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"Flowering desert"  Ecology  ]

Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

Synonym: "Blooming desert",  "Desert in flower"

     
  The "blooming desert" is a natural phenomenon that shows up when generous rain dip the dry soil of desert  regions and small seeds and bulbs, that have been under soil for years , germinate and grow giving life to beautiful ephemeral multicoloured flowers; The dry scenery transforms in an unique, spectacular and impressive  show.  
     
The miracle of the desert in flower shows up after that abundant precipitation has fallen down allowing small seeds and bulbs, that have been dormant for years under soil, rocky crags and sand dunes  to germinate, the desert pavement initiate soon to become a green cover then it reaches a wide range of colours that now break the normally grey horizons, with areas of vibrant red, green, violet and yellow.
Flowers and plants of various characteristics together with a great number of insects, birds, and animal, generating a very special ecosystem, where all the elements of nature live together in harmony during the short time that climate conditions allow. This spectacular and impressive spectacle, attracting visitors for its beauty and piquing the interest of scientists. The flowering desert is a natural treasure, with a fragility that originates in its beauty, because it is constantly exposed to the harmful actions of tourists, who leave behind waste and are not contented with just looking at the flowers, but take them from the desert.
     

 


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Holdfast roots  [ Botany  ]

Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

 
     
  Some species of climbing plants develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place.  
     
Climbing plants, like the poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans),  develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place. Usually the Holdfast roots die at the end of the first season, but in some species they are perennial. In the tropics some of the large climbing plants have hold-fast roots by which they attach themselves, and long, cord-like roots that extend downward through the air and may lengthen and branch for several years until they strike the soil and become absorbent roots.

Major references and further lectures:
1) E. N. Transeau “General Botany” Discovery Publishing House, 1994
     

 

 

 

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