Cornstalk dracena (Dracaena fragrans)

Drasena or cornstalk dracena (Dracaena fragrans) is a species of flowering plant in Asparagaceae, a shrub that grows slowly, is very adaptive and inhabits in altitude regions of 600-2250 m, multistemmed at the base, up to 15 m high or higher with narrow, upright and slender crowns.

D. fragrans has a round stem with a diameter of up to 30 cm, young plants have a single stem and are not branched with a rosette of leaves to the ends, producing two or more new stems with subsequent flowering episodes.

Lanceolate leaves, 20-150 cm long, 2-12 cm wide, green overall or yellow vertical stripes follow the bone trench in the middle for some varieties, shiny, upright young leaves to spread and larger leaves droop due to weight.

The flowers in panicles are 15-160 cm long, individual flowers have a diameter of 2.5 cm with a six-lobed corolla, are pink and open white with the center having a red or purple line on each lobe for 7-12 mm, very fragrant and popular with pollinating insects.

The berries are green and turn orange red when ripe, 1-2 cm in diameter and contain several seeds. Dracena cornstalk is used for ornamental plants and removes air pollutants including formaldehyde, xylene and toluene.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Nolinoideae
Genus: Dracaena
Species: Dracaena fragrans
Varieties: Dracaena fragrans var. compacta, Dracaena fragrans var. fragrans

Mashpi walkingstick (Trychopeplus mashpiensis) from Chocó, Ecuador, based on males, females and eggs

NEWS - Researchers report Mashpi walkingstick ( Trychopeplus mashpiensis Conle, Valero & Hennemann, sp. nov.) from the Chocó ecoregion of northwestern Ecuador is new to science based on its unique body ornamentation and egg structure morphology. Trychopeplus Shelford 1909 is a genus of Neotropical stick insects (Phasmida Leach 1815) known for its remarkable morphological adaptations that allow it to blend in almost perfectly with epiphytic lichens in its habitat. These adaptations make Trychopeplus one of the most cryptic stick insect genera. The genus was described to distinguish the Neotropical species from Pericentrus Redtenbacher 1908 based on morphological differences and distinct geographic distribution compared to the type species Pericentrus moewisi Redtenbacher 1908. Pericentrus is known to be restricted to East and South Asia, whereas Trychopeplus is endemic to the Neotropics. Oskar Conle from the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Germany, Pablo Valero from the Un...

Giant shield bug (Pycanum alternatum)

Giant shield bug or pycanum rubens ( Pycanum alternatum ) is a species of animal in Tessaratomidae, has a large shield covering the back, shiny green-blue-brown colored and appears to have a powder or wax layer, inhabiting the leaves of plants in open forests or bushes . P. alternatum is also called a stink bug because of its ability to release pungent aromas when disturbed. These insects live solitary with a partner and usually the mother gather in a family together in nymphs. White eggs are attached under the leaves of the plant. Nymphs can be found in the same host as their parent. The nymph has a flat rectangular shape with a large vein in the middle like a flat leaf. Nymphs having striking colors are light green, orange and red. Color may represent various stages of development or gender. The initial stage has a small size and red color. It grows in a bigger size and turns orange then ends in green. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hemipter...

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...

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