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

Purhepecha oak (Quercus purhepecha), new species of shrub oak endemic to the state of Michoacán, Mexico

NEWS - In Mexico, several Quercus shrubby species are taxonomically very problematic including 8 taxa with similar characteristics. Now researchers report the purhepecha oak ( Quercus purhepecha De Luna-Bonilla, S. Valencia & Coombes sp. nov.) as a new tomentose shrubby white oak species with a distribution only in the Cuitzeo basin in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). Quercus Linnaeus (1753) subdivided into 2 subgenera and 8 sections of which section Quercus (white oaks) has the widest distribution in the Americas, Asia and Europe. This section is very diverse in Mexico and Central America with phylogenomic evidence indicating recent and accelerated speciation in these regions. The number of shrubby oak species in Mexico is still uncertain. De Luna-Bonilla of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues found at least 3 taxa in the TMVB, specifically Quercus frutex Trelease (1924), Quercus microphylla Née (1801) and Quercus repanda Bonpland (1809). In 2016,...

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...

Tekijem (Cyperus cyperoides)

Tekijem ( Cyperus cyperoides ) is a plant species in Cyperaceae, annual grasses that grow in seasonal wetlands, open or shaded fields, swamps, ponds, rice fields, roadsides, open forests, secondary forests and shrubs at altitudes up to 1,800 m in the tropics. C. cyperoides has an upright, triangular shape, 20-75 cm tall from a very short rhizome and has no stolon. The lanceolate-shaped leaves are narrow and long, the tips are pointed, slippery, shiny, green and grow at the bottom and at the top of the stem. The terminal flower appears on the tip of the stem, cylindrical spiklet shaped and green. Each stem has two to seven flowers, each of which has a short or long stem that grows at the end of the stem together with the leaves. Tekijem grows solitary or in small groups at a distance. Propagating using vegetative and generative methods using seeds. At least three sub-species are Cyperus cyperoides cyperoides , Cyperus cyperoides flavus and Cyperus cyperoides pseudoflavus . Th...

Dlium