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 years of exploring nature.

I found A. javanica in Menoreh mountains at an altitude of about 700 m in the Kaligesing District, Purworejo Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia. They are two items which coincide on the forest floor on the red clay under the shade of merkus pine (Pinus merkusii).

They grow solitary and no other colleagues grow around it. As far as I'm concerned are the low plants around them between the dry leaves and the very high merkus pine. The Menoreh mountains are located in the middle of Java island which has a period of 6 months of rain and 6 months of dry season each year.

I hope my reports and videos will shed more light on this species which for decades has been a puzzle and a mystery. I gave the name Javan mocca for javanica and the color of mocha coffee. Happy watching and thank you.

Boedijn, K. B. 1951. Notes on Indonesian fungi. The genus Amanita. Sydowia 5(3-6): 317-327.
Corner, E. J. H. and C. Bas. 1962. The genus Amanita in Singapore and Malaya. Persoonia 2: 241-304.

Comments

Sweet inga (Pithecellobium dulce)

Asem londo or blackbead or guamúchil or sweet inga or Inga javana (Pithecellobium dulce) are species of flowering plants in Fabaceae, have many branches, irregular canopy, always green, 10-15 m high, thorny stems, drought and dry soil resistant at altitude up to 1,500 m.

P. dulce has compound leaves, 4-10 cm panicle stems, 7.5 mm leaf stalks, asymmetrical ovate leaves with pointed to round edges, double pinnate bones, shiny dark green on the top surface, light green on the bottom surface, 1.5-3.5x1-2 cm and not hairy.

Greenish-white flowers in panicles containing 1520 items, fragrant and 12 cm long but appear shorter because of the circular, smooth hair and 1-2 cm long stems. The petals are tubular and 1.5 mm long, the crown is tubular and 3.5 mm long. White flower stalks.

Flowers produce green pods that turn pink and black when ripe and open to release pink or white aryl, sweet and edible. The pods are flat, curled and 1 cm wide. Aryl contains asymmetrical flat seeds, shiny black, 9x7…

Soursop (Annona muricata)

Sirsak or soursop (Annona muricata) is a plant species in Annonaceae, a small tree, growing upright to a height of 10 m, stem diameter of 10-30 cm and young branches are hairy, evergreen, edible fruit and have a sour or sweet taste to some varieties.

A. muricata has long to oval leaves, 8-16 cm long and 3-7 cm wide, dark green and shiny without hair on the upper side, paler and hairless on the lower side. Petiole has a length of 4-13 mm and without hair.

The flower stalks are 2-5 mm long and woody, appear opposite to the leaves or in addition to near the petioles, each with one or two flowers each. The stems of each flower are woody, smooth or hairless and 15-20 mm long with small bractlets closer to the base of thick hairy.

The outer petals are thick and yellowish, meet at the edges without overlapping and are broadly ovoid, 2.8-3.3 cm with 2.1-2.5 cm, tapering to a point with a heart-shaped base, thick and covered with long hair, sleek, externally soft and silky tangle with soft hair…

Pucung (Dysdercus poecilus)

Pucung or cotton stainer or red cotton bugs (Dysdercus poecilus) are animal species in Pyrrhocoridae, winged insects, dimorphism for sex where women have larger size but are the same for shape and color as males, social life in large communities in host plants.

D. poecilus has three pairs of long black legs with three segments and a pair of very long black antennas with four segments on the head on the left and right. The head is dark red, a pair of black eyes and a narrow neck with white and black transverse lines.

Dorsal has red and black colors. The upper back has a black equilateral triangle with a pointed angle downwards. The middle back has a black transverse line and is connected by a long black triangle to the tip of the rounded buttocks.

Ventral has a black color with white and alternating stripes. The six thighs are dark red and the buttocks are pink. Males are smaller in size and have fewer ventral lines.

Pucung lives in a large community and is willing to share a place with…

Twoleaf nightshade (Solanum diphyllum)

Twoleaf nightshade (Solanum diphyllum) is a species of plants in Solanaceae, upright shrubs grow in shade, 1-2 m tall, rounded stems, dense, green-purple brown, short hairy, stopping cells, cornered young twigs and widely cultivated as plants decorate with bright yellow ripe fruit.

S. diphyllum has leaves that are alternating, solitary or paired in twigs with generative organs. Some are stemmed for 1-1.5 cm. The leaves are oval to oblique round eggs, dynamic base, flat or wavy edges, tapered or rounded edges, 1-14.5 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide and have short hair.

Flowers facing leaves 5-25 mm long. Has a 2 mm handle, brownish purple, straight and unbranched. Hook 5-10 mm, greenish to brown and curved. The petals have five ears, resembling kupula, pale green, 1-5 mm long and short haired.

Flowers have five crowns, coincide, star-shaped, yellowish white, 2-5 mm long. Has five stamens, free and facing the crown. Short and yellowish green pistil. The stigma is yellow, attached to the base and …

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)

Manggis or mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical plant species in Clusiaceae, up to 25 m tall, thick exocarp, bright green and turns reddish purple after ripe with 1-2 large seeds and edible white mesocarp layers.

G. mangostana produces sweet, pungent, watery, slightly fibrous fruits with vesicles filled with liquid, mesocarp surrounding each almond-shaped and large-sized seeds. The resulting bundle seeds are basically asexual embryos.

Mangosteen is obligate apomixis where seeds do not originate from fertilization and are thought to have a narrow genetic diversity, It is estimated that only one clone in nature and has the same properties as its parent. Diversity may be due to environmental and genetic factors due to natural mutations in line with the history of the mangosteen.

Young fruit does not require fertilization to grow, pale green or white under the canopy. The fruit enlarges for 2 to 3 months and then turns dark green with growth in size increasing in diameter from 6-…

Dlium

Search This Blog