Merkus pine (Pinus merkusii)

Tusam or gondorukem or Sumatran pine or Merkus pine (Pinus merkusii) is a species in Pinaceae, 25-45 meters high and 1 meter in diameter. Orange-red-brown bark, thick, cracked at the base of the stem, thin and scaly in the upper crown.

P. merkusii is endemic to Sumatra and the only natural distribution of members of Pinaceae in the southern part of the Equator. Most grow at an altitude of 400-1,500 meters, but sometimes at 90 meters and 2,000 meters. This tree generally covers the entire canopy in a large area.

The leaves are needle-shaped and paired, 15-20 cm long, less than 1 mm thick and green or yellowish in color. Woody cones have a length of 5-8 cm and a width of 2 cm at the base when closed, green but with aging will turn red-brown shiny.

Cones will open to 4-5 cm wide at maturity to release seeds in all directions. The seeds have 5-6 mm length and 15-20 mm wings to fly riding the wind. Tusam has separate male and female genital organs but in one individual.

Sumatran pine naturally dominates mountain tropical forests in Indonesia, but is widely cultivated in a number of places in Java and Sumatra to harvest sap on the stem as a raw material for turpentine and gondorukem or resina colophonium.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: Pinus
Section: Pinus
Species: Pinus merkusii

Bugang (Clerodendrum calamitosum)

Bugang ( Clerodendrum calamitosum ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae family. It is an erect shrub, growing up to 1 meter tall, with cylindrical, green stems and white hairs. The leaves are opposite. The leaf blade is oval, wavy, with a central main vein with numerous pinnate minor veins, and serrated margins. The leaves are up to 9 cm long and 7 cm wide. The petiole is up to 2 cm long. The flowers are star-shaped, white, up to 3 cm in diameter and up to 6 cm in total length. The fruit is round, dark green, turning black when ripe. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Ajugoideae Genus: Clerodendrum L. in Sp. Pl.: 637 (1753) Species: Clerodendrum calamitosum L. in Mant. Pl. 1: 90 (1767) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Clerodendrum fastigiatum (W.Hunter ex Ridl.) H.J.Lam in Verben. Malay. Archip.: 317 (1919) Volkameria alternifolia Burm.f. in Fl. Indica: 137 (1768) Volkameria fastigiata W.Hunter...

Plumeria rubra and Plumeria obtusa, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - The genus frangipani trees ( Plumeria Tourn. ex L.) has only 18 officially recorded species and two very similar species, frangipani ( Plumeria rubra L.) and white frangipani ( Plumeria obtusa L.). Both have the same habitus, flowers and fruits and are difficult to distinguish. The leaves of both species have slightly different shapes. Therefore, the leaves are very important to distinguish the two species, especially the shape of the tip. P. rubra has simple, lanceolate leaves with acute tips. P. obtusa has simple, elliptic leaves with rounded tips. By Aryo Bandoro Founder of Dlium.com . You can follow him on X: @Abandoro . Read more: Plumeria rubra Plumeria obtusa

Common sun skink (Eutropis multifasciata)

Kadal kebun or bengkarung or Mabuya multifasciata or common sun skink ( Eutropis multifasciata ) is a species of lizard in Scincidae, has a pattern of faint lines extending to the sides of the body, measuring 18 to 22 cm in length with a tail length of about 60% of the overall body and more many live on the ground. E. multifasciata has a sharp head with a very short neck and a square cross section. The upper part is dark brown or shiny grayish brown with a golden body side especially near the neck. Sometimes also decorated with small pale spots on the back. The lower neck is light brown and the abdomen to the anus is pale brown. The muzzle is reddish, the tail is the same color as the body, decorated with a faint dark line on the sides. The arms are also the same color as the upper body. Common sun skinks usually live on the edge of forests, gardens, rice fields and human settlements. They spend most of their time on the ground, usually in crevices and rocky cliffs as a place t...

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