Klevan Castle (Клеванський замок) is one of the oldest forts in Volynia, Ukraine. It was built in the mid-15th century by Prince Michael Czartoryski in order to control a ford over the Stubla River. Klevan was the main seat of the Orthodox princely house of Chortoryisk until its members converted to Catholicism in the 17th century. After that the castle was given to a Jesuit school. After the partitions of Poland the castle was confiscated by the Habsburgs, and stood untenanted. Its western wall was pulled down in the 19th century. The remaining portions include two towers, three fortified buildings, and a high four-arched bridge leading to the main gate.


Falun Mine (Swedish: "Falu Gruva") was a mine in Falun, Sweden, that operated for a millennium from the 10th century to 1992. It produced as much as two-thirds of Europe's copper needs and helped fund many of Sweden's wars in the 17th century. Technological developments at the mine had a profound influence on mining globally for two centuries. The mine is now a museum and in 2001 was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


The Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș (early 16th century) is a Romanian Orthodox cathedral in Curtea de Argeș, Romania. It is located on the grounds of the Curtea de Argeș Monastery, and is dedicated to Dormition of the Mother of God. The building is the seat of the Archdiocese of Argeș and Muscel.The cathedral is faced with pale grey limestone, which was easily chiselled then hardened on exposure. The interior is of brick, plastered and decorated with frescoes. Nearby on the grounds stands the large Neo-Romanian style Royal Palace built in late 19th century.


Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and the first President of the Republic of Turkey. It is located in Ankara and was designed by architects Professor Emin Onat and Assistant Professor Ahmet Orhan Arda, whose proposal beat 48 other entries from several countries in a competition held by the Turkish Government in 1941 for a monument for Atatürk.The site is also the final resting place of İsmet İnönü, the second President of Turkey, who was interred there after he died in 1973. His tomb faces the Atatürk Mausoleum, on the opposite side of the Ceremonial Ground.The mausoleum was depicted on various Turkish banknotes during 1966–1987 and 1997–2009 and was included in the Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers list of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects realized in the first 50 years of the chamber.


Askeran Fortress (; ) is a fortress in the town of Askeran. Located on the banks of the Qarqar River, it was built by the Karabakh Khanate ruler Panah Ali Khan and consists of two sections. The left-bank section features a double line of stone walls.During the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 the Russian encampment was near the fortress. In 1810 the peace talks between the Russians and Persians were conducted at the fortress.In the Middle Ages, on this place there was a fortress and an Armenian village called "Mayraberd".During 2018, the walls and towers of the fortress were restored. The purpose of the restoration is to preserve the monument, as well as making the place of interest for tourists.


The Menai Suspension Bridge () is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's first major suspension bridge. The bridge still carries road traffic and is a Grade I listed structure.


Viseu Cathedral is the Catholic bishopric seat of the city of Viseu, in Portugal. The church started being built in the 12th century and is the most important historical monument of the town. It is currently a mix of architectural styles, specially from the Manueline, Renaissance and Mannerist periods.The cathedral is located on a large and harmonious square, beside the old Bishop's Palace (now the Grão Vasco Museum) and in front of the Misericórdia Church of Viseu.


Gordale Scar is a limestone ravine 1 (mile) northeast of Malham, North Yorkshire, England. It contains two waterfalls and has overhanging limestone cliffs over 100 (m) high. The gorge could have been formed by water from melting glaciers or a cavern collapse. The stream flowing through the scar is Gordale Beck, which on leaving the gorge flows over Janet's Foss before joining Malham Beck 2 (mi) downstream to form the River Aire. A right of way leads up the gorge, but requires climbing approximately 10 (ft) of tufa at the lower waterfall.


The Great Orme Tramway () is a cable-hauled gauge tramway in Llandudno in north Wales. Open seasonally from late March to late October, it takes over 200,000 passengers each year from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme headland. From 1932 onwards it was known as the Great Orme Railway, reverting to its original name in 1977.It is Great Britain's only remaining cable-operated street tramway, and one of only a few surviving in the world, and it is owned by Conwy County Borough Council. The line comprises two sections, where each section is an independent funicular and passengers change cars at the Halfway station. Whilst the upper section runs on its own right of way and is similar to many other funicular lines, the lower section is an unusual street-running funicular.Whilst the street running section resembles the better-known San Francisco cable cars, its operation is quite different in that it adheres to the funicular principle where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable, unlike San Francisco where cars attach to, and detach from, a continuously running cable. As such, this section's closest relatives are Lisbon’s Glória, Bica, and Lavra street funiculars.


The Roman Villa Borg is a reconstructed Roman "villa rustica" located near the villages of Borg and Oberleuken in the municipality of Perl in Saarland, Germany. Discovered at the end of the 19th century, the site was excavated in the late 1980s. Reconstruction work, which began in the mid-1990s, was virtually completed in late 2008 although further excavation work is still continuing. The site is a popular tourist attraction with some 50,000 visitors per year.


Moscow Raceway is an FIA-approved motor racing venue, which is situated in the Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, near the villages of Sheludkovo and Fedyukovo, 97 (km) from Moscow, Russia. It opened on 13 July 2012 for its first event as the fifth round of the World Series by Renault becoming the first major international motor-sport race track event in Russia. It is an FIA Grade 1 circuit, which means that it has all the requirements necessary to host a Formula One race, though the Sochi Autodrom formerly hosted Russian Formula One races during the existence of the Russian Grand Prix as a World Championship event.


Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and are now known as the Old Royal Naval College. The word "hospital" was used in its original sense of a place providing hospitality for those in need of it, and did not refer to medical care, although the buildings included an infirmary which, after Greenwich Hospital closed, operated as Dreadnought Seaman's Hospital until 1986.The foundation which operated the hospital still exists, for the benefit of former Royal Navy personnel and their dependants. It now provides sheltered housing on other sites.


Maasvlakte 2 is a major civil engineering project in the Netherlands, constructing a new port and supporting infrastructure on reclaimed land adjoining the Maasvlakte. Approximately 2000 hectares will be reclaimed, behind a 4 km dike; approximately 1000 hectares will be used by ports related industries. It is an extension of the Port of Rotterdam.Maasvlakte 2 is the biggest civil engineering project in the Netherlands since the Delta Works. The area opened on 22 May 2013.Container terminal operators APM Terminals and Rotterdam World Gateway began construction of their terminals in 2012. The APM terminal opened in April 2015. Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) is the main competitor for European Container Terminals (ECT), currently the biggest operator of a container terminal in Rotterdam. RWG's terminal includes a 20-meter deep dock and its own railroad station, and would be capable of handling 2.35 million containers annually.The Eurogeul was widened in anticipation of increased traffic.


Pateros Church, also known as the San Roque Parish Church, is a Roman Catholic church under the order of the Augustinians located in the municipality of Pateros, Metro Manila, Philippines.


The Puente de la Mujer (Spanish for "Woman's Bridge") is a rotating footbridge for Dock 3 of the Puerto Madero commercial district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is of the cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge type and is also a swing bridge, but somewhat unusual in its asymmetrical arrangement. It has a single mast with cables suspending a portion of the bridge which rotates 90 degrees in order to allow water traffic to pass. When it swings to allow watercraft passage, the far end comes to a resting point on a stabilizing pylon.


The Grand Kremlin Palace ( - ) was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia, on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsky Hill. Designed by a team of architects under the management of Konstantin Thon, it was intended to emphasise the greatness of Russian autocracy. Konstantin Thon was also the architect of the Kremlin Armoury and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.


Plitvice Lakes National Park (, colloquially "Plitvice", ) is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, due to its outstanding and picturesque series of tufa lakes, caves, connected by waterfalls.The national park was founded in 1949 and is in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The important north–south road that passes through the national park area connects the Croatian inland with the Adriatic coastal region.The protected area extends over 296.85 (km²). About 90% of this area is part of Lika-Senj County, while the remaining 10% is part of Karlovac County.Each year, more than 1 million visitors are recorded. Entrance is subject to variable charges, up to 300 kuna or around €39 per adult per day in summer 2022.


Althaea officinalis, the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian times evolved into today's marshmallow treat, but most modern marshmallow treats no longer contain any marsh-mallow root.


Eustoma russellianum is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family. Its previous binomial name was "Eustoma grandiflorum". Common names include Texas bluebells, Texas bluebell, bluebell, showy prairie gentian, prairie gentian, and Lisianthus.There is a cultivar, 'Bolero Deep Blue'.


Scabiosa is a genus in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious, but some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in related genera such as "Knautia" and "Succisa"; at least some of these were formerly placed in "Scabiosa". Another common name for members of this genus is pincushion flowers.


Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as ornamental plants in temperate climate gardens.


Cautleya spicata is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae (the gingers). It is found in the Himalayas through to China (Yunnan). It is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant, hardy to a few degrees of frost.


Aconitum (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly native to the mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia; growing in the moisture-retentive but well-draining soils of mountain meadows.Most "Aconitum" species are extremely poisonous and must be handled very carefully. Several "Aconitum" hybrids, such as the Arendsii form of "Aconitum carmichaelii", have won gardening awards—such as the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Some are used by florists.


Cirsium vulgare, the spear thistle, bull thistle, or common thistle, is a species of the Asteraceae genus "Cirsium", native throughout most of Europe (north to 66°N, locally 68°N), Western Asia (east to the Yenisei Valley), and northwestern Africa (Atlas Mountains). It is also naturalised in North America, Africa, and Australia and is an invasive weed in some areas. It is the national flower of Scotland.The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative. Marsh thistle, "Cirsium palustre", was ranked in first place while this thistle was ranked in sixth place. It also was a top producer of nectar sugar in another study in Britain, ranked third with a production per floral unit of (2300 ± 400 μg).


Echinops is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, commonly known as globe thistles. They have spiny foliage and produce blue or white spherical flower heads. They are native to Europe, east to central Asia, and south to the mountains of tropical Africa. Globe thistle is the host plant of weevil "Larinus vulpes".


Hippeastrum () is a genus of about 90 species and over 600 hybrids and cultivars of perennial herbaceous bulbous plants. They generally have large fleshy bulbs and tall broad leaves, generally evergreen, and large red or purple flowers."Hippeastrum" is a genus in the family Amaryllidaceae (subfamily Amaryllidoideae, tribe Hippeastreae, and subtribe Hippeastrineae). The name "Hippeastrum", given to it by William Herbert, means "knight's star", although precisely what Herbert meant by the name is not certain. For many years there was confusion among botanists over the generic names "Amaryllis" and "Hippeastrum", one result of which is that the common name amaryllis is mainly used for cultivars of this genus, often sold as indoor flowering bulbs particularly at Christmas in the northern hemisphere. By contrast the generic name "Amaryllis" applies to bulbs from South Africa, usually grown outdoors. The genus is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Argentina north to Mexico and the Caribbean.Reproduction is generally by allogamy (cross-pollination) and "Hippeastrum" may be propagated by seed or offset bulbils (bulblets), although commercial ventures use in vitro techniques, or splitting of the bulb into sections. The genus has been intensely bred and cultivated since the early nineteenth century to produce large colourful showy flowers. In temperate climes these can be placed outside in the summer, and after a dormancy period, be induced to rebloom inside in the winter.


Ranunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots. The familiar and widespread buttercup of gardens throughout Northern Europe (and introduced elsewhere) is the creeping buttercup "Ranunculus repens", which has extremely tough and tenacious roots. Two other species are also widespread, the bulbous buttercup "Ranunculus bulbosus" and the much taller meadow buttercup "Ranunculus acris". In ornamental gardens, all three are often regarded as weeds.Buttercups usually flower in the spring, but flowers may be found throughout the summer, especially where the plants are growing as opportunistic colonizers, as in the case of garden weeds.The water crowfoots ("Ranunculus" subgenus "Batrachium"), which grow in still or running water, are sometimes treated in a separate genus "Batrachium" (from Greek , "frog"). They have two different leaf types, thread-like leaves underwater and broader floating leaves. In some species, such as "R. aquatilis", a third, intermediate leaf type occurs."Ranunculus" species are used as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Hebrew character and small angle shades. Some species are popular ornamental flowers in horticulture, with many cultivars selected for large and brightly coloured flowers.


Canna or canna lily is the only genus of flowering plants in the family Cannaceae, consisting of 10 species. Cannas are not true lilies, but have been assigned by the APG II system of 2003 to the order Zingiberales in the monocot clade Commelinids, together with their closest relatives, the gingers, spiral gingers, bananas, arrowroots, heliconias, and birds of paradise.The plants have large foliage, so horticulturists have developed selected forms as large-flowered garden plants. Cannas are also used in agriculture as a source of starch for human and animal consumption.Although plants of the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world, as long as they receive at least 6–8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter. See the "Canna" cultivar gallery for photographs of "Canna" cultivars.The name "Canna" originates from the Latin word for a cane or reed.


Phalaenopsis amabilis, commonly known as the moon orchid or moth orchid in India and as in Indonesia, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is native to the East Indies and Australia, and widely cultivated as a decorative houseplant. It is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with long, thick roots, between two and eight thick, fleshy leaves with their bases hiding the stem and nearly flat, white, long-lasting flowers on a branching flowering stem with up to ten flowers on each branch.


Shrimp and grits is a traditional dish in the Lowcountry of the coastal Carolinas and Georgia in the United States. It is a traditional breakfast dish, though many consider it more of a lunch or supper dish. Elsewhere, grits are accompanied by fried catfish or salmon croquettes.


Hot and sour soup - is a popular example of Sichuan cuisine. Similar versions derive from Henan province, near Beijing, and from Henan cuisine itself, where it may also be known as Hulatang , or "Pepper Hot Soup" (胡辣汤). .


Shortcake generally refers to a sweet cake or crumbly biscuit in the American sense. Shortcakes, particularly layered with strawberries and whipped cream, are now found world-wide, but generally considered to be North American in origin. Variations between sweet biscuits and something more like a sponge cake may reflect regional preferences. Japanese strawberry cake tends to use a sponge cake base, and is a popular holiday treat in Japan.


Caprese salad ( or simply "caprese") is a simple Italian salad, made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and sweet basil, seasoned with salt, and olive oil. It is usually arranged on a plate in restaurant practice. Like pizza Margherita, it features the colours of the Italian flag: green, white, and red. In Italy, it is usually served as an "antipasto" (starter), not a "contorno" (side dish), and it may be eaten any time of day. The caprese salad is one form of a caprese dish; it may also be served as a caprese pizza, pasta, or sandwich.The salad is named after the island of Capri, where it is believed to have originated. Two common stories about its origin include it being an homage to the Italian flag or "in the 20th century to appease the palates of vacationing royalty and important politicos."


Ceviche () is a South American seafood dish originally from what is the modern day countries of Peru, Ecuador and Chile, typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juices, most commonly lime or lemon. It is also spiced with "ají", chili peppers or other seasonings and julienned red onions, salt, and coriander are also added. The name originates from the Quechuan word "siwichi", which means fresh or tender fish.Because the dish is eaten raw, and not cooked with heat, it must be prepared fresh and consumed immediately to minimize the risk of food poisoning. Ceviche is often eaten as an appetizer; if eaten as a main dish, it is usually accompanied by side dishes that complement its flavors, such as sweet potato, lettuce, maize, avocado, or cooking banana.The dish is popular in the Pacific coastal regions of western South America. The origin of ceviche is ancient Incan which today corresponds to the modern day country of Peru and Ecuador. The technique of macerating raw fish and meat in vinegar, citrus, and spices (escabeche) was brought to the Americas from Spain and is linked to the Muslim heritage in Spanish cuisine. However, archeological records suggest that something resembling ceviche may have been in the western South America as early as 2,000 years ago. The dominant position Lima held through four centuries as the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru allowed for popular dishes such as ceviche to be brought to other Spanish administrative provinces in the region, and in time they became a part of local cuisine by incorporating regional flavors and styles.


An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow.Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the people of Canada's Central Arctic and the Qaanaaq area of Greenland. Other Inuit tended to use snow to insulate their houses, which were constructed from whalebone and hides. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as low as -45 (C), but on the inside, the temperature may range from -7 to 16 (C) when warmed by body heat alone.


A tree house, tree fort or treeshed is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a hangout space and observation.


A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of medical prescriptions and is available to counsel patients about prescription and over-the-counter drugs or about healthcare and wellness issues. A typical pharmacy would be in the commercial area of a community. Mail-order dispensing is a recent development.


A wet bar is a small bar used for mixing and serving alcoholic beverages that includes a sink with running water, as opposed to a "dry bar" that does not include a sink. A wet bar can increase the rate at which drinks are served because of the sink, which allows for glasses to be cleaned immediately. The sink may also be used for cleaning glassware as well as spills that may happen.Wet bars are found in homes for entertainment purposes. Near a kitchen or in a finished basement are some typical locations for a wet bar. Wet bars are relatively simple to build, and, thus, many homeowners have turned the wet bar into a do-it-yourself project.


An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as claw cranes), or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or "pachinko" machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets. The term used for ancestors of these venues in the beginning of the 20th century was penny arcades.Video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early 1980s. Arcades became popular with children and particularly adolescents, which led parents to be concerned that video game playing might cause them to skip school.


A simple suspension bridge (also rope bridge, swing bridge (in New Zealand), suspended bridge, hanging bridge and catenary bridge) is a primitive type of bridge in which the deck of the bridge lies on two parallel load-bearing cables that are anchored at either end. They have no towers or piers. The cables follow a shallow downward catenary arc which moves in response to dynamic loads on the bridge deck.The arc of the deck and its large movement under load make such bridges unsuitable for vehicular traffic. Simple suspension bridges are restricted in their use to foot traffic. For safety, they are built with stout handrail cables, supported on short piers at each end, and running parallel to the load-bearing cables. Sometime these may be the primary load-bearing element, with the deck suspended below. Simple suspension bridges are considered the most efficient and sustainable design in rural regions, especially for river crossings that lie in non-floodplain topography such as gorges.


A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped.


A synagogue, sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worship. Synagogues have a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels), where Jews attend religious Services or special ceremonies (including Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs or Bat Mitzvahs, Confirmations, choir performances, or even children's plays), have rooms for study, social hall(s), administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious school and Hebrew school, sometimes Jewish preschools, and often have many places to sit and congregate; display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork throughout; and sometimes have items of some Jewish historical significance or history about the Synagogue itself, on display.Synagogues are consecrated spaces used for the purpose of Jewish prayer, study, assembly, and reading of the Torah (read in its entirety once a year in weekly Torah portions during religious Services). However, a Synagogue is not always necessary for Jewish worship, due to adaption during times of Jewish persecution in countries and regions that banned Judaism, frequently destroying and/or reappropriating Synagogues into Churches or even government buildings. "Halakha" (Jewish "law," or Mitzvot, from the Mishnah -- the "Oral Torah") state that communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever a "minyan" (a group of at least 10 Jewish adults) is assembled. Worship can also happen alone or with fewer than 10 people, but there are certain prayers which are considered by "halakha" as solely communal, and these can therefore be recited only by a "minyan", depending on sect of Judaism. In terms of its specific ritual and liturgical functions, the Synagogue does not replace the symbol of the long-destroyed Temple in Jerusalem (1st or 2nd Temple).


An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often featuring multiple areas with different themes. Unlike temporary and mobile funfairs and carnivals, amusement parks are stationary and built for long-lasting operation. They are more elaborate than city parks and playgrounds, usually providing attractions that cater to a variety of age groups. While amusement parks often contain themed areas, theme parks place a heavier focus with more intricately-designed themes that revolve around a particular subject or group of subjects.Amusement parks evolved from European fairs, pleasure gardens, and large picnic areas, which were created for people's recreation. World's fairs and other types of international expositions also influenced the emergence of the amusement park industry. Lake Compounce opened in 1846 and is considered the oldest, continuously-operating amusement park in North America.


In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an "exedra". In Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic Christian church (including cathedral and abbey) architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical. Smaller apses are found elsewhere, especially in shrines.


An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ἀμφιθέατρον ("amphitheatron"), from ἀμφί ("amphi"), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and θέατρον ("théātron"), meaning "place for viewing".Ancient Roman amphitheatres were oval or circular in plan, with seating tiers that surrounded the central performance area, like a modern open-air stadium. In contrast, both ancient Greek and ancient Roman theatres were built in a semicircle, with tiered seating rising on one side of the performance area.Modern parlance uses "amphitheatre" for any structure with sloping seating, including theatre-style stages with spectator seating on only one side, theatres in the round, and stadia. They can be indoor or outdoor.Natural formations of similar shape are sometimes known as natural amphitheatres.


A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross. There are many different designs of bridges, each serving a particular purpose and applicable to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on factors such as the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, and the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it.The earliest bridges were likely made with fallen trees and stepping stones. The Neolithic people built boardwalk bridges across marshland. The Arkadiko Bridge (dating from the 13th century BC, in the Peloponnese) is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence and use.


An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a "progressive assembly") in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in sequence until the final assembly is produced. By mechanically moving the parts to the assembly work and moving the semi-finished assembly from work station to work station, a finished product can be assembled faster and with less labor than by having workers carry parts to a stationary piece for assembly.Assembly lines are common methods of assembling complex items such as automobiles and other transportation equipment, household appliances and electronic goods.Workers in charge of the works of assembly line are called assemblers.


A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as music lessons, music instrument or equipment rental, or repair services.


A confectionery store (more commonly referred to as a sweet shop in the United Kingdom, a candy shop or candy store in North America, or a lolly shop in Australia and New Zealand) sells confectionery and the intended market is usually children. Most confectionery stores are filled with an assortment of sweets far larger than a grocer or convenience store could accommodate. They often offer a selection of old-fashioned treats and sweets from different countries. Very often unchanged in layout since their inception, confectioneries are known for their warming and nostalgic feel.


A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth door while using the payphone inside.In the United States and Canada, "telephone booth" (or "phone booth") is the commonly used term for the structure, while in the Commonwealth of Nations (particularly the United Kingdom and Australia), it is a "phone box".Such a booth usually has lighting, a door to provide privacy, and windows to let others know if the booth is in use. The booth may be furnished with a printed directory of local telephone numbers, and a booth in a formal setting, such as a hotel, may be furnished with paper and pen and even a seat. An outdoor booth may be made of metal and plastic to withstand the elements and heavy use, while an indoor booth (once known as a silence cabinet) may have more elaborate architecture and furnishings. Most outdoor booths feature the name and logo of the telephone service provider.


In British English, a lido ( , ) is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck features outdoor pools and related facilities."Lido", an Italian word for "beach", forms part of the place names of several Italian seaside towns known for their beaches, such as Lido di Venezia, the barrier beach enclosing the Venetian Lagoon. The term may have found its way into English via English visitors returning from the Lido di Venezia, where people have bathed in the sea since the late 19th century.


A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.Nightclubs generally restrict access to people in terms of age, attire, personal belongings, and inappropriate behaviors. Nightclubs typically have dress codes to prohibit people wearing informal, indecent, offensive, or gang-related attire from entering. Unlike other entertainment venues, nightclubs are more likely to use bouncers to screen prospective patrons for entry.The busiest nights for a nightclub are Friday and Saturday nights. Most nightclubs cater to a particular music genre or sound for branding effects. Some nightclubs may offer food and beverages (including alcoholic beverages).


A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientific research, and in industrial production for all nanoscale processes, such as semiconductor manufacturing. A cleanroom is designed to keep everything from dust, to airborne organisms, or vaporised particles, away from it, and so from whatever material is being handled inside it.The other way around, a cleanroom can also help keep materials escaping from it. This is often the primary aim in hazardous biology and nuclear work, in pharmaceutics and in virology.Cleanrooms typically come with a cleanliness level quantified by the number of particles per cubic meter at a predetermined molecule measure. The ambient outdoor air in a typical urban area contains 35,000,000 particles for each cubic meter in the size range 0.5 μm and bigger, equivalent to an ISO 9 certified cleanroom. By comparison an ISO 14644-1 level 1 certified cleanroom permits no particles in that size range, and just 12 particles for each cubic meter of 0.3 μm and smaller. Semiconductor facilities often get by with level 7, while level 1 facilities are exceedingly rare.


Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called "chukkas" or "chukkers".Polo has been called "the sport of kings", and has become a spectator sport for equestrians and high society, often supported by sponsorship. The concept of the game and its variants existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD, originating from equestrian games played by nomadic Iranian and Turkic peoples. The sport was also a training game for Persian cavalry units, usually the royal guard or other elite troops. A notable example is Saladin, who was known for being a skilled polo player which contributed to his cavalry training. It is now popular around the world, with well over 100 member countries in the Federation of International Polo, played professionally in 16 countries, and was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1936.Arena polo is an indoor or semi-outdoor variant with similar rules, and is played with three riders per team. The playing field is smaller, enclosed and usually of compacted sand or fine aggregate, and often indoors. Arena polo has more maneuvering due to space limitations, and uses an air-inflated ball slightly larger than the hard solid ball used in field polo. Standard mallets are used, though slightly larger-head "arena mallets" are an option.


Horseshoes is a lawn game played between two people (or two teams of two people) using four horseshoes and two throwing targets (stakes) set in a lawn or sandbox area. The game is played by the players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 (ft) apart. Modern games use a more stylized U-shaped bar, about twice the size of an actual horseshoe.


The muskrat ("Ondatra zibethicus") is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats. It has important effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans.Adult muskrats weigh 0.6 - 2 (kg), with a body length of 20 - 35 (cm). They are covered with short, thick fur of medium to dark brown color. Their long tails, covered with scales rather than hair, are their main means of propulsion. Muskrats spend most of their time in the water, and can swim under water for 12 to 17 minutes. They live in families, consisting of a male and female pair and their young. To protect themselves from the cold and from predators, they build nests that are often burrowed into the bank with an underwater entrance. Muskrats feed mostly on cattail and other aquatic vegetation, but also eat small animals."Ondatra zibethicus" is the only species in the genus "Ondatra" and tribe Ondatrini. It is the largest species in the subfamily Arvicolinae, which includes 142 other species of rodents, mostly voles and lemmings. Muskrats are referred to as "rats" in a general sense because they are medium-sized rodents with an adaptable lifestyle and an omnivorous diet. They are not, however, members of the genus "Rattus". They are not closely related to beavers, with which they share habitat and general appearance.


Vaccinium angustifolium, commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada (from Manitoba to Newfoundland) and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as the Great Smoky Mountains and west to the Great Lakes region.


Euonymus fortunei, the spindle, Fortune's spindle, winter creeper or wintercreeper, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to east Asia, including China, Korea, the Philippines and Japan. It is named after the Scottish botanist and plant explorer Robert Fortune. Euonymus is highly invasive and damaging in the United States, causing the death of trees and forest in urban areas.


Ornithogalum umbellatum, the garden star-of-Bethlehem, grass lily, nap-at-noon, or eleven-o'clock lady, a species of the genus "Ornithogalum", is a perennial bulbous flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). "O. umbellatum" is a relatively short plant, occurring in tufts of basal linear leaves, producing conspicuous white flowers, in a stellate pattern, in mid to late spring. The flowers open late in the day (hence some of its common names), but when closed have a green stripe on the outside. It is native throughout most of southern and central Europe, and north-western Africa. "O. umbellatum" is often grown as a garden ornamental, but in North America and other areas it has escaped cultivation and can be found in many areas, where it may become an invasive noxious weed. Parts of the plant are considered poisonous, but are used in some regional cuisines. Essences are also sold as patent remedies. "O. umbellatum" has been depicted in art by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, and folklore has suggested it originally grew from fragments of the star of Bethlehem, hence its horticultural name.


Heteromeles arbutifolia (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the genus Heteromeles.Toyon is a prominent component of the coastal sage scrub plant community, and is a part of drought-adapted chaparral and mixed oak woodland habitats. It is also known by the common names Christmas berry and California holly.


The great crested flycatcher ("Myiarchus crinitus") is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus "Myiarchus" in North America, and is found over most of the eastern and mid-western portions of the continent. It dwells mostly in the treetops and rarely is found on the ground.


Picea glauca, the white spruce, is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. "Picea glauca" is native from central Alaska all through the east, across southern/central Canada to the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, and south to Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Maine; there is also an isolated population in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. It is also known as Canadian spruce, skunk spruce, cat spruce, Black Hills spruce, western white spruce, Alberta white spruce, and Porsild spruce.


The grey plover or black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola) is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding.


Pangrapta decoralis, the decorated owlet, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1818. It is found in North America from Alberta to Nova Scotia south to Florida and Texas.The wingspan is 20–28 mm. Adults are on wing from May to September. There are two to three generations per year.The larvae feed on "Vaccinium" species.


Carex lupulina, known as hop sedge or common hop sedge, is a species of sedge native to most of eastern North America. It was first formally named in 1805.


Lysimachia ciliata, the fringed loosestrife, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is an erect herbaceous perennial growing to 120 (cm) tall and 60 (cm) broad, with opposite, simple leaves, and smooth green stems. The star-shaped yellow flowers are borne in midsummer. It is native to North America, including most of southern Canada and most of the United States except for the southwest. This plant is notable in that it is one of the few species of "Lysimachia" to bear elaiophores, that is, to offer oil instead of nectar as a reward to pollinators. It is pollinated in the northern part of its range by the specialist oil bee "Macropis nuda", a native bee species whose survival depends upon this host plant.It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. It can be aggressive, but new suckers can be removed easily to keep plant size under control. The most common cultivars of "L. ciliata" include:  "L. ciliata" 'Firecracker' "L. ciliata" 'Purpurea''Firecracker' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Astraeus hygrometricus, commonly known as the hygroscopic earthstar, the barometer earthstar, or the false earthstar, is a species of fungus in the family Diplocystaceae. Young specimens resemble a puffball when unopened. In maturity, the mushroom displays the characteristic earthstar shape that is a result of the outer layer of fruit body tissue splitting open in a star-like manner. The false earthstar is an ectomycorrhizal species that grows in association with various trees, especially in sandy soils. "A. hygrometricus" was previously thought to have a cosmopolitan distribution, though it is now thought to be restricted to Southern Europe, and "Astraeus" are common in temperate and tropical regions. Its common names refer to the fact that it is hygroscopic (water-absorbing), and can open up its rays to expose the spore sac in response to increased humidity, and close them up again in drier conditions. The rays have an irregularly cracked surface, while the spore case is pale brown and smooth with an irregular slit or tear at the top. The gleba is white initially, but turns brown and powdery when the spores mature. The spores are reddish-brown, roughly spherical with minute warts, measuring 7.5–11 micrometers in diameter.Despite a similar overall appearance, "A. hygrometricus" is not related to the true earthstars of genus "Geastrum", although historically, they have been taxonomically confused. The species was first described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1801 as "Geastrum hygrometricus". In 1885, Andrew P. Morgan proposed that differences in microscopic characteristics warranted the creation of a new genus "Astraeus" distinct from "Geastrum"; this opinion was not universally accepted by later authorities. Several Asian populations formerly thought to be "A. hygrometricus" were renamed in the 2000s once phylogenetic analyses revealed they were unique "Astraeus" species, including "A. asiaticus" and "A. odoratus". Similarly, in 2013, North American populations were divided into "A. pteridis", "A. morganii", and "A. smithii" on the basis of molecular phylogentics. This research suggests that the type specimen of "Astraeus hygrometricus" originates in a population restricted to Europe between Southern France and Turkey, with A. telleriae found nearby in Spain and Greece. Research has revealed the presence of several bioactive chemical compounds in "Astraeus" fruit bodies. North American field guides typically rate "A. hygrometricus" as inedible.


Lithacodes fasciola, the yellow-shouldered slug or ochre-winged hag moth, is a moth of the family Limacodidae.


Osmunda regalis, or royal fern, is a species of deciduous fern, native to Europe, Africa and Asia, growing in woodland bogs and on the banks of streams. The species is sometimes known as flowering fern due to the appearance of its fertile fronds.


Oemleria cerasiformis, a shrub commonly known as osoberry or Indian plum, is the sole species in genus Oemleria.
Native to the Pacific coast and ranges of North America, from British Columbia, Canada to Santa Barbara County, California, U.S.A., it is among the first plants to leaf out and flowers early in the spring. It reaches a height of 1.5–5 m and has lance-shaped leaves 5–12 cm long.
The fruits of osoberry are edible and resemble small plums which are dark blue when ripe. Indigenous peoples of the Americas include osoberry in their diets, make tea of the bark, and chew its twigs to use as a mild anesthetic and aphrodisiac.


Impatiens capensis, the orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam, is an annual plant which is native toNorth America. It is common in bottomland soils, ditches, and along creeks, often growing side by side with its less common relative, yellow jewelweed ("I. pallida").


Lysimachia latifolia, sometimes called Trientalis latifolia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It is known as starflower, chickweed-wintergreen, or Pacific starflower.


Lottia gigantea, common name the owl limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Lottiidae. Its genome has been sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute.


The two-striped garter snake ("Thamnophis hammondii" ) is a species of aquatic garter snake, which is endemic to western North America.


Kindbergia is a genus of mosses belonging to the family Brachytheciaceae.The genus was first described by Ryszard Ochyra in 1982.The genus name of "Kindbergia" is in honour of Nils Conrad Kindberg (1832-1910), who was a Swedish bryologist.


Veronica anagallis-aquatica is a species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae known by the common names water speedwell, blue water-speedwell,brook pimpernel, and sessile water-speedwell. It is also listed as Veronica catenata.Its true native range is not clear, but the plant is present on most continents, and in most places it is probably naturalized. It occurs in many types of moist and wet habitat, and it is semi-aquatic, often growing in shallow water along streambanks, in ponds, and in other wetland environments. It is a rhizomatous perennial herb with stems growing 10 centimeters to about a meter in maximum length. It may be decumbent, the stem spreading along the ground and rooting where it touches moist substrate, or erect in form. The oppositely arranged leaves are green, smooth-edged or toothed, and sometimes clasping the stem where the leaf pairs meet at the bases. The inflorescence is a raceme of many flowers arising from the leaf axils. Each flower is borne on a short, curving pedicel. The flower corolla is up to a centimeter wide with four lobes, the upper lobe being widest. It is blue, lavender, or violet with purple lines near the base of each lobe. At the center are two small protruding stamens.


The green-and-black poison dart frog ("Dendrobates auratus"), also known as the green-and-black poison arrow frog and green poison frog (among others), is a brightly colored member of the order Anura native to Central America and northwestern parts of South America. This species has also been introduced to Hawaii. It is one of the most variable of all poison dart frogs next to "Dendrobates tinctorius" and some "Oophaga" spp. It is considered to be of least concern from a conservation standpoint by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.


The crested lark (Galerida cristata) is a species of lark widespread across Eurasia and northern Africa. It is a non-migratory bird, but can occasionally be found as a vagrant in Great Britain.


Palafoxia callosa, commonly known as the small palafox, is a species of flowering plant in the aster family.It is native to North America, where it is found in the south-central United States and in the state of Coahuila in Mexico. A disjunct population is found in the Blackland Prairie region of Mississippi in the United States. Its natural habitat is rocky, calcareous soil in glades and prairies. It is less commonly found along the banks of streams."Palafoxia callosa" is an annual. It produces heads of pink to white flowers in late summer and fall. Its narrow leaves are often wilted by flowering time.


Chrysodeixis includens, the soybean looper, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is known as falso medidor in north-eastern Mexico. It is found from southern Quebec and southern Ontario through the eastern and southern part of the United States to Central America and South America, the Antilles and the Galápagos Islands. It is known to be migratory. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1858.The wingspan is 28–39 mm. The adults are on wing from April to November depending on the location.The larvae feed on a wide range of plants. Recorded food plants are Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Commelinaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Geraniaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Malvaceae, Solanaceae, Verbenaceae, "Medicago sativa", "Phaseolus polystachios", "Glycine max", "Gossypium herbaceum", "Nicotiana tabacum", "Lycopersicum esculentum", "Brassica" and "Lactuca sativa".The Mexican free-tailed bat ("Tadarida brasiliensis") may feed on the soybean looper.


Gutierrezia sarothrae is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names broom snakeweed, broomweed, snakeweed, and matchweed. It is a subshrub native to much of the western half of North America, from western Canada to northern Mexico, and can be found in a number of arid, grassland, and mountain habitats. It can be toxic to livestock in large quantities, due mainly to the presence of saponins.The species was utilized by various Native American groups for medicinal and other purposes.


Parsonsia heterophylla, commonly called New Zealand Jasmine or Kaihua, is a climbing plant endemic to New Zealand.The name "heterophylla" comes from the differing leaf shapes that can be seen in seedlings and juvenile plants of the species. "Heterophylla" means varied leaves, from the Greek words heteros and phullon. Synonyms for this species include "Parsonsia variabilis Lindl., Parsonsia albiflora" Raoul "and Parsonsia macrocarpa" Colenso. It can also be described as "The Varied-leaved "Parsonsia"". There are 40 species of "Parsonsia" found in Asia, Australasia and the Pacific, "P. heterophylla" is one of two endemic "Parsonsia" species found in New Zealand. It is more robust and has bigger flowers than its close relative, "Parsonsia capsularis," which is also known as Akakiore or Small Māori Jasmine.


The common wood-nymph ("Cercyonis pegala") is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is also known as the wood-nymph, grayling, blue-eyed grayling, and the goggle eye.


Andropogon gerardi, commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.


Clintonia uniflora, commonly known as bride's bonnet, queen's cup, or bead lily, is a species of flowering plant in the lily family Liliaceae. The specific epithet "uniflora" means "one-flowered", a characteristic that distinguishes this species from others in the genus "Clintonia". For this reason, it is also known as the single-flowered clintonia.


The western terrestrial garter snake ("Thamnophis elegans") is a western North American species of colubrid snake. At least five subspecies are currently recognized.


Lycopodium clavatum (common club moss, stag's-horn clubmoss, running clubmoss, or ground pine) is the most widespread species in the genus "Lycopodium" in the clubmoss family.


Paris quadrifolia, the herb Paris or true lover's knot, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in temperate and cool areas throughout Eurasia, from Spain to Yakutia, and from Iceland to Mongolia. It prefers calcareous soils and lives in damp and shady places, especially old established woods and stream banks."P. quadrifolia" is in decline in Europe due to loss of habitat. In Iceland, for example, it is on the red list.


The Australian brushturkey or Australian brush-turkey or gweela ("Alectura lathami"), also frequently called the scrub turkey or bush turkey, is a common, widespread species of mound-building bird from the family Megapodiidae found in eastern Australia from Far North Queensland to Eurobodalla on the South Coast of New South Wales. The Australian brushturkey has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is the largest extant representative of the family Megapodiidae, and is one of three species to inhabit Australia.Despite its name and their superficial similarities, the bird is not closely related to American turkeys, nor to the Australian bustard, which is also known as the bush turkey. Its closest relatives are the wattled brushturkey, Waigeo brushturkey, and malleefowl.


"Common names: blackneck garter snake, black-neck garter snakeThamnophis cyrtopsis, the blackneck garter snake, is a species of garter snake of the genus "Thamnophis". It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico and Guatemala, and can be found in a wide range of different habitats, often near water sources.


The common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper ("A. macularia"), make up the genus "Actitis". They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize. Hybridization has also been reported between the common sandpiper and the green sandpiper, a basal species of the closely related shank genus "Tringa".


Asimina triloba, the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit. "Asimina" is the only temperate genus in the tropical and subtropical flowering plant family Annonaceae, and "Asimina triloba" has the most northern range of all. Well-known tropical fruits of different genera in family Annonaceae include the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang, and soursop.The pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat, with large, simple leaves. Pawpaw fruits are the largest edible fruit indigenous to the United States (not counting gourds, which are typically considered vegetables rather than fruit for culinary purposes, although in botany they are classified as fruit).Pawpaw fruits have a sweet, custard-like flavor somewhat similar to banana, mango, and pineapple, and are commonly eaten raw, but are also used to make ice cream and baked desserts. The bark, leaves, and seeds contain the insecticidal neurotoxin annonacin.


The African pied wagtail, or African wagtail, ("Motacilla aguimp") is a species of bird in the family Motacillidae.


Cucurbita foetidissima is a tuberous xerophytic plant found in the central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has numerous common names, including: buffalo gourd, calabazilla, chilicote, coyote gourd, fetid gourd, fetid wild pumpkin, Missouri gourd, prairie gourd, stinking gourd, wild gourd, and wild pumpkin. The type specimen was collected from Mexico by Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland sometime before 1817. In Latin, foetidissima means ill smelling.The feral perennial buffalo gourd has evolved in the semiarid regions and is well-adapted to desert environments. It contains high amounts of protein and carbohydrates and yields abundant oil. The carbohydrates that are formed in the tap root have led to the idea of growing the plant for biofuel.The fruit is consumed by both humans and animals. When mature, a stage marked by increasing desiccation of vine, leaves, fruit-stem, and fruit, the fruit begins its final gourd stage.Geographic location and genetics make it highly likely that "Cucurbita scabridifolia" originated as a naturally occurring hybrid of "C. foetidissima" and "Cucurbita pedatifolia".


The European green toad ("Bufotes viridis") is a species of toad found in steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, urban areas and other habitats in mainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans and Western Russia. As historically defined, the species ranged east through the Middle East and Central Asia to western China, Mongolia and northwestern India, and south through Italy and the Mediterranean islands to North Africa. Following genetic and morphological reviews, 14 population (all largely or entirely Asian, except for the African and Balearic green toads) are now regarded as separate species. These species and the European green toad are placed in their own genus "Bufotes", but they were included in "Bufo".


Polemonium occidentale is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names western polemonium and western Jacob's-ladder. There are two subspecies. The common ssp. "occidentale" is native to western North America from British Columbia to Colorado to California, where it can be found in moist areas of many habitat types, including meadows and woodlands. There is also a rare subspecies, ssp. "lacustre", which is known only from a total of three counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and is found only in white cedar swamp habitat there.This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing an erect stem up to one meter tall. The leaves are located along the stem, each divided into many small lance-shaped leaflets. The inflorescence is an open, elongated array of several bell-shaped, five-lobed flowers each up to 1.5 centimeters long. The flower corolla is blue to bright purple with a white throat.The rare subsp. "lacustre" faces threats including peat mining in its swamp habitat, herbivory by deer, and alterations in the local hydrology where it grows. There are only five populations of this subspecies.


The turquoise-browed motmot ("Eumomota superciliosa") also known as Torogoz, is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico (mostly the Yucatán Peninsula), to Costa Rica, where it is common and not considered threatened. It lives in fairly open habitats such as forest edge, gallery forest and scrubland. It is more conspicuous than other motmots, often perching in the open on wires and fences. From these perches it scans for prey, such as insects and small reptiles. White eggs (3–6) are laid in a long tunnel nest in an earth bank or sometimes in a quarry or fresh-water well. Its name originates from the turquoise color of its brow. It is the national bird of both El Salvador and Nicaragua, where it is known as "Torogoz" and "Guardabarranco" respectively.The bird is 34 (cm) long and weighs 65 (g). It has a mostly grey-blue body with a rufous back and belly. There is a bright blue strip above the eye and a blue-bordered black patch on the throat. The flight feathers and upperside of the tail are blue. The tips of the tail feathers are shaped like rackets and the bare feather shafts are longer than in other motmots. Although it is often said that motmots pluck the barbs off their tail to create the racketed shape, this is not true; the barbs are weakly attached and fall off due to abrasion with substrates and with routine preening.Unlike most bird species, where only males express elaborate traits, the turquoise-browed motmot expresses the extraordinary racketed tail in both sexes. Research indicates that the tail has evolved to function differently for the sexes. Males apparently use their tail as a sexual signal, as males with longer tails have greater pairing success and reproductive success. In addition to this function, the tail is used by both sexes in a wag-display, whereby the tail is moved back-and-forth in a pendulous fashion. The wag-display is performed in a context unrelated to mating: both sexes perform the wag-display in the presence of a predator, and the display is thought to confer naturally selected benefits by communicating to the predator that it has been seen and that pursuit will not result in capture. This form of interspecific communication is referred to as a pursuit-deterrent signal.The call is nasal, croaking and far-carrying.The turquoise-browed motmot is a well-known bird in its range. It has acquired a number of local names including "guardabarranco" ("ravine-guard") in Nicaragua, Torogoz in El Salvador (based on its call) and "pájaro reloj" ("clock bird") in the Yucatán, based on its habit of wagging its tail like a pendulum. In Costa Rica it is known as "momoto cejiceleste" or the far-less flattering "pájaro bobo" ("foolish bird"), owing to its tendency to allow humans to come very near it without flying away.


Zopherus nodulosus, common name Haldeman's Ironclad beetle, is a species of ironclad beetle in the family Zopheridae. It is found in Central America and North America.The species name "nodulosus" refers to the bumps or nodes on the beetle's back.


Linum (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species in the flowering plant family Linaceae. They are native to temperate and subtropical regions of the world. The genus includes the common flax ("L. usitatissimum"), the bast fibre of which is used to produce linen and the seeds to produce linseed oil.The flowers of most species are blue or yellow, rarely red, white, or pink, and some are heterostylous. There is an average of 6 to 10 seeds per boll."Linum" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the cabbage moth, the nutmeg, the setaceous Hebrew character and "Coleophora striolatella", which feeds exclusively on "Linum narbonense".


Lobelia inflata, also known as Indian tobacco or puke weed, is a species of "Lobelia" native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada (Nova Scotia to southeast Ontario) south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west to Kansas.


Lampropeltis getula, commonly known as the eastern kingsnake, common kingsnake, or chain kingsnake, is a harmless colubrid species endemic to the United States and Mexico. It has long been a favorite among collectors. Nine subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.


The Chinese mystery snail, black snail, or trapdoor snail ("Cipangopaludina chinensis"), is a large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae. The name "trapdoor snail" refers the operculum, an oval corneous plate that most snails in this clade possess. When the soft parts of the snail are fully retracted, the operculum seals the aperture of the shell, providing some protection against drying out and predation.


Edith's checkerspot ("Euphydryas editha") is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is a resident species of western North America and among the subspecies, entomologists have long been intrigued by their many phenotypic variations in coloration, wing length, and overall body size. Most populations are monophagous and rely on plants including "Plantago erecta" and "Orthocarpus densiflorus" as its host species in developing from eggs through to larvae, pupae, and mature butterflies. Males exhibit polygyny whereas females rarely mate more than once. Males devote most of their attention to mate acquisition, and such mate locating strategies such as hilltopping behavior has developed. Climate change and habitat destruction has impacted certain subspecies. Two subspecies in particular, "Euphydryas editha quino" and "Euphydryas editha bayensis", are currently under protection via the Endangered Species Act.


Epimecis hortaria, the tulip-tree beauty, is a moth species of the Ennominae subfamily found in North America. It is found throughout New England south to Florida and west to Texas and Missouri. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It can be seen flying from late March to early October. Adults are nocturnal and attracted to lights. The immature caterpillars can be found feeding on "Magnolia", "Asimina", "Populus", "Sassafras" and "Liriodendron".


Mallophora fautrix is a species of robber flies in the family Asilidae.


The long-billed thrasher ("Toxostoma longirostre") is a medium-sized resident songbird of South Texas and eastern Mexico. It bears a strong resemblance to its close relative the brown thrasher in appearance, calls, and various other behaviors; however, the two species do not overlap in range except in the winter when the brown thrasher will temporarily reside in the northern range of the long-billed.The bird is a large sized mimid that is not especially wary, but it will take precautionary measures to prevent itself from being potential prey. Like other thrashers, it is named after its sweeping methods when searching for food, not for thrashing predators, although they are aggressive defenders of their territories.


Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort (a genus of New World plants) similar to "T. fluminensis" and "T. zebrina". The cultivar "T. pallida" 'Purpurea' is commonly called purple secretia, purple-heart, or purple queen. It is native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907.


Scudderia furcata is a species in the family Tettigoniidae ("katydids"), in the order Orthoptera ("grasshoppers, crickets, katydids"). A common name for "Scudderia furcata" is fork-tailed bush katydid. The distribution range of "Scudderia furcata" includes Central America and North America.


The black-cheeked woodpecker ("Melanerpes pucherani") is a resident breeding bird from southeastern Mexico south to western Ecuador.This woodpecker occurs in the higher levels of wet forests, semi-open woodland and old second growth. It nests in an unlined hole 6 - 30 (m) high in a dead tree. The clutch is two to four glossy white eggs, incubated by both sexes.The binomial commemorates the French zoologist Jacques Pucheran. The black-cheeked woodpecker feeds on insects, but will take substantial quantities of fruit and nectar.This common and conspicuous species gives a rattling "krrrrrl" call and both sexes drum on territory.


Harris's sparrow ("Zonotrichia querula") is a large sparrow. Their breeding habitat is the north part of central Canada (primarily the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, ranging slightly into northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan), making it Canada's only endemic breeding bird. In the winter they migrate to the Great Plains states of the United States, from southern South Dakota to central Texas. The common name of this species commemorates the American amateur ornithologist Edward Harris (1799–1863).


Fuchsia excorticata, commonly known as tree fuchsia, New Zealand fuchsia and by its Māori name kōtukutuku, is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Onagraceae. It is commonly found throughout New Zealand and as far south as the Auckland Islands. It grows from sea level up to about 1000 (m), particularly alongside creeks and rivers. It is easily recognised in its native environment by the characteristic appearance of its bark, which peels spontaneously, hanging in red papery strips to show a pale bark underneath. Its scientific name, "excorticata", reflects this distinctive property."Fuchsia excorticata" is the largest member of the genus "Fuchsia", growing to a height of 15 (m). It is unusual among New Zealand trees in being deciduous in the southern parts of its range. The introduction of the common brushtail possum to New Zealand precipitated a serious decline in this species, particularly where large concentrations of the possum are present. "F. excorticata" appears to be one of the possum's preferred food sources, and they will browse individual trees to the point of defoliation after which the trees will die. The small dark purple berry is sweet and juicy. It was favoured by Māori who, unusually, gave the fruit its own name of "kōnini"; it was also eaten by European settlers in jams and puddings.


Lyssa zampa, the tropical swallowtail moth or Laos brown butterfly, is a moth of the family Uraniidae. The species was first described by British entomologist Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1869.The species is native to a wide range of tropical South-East Asia: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It is also recorded from Andaman Islands, southern China, the Himalayas, and sporadically in East Asia: Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. The forewing length is about 70 (mm) and the wingspan reaches a maximum of 160 (mm).It is most abundant from May to November depending on the location. The genus "Lyssa" is generally categorized as a nocturnal or crepuscular group, but this species has been found to be active both during the day and at night. This species is also known for its mass emergence and migration. Because of that ecology and the habit that they are often attracted by urban bright lights, this species can attract human attention.The larvae feed on "Endospermum" and other members of the rubber tree family (Euphorbiaceae).


Cryptothecia rubrocincta is a species of lichen in the fungal family Arthoniaceae. The species is distributed in subtropical and tropical locations throughout the southeastern United States, as well as Central and South America, and has been collected infrequently in a few locales in Africa. The body of the lichen forms continuous, circular crust-like patches on dead wood, readily recognizable by the prominent red pigment. The older, central region is covered with red, spherical to cylindrical granules. Moving outwards from the center, zones of color may be distinguished, the first gray-green, the second white, and finally a bright red cottony rim. The red and green colors of this unmistakable woodland lichen give the appearance of a Christmas wreath, suggestive of its common North American name, the Christmas (wreath) lichen. The red pigment, called chiodectonic acid, is one of several chemicals the lichen produces to help tolerate inhospitable growing conditions.


Holbrookia maculata, commonly known as the lesser earless lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the southwestern and central United States and northern Mexico. There are eight recognized subspecies.


Miomantis caffra (common name: springbok mantis) is a species of praying mantis native to southern Africa. It appeared in New Zealand in 1978, and was found more recently in Portugal and Los Angeles, USA, likely spread through the exotic pet trade. Females are facultatively parthenogenetic and unmated females can produce viable offspring.


Myrsine australis, commonly known as māpou, red matipo, māpau, tīpau, and mataira, is a species of shrub within the family Myrsinaceae. It is endemic to New Zealand, found throughout both the mainland and offshore islands.


Austroblechnum lanceolatum, synonym Blechnum chambersii, is a species of fern within the family Blechnaceae, found in Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji."A. lanceolatum" is commonly called lance water fern, and in New Zealand it is also referred to by its Māori names, nini and rereti.


Icarus is a genus of ferns in the family Blechnaceae, subfamily Blechnoideae, with a single species Icarus filiformis, according to the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I). The genus is accepted in a 2016 classification of the family Blechnaceae, but other sources sink it into a very broadly defined "Blechnum", equivalent to the whole of the PPG I subfamily."Icarus filiformis", synonym Blechnum filiforme, is known as thread fern or pānoko in Māori. It is endemic to New Zealand. It has a creeping and climbing habit. It has three different types of fronds: long climbing fronds with long pointed leaves, shorter creeping fronds with nearly round leaves, and fertile fronds with threadlike leaves that give the species its common name.


Phormium colensoi (syn. "Phormium cookianum" – but see below), also called mountain flax, or in Māori, is a perennial plant that is endemic to New Zealand. The greenish, yellow or orange flowers are followed by twisted seed pods. It is less common than the other "Phormium" species, "P. tenax" or harakeke. Mountain flax is also called , , , (Williams 1971), (Bell 1890 sic.), coastal flax, hill flax and lesser New Zealand flax.


Persicaria lapathifolia (syn. Polygonum lapathifolium), known as pale persicaria, is a plant of the family Polygonaceae. It is closely related to "Persicaria maculosa" and as such is considered a weed in Britain and Europe. Other common names for the plant include pale smartweed, curlytop knotweed, and willow weed. It is a species complex made up of a great many varying forms, sometimes considered varieties. The environment also has a strong influence on the morphology of an individual plant.


Hoheria populnea, commonly known as New Zealand mallow, lacebark or houhere, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, endemic to New Zealand."Hoheria populnea" is found from the coast to lowland forests, and has a natural distribution from the North Cape of the North Island, to the Bay of Plenty. It can grow into a tree 12 metres tall and has broad, oval leaves, with serrated margins. The leaves are dark green, 5–12 cm long and 6 cm wide. Lacebark produces white flowers in clusters from January to March.The bark of the plant was used in Māori traditional textiles to create ropes, hats, kits and headbands. Oral histories tell of early experiments to create felted material from the plant, similar to aute (the paper mulberry used in Polynesian textiles), however attempts were unsuccessful.


The huhu beetle ("Prionoplus reticularis") is a longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. It is the heaviest beetle found in New Zealand.


Orthodera novaezealandiae, known as the New Zealand mantis or the New Zealand praying mantis, is a species of praying mantis which is, as both the scientific name and common names suggest, indigenous and endemic to New Zealand.


Pittosporum tenuifolium is a small evergreen tree endemic to New Zealand – up to 10 (m) – commonly known as ' and black matipo, and by other Māori names ' and . Its small, very dark, reddish-purple flowers generally go unnoticed, and are scented only at night. The Latin means "slender-leaved"


Phaulacridium marginale is a small species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is endemic to New Zealand where it is found in low elevation open habitat throughout North Island, South Island, Stewart Island and on many smaller islands.


The West Coast lady ("Vanessa annabella") is one of three North American species of brush-footed butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". "V. annabella" occurs throughout much of the western US and southwestern Canada. The other two species are the cosmopolitan "Vanessa cardui" (painted lady) and the eastern "Vanessa virginiensis" (American painted lady). This species has also been considered a subspecies of the South American "Vanessa carye" and is frequently misspelled as "anabella".


Ferocactus hamatacanthus, commonly named Turk's Head, is a barrel cactus in the tribe Cacteae.


Lysichiton americanus, also called western skunk cabbage (US), yellow skunk cabbage (UK), American skunk-cabbage (Britain and Ireland) or swamp lantern, is a plant found in swamps and wet woods, along streams and in other wet areas of the Pacific Northwest, where it is one of the few native species in the arum family. The plant is called skunk cabbage because of the distinctive "skunky" odor that it emits when it blooms. This odor will permeate the area where the plant grows, and can be detected even in old, dried specimens. The distinctive odor attracts its pollinators, scavenging flies and beetles. Although similarly named and with a similar smell, the plant is easy to distinguish from the eastern skunk cabbage ("Symplocarpus foetidus"), another species in the arum family found in eastern North America.


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


Hesperocyparis macrocarpa is a coniferous tree. It is commonly known as the Monterey cypress and is one of several species of cypress trees endemic to California.The Monterey cypress is found naturally only on the Central Coast of California. The natural distributional range of the species during modern times is confined to two small relict populations near Carmel, California, at Cypress Point in Pebble Beach and at Point Lobos. Historically during the peak of the last ice age, Monterey cypress would have likely comprised a much larger forest that extended much further north and south.


Polypodium californicum is a species of fern known by the common name California polypody.It is native to Baja California and California, where it grows along the coastline as well as in moist spots in coastal foothills and mountain ranges in the southern part of its distribution.


The American carrion beetle ("Necrophila americana", formerly "Silpha americana") is a North American beetle of the family Silphidae. It lays its eggs in, and its larvae consume, raw flesh (particularly that of dead animals) and fungi. The larvae and adults also consume fly larvae and the larvae of other carrion beetles that compete for the same food sources as its larvae.


Silene coronaria, the rose campion, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Asia and Europe. Other common names include dusty miller (this also refers to "Centaurea cineraria" and "Jacobaea maritima"), mullein-pink and bloody William. In the United Kingdom it is still widely referenced under its synonym Lychnis coronaria.The Latin "coronaria" means "used for garlands".It is a perennial growing to 80 (cm) tall by 45 (cm) wide, with grey felted leaves and single, bright magenta flowers produced in succession around July. Though short-lived, the plant readily self-seeds in favourable locations. It is sometimes grown as a biennial.


Alnus rubra, the red alder,is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana).


Chioides albofasciatus, the white-striped longtail, is a species of dicot skipper in the family of butterflies known as Hesperiidae. Chioides albofasciatus is found in Central America and North America.The MONA or Hodges number for "Chioides albofasciatus" is 3874.


The California thrasher ("Toxostoma redivivum") is a large member of family Mimidae found primarily in chaparral habitat in California and Baja California. It is the only species of "Toxostoma" throughout most of its range.


Huperzia lucidula, the shining firmoss or shining clubmoss, is a bright evergreen, rhizomatous clubmoss of the genus "Huperzia".They grow in loose tufts 14–20 cm long, occasionally up to 1 m long. The leaves are 7–11 mm long (shorter, 3–6 mm, at annual nodes), narrow, lance-shaped, shiny, and evergreen. The edges are irregularly toothed. The sporangia (spore cases) are nestled in the bases of the upper leaves.The roots of this plant grow from a creeping, branching, underground rhizome.The Shining firmoss ranges in Canada from Manitoba to Newfoundland, and south into the United States to Missouri and the Carolinas. Its habitat includes rich, acid soils in cool, moist coniferous and mixed hardwood forests, bog and stream edges, and hillsides. They occasionally grow on cliffs and ledges and on shady, mossy, acidic sandstone.The specific name "lucidula" comes from the Latin and means "shining". This is in reference to the plants bright, vivid green color.Reproduction is either by copious spore production from sporangia at the base of stem leaves or vegetatively through the spread of gemmae


Artemisia californica, also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family.


Betula nigra, the black birch, river birch or water birch, is a species of birch native to the Eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the few heat-tolerant birches in a family of mostly cold-weather trees which do not thrive in USDA Zone 6 and up. "B. nigra" commonly occurs in floodplains and swamps.


The forest bug or red-legged shieldbug ("Pentatoma rufipes") is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae, commonly found in most of Europe. It inhabits forests, woodlands, orchards, and gardens.


The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus) is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront", it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some move farther south or inland to large lakes or reservoirs. The adult great black-backed gull has a white head, neck and underparts, dark grey wings and back, pink legs and yellow bill.


Gymnadenia conopsea, commonly known as the fragrant orchid or chalk fragrant orchid, is a herbaceous plant of the family Orchidaceae native to northern Europe.


Luetkea is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family Rosaceae. One species is accepted. Luetkea pectinata (partridgefoot or luetkea) is a mat-forming semi-shrub. It is endemic to the cold portions of western North America occurring in subarctic Alaska, Yukon, western Northwest Territories, and subalpine to alpine regions of British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, northern California and western Montana.The inflorescence of "L. pectinata" is a dense and erect terminal cluster 10 to 150 mm high with several to many short-stalked flowers. The leaves are 7 to 20 mm long and two or three times three-dissected. The last segments are linear or lanceolate. The fruit is a follicle with several seeds.Partridge-foot is the only member of the genus Luetkea, which commemorates Count Luetke, a Russian captain and explorer of the early 1800s who mapped the coastline of Alaska.


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


Sisymbrium irio, the London rocket, is a plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is an annual herb exceeding three feet in height with open, slender stem branches. The flowers are small with four pale yellow petals. The basal leaves are broad and often lobed, while the upper leaves are linear in shape and up to four inches long. The fruit is a long narrow cylindrical silique which stays green when ripe. The younger pods overtop the flowers. When dried the fruit has small red oblong seeds.The common name "London rocket" allegedly comes from its abundance after the Great Fire of London in 1666. However, Dr E J Salisbury, in his study of the bombsites of London after the Great Fire of 1940, "failed to find a single specimen, nor has any other reliable observer reported it", according to R. S. R. Fitter.This species is considered a weed in the Southwestern United States and other regions where it has been introduced.


The eastern towhee ("Pipilo erythrophthalmus") is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spotted towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided towhee.Their breeding habitat is brushy areas across eastern North America. They nest either low in bushes or on the ground under shrubs. Northern birds migrate to the southern United States. There has been one record of this species as a vagrant to western Europe: a single bird in Great Britain in 1966.The song is a short "drink your teeeeea" lasting around one second, starting with a sharp call ("drink!") and ending with a short trill "teeeeea". The name "towhee" is onomatopoeic description of one of the towhee's most common calls, a short two-part call rising in pitch and sometimes also called a "chewink" call.


Scirpus cyperinus, commonly known as woolgrass, is an emergent wetland herb that is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada. Other common names include cottongrass bulrush and brown woolly sedge.Woolgrass is not a true grass, despite its common name; it is a type of bulrush ("Scirpus"). Bulrushes furthermore are not true rushes; they are types of sedges. This sedge is very variable in appearance. In general, it produces short, tough rhizomes and grows in dense clumps. The fertile stems grow upright. There are five to ten leaves per stem. They are up to 80 centimeters long by 1 centimeter wide. The proximal ones have green or reddish sheaths. The inflorescence has upright or spreading branches bearing cymes of up to 15 spikelets each. The spikelet is cylindrical or oval and measures up to 0.8 centimeters in length. It is covered in reddish, brownish, or black scales. The flowers have six long bristles each, making the inflorescence look woolly.This plant grows in many types of wet habitat, such as marshes and ponds. It can be found in disturbed habitat, such as ditches.This plant often hybridizes with its relatives "Scirpus atrocinctus" and "S. pedicellatus".Native Americans used this plant for a number of purposes. The Ojibwa people used it to make bags and mats, and the Potawatomi people used it to stuff pillows.


Asclepias viridiflora, is commonly known as green comet milkweed, green-flower milkweed, and green milkweed. It is a widely distributed species of milkweed ("Asclepias"), known from much of the eastern and central United States from Connecticut to Georgia to Arizona to Montana, as well as southern Canada. The Latin specific epithet "viridiflora" means green-flowered."Asclepias viridiflora" is an erect to ascending herb up to 50 cm tall, with distinctive greenish-white flowers. The pods lack the warts and tubercules common on other species of Asclepias. It grows in moist to dry shaded roadsides, fields, and prairies.


The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus "Crocuta", native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN on account of its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. The species is, however, experiencing declines outside of protected areas due to habitat loss and poaching. The species may have originated in Asia, and once ranged throughout Europe for at least one million years until the end of the Late Pleistocene. The spotted hyena is the largest known member of the Hyaenidae, and is further physically distinguished from other species by its vaguely bear-like build, its rounded ears, its less prominent mane, its spotted pelt, its more dual-purposed dentition, its fewer nipples and the presence of a pseudo-penis in the female. It is the only mammalian species to lack an external vaginal opening, having a pseudo-penis instead.The spotted hyena is the most social of the Carnivora in that it has the largest group sizes and most complex social behaviours. Its social organisation is unlike that of any other carnivore, bearing closer resemblance to that of cercopithecine primates (baboons and macaques) with respect to group size, hierarchical structure, and frequency of social interaction among both kin and unrelated group-mates. However, the social system of the spotted hyena is openly competitive rather than cooperative, with access to kills, mating opportunities and the time of dispersal for males depending on the ability to dominate other clan-members. Females provide only for their own cubs rather than assist each other, and males display no paternal care. Spotted hyena society is matriarchal; females are larger than males, and dominate them.The spotted hyena is a highly successful animal, being the most common large carnivore in Africa. Its success is due in part to its adaptability and opportunism; it is primarily a hunter but may also scavenge, with the capacity to eat and digest skin, bone and other animal waste. In functional terms, the spotted hyena makes the most efficient use of animal matter of all African carnivores. The spotted hyena displays greater plasticity in its hunting and foraging behaviour than other African carnivores; it hunts alone, in small parties of 2–5 individuals or in large groups. During a hunt, spotted hyenas often run through ungulate herds in order to select an individual to attack. Once selected, their prey is chased over a long distance, often several kilometres, at speeds of up to 60 km/h.The spotted hyena has a long history of interaction with humanity; depictions of the species exist from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves. The species has a largely negative reputation in both Western culture and African folklore. In the former, the species is mostly regarded as ugly and cowardly, while in the latter, it is viewed as greedy, gluttonous, stupid, and foolish, yet powerful and potentially dangerous. The majority of Western perceptions on the species can be found in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, though in relatively unjudgmental form. Explicit, negative judgments occur in the "Physiologus", where the animal is depicted as a hermaphrodite and grave-robber. The IUCN's hyena specialist group identifies the spotted hyena's negative reputation as detrimental to the species' continued survival, both in captivity and the wild.


The half-black bumblebee (Bombus vagans) is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in North America, its range extending from Ontario to Nova Scotia and southward to Georgia.


Taraxia ovata is a species of wildflower native to California and Oregon known by the common name goldeneggs or sun cup.


Epiactis prolifera, the brooding, proliferating or small green anemone, is a species of marine invertebrate in the family Actiniidae. It is found in the north-eastern Pacific. It has a feature rare among animals in that all individuals start life as females but develop testes later in their lives to become hermaphrodites.


The Balearic green toad (Bufotes balearicus) is a toad belonging to the true toad family, Bufonidae, from Italy and islands in the western Mediterranean Sea. It is mostly a lowland species, but can be found as high as 1,300 m (4,300 ft) asl in central Italy.


Rhus aromatica, the fragrant sumac, is a deciduous shrub in the family Anacardiaceae native to North America. It is found in southern Canada (Alberta to Quebec) and nearly all of the lower 48 states except peninsular Florida. Fragrant sumac is a woody plant with a rounded form that grows to around 2 (ft) to 5 (ft) tall and 5 (ft) to 10 (ft) wide. The plant develops yellow flowers in clusters on short lateral shoots in March through May. The flower is a small, dense inflorescence that usually opens before the plant's leaves do. The species is polygamodioecious (mostly dioecious, primarily bearing flowers of only one sex, but with either a few flowers of the opposite sex or a few bisexual flowers on the same plant). Male (staminate) flowers develop in yellowish catkins, while female (pistillate) flowers develop in short bright yellow panicles at the ends of branches. Pollinated flowers develop clusters of 5 (mm) to 7 (mm) hairy red drupes containing a single nutlet during June through August. The fruits become an important winter food for birds and small mammals that can remain on the plant until spring if not eaten.The plant's alternate compound leaves have three leaflets that vary in shape, lobing, and margination. The unstalked leaflets are ovate to rhomboid, more or less wedge-shaped at the base, coarsely-toothed and usually shiny glabrous above. The terminal leaflet is 3 (cm) to 6.5 (cm) long. Fragrant sumac's three-leafleted lobed leaves resemble those of its relative, poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). However, poison ivy's central leaflet has a stem, whereas fragrant sumac's does not.The plant's green to glossy blue-green summer foliage becomes orange to red or purple in the fall. Stems are thin and brownish-gray, with rust-colored lenticels when young. Leaves and stems emit a lemon scent when crushed. There are no terminal buds, but overwintering male catkins are present.Fragrant sumac is common along the forested eastern margins of the Great Plains and in open or otherwise disturbed sites on the margins of the Gulf Coast prairie. It grows at a range of sites including open rocky woodlands, valley bottoms, lower rocky slopes, and roadsides. It is not widely used for landscape plantings but is often used as a ground cover, especially on banks. The plant's colorful fall foliage is its main ornamental feature. The plant grows in full deep shade to full sun and well-drained soils slightly acid to well alkaline with a pH range of about 6.0 to 8.5. It has a shallow, fibrous root system and is easily transplanted. Some of its branches can trail upon the ground and develop roots. The plant can ground sucker to form a colony.


Phacelia cicutaria, with the common names caterpillar phacelia or caterpillar scorpionweed, is an annual species of "Phacelia".It is native to California, southern Nevada, and Baja California. It grows mainly in chaparral habitats, frequently in burnt areas or on rocky slopes.


Lonicera maackii, the Amur honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle in the family Caprifoliaceae that is native to temperate western Asia; specifically in northern and western China south to Yunnan, Mongolia, Primorsky Krai in southeastern Siberia, Korea, and, albeit rare there, central and northern Honshū, Japan."Lonicera maackii" is a listed endangered species in Japan. It has escaped from cultivation and naturalized in New Zealand and the eastern United States; in the woodlands of the U.S. it is a significant invasive species.


Apodemia virgulti, or Behr's metalmark, is a species of metalmark in the butterfly family Riodinidae.


Acer pensylvanicum, known as the striped maple, moosewood, moose maple or goosefoot maple, is a small North American species of maple. The striped maple is a sequential hermaphrodite, meaning that it can change its sex throughout its lifetime.