Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 November 27

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From today's featured article

Adiantum viridimontanum, commonly known as Green Mountain maidenhair fern, is a rare fern found only in outcrops of serpentine rock in New England and Canada. It is named after the site of its discovery in the Green Mountains in Vermont; it has since been located in Quebec and in one site on serpentine in coastal Maine. Until 1991, it was grouped with the western maidenhair fern A. aleuticum, which itself was classified as a variety of the northern maidenhair fern A. pedatum. It was then established that A. viridimontanum was a hybrid species and that the other two ferns were distinct species, although it is difficult to distinguish between the three species in the field. Due to the limited distribution of A. viridimontanum and its similarity to other species, little is known of its ecology. It thrives on sunny, disturbed areas where ultramafic rock is covered with thin soil, such as road cuts, talus slopes, and asbestos mines. Individual plants seem long-lived, and new individuals only infrequently reach maturity. It is one of four species endemic to serpentine in eastern North America and is considered globally threatened due to its habitat restrictions. (Full article...)

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In the news

The earliest known Buddhist shrine is uncovered by archaeologists at Maya Devi Temple (pictured), Lumbini, Nepal.
In Canadian football, the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the 101st Grey Cup.
Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions.
Magnus Carlsen defeats Viswanathan Anand to win the World Chess Championship.
A roof collapse at a grocery store in Riga, Latvia, kills more than 50 people.
British biochemist and two-time Nobel Prize winner Frederick Sanger dies at the age of 95.

Recent deaths: Maurice Vachon

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On this day...

November 27: Hanukkah begins at sunset (Judaism, 2013)

1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, one of the severest storms to strike southern Great Britain, destroyed the first Eddystone Lighthouse in Plymouth, England.
1815 – As specified by the Congress of Vienna, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland was signed for the newly recreated Polish state that was under Russian control.
1940 – The Iron Guard killed over 60 political detainees at a penitentiary near Bucharest and followed up with several high-profile assassinations, including that of former Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Iorga (pictured).
1978 – The Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been in conflict with Turkey over the formation of an autonomous Kurdish state, was founded.
2005 – French oral and maxillofacial surgeon Bernard Devauchelle performed the world's first partial face transplant on a living human, replacing Isabelle Dinoire's face, which had been mutilated by her dog.

More anniversaries: November 26 – November 27 – November 28

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Today's featured picture

Mycena atkinsoniana is a species of agaric fungus in the family Mycenaceae that grows scattered or in groups on leaf litter in forests during the summer and autumn. This specimen was photographed in Strouds Run State Park, Ohio, US.

Photo: Dan Molter

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