Barbados lily (Hippeastrum puniceum)

Barbados lily or amaryllis lily (Hippeastrum puniceum) is a species of perennial flowering plant in Amaryllidaceae, grows in the tropics, has 4-6 leaves, bright green, 30-60 cm long and 2.5-3 cm wide, white waxed, tubular and shrink at the ends.

H. puniceum has flowers that grow in the umbel at the end of the stalk which has a height of 40-60 cm and stands tall with a pointed tip at the top. The umbel has lanceolate green bracts at its base. Each stalk has one or two ovaries.

Orange-red petal with yellow or pale base. The two lower tepals are much narrower than lateral. About five white stamens emerge from the end of the tube in the middle of the crown.

A single flower will bloom to face north or south with a curved base where the horizontal flower faces are parallel to the ground, while the stems that have two flowers will bloom to face north and others to the south.

Wild barbados lilies grow in forests, yard, roadside and neglected lands. This plant likes sandy, gravel and rocky soil on dry slopes and lots of sun. This plant is drought resistant for more than six months in a row.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae
Genus: Hippeastrum
Species: H. puniceum

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...

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