Giant sensitive tree (Mimosa pigra)

Giant sensitive tree (Mimosa pigra) is a species of Mimosa in Fabaceae that forms dense shrubs, woody, thorny and widely spread throughout the tropics, especially in wet areas. These legumes have a height of up to 6 m, the stem is greenish in young plants but becomes brown wood when the plant is enlarged.

M. pigra is armed with spines up to 7 mm long on the trunk, bright green leaves and bipinnate where smaller spines stand in the middle 20 to 25 cm long with 5 cm pinnae lengths to 16 pairs, each divided into pairs for lengths of 3 to 8 mm. The leaves fold when touched and the night comes.

Pink flowers 1 cm in diameter. Each flower head produces a group of 10 to 20 seed pods which then break into hairy segments and each contains seeds. Mature seeds are light brown to brown, hard and can remain idle for at least 23 years in sandy soil.

Giant sensitive trees germinate throughout the year on moist soil but do not flood and most germination at the beginning and end of the rainy season. Seedling growth is very fast and flowering after 4 to 12 months. The process from flower buds to mature seeds takes about five weeks.

Kingdom: Plantae
- : Angiosperms
- : Eudicots
- : Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
- : Mimosoid clade
Genus: Mimosa
Species: M. pigra

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

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 ...

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...

Dlium