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JIM RICHARDSON

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JIM RICHARDSON

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  • Watering crops in greenhouse in Africa
    AF-0004 Watering.jpg
  • On the farm of Yacouba Sawadogo near the village of Gourga in northern Burkina Faso (north of Oubhigouya.  Yacouba has been a famous pioneer in using the technique of Zai, small pits dug in the hard soil to promote plant growth, the restore regions once thought lost to desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa.  <br />
<br />
<br />
©Jim Richardson  All rights reserved. You can see more of my work at:  www.jimrichardsonphotography.com
    Morning in Gourga, Burkina Faso.jpg
  • Sheko cattle being kept, protected and studied at the ILRI farm in the Ghibe Valley of southern Ethiopia. The Sheko are endangered with only about 2,500 known to be alive. Their are valuable for their adaptation to climates where they are resistant to diseases carried by the tsetse fly. ILRI is studing and breeding the herd.<br />
<br />
Sheko and Abigar and 31 of the Gurage were purchased from their natural habitats and introduced in to medium to high tsetse–trypanosomosis challenge area of the Ghibe valley<br />
<br />
Trypanosomiasis or trypanosomosis is the name of several diseases in vertebrates caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus Trypanosoma. Approximately 500,000 men, women and children in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa suffer from human African trypanosomiasis which is caused by either Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. The other human form of trypanosomiasis, called Chagas disease, causes 21,000 deaths per year [1] mainly in Latin America.
    MM7753_20101026_37523.jpg
  • On the farm of Yacouba Sawadogo near the village of Gourga in northern Burkina Faso (north of Oubhigouya.  Yacouba has been a famous pioneer in using the technique of Zai, small pits dug in the hard soil to promote plant growth, the restore regions once thought lost to desertification in Sub-Saharan Africa.
    MM6977_071207_29862.jpg
  • Hauling Firewood in the villages around Keita, Niger. These women walked ten kilometers to get firewood for cooking, every day
    Hauling Firewood.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.Issia Saidou is a sorghum and millet farmer, who was a soldier during the 80's drought.
    MM6977_071212_33628.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.<br />
Mariama Abdouleye and her children (left) Idrissa Abdourahmane and (right) Abdoulaye Aboubakar.<br />
<br />
Her sister is Rabi Aboubakar.
    MM6977_071212_33717.jpg
  • In the village of Garadawa, near Keita, Niger.  One of the villages where the Project Keita has been restoring soil.  <br />
Most of the work has been done by the women of the area.
    Soils Final Show_0052.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.
    MM6977_071211_32468.jpg
  • Aly Ouedraogo has led efforts to restore farmland in Gourcy, about 40 kilometers south of Ouahigouya in Burkina Faso.  Work included using low rows of stones called bunds, to control water flow and let water permeate into the soil.  The picture show the landscape in March 1986 when work began, and illustrates how barren the land was at the time.
    MM6977_071208_31716.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.
    MM6977_071211_32378.jpg
  • Aly Ouedraogo has led efforts to restore farmland in Gourcy, about 40 kilometers south of Ouahigouya in Burkina Faso.  Work included using low rows of stones called bunds, to control water flow and let water permeate into the soil.  The picture show the landscape in March 1986 when work began, and illustrates how barren the land was at the time.
    MM6977_071208_31716.jpg
  • In the village of Garadawa, near Keita, Niger.  One of the villages where the Project Keita has been restoring soil.  Most of the work has been done by the women of the area. Issa Aminatou is winnowing sorghum by pouring the grain and allowing the evening breezed to blow away the chaff.  Her baby is on her back, getting first lessons in where food comes from.
    MM6977_071211_33235.jpg
  • In the village of Garadawa, near Keita, Niger.  One of the villages where the Project Keita has been restoring soil.  Most of the work has been done by the women of the area. Zakari Minara is the older lady holding court over the operation where the women were winnowing the sorghum.
    MM6977_071211_33211.jpg
  • Aly Ouedraogo has led efforts to restore farmland in Gourcy, about 40 kilometers south of Ouahigouya in Burkina Faso.  Work included using low rows of stones called bunds, to control water flow and let water permeate into the soil.  The picture show the landscape in March 1986 when work began, and illustrates how barren the land was at the time.
    MM6977_071208_31662.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.Issia Saidou is a sorghum and millet farmer, who was a soldier during the 80's drought.
    MM6977_071212_33628.jpg
  • On the farm of Yacouba Sawadogo near the village of Gourga in northern Burkina Faso, north of Oubhigouya.
    MM6977_071207_29862.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.
    MM6977_071211_32699.jpg
  • Aly Ouedraogo has led efforts to restore farmland in Gourcy, about 40 kilometers south of Ouahigouya in Burkina Faso.  Work included using low rows of stones called bunds, to control water flow and let water permeate into the soil.  The picture show the landscape in March 1986 when work began, and illustrates how barren the land was at the time.
    MM6977_071208_31662.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.
    MM6977_071211_32632.jpg
  • In the village of Garadawa, near Keita, Niger.  One of the villages where the Project Keita has been restoring soil.  Most of the work has been done by the women of the area.
    MM6977_071211_33053.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.<br />
Mariama Abdouleye and her children (left) Idrissa Abdourahmane and (right) Abdoulaye Aboubakar.<br />
<br />
Her sister is Rabi Aboubakar.
    MM6977_071212_33717.jpg
  • On the farm of Rhoda Mang'anya in the Dedze District of Malawi. Rhoda has improved her soil, and with it the ability to feed her family, by using a variety of perrenial trees that provide nitrogen to the soil. <br />
For further information contact: <br />
Chris Katema<br />
ckatema@cgiarmw.org<br />
chrisskatema@gmail.com<br />
0999 220075
    MalawiAg_20120427_1796.jpg
  • Megate Worku and his brother Gizehany Worku winnowning barley in the wind near Dalota village in Ethiopia. <br />
<br />
Barley is widely grown in this area of Ethiopia north of Addis Ababa.
    MM7753_20101031_43086.jpg
  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
<br />
The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
<br />
Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it.
    MM7753_20101028_40661.jpg
  • The market in Bati is incredibly large, diverse and crowded, being the place where people from the lowlands and highlands of northern Ethiopia meet to exchange their crops, livestock and wares. Something like 20,000 people show up at the Monday market every week. <br />
<br />
Grain is an extremely important commodity, including the all important teff for making injera. Farmers and sellers lay their grain out in bags and piles on plastic sheeting on the ground, and measure it out with tin cans. <br />
<br />
The cattle and camel market is equally large, with pastoral herders from the lowlands, many of them Afar people, coming to sell their livestock to the highland people. The market takes place in one big corral, with buyers and sellers squeezed in amongst the animals.
    MM7753_20101101_44552.jpg
  • The market in Bati is incredibly large, diverse and crowded, being the place where people from the lowlands and highlands of northern Ethiopia meet to exchange their crops, livestock and wares. Something like 20,000 people show up at the Monday market every week. <br />
<br />
Grain is an extremely important commodity, including the all important teff for making injera. Farmers and sellers lay their grain out in bags and piles on plastic sheeting on the ground, and measure it out with tin cans. <br />
<br />
The cattle and camel market is equally large, with pastoral herders from the lowlands, many of them Afar people, coming to sell their livestock to the highland people. The market takes place in one big corral, with buyers and sellers squeezed in amongst the animals.
    MM7753_20101101_44576.jpg
  • Local wheat varieties in test plants at the Ejere Farming Community Seed Bank in Ejere, Ethiopia. It was built by Ethio Organic Seed Action to help farmers regain traditional local varieties of grain that are better adapted to their location. Seed bank members donate seeds and in turn get seeds from the seed bank. Regassa Feyissa with EOSA is one of the founders and promoters of the seed bank and helps the local farmers. <br />
<br />
The big variety of wheat varieties are important to maintaining biodiversity in the crop and because of how different varieties respond to varying climate and weather patterns from year to year.
    MM7753_20101030_42091.jpg
  • Trampeling wheat for the winnowing process in Ethiopia. The oxen help break down the wheat stalks and loosen the grain in the heads to make the winnowing easier.
    MM8154_20131107_24839.jpg
  • Harvesting groundnuts (peanuts) in Siby Mali on the farm of Rassama Camara.<br />
<br />
The women are hauling the bundles of dried out plants to big piles where they sit in the shade and pluck the nuts out.  It is a big social occasion as well as being long, hard, dusty work. <br />
<br />
Mariama Keita with her baby
    MM8154_20131031_22675.jpg
  • Drying tree nuts (used for shea butter?) in the village of Bagui Traue, Kolokani, Mali. The nuts are dried over a slow fire, then the meat is ground and pulverized. Also used for the oil in cooking.
    MM8154_20131030_22325.jpg
  • Boys eat sorghum stalks put out for the cattle at the house of Jamal Muhammed in the Fontanina area south of Kombulcha, Ethiopia.<br />
<br />
Sorghum is a staple food for people and livestock alike here and the boys like it for the same reason the cows do: it is sweet to chew. Sorghum varieties with tall stalks are favored for the amount of forage they produce.
    MM7753_20101102_46310.jpg
  • Market day in Goro, Ethiopia where women bring grain to sell and farmers bring cattle and other livestock. The cattle market is very busy with sellers and buyers mingling side by side with the animals. <br />
<br />
The grain may be ground into flower or may be used as seed for the next season's crop. They pour the grain to show it off and to further winnow and clean it to make it more valuable. Some were selling corn and chickpeas, but many were selling the typically Ethiopian grain called teff. <br />
<br />
Some choose to sell their grain directly to a broker or middleman rather that sit all afternoon in the hot sun. They can be seen with their bags of grain on a scale, waiting anxiously to see what price they will get for it.
    MM7753_20101028_40204.jpg
  • Farmer Chala Chaka harvesting teff, the typically Ethiopian grain, near Bato Chrecha in Southern Ethiopia. (Also got Bacho Vioreda as a location.)<br />
<br />
He is using a sickle to harvest the grain by hand, cutting the stalks and then piling it behind him in bundles, which will then be gathered into piles in the fields so that the grain can dry properly. <br />
<br />
The sickle is called a machd. He thinks he will harvest abotu 500 Kg from is half hectare field. <br />
<br />
His wife is bringing him the typical local beer made from grain.
    MM7753_20101028_39917.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.<br />
Mariama Abdouleye and her children (left) Idrissa Abdourahmane and (right) Abdoulaye Aboubakar.<br />
<br />
Her sister is Rabi Aboubakar.
    MM6977_071212_33717.jpg
  • Harvesting and stack oats on the farm of Melaku Yifku in the Seriti Village of the Chacha district north of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.<br />
<br />
Workers are cutting the oats by hand with sickles, and pile them behind them as they move up the field, singing as they go. Then the bundles are hauled to the stacks where a man on top arranges them so that the grain heads are to the inside of the stack so they will dry and be protected from rain before being threshed. The man on the top of the stack is Nigussu Kissaye.
    MM7753_20101103_47348.jpg
  • The market in Bati is incredibly large, diverse and crowded, being the place where people from the lowlands and highlands of northern Ethiopia meet to exchange their crops, livestock and wares. Something like 20,000 people show up at the Monday market every week. <br />
<br />
Grain is an extremely important commodity, including the all important teff for making injera. Farmers and sellers lay their grain out in bags and piles on plastic sheeting on the ground, and measure it out with tin cans. <br />
<br />
The cattle and camel market is equally large, with pastoral herders from the lowlands, many of them Afar people, coming to sell their livestock to the highland people. The market takes place in one big corral, with buyers and sellers squeezed in amongst the animals.
    MM7753_20101101_44576-Edit.jpg
  • Threshing and winnowing wheat in Ethiopia. The grain is thrown in the air to let the wind blow away the chaff, letting the grain fall to the ground.
    MM8154_20131106_24350.jpg
  • Farmer  with the harvest of ground peas that he grows by intercropping with his sorghum in his village of Kolokani, Mali.
    MM8154_20131030_22193.jpg
  • Tayitis Mohammed mixes injera out of teff flower and water in her house in Fontanina near Kombulcha in the Wollo region of the Ethiopian highlands. Injera is the staple bread of Ethiopia, which makes teff a valuable grain. Smoke from the kitchen fire made the rays of the setting sun show up brightly in the dark cookng area to the side of the main room of the stick and clay built house. The walls of the house are caulked with teff straw as well.<br />
<br />
The injera batter, a bit runny like pancake batter, is then transfer to the bucket last used to "ferment" the injera for a couple of days, picking up the residual yeasts in the bucket and providing leavening to the bread.
    MM7753_20101102_46771.jpg
  • In the villages around Keita, Niger villagers and the FAO have combined efforts to restore 36,000 sq. kilometers of land that was ravaged by the droughts of the 70's and 80's.  Most of the work has been done by some 10,000 women of the area, returning much of the land to productivity.In all they have planted 18,000,000 trees.<br />
Mariama Abdouleye and her children (left) Idrissa Abdourahmane and (right) Abdoulaye Aboubakar.<br />
<br />
Her sister is Rabi Aboubakar.
    MM6977_071212_33717.jpg
  • Sheko cattle being kept, protected and studied at the ILRI farm in the Ghibe Valley of southern Ethiopia. The Sheko are endangered with only about 2,500 known to be alive. Their are valuable for their adaptation to climates where they are resistant to diseases carried by the tsetse fly. ILRI is studing and breeding the herd.
    MM7753_20101026_38949.jpg
  • The market in Bati is incredibly large, diverse and crowded, being the place where people from the lowlands and highlands of northern Ethiopia meet to exchange their crops, livestock and wares. Something like 20,000 people show up at the Monday market every week. <br />
<br />
Grain is an extremely important commodity, including the all important teff for making injera. Farmers and sellers lay their grain out in bags and piles on plastic sheeting on the ground, and measure it out with tin cans. <br />
<br />
The cattle and camel market is equally large, with pastoral herders from the lowlands, many of them Afar people, coming to sell their livestock to the highland people. The market takes place in one big corral, with buyers and sellers squeezed in amongst the animals.
    MM7753_20101101_43924.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Pterocarpus angolensis (Fabaceae) - kiaat tree; native to southern Africa<br />
Pterocarpus has remarkable fruits: anemochory, dispersal by means of barbed fruits and "Bodenroller" (winged fruits rolling along the ground), a triple strategy. The fruits are enclosed by a flat, dry involucre with a large surface and a relatively high weight. The spiny centre helps the fruit to stick to an animal (epizoochoric dispersal), the arrangement of the wings allows a dispersal by wind currents at the ground. Pterocarpus occurs in the savannah in the south of Africa (from Peter von Sengbusch, botany-online).<br />
The genus has been given a name which describes the unusual seed pods, pter meaning "wing" in Greek and carpus which means "fruit" in Greek. The central, hardened seed case is surrounded by a broad, membranous wing and is therefore called "wing fruit" or Pterocarpus. There are roughly 30 species in the genus and these may be found in the more tropical regions of the world. Four species occur in southern Africa. The specific name, angolensis means "of Angola". The brilliant dramatically red sap found in Pterocarpus gives it the common name of "bloodwood". The wood apparently bears some resemblance to the unrelated true teak from tropical east Asia (Tectona grandis) hence the common name "wild teak".
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11880.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Pterocarpus angolensis (Fabaceae) - kiaat tree; native to southern Africa<br />
Pterocarpus has remarkable fruits: anemochory, dispersal by means of barbed fruits and "Bodenroller" (winged fruits rolling along the ground), a triple strategy. The fruits are enclosed by a flat, dry involucre with a large surface and a relatively high weight. The spiny centre helps the fruit to stick to an animal (epizoochoric dispersal), the arrangement of the wings allows a dispersal by wind currents at the ground. Pterocarpus occurs in the savannah in the south of Africa (from Peter von Sengbusch, botany-online).<br />
The genus has been given a name which describes the unusual seed pods, pter meaning "wing" in Greek and carpus which means "fruit" in Greek. The central, hardened seed case is surrounded by a broad, membranous wing and is therefore called "wing fruit" or Pterocarpus. There are roughly 30 species in the genus and these may be found in the more tropical regions of the world. Four species occur in southern Africa. The specific name, angolensis means "of Angola". The brilliant dramatically red sap found in Pterocarpus gives it the common name of "bloodwood". The wood apparently bears some resemblance to the unrelated true teak from tropical east Asia (Tectona grandis) hence the common name "wild teak".
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11880.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Harpagophytum zeyheri (Pedaliaceae) – devils’ claw, grapple plant; native to southern Africa (widespread in southern Africa, from Namibia and Zambia south to Botswana and Zimbabwe) – fruit with large woody grapples adapted to cling to the feet and fur of animals. The tough feet of ostriches are well protected against the sharp spines of this fruit but animals with cleft hoofs or relatively soft soles can suffer terrible wounds. The Khoisan peoples of the Kalahari Desert have used the tuberous root of the devil’s claw for thousands of years to treat pain during pregnancy and to prepare ointments to heal sores, boils and other skin problems. Extracts from dried roots are presently sold as a natural remedy against pain and inflammation caused by arthritis and other painful ailments; length of fruit: 9cm.  --- THE FRUIT YOU PHOTOGRAPHED BELONGS TO HARPAGOPHYTUM ZEYHERI, WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO HARPAGOPHYTUM PROCUMBENS; THE TWO SPECIES MAINLY DIFFER IN GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND THE STRUCTURE OF THEIR FRUITS; The fruits of H. procumbens have very long, curved arms, while those of H. zeyheri are much less extravagant (pretty cool as mousetraps but the plants have significant medicinal properties! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpagophytum). Both species are probably used in the same way by the Khoisan bush people as well as the pharmaceutical industry. <br />
 <br />
The most infamous member of the sesame family is Harpagophytum procumbens, aptly called grappling hook, grapple plant or, like its New World relatives, devil’s claw. Used as mouse traps in Madagascar, the almost preposterously horrid looking woody pods can inflict gruesome wounds to animals with cleft hoofs or relatively soft soles.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11844.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Harpagophytum zeyheri (Pedaliaceae) – devils’ claw, grapple plant; native to southern Africa (widespread in southern Africa, from Namibia and Zambia south to Botswana and Zimbabwe) – fruit with large woody grapples adapted to cling to the feet and fur of animals. The tough feet of ostriches are well protected against the sharp spines of this fruit but animals with cleft hoofs or relatively soft soles can suffer terrible wounds. The Khoisan peoples of the Kalahari Desert have used the tuberous root of the devil’s claw for thousands of years to treat pain during pregnancy and to prepare ointments to heal sores, boils and other skin problems. Extracts from dried roots are presently sold as a natural remedy against pain and inflammation caused by arthritis and other painful ailments; length of fruit: 9cm.  --- THE FRUIT YOU PHOTOGRAPHED BELONGS TO HARPAGOPHYTUM ZEYHERI, WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO HARPAGOPHYTUM PROCUMBENS; THE TWO SPECIES MAINLY DIFFER IN GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND THE STRUCTURE OF THEIR FRUITS; The fruits of H. procumbens have very long, curved arms, while those of H. zeyheri are much less extravagant (pretty cool as mousetraps but the plants have significant medicinal properties! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpagophytum). Both species are probably used in the same way by the Khoisan bush people as well as the pharmaceutical industry. <br />
 <br />
The most infamous member of the sesame family is Harpagophytum procumbens, aptly called grappling hook, grapple plant or, like its New World relatives, devil’s claw. Used as mouse traps in Madagascar, the almost preposterously horrid looking woody pods can inflict gruesome wounds to animals with cleft hoofs or relatively soft soles.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11844.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Heritiera littoralis (Malvaceae) – looking-glass mangrove, native to the Old World tropics; the seawater-proof nut-like fruit contains a single round seed surrounded by a large air space. The prominent keel on their back acts like the sail; fruit up to 10cm long <br />
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1062.htm: Low, much branched, evergreen tree, to 15 m tall; bark pinkish gray, smooth becoming flaky when older; leaf blades dark green above and silvery white below, withering dull orange-yellow, oblong to elliptic, leathery; flowers in hanging yellowish tassels; fruits purple-brown, woody, shiny with a stiff keel on one side. The hard and strong timber is valued for masts, when it can be got straight enough. It is also used for canoes, firewood, house posts, joists, pressers, telegraph poles, wheel-hubs and boat-ribs. An extract of the seed can be used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery .<br />
http://plants.jstor.org/flora/ftea009311?cookieSet=1: LOCAL USES (in East Africa). Trunks of this species are used for dhow masts in Lamu (Abdulla 1139) and Zanzibar (U.O.P.Z.) and were formerly used for railroad sleepers (Farquhar 6).  This species is widespread and common in mangrove, and its habitat not significantly threatened as far as is known. It is provisionally rated here as of “least concern” for conservation.  The capsules are common in drift along the shore. The dorsal ridge of the capsule, often described as a keel, is homologous with a wing and actually functions as a sail. Fruits float on the surface of the ocean always with the ridge or wing upward and they are widely distributed by a combination of currents and wind. The record from T 8 is based on a sight record by Luke (pers. comm.) at Mtwara Mnazi Bay/Ruvuma Est MNP)<br />
http://database.prota.org/PROTAhtml/Heritiera%20littoralis_En.htm: Uses: In eastern Africa the tree boles are used to make masts of boats, for sh
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11804.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Heritiera littoralis (Malvaceae) – looking-glass mangrove, native to the Old World tropics; the seawater-proof nut-like fruit contains a single round seed surrounded by a large air space. The prominent keel on their back acts like the sail; fruit up to 10cm long <br />
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1062.htm: Low, much branched, evergreen tree, to 15 m tall; bark pinkish gray, smooth becoming flaky when older; leaf blades dark green above and silvery white below, withering dull orange-yellow, oblong to elliptic, leathery; flowers in hanging yellowish tassels; fruits purple-brown, woody, shiny with a stiff keel on one side. The hard and strong timber is valued for masts, when it can be got straight enough. It is also used for canoes, firewood, house posts, joists, pressers, telegraph poles, wheel-hubs and boat-ribs. An extract of the seed can be used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery .<br />
http://plants.jstor.org/flora/ftea009311?cookieSet=1: LOCAL USES (in East Africa). Trunks of this species are used for dhow masts in Lamu (Abdulla 1139) and Zanzibar (U.O.P.Z.) and were formerly used for railroad sleepers (Farquhar 6).  This species is widespread and common in mangrove, and its habitat not significantly threatened as far as is known. It is provisionally rated here as of “least concern” for conservation.  The capsules are common in drift along the shore. The dorsal ridge of the capsule, often described as a keel, is homologous with a wing and actually functions as a sail. Fruits float on the surface of the ocean always with the ridge or wing upward and they are widely distributed by a combination of currents and wind. The record from T 8 is based on a sight record by Luke (pers. comm.) at Mtwara Mnazi Bay/Ruvuma Est MNP)<br />
http://database.prota.org/PROTAhtml/Heritiera%20littoralis_En.htm: Uses: In eastern Africa the tree boles are used to make masts of boats, for sh
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11804.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Trapa natans (Lythraceae) - water caltrop, water chestnut, horn nut; native to Eurasia & Africa<br />
Trapa natans (water caltrop, horn nut), has been cultivated in China for more than three thousand years but the crunchy water chestnuts commonly used in Chinese cooking are the fleshy corms (not seeds) of the totally unrelated spike rush (Eleocharis dulcis, Cyperaceae).<br />
weblinks:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop<br />
http://www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=3499
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11897.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Tipuana tipu (Leguminosae) – tipu tree; native to South America (Brazil, Bolivia & Argentina) – fruits (samaras); the 1-3-seeded, unilaterally winged samaras of the tipu tree bear a striking resemblance to the fruitlets of maples (Acer spp., Sapindaceae). A unilateral wing causes a helicopter-like flight as the diaspore rotates around its centre of gravity (i.e. the thickened, seed-bearing part of the fruit); length c. 5cm. ---  The tipu tree is widely planted as a street tree in the tropics; it is very vigorous and can become an invasive pest, such as in South Africa. The timber of the tipu tree is used for furniture.<br />
From: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBASE/data/pf000407.htm: This is mainly an ornamental tree, used in urban forestry, but the leaves also constitute e good feed for stock. It is also one of the many "rose woods". It has been used in the South Sahel and North Sudanese ecozones for street and amenity plantations, as well as in Dakar, Cairo, Lisbon, Tunis, Sousse, Jerusalem etc.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11791.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Tipuana tipu (Leguminosae) – tipu tree; native to South America (Brazil, Bolivia & Argentina) – fruits (samaras); the 1-3-seeded, unilaterally winged samaras of the tipu tree bear a striking resemblance to the fruitlets of maples (Acer spp., Sapindaceae). A unilateral wing causes a helicopter-like flight as the diaspore rotates around its centre of gravity (i.e. the thickened, seed-bearing part of the fruit); length c. 5cm. ---  The tipu tree is widely planted as a street tree in the tropics; it is very vigorous and can become an invasive pest, such as in South Africa. The timber of the tipu tree is used for furniture.<br />
From: http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBASE/data/pf000407.htm: This is mainly an ornamental tree, used in urban forestry, but the leaves also constitute e good feed for stock. It is also one of the many "rose woods". It has been used in the South Sahel and North Sudanese ecozones for street and amenity plantations, as well as in Dakar, Cairo, Lisbon, Tunis, Sousse, Jerusalem etc.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11791.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) - castor oil plant; native to tropical Africa, naturalized throughout the tropics - seeds; the seeds of the castor oil plant, called 'castor beans', contain a very valuable oil that is used both as a purgative as well as a lubricant for jet engines and heavy machinery. The seeds are also infamous for containing ricin, one of the strongest poisons found in nature. One milligram can already be enough to kill an adult. At their micropylar end the seeds bear a fatty elaiosome to attract ants for dispersal; seeds c. 12mm long.<br />
Some interesting facts about Ricinus:<br />
Ricin: The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the bean's extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). Ricin is a potent cytotoxin but a weak hemagglutinin, whereas RCA is a weak cytotoxin and a powerful hemagglutinin. Poisoning by ingestion of the castor bean is due to ricin, not RCA, because RCA does not penetrate the intestinal wall, and does not affect red blood cells unless given intravenously. If RCA is injected into the blood, it will cause the red blood cells to agglutinate and burst by hemolysis. Perhaps just one milligram of ricin can kill an adult. The symptoms of human poisoning begin within a few hours of ingestion. The symptoms are: abdominal pain, vomiting and (sometimes bloody) diarrhea. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a decrease in urine, and a decrease in blood pressure. If death has not occurred in 3-5 days, the victim usually recovers.<br />
Castor oil: Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11952.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Trapa bicornis (Lythraceae) - devil's pod, also known as bat nut, goat head, null nut, and buffalo nut - this species is sometimes even combined with Trapa natans (i.e. the two are treated as a single variable species) and much of the description above also applies to T. bicornis. --- Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop]: The water caltrop, water chestnut or Singhara or Paniphal is either of two species of the genus Trapa: Trapa natans and Trapa bicornis. Both species are floating annual aquatic plants, growing in slow-moving water up to 5 meters deep, native to warm temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa. They bear ornately shaped fruits, which in the case of T. bicornis resemble the head of a bull, each fruit containing a single very large starchy seed. It has been cultivated in China and India for at least 3,000 years for these seeds, which are boiled and sold as an occasional street side snack in the south of that country<br />
<br />
[http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Trapa+bicornis]: Seed edible after cooking. A crunchy texture with a bland flavour. Rich in starch, the raw seed contains a deleterious principle that is destroyed by cooking. The cooked seed can be dried and ground into a powder. The flowers are astringent in fluxes. The fruit is used in the treatment of fever and sunstroke. The plant is anticancer, antipyretic and tonic.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11912.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Trapa bicornis (Lythraceae) - devil's pod, also known as bat nut, goat head, null nut, and buffalo nut - this species is sometimes even combined with Trapa natans (i.e. the two are treated as a single variable species) and much of the description above also applies to T. bicornis. --- Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop]: The water caltrop, water chestnut or Singhara or Paniphal is either of two species of the genus Trapa: Trapa natans and Trapa bicornis. Both species are floating annual aquatic plants, growing in slow-moving water up to 5 meters deep, native to warm temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa. They bear ornately shaped fruits, which in the case of T. bicornis resemble the head of a bull, each fruit containing a single very large starchy seed. It has been cultivated in China and India for at least 3,000 years for these seeds, which are boiled and sold as an occasional street side snack in the south of that country<br />
<br />
[http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Trapa+bicornis]: Seed edible after cooking. A crunchy texture with a bland flavour. Rich in starch, the raw seed contains a deleterious principle that is destroyed by cooking. The cooked seed can be dried and ground into a powder. The flowers are astringent in fluxes. The fruit is used in the treatment of fever and sunstroke. The plant is anticancer, antipyretic and tonic.
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11912.jpg
  • At the Bobo Shanti compound in St. Andrew, Jamaica, a hilltop enclave dedicated to following the teachings of King Emannuel Charles Edwards. Life is highly ordered around the precept of preparing for all black Jamaicans to return to Africa, and specifically Ethiopia. The Bobo Shanti use the King James Bible extensively in their worship and theology, singing Psalms everyday.
    MM7937_20110504_02439.jpg
  • Sheko cattle being kept, protected and studied at the ILRI farm in the Ghibe Valley of southern Ethiopia. The Sheko are endangered with only about 2,500 known to be alive. Their are valuable for their adaptation to climates where they are resistant to diseases carried by the tsetse fly. ILRI is studing and breeding the herd.<br />
<br />
Sheko and Abigar and 31 of the Gurage were purchased from their natural habitats and introduced in to medium to high tsetse–trypanosomosis challenge area of the Ghibe valley<br />
<br />
Trypanosomiasis or trypanosomosis is the name of several diseases in vertebrates caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus Trypanosoma. Approximately 500,000 men, women and children in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa suffer from human African trypanosomiasis which is caused by either Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. The other human form of trypanosomiasis, called Chagas disease, causes 21,000 deaths per year [1] mainly in Latin America.<br />
<br />
<br />
Contact: Woudyalew Mulatu<br />
ILRI Ethiopia<br />
w.mulatu@cgiar.org<br />
Mobile: +251 911 40 91 89<br />
PO Box 5689<br />
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia<br />
  <br />
Contact: Shirley Tarawali<br />
Theme Director - People, Livestock, and the Evironment<br />
ILRI Ethiopia<br />
s.tarawali@cgiar.org<br />
Tel: +251 11 617 2221<br />
Tel: +251 91 164 5738<br />
PO Box 5689<br />
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    MM7753_20101026_37523.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Trapa natans (Lythraceae) - water caltrop, water chestnut, horn nut; native to Eurasia & Africa<br />
Trapa natans (water caltrop, horn nut), has been cultivated in China for more than three thousand years but the crunchy water chestnuts commonly used in Chinese cooking are the fleshy corms (not seeds) of the totally unrelated spike rush (Eleocharis dulcis, Cyperaceae).<br />
weblinks:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop<br />
http://www.invasive.org/species/subject.cfm?sub=3499
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11897.jpg
  • Seed from the Kew Millennium Seed Bank collection at Wakehurst, outside London in the UK.  <br />
<br />
Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) - castor oil plant; native to tropical Africa, naturalized throughout the tropics - seeds; the seeds of the castor oil plant, called 'castor beans', contain a very valuable oil that is used both as a purgative as well as a lubricant for jet engines and heavy machinery. The seeds are also infamous for containing ricin, one of the strongest poisons found in nature. One milligram can already be enough to kill an adult. At their micropylar end the seeds bear a fatty elaiosome to attract ants for dispersal; seeds c. 12mm long.<br />
Some interesting facts about Ricinus:<br />
Ricin: The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the bean's extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin). Ricin is a potent cytotoxin but a weak hemagglutinin, whereas RCA is a weak cytotoxin and a powerful hemagglutinin. Poisoning by ingestion of the castor bean is due to ricin, not RCA, because RCA does not penetrate the intestinal wall, and does not affect red blood cells unless given intravenously. If RCA is injected into the blood, it will cause the red blood cells to agglutinate and burst by hemolysis. Perhaps just one milligram of ricin can kill an adult. The symptoms of human poisoning begin within a few hours of ingestion. The symptoms are: abdominal pain, vomiting and (sometimes bloody) diarrhea. Within several days there is severe dehydration, a decrease in urine, and a decrease in blood pressure. If death has not occurred in 3-5 days, the victim usually recovers.<br />
Castor oil: Castor beans are pressed to extract castor oil which is used for medicinal purposes. Ricin does not partition into the oil because
    MM7753_2010-07-23_11952.jpg