Giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos)

Sente or bira or giant taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos) is a plant species in Araceae, a large terna that stands upright 1-3 m tall, tube stems and is green or white brown, produces large, edible tubers that are rich in carnohydrate or as a plant ornamental.

A. macrorrhizos has single leaves, width 0.9-1.8 m, length 0.6-1.2 m, thick and smooth, heart-shaped, curved base and pointed tip, green or blackish green, main bone in the middle and the minor bones go left and right.

Flower cranked, cylindrical in shape, appears on the armpits of leaves, 20-30 cm long stems and yellowish white. The fruit has a diameter of 5 cm and is green. The seeds have an elongated round shape, longitudinal grooves and are green in color. Generative and vegetative breeding.

Giant taro grows well in areas with lots of sun, clay soil that is rich in organic humus, moist and has a pool of water with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. Generally it is found wild on the banks of rivers, on the edge of rice fields, ponds and wet places.

Bulbs are harvested after 1-2 years as a high-carbohydrate food source and have a higher starch content than all species in Alocasia. The nutritional content is 23.16% carbohydrate, 3.0% protein, 1.8% crude fiber, calcium, phosphorus and iron.

Sente contains saponins, flavonoids and polyphenols which are used to treat joint pain and cough. Lymph causes inflammation. The leaves and flowers contain calcium oxalate crystals that cause itchy mouth and stomach.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Colocasieae
Genus: Alocasia
Species: Alocasia macrorrhizos

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 ...

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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