Elephants foot (Elephantopus scaber)

Tapak liman or elephants foot (Elephantopus scaber) is a plant species in Asteraceae, stems are very short, stiff, rough haired, 30-70 cm high, big and strong taproot, grow wild, sometimes found in large numbers on grass, roadside and dike in the lowlands to altitude of 1,200 m.

E. scaber has a single leaf gathered on the soil surface to form a root rosette. Age ~1 month has 6 leaves, 8-10.5 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm wide, spathulate, dark green, rounded tip, atternuate base, a white bone in the middle, pinnate vein, surface wavy or flat, haired and wavy or flat margins.

The flower stems come out from the middle of the rosette with a height of 30-70 cm, cylindrical, stiff and wiry, long and dense white hair, branched and grooved. Leaves on the flower stems are small, 3-9 cm long and 1-3 cm wide.

Compound flower shaped hump, sitting at the end of the stem, purple to white, has three protective leaves in the shape of a triangle cup. A single flower consists of a white tube and four crowns and are lancet shaped. Hard fruit, tubular, 1 cm long, at the end has 4-6 straight and white hair.

Tapak liman contains active chemical compounds including epiprielinol, lupeol, stiqmasterol, triacontan-l-ol, dotriacontan-l-ol, lupeol acetate, deoxyelephantopin and isodeozyelephantopin. The flowers contain luteolin-7-glucoside.

E. scaber is widely used as an anticancer and antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, hepatoprotective, anticoagulant, antidiarrheal, antiviral, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiulcer, wound healing and anti-asthma.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Vernonieae
Subtribe: Elephantopinae
Genus: Elephantopus
Species: Elephantopus scaber
Varieties: Elephantopus scaber var. argenteus, Elephantopus scaber var. plurisetus

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 ...

Alexandrian Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum)

Alexandrian Laurel ( Calophyllum inophyllum ) is a species of plant in the Calophyllaceae family. It is a low-branching, slow-growing, spreading tree with a wide, irregular crown. It grows up to 30 meters tall, has a cylindrical trunk, and thick, black, and fissured bark. The leaves are thick, oval, with rounded tips, even margins, and a smooth surface. The upper side is dark green and glossy, the underside is bright green, with a central vein in bright green. The leaves are up to 27 cm long, 13 cm wide, and have a 1 cm petiole. Flowers bloom throughout the year, but typically from April to June and October to December. Flowers are 30 mm in diameter and occur in racemose or paniculate inflorescences of four to 15 flowers. The flowers have a sweet aroma and attract numerous pollinating insects. The fruit is round, green, up to 4 cm in diameter, with a large seed in the center. When ripe, the fruit wrinkles and turns yellow to brownish. The fruit is light, with thin, spongy flesh and a...

Dlium