Eremophila (plant)

Eremophila is a genus of about 220 species of plants in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae all of which are endemic to mainland Australia. (One species, Eremophila debilis is thought to be a recent arrival in New Zealand). Eremophilas are widespread in the arid areas of Australia, especially Western Australia and range in size from low-growing shrubs to small trees. The petals are joined, at least at their bases, into a tube with the upper petals different in size and shape from the lower ones. Some species have common names including emu bush, poverty bush or fuchsia bush, reflecting the belief that emus eat the fruit, their arid environment or a superficial resemblance to the flowers of plants in the genus Fuchsia.

Description

Eremophilas vary in size and habit from low, prostrate shrubs to small trees in the case of Eremophila bignoniiflora. Leaf size and shape is also variable but the leaves are usually small and are often shiny or hairy. The petals are joined into a tube, at least at the base. The tube has two upper lobes and three lower lobes which are usually different in size and or shape. As the flower ages, the corolla falls off then the calyx enlarges and becomes coloured as the fruit enlarges.

Plant

Plants, also called green plants, are multicellular eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. They form an unranked clade Viridiplantae (Latin for green plants) that includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae. Green plants excludes the red and brown algae, the fungi, archaea, bacteria and animals.

Green plants have cell walls with cellulose and obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts, derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria. Their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic and have lost the ability to produce normal amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize. Plants are also characterized by sexual reproduction, modular and indeterminate growth, and an alternation of generations, although asexual reproduction is also common.

Precise numbers are difficult to determine, but as of 2010, there are thought to be 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, some 260–290 thousand, are seed plants (see the table below). Green plants provide most of the world's molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of the earth's ecologies, especially on land. Plants that produce grains, fruits and vegetables form mankind's basic foodstuffs, and have been domesticated for millennia. Plants are used as ornaments and, until recently and in great variety, they have served as the source of most medicines and drugs. The scientific study of plants is known as botany, a branch of biology.

Plantà

The plantá (which comes from the verb to plant; in Valencian, plantà) is the act of erecting a Falla or bonfire monument, in the Fallas or the Bonfires of Saint John, festivals held respectively in March and June in different localities of the Community of Valencia (Spain).The plantà is currently considered the exact moment when the falla or bonfire is completely finished and ready to be visited, with all its “ninots” (human figures made of combustible materials, such as cardboard or wood, which has a critical or mocking nature), posters and a variety of features (lights, matted grass, interpretive signs...).

In the Fallas of Valencia, the plantá takes place on March 15, when all the Falla monuments must be positioned correctly. The reason is that the jury appointed by the Central Fallera committee has to go to the next day to assess the falla. Formerly, the plantà began and ended the same day but, due to the complexity of the monuments and the fact that the makers of Fallas are responsible for several Fallas monuments at the same time, it usually begins a few days before. The burning of the Falla or cremá is carried out four days later, on the night of March 19.

Plant (disambiguation)

A plant is a living organism that generally does not move and absorbs nutrients from its surroundings.

Plant may also refer to:

In manufacturing and engineering

In media and entertainment

In names