edgepedia

Plants and algae

4,295 articles

Tamarind

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica, Arabic tamr hindi, "Indian date") is a Fabaceae tree native to tropical Africa and Madagascar, grown tropically for acidic pod pulp used in curries, drinks, and confectionery; India is the largest producer.

Tamarix

Tamarix (tamarisk, saltcedar) is a genus of salt-tolerant shrubs and small trees in Tamaricaceae, native from Africa and the Mediterranean to Asia, with scale-like salt-secreting leaves; several species are invasive riparian weeds in the western United States.

Tamarix gallica

Tamarix gallica (French tamarisk), Mediterranean-Sahara shrub or tree of Tamaricaceae with salt-excreting scale-like leaves; salt-tolerant and arsenic-tolerant halophyte, ornamental and windbreak, invasive in California and listed as a noxious weed.

Tanacetum

Tanacetum (tansy genus) is a 134-160 species Asteraceae genus of temperate Eurasia, NW Africa, and North America, including common tansy, feverfew, and pyrethrum daisy, source of pyrethrin insecticides.

Tanacetum parthenium

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium, formerly Chrysanthemum parthenium) is an aromatic Asteraceae herb native from southeast Europe to the western Himalaya, traditionally used against fever and migraine; parthenolide is its key constituent, with mixed clinical evidence for migraine prevention.

Tangelo

Tangelo (Citrus × tangelo) is a citrus hybrid of tangerine and grapefruit or pomelo, bred by the USDA from the 1890s; leading varieties Orlando (1911) and Minneola/Honeybell (1931), self-incompatible, Alternaria-susceptible, grown in Florida and California.

Tangerine

Tangerine, another name for the mandarin (Citrus reticulata), a small loose-skinned easy-peel citrus from China and southeast Asia; term coined in the 19th century from the Dancy variety's Tangier origin; 38.4 million tons forecast for 2025-26.

Tansy

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), also common tansy or bitter buttons, is a thujone-containing Asteraceae perennial herb native to temperate Eurasia, historically a medicinal herb, introduced to North America by 1631 and now an invasive weed with insecticidal and metal-bioindicator uses.

Taproot

A taproot is a large, central, dominant root growing straight down into the soil, typical of dicots such as carrot, turnip, and mesquite, while monocots have fibrous roots.

Taraxacum

Taraxacum (dandelion), Asteraceae genus of latex-bearing rosette herbs with beaked, wind-dispersed achenes; 50-250 sexual species plus up to 2,500 apomictic triploid microspecies; diploids sexual, polyploids apomictic; used as food, medicine, and rubber source.

Taraxacum officinale

Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion), Asteraceae perennial native to Europe to Siberia and NW Africa; apomictic triploid microspecies complex, wind-dispersed seeds, widespread invasive lawn weed, edible and medicinal herb.

Taro

Taro (Colocasia esculenta), also cocoyam or kalo, is an Araceae corm crop domesticated in India, Southeast Asia, and possibly New Guinea, spread across the Pacific and Africa, with 18.21 Mt produced in 2024, led by Nigeria.

Tarragon

Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus, estragon) is a perennial Asteraceae herb. French tarragon (var. sativa) has the anise flavor but is sterile and grown from divisions; seed-sold tarragon is the bland Russian form.

Tasmanian ferns

Tasmanian ferns: the island's native ferns and fern allies, 101 species (81 ferns, 20 allies), mostly wet-forest plants shared with Victoria and New Zealand; about 19% under threat, with fourteen taxa covered by a 2011 recovery plan.

Taxaceae

Taxaceae, the yew family, is a conifer family of about 34 species in 6 genera (Taxus, Torreya, Amentotaxus, Austrotaxus, Pseudotaxus, Cephalotaxus) with single arillate seeds, distributed across North America, North Africa, and Eurasia to Southeast Asia.

Taxane

Taxanes are diterpene microtubule-stabilizing chemotherapy drugs (paclitaxel, docetaxel, cabazitaxel, nab-paclitaxel) from Taxus yews; they bind beta-tubulin, cause G2/M arrest, and treat breast, ovarian, lung, and prostate cancers.

Taxiphyllum barbieri

Taxiphyllum barbieri, Java moss (formerly sold as Vesicularia dubyana), is a Southeast Asian Hypnaceae aquarium moss forming 3-10 cm mats, and a studied biofilter removing heavy metals such as Ni and Zn from water.

Taxodium

Taxodium (bald cypresses) is a genus of two or three deciduous or semi-evergreen Cupressaceae trees of the southern USA and Mexico, known for swamp cypress knees, rot-resistant cypressene wood, and a Cretaceous-to-Pleistocene fossil record across North America, Europe, and East Asia.

Taxodium distichum

Taxodium distichum, the bald cypress or swamp cypress, is a deciduous conifer native to the southeastern United States, where it dominates river flood plains and swamps.

Taxonomy and systematics of Hymenophyllaceae

The taxonomy and systematics of Hymenophyllaceae, filmy and bristle ferns, was contested for over a century until Ebihara and Iwatsuki's 2006 revision recognized Hymenophyllum plus eight trichomanoid genera.

Taxonomy of Cycas

The taxonomy of Cycas covers how the cycad genus Cycas, sole genus of Cycadaceae, has been divided into sections since 1843, with about 124 accepted species.

Taxonomy of Juniperus

The taxonomy of Juniperus covers how the juniper genus, largest in the cypress family with 60 to 75 species, is divided into three sections: Caryocedrus, Juniperus, and Sabina.

Taxonomy of Sphagnum

Taxonomy of Sphagnum: classification of the peat moss genus Sphagnum L. in class Sphagnopsida, family Sphagnaceae, with roughly 300-380 species in subgenera Acutifolia, Cuspidata, Rigida, Sphagnum, Squarrosa, and Subsecundum, and microscope-based species identification.

Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae

Taxonomy of the Orchidaceae: classification of the orchid family into five subfamilies (Apostasioideae, Vanilloideae, Cypripedioideae, Orchidoideae, Epidendroideae), tribes, subtribes, and genera, from Swartz's 1800 system to molecular phylogenetics and Chase's 2015 classification of 736 genera.

Taxus

Taxus (yews): genus of about 10–12 evergreen Taxaceae trees and shrubs of the Northern Hemisphere; source of paclitaxel (Taxol); all parts except the red aril are taxine-poisonous; several Asian species are threatened.

Taxus × media

Taxus × media (Anglojap yew) is an artificial hybrid of English yew Taxus baccata and Japanese yew T. cuspidata, raised about 1900 at the Hunnewell Arboretum, Massachusetts, and named by Alfred Rehder in 1906; over 150 cultivars, including 'Hicksii' and 'Hatfieldii', dominate the North American nursery trade.

Taxus baccata

Taxus baccata, the common or English yew, is a poisonous evergreen conifer of Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, living up to 2,000 years or more, found in churchyards, and the source of taxane anti-cancer drugs; IUCN Least Concern.

Taxus brevifolia

Taxus brevifolia, Pacific yew or western yew, a small shade-tolerant conifer of the Pacific Northwest from Alaska to California; original bark source of the anticancer drug paclitaxel; IUCN Near Threatened.

Tecoma

Tecoma is a genus of Bignoniaceae shrubs and small trees native to tropical and subtropical America, best known for Tecoma stans (yellow bells), a medicinal and ornamental plant that is invasive in several regions.

Tectona

Tectona (teak genus), Lamiaceae; three Asian tree species, type T. grandis; 2n=36; natural teak forests ~29 Mha, planted 4.35–6.89 Mha; prized durable timber.