Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia seguine)

Blanceng or dumbcane (Dieffenbachia seguine) is a plant species in Araceae, annual shrubs with thick and wide leaves, striking and varied colors, usually a mixture of green, white and yellow, easy to grow and often planted in houses and yards as ornamental plants, but poisonous.

D. seguine has stringy and yellow roots. The stem has a height of 0.6-1 m, stands upright, soft and gummy, tubular, has segments as a sign of leaf marks, dark green and shiny.

Single leaf, seated alternately, oval shape, flat edge, blunt base, pointed tip, length 25-40 cm, width 15-20 cm, flattened, single bone in the middle and fiber-pinnate, smooth surface, overall green or spotted white and yellow spread in the middle.

A single flower, grows on the leaf armpit, oval, delicate petals, brown, spear-shaped stamens and pistils, oval and white crowns. The fruit is ovoid, 4-8 mm in diameter, green and red when ripe. Round seeds, 3 mm in diameter and white.

Dumbcane emits a lot of water vapor which causes the air to become moist and diligently spraying phytochemical compounds to suppress bacterial populations and fungal spores as a mechanism for plants to survive and protect themselves from pathogens.

Blanceng grows well in high humidity and low intensity sunlight. The sap contains raphide as a calcium oxalate crystal which has a needle-like shape and is stored in an idioblast. The sap is toxic which causes itching, swelling, necrosis and destruction of blood vessels.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Spathicarpeae
Genus: Dieffenbachia
Species: Dieffenbachia seguine

Black jumping spider (Hyllus diardi)

Black jumping spider ( Hyllus diardi ) is an animal species in the Salticidae, black and white spiders, long hair, round head, elongated belly, relatively small, arboreal, perched on leaves in bushes and low trees in forests and agricultural lands. H. diardi has black and white color, shiny surface and white hair all over the body. The head is round, shiny black with a linear white line in the middle. Black eyes on the front of the head. The stomach has an elongated, jointed, black cylindrical shape with black plots at the top of each segment. The legs are long, segmented, shiny black or brownish in color and hairy. Black jumping spiders live arboreal, perch on leaf surfaces, low bushes, trees in forests, agricultural land, roadsides and shade. Very sensitive to human presence and will hide behind leaves to avoid sight. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Chelicerata Class: Arachnida Order: Araneae Suborder: Araneomorphae Infraorder: Entelegynae Superfamily: Salticoi...

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...

Awar awar (Ficus septica)

Awar-awar or lagnob or hauli tree or barabar or sirih popar or tobo tobo ( Ficus septica ) is species of plants in Moraceae, trees grow in bushes or in neglected places and sap contained in roots, twigs, leaves and fruit is used to treat poisoning and digestive problems. F. septica is usually 1-5 m high, although in the forest it can be up to 25 m. Round, hollow and bare branches. Roots, twigs, leaves and fruit will emit a yellow sap and sticky if injured. The base of the leaves is large and spiky, arranged alternately or face to face with a stem length of 2.5-5 cm. Large leaf blade, round egg, 9-30x9-16 cm, rounded base and blunt narrow tip, flat-edged, upper side dark green with 6-12 secondary bones pale white. Fruit paired, single or clustered up to 4 items, short-stemmed, at the base has 3 protective leaves, light green or gray green and 1.5 cm in diameter. F. septica is food for 22 animal species including wasps, bats, birds, monkeys and mice as well as seed dispersing vecto...

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