Kids Research Express

Laurel (plant), common name for a flowering plant family, widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, and for its representative genus. The laurel family contains between 30 and 50 genera and at least 2000 species. Several well-known and important genera of the family also occur in temperate areas, for example, camphor , cinnamon , avocado , and spice-bush. The laurel, or bay, also called bay laurel and bayberry, is a large evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region; it has been important since classical times and is now widely cultivated in warm temperate areas as an ornamental and for its aromatic leaves, which are used in cooking. California bay yields a valuable wood. The order to which the family belongs contains 8 families with about 2500 species distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Many species exhibit botanically interesting structures, and some are of economic value because of the useful products derived from them. Although a great diversity of f...

Grapevines Grapevines are stems that climb on walls and fences by means of specialized supporting organs, called tendrils. Palmately veined leaves arise alternately along the stem. In most varieties, tendrils arise opposite two of every three successive leaves. Flowers, usually greenish, are borne in clusters and have staminate and pistillate flowers sometimes occurring on separate plants. Fruit is borne on 2-year-old canes, which are removed after harvesting the grapes. Grapes are attacked by a great number of insect pests and plant diseases, of which the most common are black rot and downy mildew. See Diseases of Plants. Scientific classification: Grapes belong to the family Vitaceae. The European grape is classified as Vitis vinifera, the northern fox grape as Vitis labrusca, the summer grape as Vitis aestivalis, the riverbank grape as Vitis riparia, and the muscadine grape as Vitis rotundifolia. Gymnosperms - (Latin gymn-, “naked”; Greek sperma, “seed”), common name for any seed-...