Umbrella papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius)

Rumput payung or umbrella papyrus or Madagascar umbrella papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius) is a plant species in Cyperaceae, like a very large grass, umbrella-shaped canopy, grows in dry soil and waterlogged, often cultivated as an ornamental plant throughout the world.

C. alternifolius grows to form clumps, has a height of 1-2 m and the top part is composed of protective leaves that shade the flower arrangements. The stem is hollow, unbranched, long, tubular with many linear angles, dark green, hard and sturdy but flexible.

The leaves are arranged radially, stacked and each stem has 10-25 strands. A large bone and several veins are parallel to a length of 15-40 cm and a width of 1.3 cm, a jagged edge, a pointed tip, a rough surface and green.

Spikelet flowers, forming clusters, have long and green stems, crowns shaped in coarse grains, sit on the ends of the stems, greenish brown and come out of the axil bractea or the sides of the bractea.

Umbrella papyrus is widely used for phytoremidiation in wet and humid regions. This species is able to tolerate PhACs (Pharmaceutically Active Compounds) and eliminate COD, nitrate, ammonia and phosphorus. The root is used as an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

Widely used as ornamental plants, potted plants and garden plants or pond plants. Generally used as a water ornamental plant and planted to beautify a pond or water park landscape. The leaves are also used as fillers for flower arrangements.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Cyperaceae
Subfamily: Cyperoideae
Tribe: Cypereae
Genus: Cyperus
Species: Cyperus alternifolius
Subspecies: Cyperus alternifolius ssp. alternifolius, Cyperus alternifolius ssp. flabelliformis

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...

Hairy senna (Senna hirsuta)

Hairy senna ( Senna hirsuta ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. It is an upright shrub, growing up to 2.5 meters tall. The leaves are compound on petioles up to 13 cm long. They usually have 2-6 pairs of leaflets, are egg-shaped, and have white hairs, up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. The flowers are yellow and arranged at the tips of branches and in the upper leaf axils in clusters of 2-5. The petals are 12-16 mm long, have 6 stamens, 3-8 mm long anthers, and 4 staminodes. Flowering occurs almost monthly. The pods are cylindrical, up to 15 cm long, 4-6 mm wide, and curved. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae Tribe: Cassieae Subtribe: Cassiinae Genus: Senna Mill. in Gard. Dict. Abr., ed. 4.: [s.p.] (1754) Species: Senna hirsuta (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby in Phytologia 44: 499 (1979) Variety: Senna hirsuta var. acuminata (Benth.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, Senna ...

Dlium