Flame lily (Gloriosa superba)

Sunsang or flame lily (Gloriosa superba) is a species of plant in the Colchicaceae, an annual shrub, grows to climb using leaf tip tendrils, fleshy stems up to 4 meters long, widely used as an ornamental plant due to its bright flower color and distinctive shape.

G. superba grows with gnarled rhizomes and climbs using leaf tendrils. Leaves alternate, lanceolate with outstretched tips, 13-20 cm long, thick, a bone in the center that forms a trench, smooth surface, flat margins and green in color.

Wavy flower tent, red top and greenish yellow base, has six corrugated tents and is 5-7.6 cm each. The fruit is capsule-shaped and fleshy, 6-12 cm long and contains red seeds. Butterflies and birds usually do pollination.

All parts of the plant contain colchicine where the leaves and tubers are about 0.1-0.8%, while the seeds are around 1.32%. Colchicine is a toxic and carcinogenic alkaloid compound that is soluble in water, alcohol and chloroform.

Colchicine has been used effectively in the treatment of acute gout, intestinal worms, bruises, infertility and skin problems. It has also been used to remove thorns, nails, skin parasites, antidotes for snake bites, laxatives and abortions.

Flame lily also contains the alkaloid gloriosin which will cause nausea, vomiting, numbness and tingling around the mouth, burning in the throat, stomach pain and bloody diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death. Long-term effects include prolonged peeling of the skin and vaginal bleeding.

Colchicine alkaloids are useful in the treatment of chronic ulcers, arthritis, cholera, stomach pain, kidney problems, and typhus. Colchicine is widely used as an experimental tool in cell division studies to inhibit mitosis, induce polyploidy and treat cancer.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Colchicaceae
Genus: Gloriosa
Species: Gloriosa superba

Skyflower (Duranta erecta)

Sinyo nakal or skyflower ( Duranta erecta ) is plant species in Verbenaceae, a broad shrub or small tree, up to 6 m high, stems growing upright or horizontally with broad clumps, many branches, bark light brown, old tree has axillary spines and grows to form dense colonies. D. erecta has bright green leaves, elliptical to ovoid, pointed or rounded ends, sitting opposite, 7.5 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, a main vein in the middle with several small lateral veins, petiole long 1.5 cm. Flowers are light blue or lavender or white, appear in tight clusters as on terminal stems and axils, often curled or pendulous, blooms in summer. The fruit is a berry having a stalk, small round, yellow or orange or white in color, up to 11 mm in diameter, an eye green in front and containing several seeds. Skyflower grows in dry or humid areas and lots of sun, rocky or sandy beaches, forests, farmland and disturbed places. Plants will grow at a rate of up to half a meter per year. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum:...

Yellow garden spider (Argiope appensa)

Yellow garden spider ( Argiope appensa ) is a species of spider in Araneidae that lives on the coast to forests on islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Black and yellow females are striking and have a length of 5.1-6.4 cm including long legs, while males are brown and have a length of about 1.9 cm. A. appensa lives on cliffs in the hills at 600 m above sea level in Kewu plain to rice fields in the lowlands. They make nests at a height of 1.5 meters from the ground between teak ( Tectona grandis ), sonokeling ( Dalbergia latifolia ), sonosiso ( Dalbergia sissoo ), crown flower ( Calotropis gigantea ) and various grasses. Yellow garden spiders grow in large sizes, but are not toxic to humans. Advanced builds ball-shaped nets and most of them make stabilizers which are zigzag-shaped lines in nets made of thicker bands. This species spends more time in stationary and sits in the middle of the net with its head down to wait for insects to be entangled in fine silk thread. Unli...

Pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia heterophylla)

Pink trumpet tree ( Tabebuia heterophylla ) is a species of plant in the Bignoniaceae family, growing 6–9 meters tall with a cylindrical trunk and brown bark that is often linearly fissured. The leaves are opposite, compound, with five or fewer minor leaflets. T. heterophylla has striking bright red flowers, tubular, five-lobed, and 5–7.5 cm long. The fruit is a cylindrical pod, up to 20 cm long and up to 1 cm wide. The pod stalk is up to 3 cm long. The pod splits along two lines to release numerous thin, light brown seeds, 0.5–2.5 cm long with two white wings. This species is often used as a street tree and shade tree for residential properties. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Bignoniaceae Genus: Tabebuia Species: Tabebuia heterophylla

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