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

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 ...

Petai (Parkia speciosa)

Stink bean or bitter bean or pete or petai ( Parkia speciosa ) is a tropical tree species in Fabaceae, 5-25 m high and branched, reddish brown bark, always green, compound and pinnate leaves, young seeds are harvested as fresh or boiled food . P. speciosa has a hump-shaped flower that hangs with a long stalk, usually appearing near the tips of the branches. Flowers that are young and not yet blooming are green, mature flowers have stamens and pistils, old flowers turn yellow and are large in size. Dozens of long, flat pod-shaped fruits emerge from a flower hump hanging from a tree. Each pod has up to 10-20 seeds that are neatly arranged, green when young and wrapped in a rather thick membrane of light brown. The fruit dries and becomes harder as it ripens and releases the seeds. Petai grows well in wet and slightly wet climates, low land to mountains with an altitude of 1,500 m, open spaces and lots of sun throughout the day with fine-tinted soil and Ph 5.5-6.5. Trees start bea...

Pohpohan (Pilea melastomoides)

Pohpohan clearweed ( Pilea melastomoides ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae, herbaceous perennial, erect stems, up to 100 cm tall, succulent, square or cylindrical, enlarged in the middle of the internodes, bright green in color and forming colonies in the shade. P. melastomoides has stipules that are immediately deciduous or subpersistent, green or brownish and oblong. The stalk is 2-9 cm long. The leaf blade is ovate or ovate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate. The surface is wavy, pale green on the underside, dark green on the top. The three main veins are central and linear. Rounded base, tapered ends and serrated edges. The inflorescences are paired, the male is a dense cyme paniculata. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Urticaceae Genus: Pilea Species: Pilea melastomoides

Dlium