Papaver rubro-aurantiacum

Papaver is a genus of 70-100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa, North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae. The native range of Papaver rubro-aurantiacum is Eastern Siberia, Northeast China,...

Hemerocallis minor

A daylily or day lily is a flowering plant in the genus Hemerocallis, a member of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, native to Asia. Despite the common name, it is not in fact a lily. Daylilies are perennial plants, whose name alludes to its flowers, which typically last about a...

Scabiosa comosa

Scabiosa is a genus in the honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae) of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious. Another common name for members of this genus is pincushion flowers. The common name “scabious” comes the Latin word scabiosus meaning...

Idol

In tribal societies of Siberia shamanism always has been a fundamental factor in religious life from the Bronze Age. Shamanism is a holistic vision of the world, reflecting the concept of the connection between man and nature, man and the Universe. According to shamanism, the universe is divided into...

Lilium pumilum

Commonly known as coral lily (or low lily), Lilium pumilum is an Asian species of bulbous plants native to Mongolia, Siberia, Russian Far East, Korea, Northern China. Named pumilum (“dwarf” in Latin) for its small size, compared to other lilies. Lily bulbs are widely cultivated for food in Asia especially...

Scorzonera radiata

Scorzonera is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. Species of the genus are found in Europe, Asia and Africa. Its center of diversity is in the Mediterranean. One possible origin of the genus name is the French “viper’s grass” (there was a widespread belief...

Campanula glomerata

Campanula glomerata, known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane’s blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. The etymology of this plant is quite intuitive: the genus Latin name (campanula), meaning “small bell”, refers to the bell-shape...

Gentianopsis barbata

Gentianopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the gentian family known commonly as fringed gentians. These are similar to the gentians of genus Gentiana. Most have flowers which are blue to purple in color. They may be annual or perennial. They are native to Eurasia and temperate North America. Five...

Bauta

Among the many masks that dominated the Venetian scene the most common was the Bauta, a male equivalent of the Moretta but, unlike the latter, it could be used by both sexes. The Bauta was worn all year because it made it possible to hide one’s identity whenever desired. It consisted of a black cloak,...

Geranium transbaicalicum

Geranium is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world. The genus name is derived from the Greek word geranos (“crane”). The English name cranesbill derives from the...

Lilium pensylvanicum

Lilium pensylvanicum is an Asian plant species of the family Liliaceae. Sometimes called the Siberian lily (or Lilium dauricum), it is native to a cold climate and needs frost in the winter. It is found in the wild form in Siberia, Russian Far East, Mongolia, Northeast China, Korea, Hokkaido. The Latin...

Linaria melampyroides

Linaria is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Plantaginaceae. The members of this genus are known in English as toadflax,...

Camaquen

Small anthropomorphic (male and female) and zoomorphic figurines were produced in Incan times for ritual offerings. They were offered to huacas (sacred places) or used during the Capacocha ceremony; several of them were found in mountaintop shrines. In the Quechuan languages of South America, a huaca...

Potentilla tanacetifolia

Potentilla is a genus containing over 300 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are usually called cinquefoils in English, but they have also been called five fingers and silverweeds. Typical cinquefoils look most similar to strawberries,...

Iris uniflora

Iris is a flowering plant genus of 310 accepted species with showy flowers. As well as being the scientific name, iris is also widely used as a common name for all Iris species, as well as some belonging to other closely related genera. The genus takes its name from the Greek word iris (“rainbow”),...

Sonchus arvensis

Sonchus arvensis, the field milk thistle, field sowthistle, perennial sow-thistle, corn sow thistle, dindle, gutweed, swine thistle, or tree sow thistle, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. Sonchus arvensis is native to Eurasia, where it is widespread across most of the continent....

Rosa davurica

Rosa davurica (also known as Amur rose) is a deciduous wild rose growing to 1.5 m, which mainly grows in sunny places along forest edges, grassy hills, and glades at altitudes from 400 to 2500 m. Dahurian rose fruit, called Cimeiguo in Chinese, is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals, especially...

Plum rain

The East Asian rainy season, also called the plum rain, is caused by precipitation along a persistent stationary front known as the Meiyu front for nearly two months during the late spring and early summer in East Asia between China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The wet season ends during the summer when...

Stellera chamaejasme

Stellera is a genus of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae, with a single species Stellera chamaejasme found in mountainous regions of Asia. Stellera chamaejasme is a herbaceous perennial plant with heads of white, pink or yellow flowers. The genus Stellera was first described by Carl Linnaeus...

Gagea pauciflora

Gagea is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. It is found primarily in Eurasia. The genus is named after the English botanist Sir Thomas Gage (1781-1820). They were originally described as species of Ornithogalum, which, together with the usual yellow colour of the flowers, explains the...

Lilium pumilum

Lilium pumilum (coral lily, low lily, lipstick lily) is an Asian species of bulbous plants native to grassy mountainous areas of Mongolia, Siberia, Russian Far East, Korea, Northern China. Blooms in early to mid summer. The flowers are abundant, with up to 20 flowers per stem. The species is hermaphrodite...

Solanum kitagawae

Solanum is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants. The generic name was first used by Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) for a plant also known as strychnos, most likely Solanum nigrum. Its derivation is uncertain, possibly stemming from the Latin word sol, meaning “sun”, referring to its status as a...

Vicia unijuga

Vicia is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Vicia means “binder” in Latin; this was the name used by Pliny for vetch. Vicia unijuga, commonly called two-leaf vetch, is a species of flowering plant in...

Polygonatum odoratum

Polygonatum odoratum (angular Solomon’s seal or scented Solomon’s seal) is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Siberia, Russian Far East, China, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea, Japan. Polygonatum comes from the Ancient Greek for “many knees”, referring to the multiple jointed...

Orostachys spinosa

Orostachys is a genus of the succulent family Crassulaceae (stonecrop family) that contains about 15 species. It is a biennial herb growing in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia. Eight species occur in China. Orostachys spinosa (Chinese Dunce Cap, Dunce Cap, Spiny Pennywort) is a small, slow-growing...

Lactuca sibirica

Lactuca, commonly known as lettuce, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. The genus includes at least 50 species, distributed worldwide, but mainly in temperate Eurasia. Lactuca is derived from Latin and means “having milky sap”. Lactuca sibirica, the Siberian lettuce, occupies the...

Papilio machaon

Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail. It is the type species of the genus Papilio. This widespread species is found in much of the Palearctic (it is the only swallowtail...

Balbal

Balbals are anthropomorphic stone stelae, images cut from stone, installed atop, within or around kurgans, in kurgan cemeteries, or in a double line extending from a kurgan. Such stelae are found in large numbers in Siberia and Mongolia. Some of them are simple stone columns, with a rough image of a...