Amboyna pine (Agathis dammara)

Damar or amboyna pine (Agathis dammara) is a plant species in the Araucariaceae, a large tree with a height of up to 65 meters, a long, round cylindrical trunk with a diameter of more than 2 meters, cultivated as an industrial forest in tropical mountains for sap that is processed into copal.

A. dammara has a grayish or light brown or black bark with slightly reddish, finely dimpled to silvery and thin scales or with lots of resin or coarse blisters, peeling off in small pieces so as to be slightly epiphytic.

Opposite leaves, oval-shaped, very variable even on a single tree, tapering towards a rounded tip, thick fleshy and light to dark green in color. Young trees are lanceolate and sharp. Old tree is long oblong with rounded top, 6-8 cm long, 2-3 cm wide with 1-8 mm stalk.

Ripe seed cones are ovoid, 10.5x9.5 cm, cylindrical with loose surfaces, basal bracts form loose cupules and are often square, conical scales are almost triangular in shape, upper corners of scales are broad and thin rounded. The seeds are subovoid, 1.5 cm long and up to 1.3 cm long on one wing.

Amboyna pine grows naturally in lowland rain forests to an altitude of 1,200 meters. It is planted for harvesting resin which is processed into copal. Resin is the sap that comes out when the bark is injured. The sap will flow out and freeze in the air. Over time this sap will harden. Sap is also obtained from underground deposits.

The wood density is 380-660 kg/m3, whitish in color, not durable, not strong and is only used as a board under the roof. Damar tree is also preferred as a shade plant for gardens and roadsides. Upright header rises with a branch that is not too wide.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Araucariaceae
Genus: Agathis
Species: Agathis dammara

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

Black potato ( Coleus rotundifolius ) is a species of plant in Lamiaceae, herbaceous, fibrous roots and tubers, erect and slightly creeping stems, quadrangular, thick, and slightly odorous. Single leaves, thick, membranous, opposite and alternate. Leaves are oval, dark green and shiny on the upper side, bright green on the lower side. Up to 5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, slightly hairy and pinnate leaf veins. Leaf stalks up to 4 cm long. Small, purple flowers. Star-shaped petals, lip-shaped crown, dark to light purple with a slightly curved tube shape. Flowering from February-August. Small tubers, brown and white flesh and tuber length 2-4 cm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Nepetoideae Tribe: Ocimeae Subtribe: Plectranthinae Genus: Coleus Species: Coleus rotundifolius

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Dlium