Inchplant (Tradescantia zebrina)

Rumput belang or inchplant or zebrina pendula (Tradescantia zebrina) is a spiderwort species in Commelinaceae, growing vines and climbing, in colonies forming dense mats, having striking zebra-patterned leaves and widely used as ornamental plants.

T. zebrina has green stems with magenta spots, divided into growth segments with roots growing at each junction and the tip is magenta leaf buds. The roots develop in permanent contact with moisture, soil, water or substrate.

Ovoid-shaped leaves, 4-10 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide and rounded to the base, shiny, growing in a row in each segment, alternating and hairy or hairless. The upper surface is dark green with two wide silver lines parallel to the middle axis, while the bottom surface is magenta.

The flowers in clusters are supported by two large and narrow bracts, hermaphrodite, radial-symmetrical triples. Three sepals are 2-3 mm long, the other three grow on the base petals, ovoid, pink to purple and 5-9 mm long.

Six stamens have purple hair. Three carpels that have become permanent ovaries will form fruit capsules containing gray-brown seeds. Inchplant grows in clumps in wetlands and rain forests, often on rocks in shaded and open areas or on river banks in the lowlands up to 2000 meters.

Inchplant is usually used as an ornamental plant and ground cover. At least three varieties are Tradescantia zebrina var. flocculosa, Tradescantia zebrina var. mollipila and Tradescantia zebrina var. zebrina.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Commelinales
Family: Commelinaceae
Subfamily: Commelinoideae
Tribe: Tradescantieae
Subtribe: Tradescantiinae
Genus: Tradescantia
Species: T. zebrina

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

Black potato ( Coleus rotundifolius ) is a species of plant in Lamiaceae, herbaceous, fibrous roots and tubers, erect and slightly creeping stems, quadrangular, thick, and slightly odorous. Single leaves, thick, membranous, opposite and alternate. Leaves are oval, dark green and shiny on the upper side, bright green on the lower side. Up to 5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, slightly hairy and pinnate leaf veins. Leaf stalks up to 4 cm long. Small, purple flowers. Star-shaped petals, lip-shaped crown, dark to light purple with a slightly curved tube shape. Flowering from February-August. Small tubers, brown and white flesh and tuber length 2-4 cm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Nepetoideae Tribe: Ocimeae Subtribe: Plectranthinae Genus: Coleus Species: Coleus rotundifolius

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 ...

Bright white flat-backed millipede (Trichopeltis jiyue) like moon emerging from behind dark rain clouds

NEWS - Bright white flat-backed millipede ( Trichopeltis jiyue sp. nov.) from Ailaoshan National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province, is the second recorded epigean species of Trichopeltis Pocock 1894 in China. Jiyue (Chinese spelling) refers to the bright white appearance of the animal, like the moon emerging from behind dark rain clouds. Polydesmida is one of the most diverse orders of Diplopoda (millipedes) with about 5000 species in 30 families and is widely distributed worldwide. All Polydesmida are blind, eyeless and metaterga usually show small to prominent lateral paranota or paraterga. Cryptodesmidae Karsch 1880 is a family Polydesmida with about 40 genera and 130 species distributed in the Neotropics (Mexico to Argentina), Afrotropics (continental sub-Saharan Africa) and Asia-Australasia (Central Asia and the Himalayas to Japan and Papua New Guinea). In tropical or subtropical Asia and Australasia, 12 genera and 36 species have been documented in Cryptodesmidae. Trichopeltis P...

Dlium