China knotweed (Persicaria chinensis)

China knotweed (Persicaria chinensis) is a species of plant in the Polygonaceae, a shrub with stems growing on the ground or climbing, oval-shaped leaves, flowers appear at the end of the stem, round fruit and often grows in the shade.

P. chinensis has cylindrical stems, 2-3 m long, branched, green or red or brown with linear lines, creeping along the ground or climbing on a support.

Leaves are oval or elongated, 4-8 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, base flat, tip pointed, margin flat, a main vein in the middle with several small pinnate veins, upper side dark green or reddish and often has colored markings silver and brown that make up the arrow.

Flowers appear at the end of the stem, 5-7 cm long with small white or pink flowers. The fruit is a berry, round in shape and covered in petals which enlarges and becomes fleshy when ripe. Seeds are small and black.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Subfamily: Polygonoideae
Tribe: Persicarieae
Subtribe: Persicariinae
Genus: Persicaria
Species: Persicaria chinensis
Varieties: Persicaria chinensis var. chinensis, Persicaria chinensis var. hispida

Yellow garden spider (Argiope appensa)

Yellow garden spider ( Argiope appensa ) is a species of spider in Araneidae that lives on the coast to forests on islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Black and yellow females are striking and have a length of 5.1-6.4 cm including long legs, while males are brown and have a length of about 1.9 cm. A. appensa lives on cliffs in the hills at 600 m above sea level in Kewu plain to rice fields in the lowlands. They make nests at a height of 1.5 meters from the ground between teak ( Tectona grandis ), sonokeling ( Dalbergia latifolia ), sonosiso ( Dalbergia sissoo ), crown flower ( Calotropis gigantea ) and various grasses. Yellow garden spiders grow in large sizes, but are not toxic to humans. Advanced builds ball-shaped nets and most of them make stabilizers which are zigzag-shaped lines in nets made of thicker bands. This species spends more time in stationary and sits in the middle of the net with its head down to wait for insects to be entangled in fine silk thread. Unli...

Skyflower (Duranta erecta)

Sinyo nakal or skyflower ( Duranta erecta ) is plant species in Verbenaceae, a broad shrub or small tree, up to 6 m high, stems growing upright or horizontally with broad clumps, many branches, bark light brown, old tree has axillary spines and grows to form dense colonies. D. erecta has bright green leaves, elliptical to ovoid, pointed or rounded ends, sitting opposite, 7.5 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, a main vein in the middle with several small lateral veins, petiole long 1.5 cm. Flowers are light blue or lavender or white, appear in tight clusters as on terminal stems and axils, often curled or pendulous, blooms in summer. The fruit is a berry having a stalk, small round, yellow or orange or white in color, up to 11 mm in diameter, an eye green in front and containing several seeds. Skyflower grows in dry or humid areas and lots of sun, rocky or sandy beaches, forests, farmland and disturbed places. Plants will grow at a rate of up to half a meter per year. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum:...

Hengduan adder's-tongue (Whittieria hengduanensis) from eastern Himalayas similar to the American Whittieria engelmannii

NEWS - Hengduan adder's-tongue ( Whittieria hengduanensis Z.L.Liang & Li Bing Zhang, sp. nov.) from Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan, Southwest China (eastern Himalayas) shows that the genus has members that are intercontinentally separated between the Himalayas and America, a unique pattern that has not been documented in the literature. Ophioglossaceae is divided into 4 subfamilies and 15 genera. The seven recognized genera within Ophioglossoideae are Cheiroglossa C. Presl.; Goswamia Li Bing Zhang & Liang Zhang; Haukia Li Bing Zhang & Liang Zhang; Ophioderma (Blume) Endl.; Ophioglossum L.; Rhizoglossum C. Presl; and Whittieria Li Bing Zhang & Liang Zhang. During field trips in western Sichuan and southeastern Xizang in 2021, the researchers collected several species from several locations. This species has pronounced complex reticulate venation, similar to the American W. engelmannii , but is about 8000 km away from the latter species' distribution in aerial dista...

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