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 ...

False nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica)

False nettle ( Boehmeria cylindrica ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family, a herb or small shrub, up to 160 cm tall, usually monoecious but rarely dioecious. The leaves are paired or alternate, and the inflorescence is a spikelet with a cluster of small bracts at the tip. B. cylindrica generally grows to a height of 50-100 cm. Spine-like hairs form in the leaf axils. The leaves are oval and up to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. The flowers are green or greenish-white and emerge from the upper leaf axils. Male and female flowers usually grow on separate plants. Male flowers are more numerous among the spikes in clusters. Female flowers are less evenly distributed along the spikes. The small, oval seeds are covered with small, hook-like hairs. Ripe seeds are dark brown. The inflorescence resembles a spike and is up to 3 cm long. This species can be found in moist to mesic deciduous forest habitats, growing abundantly along streambanks, floodplains, and lowlands. B. cylindrica is ...

Devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)

Pokok lipan or devil's-backbone or redbird flower or christmas candle or Pedilanthus tithymaloides ( Euphorbia tithymaloides ) are plant species in Euphorbiaceae, upright, evergreen, gummy shrubs, growing in tropical and subtropical regions. E. tithymaloides likes sandy soils especially with high concentrations of boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. This bush grows to 2.4 m high and 61 cm wide. Simple angiosperm leaves, arranged opposite to the stem where each leaf is sessile with a length of 3.6-7.6 cm. The stem has the tip of a handle that supports a group of flowers that are not scented. Bifid crown and ovoid. The involucral bracts are bright red, irregular in shape and length from 1.1 to 1.3 mm. Hairy male and female pedicels. Seed pods are 7.6 mm long, 8.9 mm wide and ovate with clipped ends. Devil's-backbone generally blooms in mid-spring in the subtropical region and in the dry season in the tropics. Pollination is carried out by ants and birds. ...

Dlium