Great Rift Valley Research Articles

Comparative study of the silica and cation geothermometry of the Malawi hot springs: Potential alternative energy source

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and one of the most densely populated in south-eastern Africa. Its major power source is hydro-electricity. During the past few years, the power generation capacity has been reduced, which has impacted negatively on the socio-economic development of the country. The country holds an enormous potential to generate geothermal energy due to the country’s position within the Great African Rift valley. This could contribute to economic growth, poverty reduction and technological development in Malawi. The paper presents findings of research on comparisons between silica (quartz and chalcedony) and cation geothermometers (Na–K, Na–K–Ca and K–Mg) of hot springs in the Malawi Rift, in order to deduce the temperature at depth of selected hot springs. The saturation indices of most springs have a bearing on the geology of the areas where these hot springs are found. The Na–K geothermometers are, in general, higher than the Na–K–Ca geothermometer and the K–Mg geothermometer shows temperatures that are too low to be considered. The difference in the results between the different geothermometers may indicate shallow conditions of mixing with groundwater. Results also indicate that some hot springs have sufficient heat-generating capabilities and warrant further exploration work to assess their suitability for energy generation.

Is forgiveness and amnesty a panacea to Kenyas post-conflict crisis?

For a long period, Kenya was rightfully branded “Island of Peace” in the tumultant Eastern Africa Region. After the December, 2007 General Elections, the country plunged into civil war and rebellion especially in the region west of the great rift valley. Provinces located in the region: Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western witnessed: murder, looting, eviction, rape, arson, burning of food and food stores, destruction of homes, animals and crops, emotional harassment and other kinds of human abuse. Most survivors ended up in concentration camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Effects of what happened between December 2007 and February 2008 were felt not only in the whole of Kenya but the entire Eastern Africa Region and beyond. At the intervention of the United Nations Organization through their previous and current secretaries, Dr. Kofi Anan and Dr. Ban Ki Moon respectively, a peace accord between the warring camps: Party of National Unity (PNU) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) was signed. Although many IDPs have been resettled, the talk of the day in Kenya is Forgiveness for peace building to enhance acceptance. Forgiveness is most associated with religious faiths. Within the secular realm, the term amnesty obtains. Regardless of whether we opt for forgiveness or amnesty, various challenges are anticipated. This paper attempts to provide an understanding of the post-election violence in Kenya with a view to find ways to contribute to the peace building challenge. The paper is divided into seven parts. The first part deals with the concept of peace followed in the second part by an elucidation of some peace theories. Importantly, each theory provides a basis upon which critical reflection and observation regarding the post-election violence in Kenya are made. The third portion of the paper deals with some vivid causes of the violence. This diagnosis is logically followed by the fourth part which addresses the role of the church in enhancing forgiveness and neighbourly love as a panacea for peace. In the fifth section, a discussion on the amnesty dilemma is undertaken followed by the sixth section containing conclusions to the discussions. The seventh section contains suggestions on the way forward. It is recommended that the grand-coalition government should encourage forgiveness and reconciliation among all Kenyans in order to attain lasting peace. Key words: Conflict, peace building, forgiveness, amnesty.

Directed dispersal of mistletoe (Plicosepalus acaciae) by Yellow-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus xanthopygos)

We studied avian dispersal of seeds from the hemiparasitic mistletoe Plicosepalus acaciae (Loranthaceae) to its tree hosts Acacia raddiana and A. tortilis in the Syrian–African Rift (Arava) valley, Israel. The Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos) was the sole avian visitor observed feeding on mistletoe fruits. Bulbuls consumed mistletoe fruits whenever they were available, but the fruits only constituted a significant portion of the diet (71% of foraging attempts) when they were most abundant. These birds are potentially good dispersal vectors of P. acaciae because they swallowed the fruit whole and defecated viable seeds that were covered in a viscid pulp, which allowed the seeds to adhere to substrates when voided. In addition, bulbuls spent a large proportion (66–93%) of total observation time perched in Acacia trees, allowing for directed dispersal. Ephemeral river valleys (wadis) with high mistletoe infection were adjacent to those containing no infections, demonstrating that mistletoe dispersal is common within, but not among wadis. This is consistent with the flight behaviour in bulbuls, which do not typically move among wadis. We combined data on bulbul movements between Acacia trees with transit times of mistletoe seeds to create a hypothetical seed shadow as a function of distance from the parent mistletoe plant. Because they are directed dispersers, the movement patterns of bulbuls may explain the current distribution of P. acaciae in the Arava valley.

Chromosomal plasticity and evolutionary potential in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto: insights from three decades of rare paracentric inversions

BackgroundIn the Anopheles gambiae complex, paracentric chromosomal inversions are non-randomly distributed along the complement: 18/31 (58%) of common polymorphic inversions are on chromosome arm 2R, which represents only ~30% of the complement. Moreover, in An. gambiae sensu stricto, 6/7 common polymorphic inversions occur on 2R. Most of these inversions are considered markers of ecological adaptation that increase the fitness of the carriers of alternative karyotypes in contrasting habitats. However, little is known about the evolutionary forces responsible for their origin and subsequent establishment in field populations.ResultsHere, we present data on 82 previously undescribed rare chromosomal inversions (RCIs) recorded during extensive field sampling in 16 African countries over a 30 year period, which may shed light on the dynamics of chromosomal plasticity in An. gambiae. We analyzed breakpoint distribution, length, and geographic distribution of RCIs, and compared these measures to those of the common inversions. We found that RCIs, like common inversions, are disproportionately clustered on 2R, which may indicate that this arm is especially prone to breakages. However, contrasting patterns were observed between the geographic distribution of common inversions and RCIs. RCIs were equally frequent across biomes and on both sides of the Great Rift Valley (GRV), whereas common inversions predominated in arid ecological settings and west of the GRV. Moreover, the distribution of RCI lengths followed a random pattern while common inversions were significantly less frequent at shorter lengths.ConclusionBecause 17/82 (21%) RCIs were found repeatedly at very low frequencies – at the same sampling location in different years and/or in different sampling locations – we suggest that RCIs are subject mainly to drift under unperturbed ecological conditions. Nevertheless, RCIs may represent an important reservoir of genetic variation for An. gambiae in response to environmental changes, further testifying to the considerable evolutionary potential hidden within this pan-African malaria vector.

Population genetic structure and the conservation of isolated populations of Acacia raddiana in the Negev Desert

There is much concern over the high mortality of many populations of Acacia raddiana, a keystone tree species in the Negev desert of Israel. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to assess patterns of genetic variation within and among 12 populations of A. raddiana from the Arava (Syrian–African Rift) valley and western Negev. A high level of genetic polymorphism was recorded within populations. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that about 59.4% of total genetic variance occurred among populations, which is considerably greater population differentiation than that recorded for other outbreeding species. Cluster and principal coordinates analyses and AMOVA indicate that the western Negev and Arava valley populations are highly differentiated. We suggest that there may have been two invasions of A. raddiana into Israel: one across the northern Sinai/Gaza Strip area into the western Negev, with some plants reaching the Dead Sea and a second invasion across the southern part of the Sinai peninsula, or even from Saudi Arabia, up to the Arava valley. From the conservation point of view, each population should be conserved separately because they are genetically highly differentiated and loss of any one population would lead to a dramatic loss of genetic variation. The mixing of genetically distinct populations may give rise to outbreeding depression (particularly because of GXE interactions). An obvious first step to the maintenance of this species' genetic diversity is the separate management of the western Negev and Arava valley populations because of their different evolutionary histories.

Sex, mayhem, and psychology’s two solitudes.

Sex, Mayhem, and Psychology's Two Solitudes Review of M. Sabourin, F. Craik, & M. Robert (Eds.), Advances in psychological science, Volume 2: Biological and cognitive aspects. Hove, East Sussex; Psychology Press, 1998. (633 + xxii pages). D. J. K. MEWHORT, Queen's University The volume arose from the International Congress of Psychology held in Montreal, August 1996. It is a collection of papers, predominantly on biological aspects of psychology. Although the title promises a discussion of cognition, like the dog that did not bark in the Sherlock Holmes story, reference to much of current cognitive psychology is conspicuously missing. In the section on Cognition, Perception, and Memory, for example, only three papers (Hatano on comprehension, Bertelson on perception of multimodal events, and Koria on metamemory) have an experimentalbehavioural focus. Moreover, such icons of cognitive psychology as J. R. Anderson, A. Baddeley, C. Burgess, M. Coltheart, D. Hintzman, M. Humphreys, P. Johnson-Laird, H. Pashler, D. Kahneman, W. Kintsch, T. Landauer, B. Murdock, G. McKoon, D. Medin, J. Nairne, R. Nosofsky, A. Newell, R. Ratcliff, R. Schank, R. Shiffrin, A. Treisman, and A. Tversky are not cited anywhere. Connectionist thinking is considered only in Plunkett's paper on cognitive development. In short, the psychological science advanced in the book is a very different psychology than the one I know. As I read the book, I felt like an outsider looking in on a psychology that has been untouched by the revolution in computational modelling and, indeed, untouched by much of current behavioural work. But first, let me turn to sex and mayhem. Roubertoux, Mortaud, Torjman, Le Roy, and Degrelle discuss genetic aspects of aggression using the mouse as an animal model. It is a fascinating example of basic science and, importantly, of good methodology. The genetic contribution to aggression is complex and indirect. As Roubertoux et al. note, it is not a story that lends itself to simple-minded excursions into social policy: It should discourage any eugenic temptation and disgrace eugenics itself' (p. 24). But, as they also note, mayhem results if the lesson is ignored. Their example concerns a dispute within the Behavior Genetics Association leading to the resignation of the President Elect both from office and from the society itself. But, with eugenic and racist views waiting in the wings, even among academics who ought to know the science better, it takes little imagination to project mayhem to a larger social stage. Corballis provides an elegantly written speculation on the mind's evolution. The paper ranges over a wide set of issues from bipedalism, language in nonhuman primates, the development of human language, to specialization of the cerebral hemispheres. It is a delightful romp through anthropology and natural history. But, the speculation is based on indirect correlational evidence. The history of experimental design, from Claude Bernard forward, shows that there is no substitute for manipulative control (a like concern led the Societe Linguistique de Paris in 1866 to ban papers on the origins of language). However delightful and colourful the prose, it is difficult to imagine a practical way to test the idea that the inhabitants of the Great Rift valley adopted bipedal walking because knuckle-walking may have been simply less efficient than upright walking, especially over long distances (p. 39). I raise the methodological issue not because I disliked Corballis's paper but because it was fun and because I felt guilty for liking it: Methodology is the core of science. The topic, the evolution of the mind, is unlikely to engender the emotional response given to sex, race, and criminal aggression, but, as Roubertoux et al. document, once one weakens the rules of evidence, the door is open to mayhem. Kanwisher reviews studies of human brain imaging to illuminate the processing of visual shape, the what-where issue, and face perception. …

Soda lakes, flamingoes, and scientific literacy: student explorations of the great rift valley

While current science policy documents suggest teaching and learning strategies that might lead to students becoming scientifically and technologically literate, little is known about how classroom teachers interpret the documents and how they actually incorporate the use of instructional technology in their teaching for scientific literacy. This paper evolved from a study designed to develop a richer understanding of how one elementary teacher, Ms Brook (pseudonym), utilized instructional technology to teach for scientific literacy. Using qualitative methodology, I examined the integration of instructional technology into the science curriculum, focusing on how the teacher used instructional technology to advance students' scientific literacy. In this paper, I first provide a theoretical background for scientific and technological literacy. I then describe the Flamingowatch electronic fieldtrip, its focus on scientific literacy, and students' reactions to the fieldtrip. Next, I describe the qualitative methodology and data collection issues. Finally, I describe the findings of the study and implications for teacher educators.

Digital topography and bathymetry of the area of the Dead Sea Depression

The Dead Sea Depression occupies the central part of that segment of the Syrian-African rift extending from the mountains of southern Lebanon to the Arava Valley north of the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea. The lowest continental feature in the world, it encloses the Dead Sea, whose surface now lies at about −409 m. This shrunken sea consists of a shallow southern basin occupied by evaporation pans, and a northern basin, 50 km in length by 13–17 km in width, with a flat floor some −731 m below MSL. The depression is asymmetric, with the mountains to the east being up to 500 m higher. The closed depression has two outlets, one at 60.5 m altitude into the Mediterranean via the Jezreel Valley near Afula, and a second into the Red Sea at about 200 m altitude in the Arava Valley. A digital terrain model (DTM), based upon the local 1:50,000 scale topographic maps and modern bathymetric surveys, gives elevations to decimeter resolution on a grid with 25 m spacing. When visualized as shaded relief or in coloured hypsometric format, the DTM graphically shows the overall morphology and its many features. These include the local tectonics, from the major boundary faults to the associated subsidiary faults and lineaments, and their possible relationships with the incised canyons offshore. Also clearly visible are the volcanic cones on the Golan heights, the coast-paralleling kurkar ridges, and the halokinetic disruptions to the deep offshore topography. The DTM was used to compute a hypsometric curve for the closed depression from −731 m to +60 m. The maximum area and volume of a lake extending to the Afula ‘spillway’ would be 5985 km 2 and 1602 km 3, respectively. Inflection points were observed at −715 m, where the Dead Sea's flat bottom meets its steep flanks, at −385 m where the northern basin meets the flat floor of the southern basin and surrounding plain, at −228 with the step up to the basin of the Sea of Galilee, and at Mediterranean sea level.

Boiling over in the great rift valley

Boiling over in the great rift valley

Large-scale tensional features along the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift Valley

Open fractures indicative of an active tensional stress system have been studied on the western side of the Dead Sea. They are of recent origin, up to 10 m wide, 10 m deep and several hundred meters long. These fractures occur north and south of the Dead Sea area adjacent to the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift. They form the surface expression of stress relief towards the valley along faulted and eroded scarps, which are locally several hundred meters high. Seismic activity along the Syrian-African Rift, of which the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift is a part, may have increased stress relief movements. Antecedent tensional failure adjacent to the rift causes rock deformation along pre-existing weakness planes such as faults and joints. Re-activated movements along these discontinuities coalesce to form new trends imposed on the previously existing directions. The new trends are concentrated in a zone up to 4-km wide proximal to the western side of the rift and are believed to occur in a similar zone on the eastern side. Several generations of fractures have been observed from younger open fractures to older alluvium and rock-debris filled ones. Age recognition of the fractures is based on geomorphological criteria such as “hanging meanders”, captured dry-stream beds and perched playas. These criteria suggest a young age for the open fractures, which may be related to Holocene earthquakes.

A Mechanism for the Origin of the Human Brain: A Hypothesis

A Mechanism for the Origin of the Human Brain: A Hypothesis

Sudanian Elements in the Flora of Israel

In the Dead Sea Rift Valley of Israel, a northern tongue of penetration of Sudanian elements exists that has traditionally been regarded as composed of Miocene relicts. We postulate that most of these elements have penetrated the area since the end of the Pleistocene. The principal habitats harboring Sudanian elements in Israel are described, including the pseudo-savanna in wadi beds, cliffs and rock formation, oases and in the Dead Sea Rift as well as a variety of secondary habitats outside the Rift. In addition, a statistical analysis of the 116 species in the flora of Israel considered to be Sudanian elements is presented, covering growth form, phytogeographic distribution, dispersal mechanisms, and degree of endemism. Special attention is given to the arboreal elements, including 49 species of trees, shrubs, and perennial vines. A comparison is made between the habitats of these species in East Africa and in Israel: significant habitat shifts were found in some cases. Although paleo-macrofossils are almost non-existent in the area, other evidence, such as low degree of endemism, disjunctiveness, and adaptations to aridity and long-distance dispersal indicate that the great majority of the Sudanian elements in the Dead Sea Rift are of recent origin. The relationships between the typical evergreen Mediterranean elements with paleotropical origins and the extant Sudanian elements in Israel are discussed. Within the portion of the Syrian-African Rift lying between the Red Sea to the south and the watershed of the Jordan River in the Golan Heights, a large number of Sudanian elements, plants as well as animals, are found considerably farther north than anywhere else in their distribution range and in many cases growing under ecological conditions quite different from their norm. In addition, a handful of Sudanian species also occur in the low-lying coastal plain of Israel, almost entirely cut off from the Dead Sea Rift Valley and the bulk of the Sudanian region proper (Fig. 1). Climatic and geological conditions in the Dead Sea Rift Valley explain in part the presI A. Shmida wishes to express his considerable debt of gratitude to the late Prof. M. Zohary who introduced him (and dozens of other students) to the intricacies and unique attributes of the Israeli flora. We thank G. E. Wickens who reviewed the manuscript with meticulous care, helped gather information for some of the distribution maps, and made valuable suggestions for improvement of the text. J. B. Gillett and P. Quezel also kindly reviewed the manuscript and provided stimulating comments and suggestions. Our thanks also go to Sandy Greenberg, Seemah Shemesh, and Marion Milner who provided computer and typing assistance, to Nancy R. Morin and Dr. Marjorie Tiefert for patient and professional editorial guidance, and to Miri Shmida who drew the figures. The assistance of J. Dransfield in preparing Figure 5 is gratefully acknowledged. Any errors or inaccuracies therein are entirely the responsibility of the authors. Finally we thank the numerous guides of the Israeli Society for the Protection of Nature who helped us locate some of the rare and little-known populations of Sudanian plants in Israel. We gratefully acknowledge financial assistance received during the course of this research from the Bath-sheva de Rothschild Fund to A. Shmida and the Clifford M. Hardin Fund of the Fund for Higher Education to J. A. Aronson. 2 Department of Botany, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. 3Rudolf and Rhoda Boyko Institute for Agriculture and Applied Biology, Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 1025, Beer-Sheva 84110, Israel. ANN. MissouRi BOT. GARD. 73: 1-28. 1986. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.253 on Sat, 11 Jun 2016 07:14:14 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 2 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN [VOL. 73

The NYANJA chronicles

It seemed simple enough on paper. Build a small research boat, outfit it with a very modest, i.e., academic, geophysical capability, transport it from North Carolina to Africa, and then spend a few months each year leisurely surveying the great rift valley lakes. Crew the boat with my graduate students and rely upon the sympathies of a few petroleum companies for financial support.

Special climatological conditions in the deserts of Sinai and the Negev during the latest Pleistocene

Results of hydrological and geological investigations carried out during the last ten years in the deserts of the Sinai and the Negev indicate that unique climatological and hydrological conditions prevailed between ca. 100,000 and ca. 10,000 yr B.P. The uniqueness was expressed by the following characteristics: 1. (1) Higher precipitation and recharge rates caused the Nubian Sandstone aquifers to be filled up through the outcrops in central Sinai and to overflow through big springs emerging along the faults of the Syrian—African rift system. This water is of special isotopic composition, namely depleted in 18O and deuterium and with a lower excess of the latter. 2. (2) Dust-laden rainstorms prevailed, probably mainly during the autumn season, causing the deposition of thick layers of loess. The quantity of rain during the humid periods was double that of the present. 3. (3) The drainage system of many western and northern wadis of Sinai as well as the Negev could not drain out all the silt-loaded water during the rainy season, and shallow lakes and marshes extended in many wadis during this season. 4. (4) The floods and the springs flowing into the Dead Sea rift valley contributed to the Lisan Lake, which was 200 m above the level of the contemporary Dead Sea.

The paleohydrology of southern israel and its influence on the flushing of the Kurnub and 'Arad groups (Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic)

The ionic composition, stable isotopes and total salinity pattern of waters from the aquifer of the Kurnub and 'Arad groups (Lower Cretaceous-Jurassic) suggest that these waters replaced previous formation brines. The hydrologic regime which caused the flushing is the same as that which filled the formerly-described Kurnub Group aquifer (“Upper Nubian Sandstone”) of the central and southern Negev. Infiltration took place during humid phases of the Pleistocene, through outcrops along the igneous massif of the southern Sinai. Northward, subsurface flow was made possible mainly by the opening of outlet zones along the regional faults accompanying the Syrian-African rift system. The layers beneath the Coastal Plain were not flushed as no outlet was available due to the deep burial of these layers under a thick impermeable cover of the Shefela and Saqiye groups. Alternative models by other authors (Mesozoic and Recent flushing) are briefly discussed.

Selection of optimum underground petroleum storage cavern sites by detailed geotechnical mapping (Syrian-African Rift Valley, Elat, Israel)

An areas near Elat was investigated for the purpose of identifying suitable sites for the construction of mined underground petroleum storage caverns. The area of study is located at the northern tip of the Arabo-Nubian Precambrian Massif, close to the big geo-suture known as the Syrian-African Rift Valley.

Rate of seismicity of the dead sea region over the past 4000 years

The results of two millennia of earthquake documentation, a few decades of macroseismic and instrumental routine seismological observations and five months of microearthquake monitoring, are used to estimate the rate of seismic activity of the Dead Sea fault. It is found that these vastly diverse data which combine long- and short-term tectonic processes, are in good accord with the formula: log 10N=2.54 − 0.86M L where N is the annual number of events of local magnitude M L or greater. If this equation is extrapolated to ca. 2000 B.C., it yields a Richter magnitude M s = 7 for the event of Sodom and Gomorrah which is believed to be associated with the strongest earthquake in the region during historical times. Comparing our findings with the results of other investigators in Turkey, Greece, Aegean Sea and Iran, we note that the b values along the Syrian-African rift zone (0.78–0.86) are smaller than those in Greece and its surrounding seas (0.94–1.16).

Brain Size and Hunting Ability in Earliest Man

Brain Size and Hunting Ability in Earliest Man

Radon and radium content of some Israeli water sources and a hypothesis on underground reservoirs of brines, oils and gases in the Rift Valley

In a survey of the radon and radium contents of various water sources in Israel, a number of anomalies were detected. All the highest values found were in waters located in the Jordan Rift Valley, which is a part of the large Syrian-African Rift Valley. To explain these anomalies and other geochemical features of these sources a hypothesis of underground reservoirs of brines, oils and gases was developed. Field data appear to indicate the existence of such reservoirs in the Dead Sea and Lake Kinneret areas, where they seem to be the source of the mineral and radioactive springs occurring on the shores. The results lead to some practical conclusions concerning the possible exploitation of potassium-rich brines found near the Dead Sea, the salinization of Lake Kinneret and prospecting for oil and gas in the Rift Valley.

STUDIES ON A CANKER DISEASE OF CYPRESSES IN EAST AFRICA, CAUSED BY MONOCHAETIA UNICORNIS (COOKE & ELLIS) SACC

A canker disease of cypresses, caused by Monochaetia unicornis, was first observed in Kenya in 1942. Outbreaks appear to have followed a spread from south‐east to north‐west, the direction of the south‐east monsoon, and the disease has now been recorded in nearly all the cypress‐growing areas of Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda, in Southern Rhodesia and the Union of South Africa. The oldest known infections occurred in 1937.The fungus grows in the bark and sapwood, forming cankers which spread rapidly up and down the stem or branch, more slowly round, frequently causing girdling. Cankered trees produce large amounts of resin and a periderm may be initiated in advance of the fungus. Infections occur most commonly at main branch crotches, but cankers also start at the tree collar, on the stem and at minor branch crotches.The fungus exists in nature in three strains having differing levels of virulence, growth rate in culture, size of acervuli and conidia, and retention of viability in conidia. The distribution of one strain appears to be limited by ecological conditions.Acervuli ripen and conidia are liberated from 3 to 8 weeks after the start of the rains. Infections start during the rains and misty weather, the slimy spores being dispersed for short distances only. Conidia may retain their viability for up to 28 months.The local spread of the disease in Kenya has been traced and differing levels of virulence east and west of the Great Rift valley, associated with differences of climate, have been observed.Trees 2 years old are the most susceptible and older trees are only infected in the rapidly growing parts. Cupressus macrocarpa is more susceptible than C. lusitanica, the latter species being heavily infected only where it is growing close to diseased C. tnacrocarpa.Occlusion of cankers occurs in both species but is more effective in halting the spread of the fungus in C. lusitanica.It is suggested that the disease originated from a single focus and may represent the mutation of a strain of Monochaetia unicornis parasitic on cypresses from a strain only parasitic on an indigenous host, Juniperus procera. The fungus may, however, have been imported from abroad.