Mile-a-minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata)

Mile-a-minute weed (Persicaria perfoliata) is a species of plant in the Polygonaceae, perennial shrub, growing vines with thorny stems, triangular leaves, fruits in dense clusters, growing wild in forests, farmlands and roadsides.

P. perfoliata has a cylindrical, branched, reddish stem with rows of strong, downward-pointing spines. The leaves have long stalks and rows of spines. Green or reddish surface, pointed tip, three main veins with many small pinnate veins and lower surface has rows of spines.

Flower buds, flowers and fruit emerge from within the ocreas. Flowers are small, white and generally inconspicuous. The fruits grow in clusters, are round, segmented, green or yellow or red or blue, each segment containing a black or reddish-black seed.

Mile-a-minute weed prefers warm open areas on riverbanks, parks, open spaces, road shoulders, forest edges to very wet with poor soil structure. The fruit can stay afloat for 7-9 days and spread seeds long distances in river environments. Long vines often hang over waterways.

The tender leaves and shoots can be eaten raw or cooked as a salad green or sweet and can be eaten fresh. The stem is used as a fiber or material in making rope.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Subfamily: Polygonoideae
Tribe: Persicarieae
Subtribe: Persicariinae
Genus: Persicaria
Species: Persicaria perfoliata

Stinking passionflower (Passiflora foetida)

Rambusa or senthiet or stinking passionflower ( Passiflora foetida ) is a species of plant in the Passifloraceae, herbaceous creeping or climbing, pungent smell, fruit covered by enlarged flower petals, growing in forest bushes, agricultural lands and abandoned lands. P. foetida grows to a length of 5 meters, the stem is cylindrical and has white hairs. Single leaf, 1-3 cm stalk and long hair. Strands ovate, 3.5-13 cm wide, 4.5-14 cm long, three pointed corners, heart-shaped leaf base, may be flat or not deep toothed. Additional flowers and petals are bandage leaves with 3 strands, sharing a double pinnate with a woven thread-like crown, 1-3 cm. The calyx tube is wide bell-shaped. The corolla and corolla extend up to 2.5 cm, bright white and often with purple in the center. Stalks at the base and attached. The pistil stalk is in the shape of a mace with 3 items. The berries are covered by a bandage leaf, oval in shape, 1.5-2 cm long, yellow-orange when ripe and have many seeds. Sent...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Perikapur (Microchirita caerulea)

Perikapur ( Microchirita caerulea ) is plant species in Gesneriaceae, herbaceous, non-woody, upright, growing up to 65 cm tall. Its stems are straight, cylindrical, and bright green. Its roots are fibrous and white, clinging to limestone surfaces and cliffs in karst landscapes. M. caerulea grows in sparse or distant colonies. The stems are erect, straight, cylindrical, bright green, reddish, or brownish, and have white hairs. The leaves are opposite, with petioles up to 5 cm long. The leaf blades are oval, up to 14 cm long, up to 8 cm wide, and have pointed tips. The upper side is green, with white, and rough hairs. The underside is bright green. A main vein runs through the center and minor veins run laterally. The inflorescences grow above the leaf blades. The flowers are fan-shaped or trumpet-shaped and hairy, 2 cm long and 1 cm wide, with violet stripes on the upper side. The leaf blades are green, butterfly-shaped, and have white, and rough hairs. The leaves grow from the leaf ...

Dlium