Pines are trees in the genus Pinus /ˈpaɪnəs/,[1] in the family Pinaceae.
They are
the only genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine,
although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.
Etymology
The modern English name pine derives from Latin pinus which some have traced
to the Indo-European base *pīt- ‘resin’ (source of English pituitary. [2] In the past
(pre-19th century) they were often known as fir, from Old Norse fyrre, by way of
Middle English firre. The Old Norse name is still used for pines in some modern
north European languages, in Danish fyr, in Norwegian fura/fure/furu, Swedish
fura/furu, Dutch vuren, and Föhre in German, but in modern English, fir is now
restricted to Fir (Abies) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga). Pine belongs to a group of
seed-producing plants called gymnosperms.
Bamboo
Bamboo (Bambuseae) is a tribe of flowering perennial evergreen plants in the
grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos
are the largest members of the grass family. In bamboos, the internodal regions
of the stem are hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross section are scattered
throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous
woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the
stems of monocots, even of palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than
tapering.[1]
Bamboos are some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, [2] due to a unique
rhizome-dependent system. Bamboos are of notable economic and cultural
significance in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, being used for building
materials, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product.
Crescentia
Crescentia (calabash tree, huingo, krabasi, or kalebas) is a genus of six species [1]
of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern North
America, the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America. The
species are small trees growing to 10 m (35 ft) tall, and producing large spherical
fruits, with a thin, hard shell and soft pulp,[2] up to 25 cm (10 in) in diameter.[3]
Uses
The fruit pulp is used medicinally for respiratory problems. [4] The hard shell can
be used for containers, scoops, cups etc.
Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria (synonym Lagenaria vulgaris Ser.), bottle gourd, opo squash
or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young
and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil,
or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd. The
fresh fruit has a light green smooth skin and a white flesh. Rounder varieties are
called calabash gourds. They come in a variety of shapes, they can be huge and
rounded, or small and bottle shaped, or slim and serpentine, more than a meter
long.
The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not
primarily for food, but for use as a water container. The bottle gourd may have
been carried from Africa to Asia, Europe and the Americas in the course of
human migration.[1] It shares its common name with that of the calabash tree
(Crescentia cujete).
The Largest Tree on Earth
The undisputed King of the Forest, the General Sherman tree is not only the
largest living tree in the world, but the largest living organism, by volume, on
the planet. A giant sequoia (sequoiadendron giganteum), General Sherman is:
~ 2,100 years old
~ 2.7 million pounds
~ 275 feet tall
~ 100 feet wide at its trunk
