Sunday, September 27, 2020

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for September 27, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 27, 2020 is Margaret Macpherson Grant.
Margaret Macpherson Grant (1834–1877) was a Scottish heiress and philanthropist. Born in Aberlour parish to a local surgeon, she was educated in Hampshire and inherited a large fortune from her uncle, Alexander Grant, a planter and merchant who had become rich in Jamaica. Macpherson Grant took up residence in Aberlour House, which had been built for her uncle by William Robertson. She lived unconventionally for a woman of her time, entering into what was described as a form of marriage with a female companion, Charlotte Temple, whom she met in London in 1864. Macpherson Grant donated generously to charitable enterprises, establishing an orphanage (now the Aberlour Child Care Trust) and founding St Margaret's Episcopal Church in Aberlour. She made several wills over the course of her life that would have left her estate to Temple, but after Temple left her to marry a man, Macpherson Grant revoked her will, and the bulk of her fortune went to cousins, who were probably unknown to her.

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Friday, September 25, 2020

Wikipedia article of the day for September 26, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for September 26, 2020 is Banksia blechnifolia.
Banksia blechnifolia is a species of flowering plant that was first described by Victorian state botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1864. Its leaves are reminiscent of the fern genus Blechnum. B. blechnifolia is one of several closely related species that grow as prostrate shrubs, with horizontal stems and thick, leathery upright leaves. The red-brown flower spikes are up to 20 centimetres (8 in) high and appear from September to November. As the spikes age, they turn grey and develop as many as 25 woody seed pods. Insects such as bees, wasps, ants and flies pollinate the flowers. Found in sandy soils in the south coastal region of Western Australia in the vicinity of Lake King, B. blechnifolia is non-lignotuberous, regenerating by seed after bushfire. The plant adapts readily to cultivation, growing in well-drained sandy soils in sunny locations. It is suitable for rockeries and as a groundcover.