Snowflake wattle (Zapoteca portoricensis)

Snowflake wattle (Zapoteca portoricensis) is a plant species in Fabaceae, perennial, shrubs with many branches, pioneer plants that can live in various types of soil at an altitude of 500-2000 m, green leaves have white features, wood is used as energy and leaves for animal feed.

Z. portoricensis has several supporting roots and finer roots that extend to the ground surface. Tubular stem with green bark. Young twigs are bright green, tubular and have linear angles.

Mature leaves are dark green and young leaves are bright green. Length of up to 20 cm, width of up to 15 cm and at night or dark or rain will fold towards the trunk. The upper surface has white marks around the bones forming linear lines.

Pod-shaped fruit, thin and straight, green and has spaces filled with seeds. The mature pods will dry out, the sides will thicken and hard which suddenly burst from the tip to spit out the seeds in a circular motion.

Snowflake wattle grow to fill disturbed lands including, erosion slopes, river banks and road sides. Live in a variety of habitats up to altitude of 1900 m, but thrives on 250-800 m, rainfall 2000-2400 mm/year and dry season 3-6 months, temperature 22-28C and pH 4.5.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Mimosoideae
Tribe: Ingeae
Genus: Zapoteca
Species: Zapoteca portoricensis

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...

Swietenia mahagoni and Swietenia macrophylla, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - To date, mahogany ( Swietenia Jacq.) is recorded as having four species: West Indian mahogany or small-leaved mahogany ( Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq.), big-leaf mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King), Honduran mahogany ( Swietenia humilis Zucc.) and Swietenia × aubrevilleana Stehlé & Cusin. The debate over the number of taxa in the genus is still not resolved. Some researchers believe that there are only two species: S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla . I agree with that opinion and the two species can only be differentiated by the size of the leaves. All species in this genus have similar morphology except for leaf size. The following is the key to identifying these two species. S. mahagoni has a stalk length of around 37 cm with 5-6 pairs of strands. The strands are about 10 cm long and about 3.5 cm wide. S. macrophylla has a stalk length of up to 45 cm with 4-5 pairs of strands. The strands are up to 31 cm long and up to 8 cm wide. By Aryo Bando...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

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