Dog's tongue (Pseudelephantopus spicatus)

Sandung or dog's-tongue (Pseudelephantopus spicatus) is a plant species in Asteraceae, perennial herbs, stems erect, 10-40 cm tall, inconspicuously ribbed, puberulous, grows wild on roadsides, open land and disturbed sites, often used to make brooms, animal feed and medicines.

P. spicatus has simple leaves, rosulate or alternate at base, 5-15 by 1.5-5 cm, obovate or oblanceolate, margin slightly serrate to entire, apex obtuse or rounded, base cuneate or attenuate and subcoriaceous. Upper surface puberulous without glands, lower surface puberulous with filiform hairs and capitate glands.

Lateral veins 9-15-paired. Petioles up to 2 cm long. Capitulescences terminal and axillary, capitula 1-4 aggregated in clusters supported by foliaceous bracts, clusters arranged in a spike. Capitula tubular, 14-17 mm long. Receptacle flat, 1-1.5 mm in diameters and glabrous.

Florets bisexual and fertile. Involucres oblong, in 2 series, 10-11 mm long. Phyllaries 8, decussate, light green, margin entire or piliferous and outer surface pilose without glands. The outer lanceolate and apicies acute. The inner ones obovate-lanceolate or oblong and apices acute.

Corollas salverform, white, zygomorphic and glabrous. Corolla tubes 5-9 mm long and corolla lobes 2.5-2.8 mm long. Anthers 1.5-2 mm long, apical appendage acute, base acute. Styles white, 5-9 mm long, branches ca. 2 mm long, inner surface covered with stigmatic papillae.

Achenes clavate, 4-5 mm long, pubescent with densely twin hairs, without glands, 10-ribbed. Pappus in 1 series, often of 2 sizes and bent at the tip, bristles 6-9, 2-6 mm long.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Vernonieae
Subtribe: Elephantopinae
Genus: Pseudelephantopus
Species: Pseudelephantopus spicatus

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Purhepecha oak (Quercus purhepecha), new species of shrub oak endemic to the state of Michoacán, Mexico

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