Tall reed (Phragmites karka)

Prumpung or tall reed (Phragmites karka) is a species of plant in the Poaceae, grass with large, hollow stems, chronic, often found growing in damp places, forming dense colonies and used for crafts to support and firewood.

P. karka has chronic reeds with spreading rhizomes and erect stems up to 10 m high, hollow and young shoots grow to form branches on the segments.

The tip has a soft stem and is green with linear stripes and is covered with leaves. The base has a hard stem, woody, bare and yellow or brown or black.

The leaves are ribbon-shaped, 30-80 cm long, 12-40 mm wide and green. The flowers are clustered in panicles, 30-50 cm long, 10-20 cm wide and 9-12 mm spikelets. Generally reproduce vegetatively and rarely flower.

Tall reed grows at elevations near sea level up to 3000 meters along river banks, marshes, wet meadows, mountain slopes and is flood resistant. Widely planted for soil stabilization from erosion. Split tatepal trunks are used instead of bamboo to make roofs and woven materials.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Arundinoideae
Tribe: Molinieae
Genus: Phragmites
Species: Phragmites karka

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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

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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...

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