Gadis perindu (Sphagneticola calendulacea)

Gadis perindu (Sphagneticola calendulacea) is a species of flowering plants, spread using seeds, living near water in an open place, getting lots of sunlight, growing fast in the rainy season and strong in all weather conditions in tropical climates.

S. calendulacea is commonly found wild in Indonesia, especially in habitats around irrigation channels and rice fields that live together with grass. Plants grow wild and quickly spread during the rainy season on agricultural lands and farmers consider them weeds.

These wild grasses have fiber roots, green woody stems, grow to as high as 0.5 meters, green leaves and yellow flowers. The stem generally spreads sideways and grows on the ground, although some stalks go upwards.

The leaves grow along the stalk, green, the upper surface has hair and have wavy contours following the arterial lines. The tip of the leaf is pointed, the sides are jagged and has two wings on the left and right. The bottom surface is light green.

Flowers come from each end of the stem, the petals are green and face up. Compound crowns, usually composed of nine parts in a circular structure and bright yellow which are very striking among the surrounding grasses.

Compound pistils, stemmed and lined tightly to form a circle in the middle of the crown. Seeds spread using insects including butterflies, grasshoppers, ants, etc., although wind is also possible. The famous S. calendulacea produces wedelolactone and demethylwedelolactone.

Traditional Javanese medicine uses S. calendulacea to treat respiratory problems, headaches, toothache, bronchitis, menstrual disorders, hemorrhoids and hair fertilizers. Javanese traditionally consider these plant extracts from various types of solvents to have antioxidant and antibacterial activity.

Kingdom: Plantae
- : Angiosperms
- : Eudicots
- : Asterids
- : Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Sphagneticola
Species: S. calendulacea

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Pohpohan (Pilea melastomoides)

Pohpohan clearweed ( Pilea melastomoides ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae, herbaceous perennial, erect stems, up to 100 cm tall, succulent, square or cylindrical, enlarged in the middle of the internodes, bright green in color and forming colonies in the shade. P. melastomoides has stipules that are immediately deciduous or subpersistent, green or brownish and oblong. The stalk is 2-9 cm long. The leaf blade is ovate or ovate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate. The surface is wavy, pale green on the underside, dark green on the top. The three main veins are central and linear. Rounded base, tapered ends and serrated edges. The inflorescences are paired, the male is a dense cyme paniculata. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Urticaceae Genus: Pilea Species: Pilea melastomoides

Petai (Parkia speciosa)

Stink bean or bitter bean or pete or petai ( Parkia speciosa ) is a tropical tree species in Fabaceae, 5-25 m high and branched, reddish brown bark, always green, compound and pinnate leaves, young seeds are harvested as fresh or boiled food . P. speciosa has a hump-shaped flower that hangs with a long stalk, usually appearing near the tips of the branches. Flowers that are young and not yet blooming are green, mature flowers have stamens and pistils, old flowers turn yellow and are large in size. Dozens of long, flat pod-shaped fruits emerge from a flower hump hanging from a tree. Each pod has up to 10-20 seeds that are neatly arranged, green when young and wrapped in a rather thick membrane of light brown. The fruit dries and becomes harder as it ripens and releases the seeds. Petai grows well in wet and slightly wet climates, low land to mountains with an altitude of 1,500 m, open spaces and lots of sun throughout the day with fine-tinted soil and Ph 5.5-6.5. Trees start bea...

Dlium