Tapevine (Stephania japonica)

Tapevine (Stephania japonica) is a species of plant in the Menispermaceae, the stem grows climbing, the leaves are triangular, the fruit is in clumps and is round or elongated.

S. japonica grows vines or climbs by being wrapped around a support. The stems are branched, cylindrical, slender, green or reddish in color and hairy.

The leaves have long, hairy stalks. The sheet is triangular to round, the corners are acute to round, the tip is pointed to obtuse, hairy, 10 main and radial veins, the top side is green and the bottom side is pale.

The fruit has a long stalk, grows in groups, each group consists of many fruits, elongated round and bright green in color. Tapevine are often found growing wild in soils with a pH of 5.5-6.5 and an elevation of 800 meters.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Menispermaceae
Genus: Stephania
Species: Stephania japonica
Varieties: Stephania japonica var. discolor, Stephania japonica var. hispidula

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 ...

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...

Cembirit (Tabernaemontana macrocarpa)

Cembirit or Pacman ( Tabernaemontana macrocarpa ) is a species of shrub in Apocynaceae or a tree up to 20 meters tall with a stem diameter of up to 50 centimeters. The bark is yellowish brown, brown, gray-brown or gray and abundant white gummy. T. macrocarpa grows in forests ranging from sea level to 1,500 meters with the natural habitat of the karst ecosystem, blooms throughout the year and is a pre-disturbance plant. Fragrant flowers feature a combination of cream, white and orange corolla lobes. Single leaves intersect in the form of a push to a lancet with a size of 6-14 cm long and 1-7 cm wide. The base and tip of the leaf are pointed with a flat edge, the surface is slippery, the top is green and the bottom is light green. Cembirit has fruit with single or paired follicles, round or oval for each 11-16 cm in diameter. The fruit is green and will turn orange as it ages. They will break completely and face down when ripe and the inside is dark red. Each fruit contains 90-...

Dlium