Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Serai or lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a plant species in Poaceae, a shrub that has large fibrous roots and short rhizomes, pseudo stems that are soft and break easily even though they are stiff, hollow, rooted, clustered and often used as spices and essential oils.

C. citratus has a pseudo stem, 60-200 cm tall, yellowish white as a tuber midrib, has short hair and grows straight above the ground. The stem produces shoots where the root fibers have stolons that spread horizontally below the surface of the soil.

Stems frond and dull greenish white. Single leaf ribbon-shaped, not stemmed, length 50-100 cm, width 2 cm, bright green, pointed tip, bone in the middle of the linear and the rough surface of the upper and lower surface smooth hair.

Squeezed leaves emit a fragrant aroma that is almost like the scent of orange. Flowers contain ears and have no crown. The stems are used as spices to scent food and are processed into essential oils to repel mosquitoes and other insects.

Essential oils from lemon grass are citral, citronellol, beta-pinen, kamfen, sabinen, mirsen, p-felandren, psimen, limonene, cis-osimen, terpinol, citronellal, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, alpha-terpineol, geraniol, farnesol, methyl heptenone, n-desialdehyde, dipentene, methyl heptenone, bornilasetate, geranilformate, terpinyl acetate, sitronelil acetate, geranil acetate and beta-karyophilene oxide.

Citronellal, citronellol and geraniol determine the intensity of fragrant aromas, the value and price of oil. The phytochemical content of lemongrass is tannins, flavonoids, phenols and carbohydrates. The active component has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial, deodorant, expectorant, insecticide and sedative abilities.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Tribe: Andropogoneae
Genus: Cymbopogon
Species: Cymbopogon citratus

Javan broadhead planarian (Bipalium javanum)

Cacing palu or Javan broadhead planarian ( Bipalium javanum ) is a species of animal in Geoplanidae, hermaphrodite, living on the ground, predators, often called only hammerhead or broadhead or shovel worms because of wide heads and simple copulatory organs. B. javanum has a slim stature, up to 20 cm long, up to 0.5 cm wide, head wide up to 1 cm or less, small neck, widening in the middle and the back end is rounded, all black and shiny. Javan broadhead planarians walk above ground level by raising their heads and actively looking left, right and looking up using strong neck muscles. Move swiftly, track meander, climb to get through all obstacles or make a new path if the obstacle is too high. Cacing palu track and prey on earthworms and mollusks. They use muscles and sticky secretions to attach themselves to prey to lock in. The head and ends of the body are wrapped around and continue to close the body to stop prey reactions. They produce tetrodotoxins which are very strong...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

Queen of Philippines (Mussaenda philippica)

Nusa Indah or Queen of Philippines ( Mussaenda philippica ) is a plant species in the Rubiaceae, a shrub or small tree, fibrous roots and yellowish white, cylindrical stems, many branches, rough and brown bark. M. philippica has leaves that sit opposite and alternate, ovate, 5-15 cm long, 4-8 cm wide, tapered tip and base, smooth hair, pinnate veins, flat margin, green upper side and lower side whitish green. Compound flowers, appears at the end of the stalk, umbrella-shaped bouquets, small trumpet-shaped flowers, 1 cm and yellow. Seeds riding, lancet-shaped and yellow-brown. This species grows at elevations of 1-1700 meters. This plant flowers in summer. This plant contains β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, arjunolic acid, alkaloids, isoquercitrin flavonoids, triterpenoid saponins (mussaendoside F), iridoid compounds, heinsiagenin A. Often used to treat flu, fever, cough, tonsillitis, sore throat, wounds, boils, prevent and treat breast cancer. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Sub...

Dlium