composed of yellow disc florets surrounded by ray florets with long, white petals. In addition, theentire family sometimes is known as the daisy family.The beauty of the flower head of daisies has made them a favorite of many people and apopular name of girls. They also provide food for pollinating insects, herbivorous insects, andeven people consume their leaves. However, the introduction of the English daisy and oxeyedaisy to non-native environments also has led to their being considered invasive species, whichcan be difficult to control or eradicate.The daisy family, also known as the aster or sunflowerfamily, is classified variously as Asteraceae or Compositae. The name “Asteraceae” is derivedfrom the type genus Aster and refers to the star-shaped flower head of its members, epitomizedwell by the English or true daisy, Bellis perennis. “Compositae,” an older but still valid name(McNeill et al. 2006), means “composite” and refers to the unique inflorescence (describedbelow).The daisy family is the the largest family of flowering plants in terms of number of species.According to the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew, the family comprises more than 1,600 generaand 23,000 species. These are dicotyledonous flowering plants. In addition to the daisy, otherwell-known members of the family include lettuce, chicory, globe artichoke, safflower, dandelion,chrysanthemum, ragwort, and sunflower.Plants belonging to the Asteraceae share all the following characteristics (Judd et al. 1999):The inflorescence is an involucrate capitulum (flower head)Tubular/disc florets are actinomorphic, ligulate/ray florets are zygomorphicAnthers are syngenesious, that is, with the stamens fused together at their edges, forming atubeThe ovary has basal arrangement of the ovulesOne ovule per ovaryThe calyx (sepals) of the florets are modified to form a pappus, a tuft of hairs, which oftenappears on the mature fruitThe fruit is an acheneIn the essential oils Sesquiterpenes are present, but iridoids are lacking.The most common characteristic of all these plants is an inflorescence or “flower head:” Adensely packed cluster of numerous, small, individual flowers, usually called “florets” (meaning”small flowers”). Daisies typically have two kinds of florets. The outer perimeter of a flower head,like that of the English daisy and the oxeye daisy, is composed of florets possessing a longstrap-like petal, termed a ligule; these are the ray florets. The inner portion of the flower head (ordisc) is composed of small flowers with tubular corollas; these are the disc florets.It is thought that the name “daisy” is a corruption of “day’s eye,” because the whole head of thecommon daisy closes at night and opens in the morning. Chaucer called it “eye of the day.”[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Unicorn, mythological animal resembling a horse or a goat with asingle horn on its forehead. The unicorn appeared in early Mesopotamian artworks, and it alsowas referred to in the ancient myths of India and China. The earliest description in Greek

literature of a single-horned (Greek monokerōs, Latin unicornis) animal was by the historianCtesias (c. 400 BCE), who related that the Indian wild ass was the size of a horse, with a whitebody, purple head, and blue eyes, and on its forehead was a cubit-long horn coloured red at thepointed tip, black in the middle, and white at the base. Those who drank from its horn werethought to be protected from stomach trouble, epilepsy, and poison. It was very fleet of foot anddifficult to capture. The actual animal behind Ctesias’s description was probably the Indianrhinoceros.Certain poetical passages of the Bible refer to a strong and splendid horned animalcalled reʾem. This word was translated “unicorn” or “rhinoceros” in many versions of the Bible,but many modern translations prefer “wild ox” (aurochs), which is the correct meaning of theHebrew reʾem. As a biblical animal, the unicorn was interpreted allegorically in the earlyChristian church. One of the earliest such interpretations appears in the ancient Greek bestiaryknown as the Physiologus, which states that the unicorn is a strong, fierce animal that can becaught only if a virgin maiden is placed before it. The unicorn leaps into the virgin’s lap, and shesuckles it and leads it to the king’s palace. Medieval writers thus likened the unicorn to Christ,who raised up a horn of salvation for mankind and dwelt in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Otherlegends tell of the unicorn’s combat with the elephant, whom it finally spears to death with itshorn, and of the unicorn’s purifying of poisoned waters with its horn so that other animals maydrink.Cups reputedly made of unicorn horn—but actually made of rhinoceros horn or narwhaltusk—were highly valued by important persons in the Middle Ages as a protection againstpoisoned drinks. Many fine representations of the hunt of the unicorn survive in medieval art,not only in Europe but also in the Islamic world and in China.Unicorns don’t really exist in ourworld today. However, thanks to many myths and legends, they are alive in the imaginations ofchildren all over the world. So how exactly did such myths and legends get started? Were theybased on a unicorn-like creature that lived thousands of years ago?If we asked you ‘what’sScotland’s national animal?’, you might ponder between a couple of our iconic wildlife species.You probably wouldn’t think of a magical horned creature typically seen on children’slunchboxes!But it’s true: the unicorn really is the official national animal of Scotland. And our love for thisfamous mythological creature dates back many centuries.Unicorns have featured in many cultures going as far back as the classical age, including theancient Babylonians and the Indus civilization. With its white horse-like body and singlespiralling horn, the unicorn is a symbol of purity, innocence and power in Celtic mythology.Legend also tells that their horns can purify poisoned water, such is the strength of their healingpower.These proud, untameable creatures are fiercely independent and famously difficult to capture orconquer, which will sound familiar to anyone who has read their Scottish history. Even thoughunicorns are mythological, Scots have always felt drawn to what they represent.When didScotland adopt the unicorn?The answer to that question lies in heraldry – the age-old practice of designing and displayingcoats of arms or crests to distinguish between groups of people, heraldry as our guide, we can see that the unicorn was first introduced to the royal coat of armsof Scotland around the mid-1500s.Prior to the Union of the Crowns in 1603, our coat of arms was supported by two unicorns.However, when King James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, he replaced one ofthe unicorns with the national animal of England, the lion, as a display of unity between the twocountries. Of course, folklore fans will know that lions and unicorns have always been enemies,locked in a battle for the title of ‘king of beasts’.An interesting thing to note is that Scottishunicorns in heraldry are always shown with gold chains wrapped around them. Why? Althoughwe don’t know for sure, it’s believed that this was a way of showing the power of Scottish kings– that only they had the strength to tame the untameable.Where can you find unicorns in Scotland?For thousands of years, people around the world believed that unicorns did exist. However, in1825, a prominent French naturalist called Georges Cuvier attempted to dispel the myth bystating that an animal with a split hoof could never grow a single horn from its head (he alsoargued against theories of evolution). Nevertheless, the spirit of the unicorn has lived on eversince – people even celebrate National Unicorn Day every year on 9 April.So … do unicorns exist in Scotland? Of course they do! You just have to know where to look.Here are some places in Scotland where you can spot our country’s national animal:When exploring Edinburgh you’ll see a number of unicorns of various shapes and sizes. There’sa fine example on a heraldic shield by the gates to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, another in theRoyal Apartments at Edinburgh Castle, and several hiding among the Victorian woodcarvings atSt Giles’ Cathedral, just down the road from Gladstone’s Land.Wherever you see a mercatcross (a Scottish market cross and an old symbol of trade and prosperity for many of our townsand cities), look for a unicorn atop the tower. There are many different examples across thecountry, ranging from the modest to the ornate, in towns and cities such as Edinburgh, Culross,Prestonpans, Dunfermline and Falkland.Further north, you’ll find interesting examples of Scottish unicorns at Stirling Castle, home of the‘Hunt of the Unicorn’ tapestries, and Dundee, where HMS Unicorn, one of the oldest warships inthe world, proudly displays a unicorn as its figurehead.In European literature and art, theunicorn has for the last thousand years or so been depicted as a white horse-like or goat-likeanimal with a long straight horn with spiralling grooves, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat’sbeard. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wildwoodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could be captured only by a virgin. Inencyclopedias, its horn was described as having the power to render poisoned water potableand to heal sickness. In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal wassometimes sold as a unicorn horn.A bovine type of unicorn is thought by some scholars to have been depicted in seals of theBronze Age Indus Valley civilization, the interpretation remaining controversial. An equine of the unicorn was mentioned by the ancient Greeks in accounts of natural history by variouswriters, including Ctesias, Strabo, Pliny the Younger, Aelian,and Cosmas Indicopleustes.TheBible also describes an animal, the re’em, which some translations render as unicorn.The unicorn continues to hold a place in popular culture. It is often used as a symbol of fantasyor rarity.[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It containsnearly one-third of the United Kingdom’s land area, consisting of the northern third of the islandof Great Britain and more than 790 adjacent islands, principally in the archipelagos of theHebrides and the Northern Isles.The mainland of Scotland is broadly divided into three regions:the Highlands, a mountainous region in the north and north-west; the Lowlands, a flatter plainacross the centre of the country; and the Southern Uplands, a hilly region along the southernborder. The Highlands are the most mountainous region of the UK and contain its highest peak,Ben Nevis (1,345 metres (4,413 ft)) The region also contains many lakes, called lochs; the termis also applied to the many saltwater inlets along the country’s deeply indented westerncoastline. The geography of the many islands is varied. Some, such as Mull and Skye, arenoted for their mountainous terrain, while the likes of Tiree and Coll are much flatter.Scotland,most northerly of the four parts of the United Kingdom, occupying about one-third of the islandof Great Britain. The name Scotland derives from the Latin Scotia, land of the Scots, a Celticpeople from Ireland who settled on the west coast of Great Britain about the 5th century CE.The name Caledonia has often been applied to Scotland, especially in poetry. It is derived fromCaledonii, the Roman name of a tribe in the northern part of what is now Scotland.An austereland, subject to extremes of weather, Scotland has proved a difficult home for countlessgenerations of its people, who have nonetheless prized it for its beauty and unique culture. “I ama Scotsman,” the poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott wrote in the 19th century; “therefore I had tofight my way into the world.” Historically one of Europe’s poorest countries, Scotland hascontributed much to political and practical theories of progress: forged in the ScottishEnlightenment in the hands of such philosophers as Francis Hutcheson, Adam Smith, andDavid Hume, who viewed humankind as a product of history and the “pursuit of happiness” asan inalienable right, this progressive ideal contributed substantially to the development ofmodern democracy. Scots have also played a vital role in many of the world’s most importantscientific and technological innovations, with inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs such asAlexander Graham Bell, James Watt, Andrew Carnegie, and John McAdam extendingScotland’s reach far beyond the small country’s borders. Few students of English-languageliterature are unacquainted with historian Thomas Carlyle, poet Robert Burns, and novelistMuriel Spark.Scotland’s relations with England, with which it was merged in 1707 to form theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain, have long been difficult. Although profoundly influenced by theEnglish, Scotland has long refused to consider itself as anything other than a separate country,and it has bound itself to historical fact and legend alike in an effort to retain national identity, aswell as to the distinct dialect of English called Scots; writing defiantly of his country’s status, thenationalist poet Hugh MacDiarmid proclaimed: “For we ha’e faith in Scotland’s hidden poo’ers,The present’s theirs, but a’ the past and future’s oors.” That independent spirit bore fruit in 1996,when the highly symbolic Stone of Scone was returned to Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, fromLondon, and in 1999 a new Scottish Parliament—the first since 1707—was elected and givensignificant powers over Scottish affairs.formarmies or institutions. UsingScotland is bounded by England to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, and theNorth Sea to the east. The west coast is fringed by deep indentations (sea lochs or fjords) andby numerous islands, varying in size from mere rocks to the large landmasses of Lewis andHarris, Skye, and Mull. The island clusters of Orkney and Shetland lie to the north. At itsgreatest length, measured from Cape Wrath to the Mull of Galloway, the mainland of Scotlandextends 274 miles (441 km), while the maximum breadth—measured from Applecross, in thewestern Highlands, to Buchan Ness, in the eastern Grampian Mountains—is 154 miles (248km). But, because of the deep penetration of the sea in the sea lochs and firths (estuaries),most places are within 40 to 50 miles (65 to 80 km) of the sea, and only 30 miles (50 km) of landseparate the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth, the two great estuarine inlets on the west andeast coasts, respectively.Scotland is traditionally divided into three topographic areas: theHighlands in the north, the Midland Valley (Central Lowlands), and the Southern Uplands. (Thelatter two areas are included in the Lowlands cultural region.) Low-lying areas extend throughthe Midland Valley and along the greater part of the eastern seaboard. The east coast contrastswith the west in its smoother outline and thus creates an east-west distinction in topography aswell as a north-south one. The Highlands are bisected by the fault line of Glen Mor (Glen Albyn),which is occupied by a series of lochs (lakes), the largest of which is Loch Ness, famous for itsprobably mythical monster. North of Glen Mor is an ancient plateau, which, through longerosion, has been cut into a series of peaks of fairly uniform height separated by glens (valleys)carved out by glaciers. The northwestern fringe of the mainland is particularly barren, the rocksof the Lewisian Complex having been worn down by severe glaciation to produce a hummockylandscape, dotted by small lochs and rocks protruding from thin, acidic soil. The landscape isvaried by spectacular Torridonian sandstone mountains, weathered into sheer cliffs, rockterraces, and pinnacles.Southeast of Glen Mor are the Grampian Mountains (also shaped byglaciation), though there are intrusions such as the granitic masses of the Cairngorm Mountains.The Grampians are on the whole less rocky and rugged than the mountains of the northwest,being more rounded and grassy with wider plateau areas. But many have cliffs and pinnaclesthat provide challenges for mountaineers, and the area contains Britain’s highest mountains,reaching a maximum elevation of 4,406 feet (1,343 metres) at Ben Nevis. There are some flatterareas—the most striking being Rannoch Moor, a bleak expanse of bogs and graniticrocks—with narrow, deep lochs such as Rannoch and Ericht. The southeastern margin of theHighlands is clearly marked by the Highland Boundary Fault, running northeast to southwestfrom Stonehaven, just south of Aberdeen, to Helensburgh on the River Clyde and passingthrough Loch Lomond, Scotland’s largest stretch of inland water.The southern boundary of the Midland Valley is not such a continuous escarpment, but the faultbeginning in the northeast with the Lammermuir and Moorfoot hills and extending to Glen App,in the southwest, is a distinct dividing line. In some ways the label Lowlands is a misnomer, for,although this part of Scotland is low by comparison with adjoining areas, it is by no means flat.The landscape includes hills such as the Sidlaws, the Ochils, the Campsies, and the Pentlands,composed of volcanic rocks rising as high as 1,898 feet (579 metres). The Southern Uplandsare not as high as the Highlands. Glaciation has produced narrow, flat valleys separating rollingmountains. To the east of Nithsdale the hills are rounded, gently sloping, and grass-covered,providing excellent grazing for sheep, and they open out along the valley of the lower Tweedinto the rich farming land of the Merse. To the west of Nithsdale the landscape is rougher, withgranitic intrusions around Loch Doon, and the soil is more peaty and wet. The high moorlandsand hills, reaching up to 2,766 feet (843 metres) at Merrick, are also suitable for sheep farming.The uplands slope toward the coastal plains along the Solway Firth in the south and to themachair and the Mull of Galloway farther west.Uplift and an eastward tilting of the Highlandssome 50 million years ago (during the Eocene Epoch) formed a watershed near the west coast.As a result, most rivers drain eastward, but deeply glaciated rock basins in the northernHighlands form numerous large lochs. There are fewer lochs in the Grampian Mountains,although the area contains the large lochs of Ericht, Rannoch, and Tay. Well-graded rivers suchas the Dee, the Don, and the Spey meander eastward and northeastward to the North Sea. TheTay and Forth emerge from the southern Grampians to flow out of the eastern Lowlands in twolarge estuaries. The Clyde and the Tweed both rise in the Southern Uplands, the one flowingwest into the Firth of Clyde and the other east into the North Sea, while the Nith, the Annan, anda few other rivers run south into the Solway Firth. Lochs are numerous in the Highlands, rangingfrom moraine-dammed lochans (pools) in mountain corries (cirques) to large and deep lochsfilling rock basins. In the Lowlands and the Southern Uplands, lochs are shallower and lessnumerous.With Scotland’s diversity in geologic structure, relief, and weather, the character ofthe soil varies greatly. In the northwest, the Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, and other areas, thesoil is poor and rocky, and cultivation is possible only at river mouths, glens, and coastal strips.On the west coast of some Hebridean islands, however, there are stretches of calcareous sand(the machair) suitable for farming. Peat is widespread on moors and hills. Areas with good,arable land have largely been derived from old red sandstone and younger rocks, as in theOrkney Islands, the eastern Highlands, the northeastern coastal plain, and the Lowlands.[10/15, 22:27] SKILL INDIA: Brianne Nicole Howey is an American actress. She had main rolesin the Fox series The Exorcist and The Passage. She had a recurring role in the first season ofThe CW’s superhero drama Batwoman as Reagan Pye. As of 2021, she stars as Georgia Millerin the Netflix comedy-drama Ginny & Georgia. Brianne Howey and her husband Matt Zieringhave welcomed their first child! The star of Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia, Howey, posted a photowith her newborn to Instagram June 19. “My whole world just got a whole lot sweeter. Andsmaller.Brianne Howey and her husband, Matt Ziering, are parents! The couple welcomed theirfirst child together in June 2023 after announcing their pregnancy three months prior. The Ginny& Georgia star first met Ziering at a bar through mutual friends.Brianne Howey was born in LosAngeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for The Passage (2019), The Exorcist(2016) and Ginny & Georgia (2021). She has been married to Matt Ziering since July 24,2021.Graduated from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in La Cañada Flintridge, California in2007 and from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2011 with a Bachelor of FineArts degree.She grew up in La Cañada Flintridge, California.Brianne and her husband, Matt Ziering, are expecting their first child [March 16, 2023].Sister of Calian Howey.Bears a resemblance to actress Julia Roberts.Howey was raised in Pasadena, California, by heryoung and single mother, whom she later took inspiration from for her role as Georgia Miller inthe Netflix television show Ginny & Georgiaand is the oldest of five siblings. She attendedFlintridge Sacred Heart Academy, an all girls’ Catholic high school in joined the improv team.She continued her acting education and studied theatre at New YorkUniversity Tisch School of the Arts,and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. During hertime as a student, she starred in the short films Party Favors in 2008, Appropriate Siel in 2009,and Suckerpunch in 2010.Brianne Howey is an American actress who shot to fame with herperformance in the Netflix show Ginny & Georgia. Brianne did not always want to be in front ofthe camera. She rather dreamt of being a flight attendant. However, being part of an improvteam at school changed everything. Brianne Howey has had a decade long career in which shehas played multiple character roles in short films, TV series and movies. In her personal life,Brianne is very close to her family, is the oldest of five siblings, and enjoys being looked up to.She is engaged to her boyfriend and the couple is planning to get married in 2021. BrianneHowey loves to post pictures with her pooch, Bodie. She is involved in several humanitarianactivities, takes a strong stand against racism, and works towards LGBTQ causes. She is alsoassociated with a cause Donors Choose, which is a platform where people can donate to helpteachers.Pushed by her teachers, Brianne Howey enrolled in an improv team in school. Thiswas the starting point of her career, and since there was no looking back. Brianne was part of afew short films like Party Favors (2010), Appropriate Sex (2009), and Suckerpunch (2008) whileshe was still at school. She found her manager even before she graduated.Brianne Howey’s first real audition was for a role in the TV show 90210, which led to her beingfeatured in shows like Criminal Minds (2013), The Middle (2011-2012), Baby Daddy (2013),Revenge (2012), Scream Queens (2015), and Twisted (2014). She was seen in movies likeHorrible Bosses 2 (2014, Time Trap (2017), Little Bitches (2018) and Plus One (2019).Brianne Howey got her first lead role as Scarlet in the British sitcom I Live with Models, in 2015.The show ran for 16 episodes till 2017 in which she was part of 11 episodes. During this time,Brianne was also acting in Fox’s horror series The Exorcist. In 2019, she in the television seriesBatwoman, The Passage and Dollface.Starring as Georgia Miller in Ginny & Georgia, on Netflix, has put a bright spotlight on BrianneHowey’s career. The response to the show is amazing and no wonder it has gotten fans as wellas people of the industry to sit-up and take notice of this blonde beauty. She has beencompared to Julia Roberts with multiple articles doing the rounds about whether they both arerelated. No, they are not.Brianne Howey was born on 24 May 1989, in La Canada Flintridge,California. She is the eldest among her five siblings and is very close to her family. Shecompleted her schooling in Flintridge Sacred Heart, an all-girls’ school in Los Angeles.Thereafter, she graduated from NYU with a degree in theatre and a minor in Child Psychology.The story of how Brianne met her fiancé is straight out of some movie plot. A classic case of boymeets girl, but this time it was three nights one after the other. Brianne met her fiancé MattZiering, for the first time, while she was having a night out with her buddies at a Los Angelesbar. They had plans to get married in 2020, but had to postpone it because of the Coronapandemic. The couple has become dog-parents by adopting Bodie, an Australian Shepherd, inMarch 2020.Brianne Howey has had a decade long career in which she has played multiplecharacter roles in short films, TV series and movies. In her personal life, Brianne is very close toPasadena,where she