They often depicted sea turtles in their art. Leatherback sea turtles enjoy immunity from the sting of the deadly


title: "Sea turtle" content: box jellyfish and regularly eat them, helping keep tropical beaches safe for humans. Beach towns, such as Tortuguero, Costa Rica, have transitioned from a tourism industry that made profits from selling sea turtle meat and shells to an ecotourism-based economy. Tortuguero is considered to be the founding location of sea turtle conservation. In the 1960s the cultural demand for sea turtle meat, shells, and eggs was quickly killing the once abundant sea turtle populations that nested on the beach. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation began working with villagers to promote ecotourism as a permanent substitute to sea turtle hunting. Sea turtle


title: "Sea turtle" content: nesting grounds became sustainable. Tourists love to come and visit the nesting grounds, although it causes a lot of stress to the turtles because all of the eggs can get damaged or harmed. Since the creation of a sea turtle, ecotourism-based economy, Tortugero annually houses thousands of tourists who visit the protected beach that hosts sea turtle walks and nesting grounds. Walks to observe the nesting turtles require a certified guide and this controls and minimises disturbance of the beaches. It also gives the locals a financial interest in conservation and the guides now defend the turtles from threats such


title: "Sea turtle" content: as poaching. Efforts in Costa Rica's Pacific Coast are facilitated by a nonprofit organization, Sea Turtles Forever. Thousands of people are involved in turtle walks, and substantial revenues accrue from the fees paid for the privilege. In other parts of the world where turtles breeding sites are threatened by human activity, volunteers often patrol beaches as a part of conservation activities, which may include relocating turtle eggs to hatcheries, or assisting hatching turtles in reaching the ocean. Locations in which such efforts exist include the east coast of India, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sham Wan in Hong Kong, and the


title: "Sea turtle" content: coast of Florida. Sea turtles play key roles in two habitat types: oceans and beaches/dunes. In the oceans, sea turtles, especially green sea turtles, are among very few creatures (manatees are another) that eat sea grass. Sea grass needs to be constantly cut short to help it grow across the sea floor. Sea turtle grazing helps maintain the health of the sea grass beds. Sea grass beds provide breeding and developmental grounds for numerous marine animals. Without them, many marine species humans harvest would be lost, as would the lower levels of the food chain. The reactions could result in


title: "Sea turtle" content: many more marine species eventually becoming endangered or extinct. Sea turtles use beaches and the lower dunes to nest and lay their eggs. Beaches and dunes are a fragile habitat that depend on vegetation to protect against erosion. Eggs, hatched or unhatched, and hatchlings that fail to make it into the ocean are nutrient sources for dune vegetation. Along a stretch of beach on the east coast of Florida sea turtles lay over of eggs in the sand. Dune vegetation is able to grow and become stronger with the nutrients from sea turtle nests. Stronger vegetation and root systems help


title: "Sea turtle" content: to hold the sand in the dunes and help protect the beach from erosion. The IUCN Red List classifies three species of sea turtle as either "Endangered" or "Critically Endangered". An additional three species are classified as "Vulnerable". The flatback is considered as "Data Deficient", meaning that its conservation status is unclear due to lack of data. All species of sea turtle are listed in CITESAppendix I, restricting international trade of sea turtles and sea turtle products. However, the usefulness of global assessments for sea turtles has been questioned, particularly due to the presence of distinct genetic stocks and spatially


title: "Sea turtle" content: separated regional management units (RMUs). Each RMU is subject to a unique set of threats that generally cross jurisdictional boundaries, resulting in some sub-populations of the same species' showing recovery while others continue to decline. This has triggered the IUCN to conduct threat assessments at the sub-population level for some species recently. These new assessments have highlighted an unexpected mismatch between where conservation relevant science has been conducted on sea turtles, and where these is the greatest need for conservation. For example, as at August 2017, about 69% of studies using stable isotope analysis to understand the foraging distribution of


title: "Sea turtle" content: sea turtles have been conducted in RMUs listed as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN. Additionally, all populations of sea turtles that occur in United States waters are listed as threatened or endangered by the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). The US listing status of the loggerhead is under review as of 2012. <nowiki>*</nowiki>The ESA manages sea turtles by population not by species. In the Caribbean, researchers are having some success in assisting a comeback. In September 2007, Corpus Christi, Texas, wildlife officials found 128 Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests on Texas beaches, a record number, including 81 on North Padre


title: "Sea turtle" content: Island (Padre Island National Seashore) and four on Mustang Island. Wildlife officials released 10,594 Kemp's ridleys hatchlings along the Texas coast in recent years. The Philippines has had several initiatives dealing with the issue of sea turtle conservation. In 2007, the province of Batangas declared the catching and eating of sea turtles (locally referred to as Pawikans) illegal. However, the law seems to have had little effect as sea turtle eggs are still in demand in Batangan markets. In September 2007, several Chinese poachers were apprehended off the Turtle Islands in the country's southernmost province of Tawi-Tawi. The poachers had


title: "Sea turtle" content: collected more than a hundred sea turtles, along with 10,000 sea turtle eggs. Evaluating the progress of conservation programs is difficult, because many sea turtle populations have not been assessed adequately. Most information on sea turtle populations comes from counting nests on beaches, but this does not provide an accurate picture of the whole sea turtle population. A 2010 United States National Research Council report concluded that more detailed information on sea turtles’ life cycles, such as birth rates and mortality, is needed. Nest relocation may not be a useful conservation technique for sea turtles. In one study on the


title: "Sea turtle" content: freshwater Arrau turtle ("Podocnemis expansa") researchers examined the effects of nest relocation. They discovered that clutches of this freshwater turtle that were transplanted to a new location had higher mortality rates and more morphological abnormalities compared to non transplanted clutches. However, in a study of Loggerhead turtles ("Caretta caretta"), Dellert et al. found that relocating nests at risk of inundation increased the success of eggs and hatchlings and decreased the risk of inundation. Most sea turtle mortality happens early in life. Sea turtles usually lay around one hundred eggs at a time, but on average only one of the eggs


title: "Sea turtle" content: from the nest will survive to adulthood. Raccoons, foxes, and seabirds may raid nests or hatchlings may be eaten within minutes of hatching as they make their initial run for the ocean. Once in the water, they are susceptible to seabirds, large fish and even other turtles. Adult sea turtles have few predators. Large aquatic carnivores such as sharks and crocodiles are their biggest threats; however, reports of terrestrial predators attacking nesting females are not uncommon. Jaguars have been reported to smash into the turtle's shell with its paw, and scoop out the flesh. Fibropapillomatosis disease causes tumors in sea


title: "Sea turtle" content: turtles. While many of the things that endanger sea turtles are natural predators, increasingly many threats to the sea turtle species have arrived with the ever-growing presence of humans. One of the most significant and contemporary threats to sea turtles comes from bycatch due to imprecise fishing methods. Long-lining has been identified as a major cause of accidental sea turtle death. There is also black-market demand for tortoiseshell for both decoration and supposed health benefits. Sea turtles must surface to breathe. Caught in a fisherman's net, they are unable to surface and thus drown. In early 2007, almost a thousand


title: "Sea turtle" content: sea turtles were killed inadvertently in the Bay of Bengal over the course of a few months after netting. However, some relatively inexpensive changes to fishing techniques, such as slightly larger hooks and traps from which sea turtles can escape, can dramatically cut the mortality rate. Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) have reduced sea turtle bycatch in shrimp nets by 97 percent. Beach development is another area which threatens sea turtles. Since many sea turtles return to the same beach each time to nest, development can disrupt the cycle. There has been a movement to protect these areas, in some cases


title: "Sea turtle" content: by special police. In some areas, such as the east coast of Florida, conservationists dig up sea turtle eggs and relocate them to fenced nurseries to protect them from beach traffic. Since hatchlings find their way to the ocean by crawling towards the brightest horizon, they can become disoriented on developed stretches of coastline. Lighting restrictions can prevent lights from shining on the beach and confusing hatchlings. Sea turtle-safe lighting uses red or amber LED light, invisible to sea turtles, in place of white light. Another major threat to sea turtles is black-market trade in eggs and meat. This is


title: "Sea turtle" content: a problem throughout the world, but especially a concern in China, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and the coastal nations of Latin America. Estimates reach as high as 35,000 sea turtles killed a year in Mexico and the same number in Nicaragua. Conservationists in Mexico and the United States have launched "Don't Eat Sea Turtle" campaigns in order to reduce this trade in sea turtle products. These campaigns have involved figures such as Dorismar, Los Tigres del Norte and Maná. Sea turtles are often consumed during the Catholic season of Lent, even though they are reptiles, not fish. Consequently, conservation organizations


title: "Sea turtle" content: have written letters to the Pope asking that he declare sea turtles meat. Another danger comes from marine debris, especially plastics which may be mistaken for jellyfish, and abandoned fishing nets in which they can become entangled. Climate change may also cause a threat to sea turtles. Since sand temperature at nesting beaches defines the sex of a sea turtle while developing in the egg, there is concern that rising temperatures may produce too many females. However, more research is needed to understand how climate change might affect sea turtle gender distribution and what other possible threats it may pose.


title: "Sea turtle" content: Sea turtles are very vulnerable to oil pollution, both because of the oil's tendency to linger on the water's surface, and because oil can affect them at every stage of their life cycle. Oil can poison the sea turtles upon entering their digestive system. Injured sea turtles are rescued and rehabilitated (and, if possible, released back to the ocean) by professional organizations, such as the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida, the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Surf City, North Carolina, and Sea Turtles 911 in Hainan, China. One rescued sea turtle, named Nickel


title: "Sea turtle" content: for the coin that was found lodged in her throat, lives at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Sea turtles are believed to have a commensal relationship with some barnacles, in which the barnacles benefit from growing on turtles without harming them. Barnacles are small, hard shelled crustaceans found attached to multiple different substrates below or just above the ocean. The adult barnacle is a sessile organism, however in its larval stage it is planktonic and can move about the water column. The larval stage chooses where to settle and ultimately the habitat for its full adult life, which is typically


title: "Sea turtle" content: between 5 and 10 years. However, estimates of age for a common sea turtle barnacle species, "Chelonibia testudinaria", suggest that this species lives for at least 21 months, with individuals older than this uncommon. A favorite settlement for barnacle larvae is the shell or skin around the neck of sea turtles. The larvae glue themselves to the chosen spot, a thin layer of flesh is wrapped around them and a shell is secreted. Many species of barnacles can settle on any substrate, however some species of barnacles have an obligatory commensal relationship with specific animals, which makes finding a suitable


title: "Sea turtle" content: location harder. Around 29 species of "turtle barnacles" have been recorded. However it is not solely on sea turtles that barnacles can be found; other organisms also serve as barnacle’s settlements. These organisms include mollusks, whales, decapod crustaceans, manatees and several other groups related to these species. Sea turtle shells are an ideal habitat for adult barnacles for three reasons. Turtles tend to live long lives, greater than 70 years, so barnacles do not have to worry about host death. However, mortality in sea turtle barnacles is often driven by their host shedding the scutes on which the barnacle is


title: "Sea turtle" content: attached, rather than the death of the turtle itself. Secondly, barnacles are suspension feeders. Sea turtles spend most of their lives swimming and following ocean currents and as water runs along the back of the turtle’s shell it passes over the barnacles, providing an almost constant water flow and influx of food particles. Lastly, the long distances and inter-ocean travel these sea turtles swim throughout their lifetime offers the perfect mechanism for dispersal of barnacle larvae. Allowing the barnacle species to distribute themselves throughout global waters is a high fitness advantage of this commensalism. This relationship however is not truly


title: "Sea turtle" content: commensal. While the barnacles are not directly parasitic to their hosts, they have negative effects to the turtles on which they choose to reside. The barnacles add extra weight and drag to the sea turtle, increasing the energy it needs for swimming and affecting its ability to capture prey, with the effect increasing with the quantity of barnacles affixed to its back. Sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are: the green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, flatback,


title: Moray content: Moray Moray ( ; or ""; ; ) is one of the 32 Local Government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 and 1996 Moray, with similar boundaries, was a district of the then Grampian Region. The name, first attested around 970 as ', and in Latinised form by 1124 as ', derives from the earlier Celtic forms *"mori" 'sea' and *"treb" 'settlement'. During the Middle Ages, the Mormaerdom of Moray was much larger than the modern council


title: Moray content: area, also covering much of what is now Highland and Aberdeenshire. During this period Moray may for a time have been either an independent kingdom or a highly autonomous vassal of Alba. In the early 12th century the mormaerdom/kingdom was defeated by David I of Scotland following a conflict with Óengus of Moray, and rule over the area was passed to William fitz Duncan. After that the title became defunct until the 14th century when Thomas Randolph was granted the title Earl of Moray. The earldom would subsequently be destroyed and recreated four times, with its last creation surviving to


title: Moray content: this day, currently held by John Douglas Stuart, 21st Earl of Moray. Over these centuries, the territory of the County of Moray contracted to the area around Elgin. The boundaries of the Moray council area date from the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and the subsequent reorganisation of local government in Scotland in 1975. The area was a district of the Grampian Region between 1975 and 1996, when the regions were abolished and Moray became a unitary authority. The council area covers most of the historic County of Moray (the rest is part of the Highland council area) along with


title: Moray content: most of historic Banffshire (the rest is part of the Aberdeenshire council area). Another set of boundaries — similar to that of the historic county — are used as a lieutenancy area and as a registration county. The Moray Council currently has 26 members elected using single transferable vote in 8 wards. Currently the council is controlled by a minority SNP administration . For elections to the House of Commons, Moray's boundaries match with the Moray constituency. The current MP is Douglas Ross of the Conservative party. For the Scottish Parliament, the majority of Moray is in the Moray constituency


title: Moray content: and the Highlands and Islands electoral region. The eastern corner of Moray is instead in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency and the North East Scotland electoral region. In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Moray voted "No" by an above-average percentage of 57.6%. In the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Moray voted "Remain" by a 50.1% margin. It had the biggest percentage for "Leave" out of all the Scottish council areas and the narrowest margin of victory for either side anywhere in the UK. The large majority of Moray's population live in the northern part of the district; only 1


title: Moray content: of its 8 wards covers the glens to the south. Elgin is by far the largest town, being home to 25% of the population at the 2011 census. There are 45 primary and eight secondary schools in Moray and the council currently has responsibility for educating more than 13,000 school pupils. The council's community learning and development team is also involved in arranging a wide range of classes and courses for adult learners. The council also currently operates 15 public libraries, all with free internet and e-mail access, and two mobile libraries which service users in more remote areas. Moray


title: Moray content: is also home to the University of the Highlands and Islands affiliated Moray College, and to Gordonstoun independent boarding school and its accompanying preparatory school, Aberlour House. Moray Council is also responsible for the maintenance of 1,000 miles of road, 450 miles of footpath, 468 bridges, 16,000 street lights and 10,500 road signs. As a housing authority, Moray Council manages just under 6,000 council properties and operates a council house waiting list. It also provides housing which has been specially designed, built or adapted to meet the requirements of certain groups such as the elderly and those with special needs.


title: Moray content: The council's development control section, which is part of the environmental services department, deals with thousands of planning applications every year from individuals and organisations seeking permission to erect buildings or adapt existing ones. Approximately 50,000 tonnes of waste is collected from homes and commercial properties in Moray. Households in many communities benefit from a kerbside recycling service. There are over 60 recycling points located throughout Moray in addition to eight larger recycling centres. The working population of Moray in 2003 was nearly 40,000 of which around 34,000 were employees and 6000 self-employed. Of this 34,000, 31% are employed in


title: Moray content: the public sector, compared with 27% for Scotland and 25% for the UK (the RAF personnel are not included in these figures). Only 18% of jobs are managerial or professional compared to 25% for Scotland. The gross value added (GVA) in Moray was £1.26 billion, in 2003. This corresponds to an output of £14,500 per resident and was 6% below the average for Scotland and 12% below that of the UK. The diagrams show the strong reliance on the food and drink industry i.e. the distilling, canned food and biscuit manufacturing industries. The public sector is also very prominent. Of


title: Moray content: the total GVA of £1.26 billion, food and drink is responsible for 19% while 3% is the Scottish figure and 2% for the UK. Moray is responsible for 9% of the entire food and drink GVA of Scotland. Significant areas where Moray has a larger than average share of national markets are in tourism, forest products, textiles and specialized metal working. In contrast, however, Moray is significantly under-represented in the business services area at 15% of GVA while it is 19% for Scotland and 25% for the UK. In March 2014 a tourism strategy was launched by the Moray Economic


title: Moray content: Partnership aimed at doubling the £95m industry over the next decade. In June 2014 a website (morayspeyside.com) was launched under the auspices of the Moray Chamber of Commerce to support the strategy and provide a one-stop shop for visitors. Compared to Scottish or British levels, average incomes in Moray are low. The average wage in 2003 was £286 per week, which was 12% below the Scottish average and 18% below the British (these statistics exclude the armed forces). These figures reflect the large amount of part-time employment, with fewer qualified workers and less managerial and professional jobs. 16% of residents


title: Moray content: out-commute, which is relatively high. Of these, two-thirds work in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire, mainly in the oil and gas industry. These out-commuters earn significantly more than local workers. In 2004, there were around 2,500 VAT registered businesses in Moray with 75% of businesses employing fewer than 5 people and about a half of firms with a turnover of less than £100,000. 60% of employees are employed in small firms compared to 48% for Scotland as a whole. Moray's major companies export their products to other British regions and abroad and many of the smaller companies have direct involvement with neighbouring


title: Moray content: economies in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Highland. Also, a large out-commuting workforce (estimated to be in excess of 5,000 people) derives its income from the neighbouring centres of Aberdeen and Inverness. An inhabitant of the Moray, especially the historic Mormaer of Moray, is called Moravian. The first records on language use in the area indicate that in 1705, most of Moray except for the coast was described as "Wholly Irish & Highland Countreys" and "Ye Irish Parishes in which both languages are spoken." By 1822, Scottish Gaelic had weakened in the area, with only the far south of Moray reporting that,


title: Moray content: at best, 10% of the population were speaking Gaelic better than English. Records towards the end of the 19th century improved and show that between 1881 and 1921 the percentage of Gaelic speakers in Moray fluctuated as shown in the following table: Since then, it has been consistently below 1%. It was largely replaced by Doric and latterly Scottish English. Moray Moray ( ; or ""; ; ) is one of the 32 Local Government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire


title: "Castles in Great Britain and Ireland" content: and architects have had to deal with the practical challenges of repairing smaller decaying castles used as private houses, such as that at Picton Castle where damp proved a considerable problem. At the other end of the scale the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992 opened up a national debate about how the burnt-out castle wing should be replaced, the degree to which modern designs should be introduced and who should pay the £37 million costs (£50.2 million in 2009 terms). At Kenilworth the speculative and commercial reconstruction of the castle gardens in an Elizabethan style led to a vigorous


title: "Nicéphore Niépce" content: of Niépce's first photographic experiments is uncertain. He was led to them by his interest in the new art of lithography, for which he realized he lacked the necessary skill and artistic ability, and by his acquaintance with the camera obscura, a drawing aid which was popular among affluent dilettantes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The camera obscura's beautiful but fleeting little "light paintings" inspired a number of people, including Thomas Wedgwood and Henry Fox Talbot, to seek some way of capturing them more easily and effectively than could be done by tracing over them with a


title: "Centers of gravity in non-uniform fields" content: the point at which the total force on the body is given by Newton's Law: where is the gravitational constant and is the mass of the body. As long as the total force is nonzero, this equation has a unique solution, and it satisfies the torque requirement. A convenient feature of this definition is that if the body is itself spherically symmetric, then lies at its center of mass. In general, as the distance between and the body increases, the center of gravity approaches the center of mass. Another way to view this definition is to consider the gravitational field


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Alamo Mission in San Antonio The Alamo Mission in San Antonio () is commonly called The Alamo and was originally known as "Misión San Antonio de Valero". It was founded in the 18th century as a Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, and today is part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site in San Antonio, Texas. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and is now a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District. The compound was one of the early Spanish missions in Texas, built for the education of area American Indians


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: after their conversion to Christianity. The mission was secularized in 1793 and then abandoned. Ten years later, it became a fortress housing the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras military unit, who likely gave the mission the name Alamo. During the Texas Revolution, Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos surrendered the fort to the Texian Army in December 1835, following the Siege of Béxar. A relatively small number of Texian soldiers then occupied the compound for several months. They were wiped out at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. When the Mexican army retreated from


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Texas several months later, they tore down many of the Alamo walls and burned some of the buildings. For the next five years, the Alamo was periodically used to garrison soldiers, both Texian and Mexican, but was ultimately abandoned. In 1849, several years after Texas was annexed to the United States, the U.S. Army began renting the facility for use as a quartermaster's depot. The U.S. Army abandoned the mission in 1876 after nearby Fort Sam Houston was established. The Alamo chapel was sold to the state of Texas, which conducted occasional tours but made no effort to restore it.


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: The remaining buildings were sold to a mercantile company which operated them as a wholesale grocery store. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) formed in 1895 and began trying to preserve the Alamo. Adina Emilia De Zavala and Clara Driscoll successfully convinced the state legislature in 1905 to purchase the remaining buildings and to name the DRT as the permanent custodian of the site. Over the next century, periodic attempts were made to transfer control of the Alamo from the DRT. In early 2015, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush officially removed control of the Alamo to the


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Texas General Land Office. The Alamo and the four missions in the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites on July 5, 2015. In 1716, the Spanish government established several Roman Catholic missions in East Texas. The isolation of the missions—the nearest Spanish settlement, San Juan Bautista, Coahuila was over away—made it difficult to keep them adequately provisioned. To assist the missionaries, the new governor of Spanish Texas, Martín de Alarcón, wished to establish a way station between the settlements along the Rio Grande and the new missions in East Texas. In April 1718, Alarcón


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: led an expedition to found a new community in Texas. On May 1, the group erected a temporary mud, brush, and straw structure near the headwaters of the San Antonio River. This building would serve as a new mission, San Antonio de Valero, named after Saint Anthony of Padua and the viceroy of New Spain, Baltasar de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, Marquess of Valero. The mission, headed by Father Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares, was located near a community of Coahuiltecans and was initially populated by three to five Indian converts from Mission San Francisco Solano near


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: San Juan Bautista. One mile (two km) north of the mission, Alarcón built a presidio (fort), the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar. Close by, he founded the first civilian community in Texas, San Antonio de Bexar (now San Antonio, Texas). Within a year, the mission moved to the western bank of the river, where it was less likely to flood. Over the next several years, a chain of missions were established nearby. In 1724, after remnants of a Gulf Coast hurricane destroyed the existing structures at Mission San Antonio de Valero, the mission was moved to its current location. At


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: the time, the new location was just across the San Antonio River from the town of San Antonio de Bexar, and just north of a group of huts known as La Villita. Over the next several decades, the mission complex expanded to cover . The first permanent building was likely the two-story, L-shaped stone residence for the priests. The building served as parts of the west and south edges of an inner courtyard. A series of adobe barracks buildings were constructed to house the mission Indians and a textile workshop was erected. By 1744, over 300 Indian converts resided at


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: San Antonio de Valero. The mission was largely self-sufficient, relying on its 2000 head of cattle and 1300 sheep for food and clothing. Each year, the mission's farmland produced up to 2000 bushels of corn and 100 bushels of bean; cotton was also grown. The first stones were laid for a more permanent church building in 1744, however, the church, its tower and the sacristy collapsed in the late 1750s. Reconstruction began in 1758, with the new chapel located at the south end of the inner courtyard. Constructed of thick limestone blocks, it was intended to be three stories high,


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: topped by a dome, with bell towers on either side. Its shape was a traditional cross, with a long nave and short transepts. Although the first two levels were completed, the bell towers and third story were never begun. While four stone arches were erected to support the planned dome, the dome itself was never built. As the church was never completed, it is unlikely that it was ever used for religious services. The chapel was intended to be highly decorated. Niches were carved on either side of the door to hold statues. The lower-level niches displayed Saint Francis and


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Saint Dominic, while the second-level niches contained statues of Saint Clare and Saint Margaret of Cortona. Carvings were also completed around the chapel's door. Up to 30 adobe or mud buildings were constructed to serve as workrooms, storerooms, and homes for the Indian residents. As the nearby presidio was perpetually understaffed, the mission was built to withstand attacks by Apache and Comanche raiders. In 1745, 100 mission Indians successfully drove off a band of 300 Apaches which had surrounded the presidio. Their actions saved the presidio, the mission, and likely the town from destruction. Walls were erected around the Indian


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: homes in 1758, likely in response to a massacre at the San Saba mission. The convent and church were not fully enclosed within the walls. The walls were built thick and enclosed an area long (north-south) and wide (east-west). For additional protection, a turret housing three cannon was added near the main gate in 1762. By 1793 an additional one-pounder cannon had been placed on a rampart near the convent. The population of Indians fluctuated, from a high of 328 in 1756 to a low of 44 in 1777. The new commandant general of the interior provinces, Teodoro de Croix,


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: thought the missions were a liability and began taking actions to decrease their influence. In 1778, he ruled that all unbranded cattle belonged to the government. Raiding Apache tribes had stolen most of the mission's horses, making it difficult to round up and brand the cattle. As a result, when the ruling took effect, the mission lost a great deal of its wealth and was unable to support a larger population of converts. By 1793, only 12 Indians remained. By this point, few of the hunting and gathering tribes in Texas had not been Christianized. In 1793, Mission San Antonio


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: de Valero was secularized. Shortly after, the mission was abandoned. Most locals were uninterested in the buildings. Visitors were often more impressed. In 1828, French naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier visited the area. He mentioned the Alamo complex: "An enormous battlement and some barracks are found there, as well as the ruins of a church which could pass for one of the loveliest monuments of the area, even if its architecture is overloaded with ornamentation like all the ecclesiastical buildings of the Spanish colonies." In the 19th century, the mission complex became known as "the Alamo". The name may have been


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: derived from the grove of nearby cottonwood trees, known in Spanish as "álamo". Alternatively, in 1803, the abandoned compound was occupied by the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras, from Álamo de Parras in Coahuila. Locals often called them simply the "Alamo Company". During the Mexican War of Independence, parts of the mission frequently served as a political prison. Between 1806 and 1812 it served as San Antonio's first hospital. Spanish records indicate that some renovations were made for this purpose, but no details were provided. The buildings were transferred from Spanish to Mexican control in 1821 after


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Mexico gained its independence. Soldiers continued to garrison the complex until December 1835, when General Martín Perfecto de Cos surrendered to Texian forces during the Texas Revolution. In the few months that Cos supervised the troops garrisoned in San Antonio, he had ordered many improvements to the Alamo. Cos's men likely demolished the four stone arches that were to support a future chapel dome. The debris from these was used to build a ramp to the apse of the chapel building. There, the Mexican soldiers placed three cannon, which could fire over the walls of the roofless building. To close


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: a gap between the church and the barracks (formerly the convent building) and the south wall, the soldiers built a palisade. When Cos retreated, he left behind 19 cannons, including a 16-pounder. With Cos's departure, there was no longer an organized garrison of Mexican troops in Texas, and many Texians believed the war was over. Colonel James C. Neill assumed command of the 100 soldiers who remained. Neill requested that an additional 200 men be sent to fortify the Alamo, and expressed fear that his garrison could be starved out of the Alamo after a four-day siege. However, the Texian


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: government was in turmoil and unable to provide much assistance. Determined to make the best of the situation, Neill and engineer Green B. Jameson began working to fortify the Alamo. Jameson installed the cannons that Cos had left along the walls. Heeding Neill's warnings, General Sam Houston ordered Colonel James Bowie to take 35–50 men to Bexar to help Neill move all of the artillery and destroy the fortress. There were not enough oxen to move the artillery someplace safer, and most of the men believed the complex was of strategic importance to protecting the settlements to the east. On


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: January 26 the Texian soldiers passed a resolution in favor of holding the Alamo. On February 11, Neill went on furlough to pursue additional reinforcements and supplies for the garrison. William Travis and James Bowie agreed to share command of the Alamo. On February 23 the Mexican army, under the command of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, arrived in San Antonio de Bexar. For the next thirteen days, the Mexican Army laid siege to the Alamo, during which work continued on the interior of the Alamo. After Mexican soldiers tried to block the irrigation ditch leading into the fort,


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Jameson supervised the digging of a well at the south end of the plaza. Although the men hit water, they weakened an earth and timber parapet near the barracks, collapsing it and leaving no way to fire safely over that wall. The siege ended in a fierce battle on March 6. As the Mexican army overran the walls, most of the Texians fell back to the long barracks (convent) and the chapel. During the siege, Texians had carved holes in many of the walls of these rooms so that they would be able to fire. Each room had only one


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: door which led into the courtyard and which had been "buttressed by semicircular parapets of dirt secured with cowhides". Some of the rooms even had trenches dug into the floor to provide some cover for the defenders. Mexican soldiers used the abandoned Texian cannon to blow off the doors of the rooms, allowing Mexican soldiers to enter and defeat the Texians. The last of the Texians to die were the eleven men manning the two cannon in the chapel. The entrance to the church had been barricaded with sandbags, which the Texians were able to fire over. A shot from


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: the cannon destroyed the barricades, and Mexican soldiers entered the building after firing an initial musket volley. With no time to reload, the Texians, including Dickinson, Gregorio Esparza, and Bonham, grabbed rifles and fired before being bayoneted to death. Texian Robert Evans was master of ordnance and had been tasked with keeping the gunpowder from falling into Mexican hands. Wounded, he crawled towards the powder magazine but was killed by a musket ball with his torch only inches from the powder. If he had succeeded, the blast would have destroyed the church. Santa Anna ordered that the Texian bodies be


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: stacked and burned. All, or almost all, of the Texian defenders were killed, although some historians believe that at least one Texian, Henry Warnell, successfully escaped from the battle. Warnell would die several months later of wounds incurred either during the final battle or during his escape. Most Alamo historians agree that 400–600 Mexicans were killed or wounded. This would represent about one-third of the Mexican soldiers involved in the final assault, which historian Terry Todish stated, was "a tremendous casualty rate by any standards". Following the battle of the Alamo, one thousand Mexican soldiers, under General Juan Andrade, remained


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: at the mission. For the next two months they repaired and fortified the complex, however no records remain of what improvements they made to the structure. After the Mexican army's defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto and the capture of Santa Anna, the Mexican army agreed to leave Texas, effectively ending the Texas Revolution. As Andrade and his garrison joined the retreat on May 24, they spiked the cannons, tore down many of the Alamo walls, and set fires throughout the complex. Only a few buildings survived their efforts; the chapel was left in ruins, most of the Long


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Barracks was still standing, and the building that had contained the south wall gate and several rooms was mostly intact. The Texians briefly used the Alamo as a fortress in December 1836 and again in January 1839. The Mexican army regained control in March 1841 and September 1842 as they briefly took San Antonio de Bexar. According to historians Roberts and Olson, "both groups carved names in the Alamo's walls, dug musket rounds out of the holds, and knocked off stone carvings". Pieces of the debris were sold to tourists, and in 1840 the San Antonio town council passed a


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: resolution allowing local citizens to take stone from the Alamo at a cost of $5 per wagonload. By the late 1840s, even the four statues located on the front wall of the chapel had been removed. On January 13, 1841, the Republic of Texas legislature passed an act returning the sanctuary of the Alamo to the Roman Catholic Church. By 1845, when Texas was annexed to the United States, a colony of bats occupied the abandoned complex and weeds and grass covered many of the walls. As the Mexican–American War loomed in 1846, 2000 United States Army soldiers were sent


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: to San Antonio under Brigadier General John Wool. By the end of the year, they had appropriated part of the Alamo complex for the Quartermaster's Department. Within eighteen months, the convent building had been restored to serve as offices and storerooms. The chapel remained vacant, however, as the army, the Roman Catholic Church, and the city of San Antonio bickered over its ownership. An 1855 decision by the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Catholic Church was the rightful owner of the chapel. Even while litigation was ongoing, the army rented the chapel from the Catholic Church for $150 per


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: month. Under the army's oversight, the Alamo was greatly repaired. Soldiers cleared the grounds and rebuilt the old convent and the mission walls, primarily from original stone which was strewn along the ground. During the renovations, a new wooden roof was added to the chapel and the campanulate, or bell-shaped facade, was added to the front wall of the chapel. At the time, reports suggested that the soldiers found several skeletons while clearing the rubble from the chapel floor. The new chapel roof was destroyed in a fire in 1861. The army also cut additional windows into the chapel, adding


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: two on the upper level of the facade as well as additional windows on the other three sides of the building. The complex eventually contained a supply depot, offices, storage facilities, a blacksmith shop, and stables. During the American Civil War, Texas joined the Confederacy, and the Alamo complex was taken over by the Confederate Army. In February 1861, the Texan Militia, under direction from the Texas Secession Convention and led by Ben McCullough and Sam Maverick, confronted General Twiggs, commander of all US Forces in Texas and headquartered at the Alamo. Twiggs elected to surrender and all supplies were


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: turned over to the Texans. Following the Confederacy's defeat, the United States Army again maintained control over the Alamo. Shortly after the war ended, however, the Catholic Church requested that the army vacate the premises so that the Alamo could become a place of worship for local German Catholics. The army refused, and the church made no further attempts at retaking the complex. The army abandoned the Alamo in 1876, when Fort Sam Houston was established in San Antonio. About that time, the Church sold the convent to Honore Grenet, who added a new two-story wood building to the complex.


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Grenet used the convent and the new building for a wholesale grocery business. After Grenet's death in 1882, his business was purchased by the mercantile firm, Hugo & Schmeltzer, which continued to operate the store. San Antonio's first rail service began in 1877, and the city's tourism industry began to grow. The city heavily advertised the Alamo, using photographs and drawings that showed only the chapel, not the surrounding city. Many of the visitors were disappointed with their visit; in 1877 tourist Harrier P. Spofford wrote that the chapel was "a reproach to all San Antonio. Its wall is overthrown


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: and removed, its dormitories are piled with military stores, its battle-scarred front has been revamped and repainted and market carts roll to and fro on the spot where flames ascended ... over the funeral pyre of heroes". In 1883, the Catholic Church sold the chapel to the State of Texas for $20,000. The state hired Tom Rife to manage the building. He gave tours but did not make any efforts to restore the chapel, to the annoyance of many. In the past decades, soldiers and members of the local Masonic lodge, which had used the building for meetings, had inscribed


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: various graffiti on the walls and statues. In May 1887 a devout Catholic who was incensed that Masonic emblems had been inscribed on a statue of Saint Theresa was arrested after breaking into the building and smashing statues with a sledgehammer. The 50th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo received little attention. In an editorial after the fact, the "San Antonio Express" called for the formation of a new society that would help recognize important historical events. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) organized in 1892 with one of their main goals being to preserve the Alamo.


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: Among its early members was Adina Emilia De Zavala, granddaughter of the Republic of Texas Vice-President Lorenzo de Zavala. Shortly before the turn of the 20th century, Adina de Zavala convinced Gustav Schmeltzer, owner of the convent, to give the DRT first option in purchasing the building if it was ever sold. In 1903, when Schmeltzer wanted to sell the building to a developer, he offered the building first to the DRT for $75,000, which they did not have. During De Zavala's attempts to raise the money, she met Clara Driscoll, an heiress who was very interested in Texas history,


title: "Alamo Mission in San Antonio" content: especially the Alamo. Shortly thereafter, Driscoll joined the DRT and was appointed chair of the San Antonio chapter's fund-raising committee. The DRT negotiated a 30-day option on the property, wherein the group would pay $500 up front, with $4,500 due at the conclusion of the 30 days, with an additional $20,000 due on February 10, 1904, and the remainder paid in five annual installments of $10,000. Driscoll paid the initial $500 deposit out of her personal funds, and when fundraising efforts fell far short (only raising slightly over $1,000 of the needed $4,500), Driscoll paid the balance of the $4,500