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

Temulawak (Curcuma zanthorrhiza)

Temulawak or Java ginger or Javanese ginger or Javanese turmeric or Curcuma xanthorrhiza ( Curcuma zanthorrhiza ) is a plant species in Zingiberaceae, grows well in loose soil in tropical forests in the lowlands to an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level and tubers are used for medicinal herbs and drinks. C. zanthorrhiza has pseudo stems up to 2 m tall. The stem is a midrib of upright, overlapping leaves, green or dark brown in color. Rhizomes are perfectly formed, large, branched and reddish brown, dark yellow or dark green. Each bud forms 2-9 leaves with a circular shape extending to lancet, green or light purple to dark brown, leaves 31-84 cm long and 10-18 cm wide, stems 43-80 cm long and each strand is connected with a midrib. Flowers are dark yellow, uniquely shaped and clustered with lateral inflorescences. The stems and scales are in the form of lines, 9-23cm long and 4-6cm wide, having protectors with comparable crowns. Petals are white, hairy and 8-13mm long. The...

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 ...

Chameleon forest dragon (Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus)

Bunglon hutan or chameleon anglehead lizard or chameleon forest dragon ( Gonocephalus chamaeleontinus ) is an animal species in Agamidae, having a larger size than other species, the most unique head shape and has the ability to change color by changing mood rather than for camouflage. Morphology G. chamaeleontinus has a total length of 40 cm, the muzzle to the buttocks is 16 cm, the base color is green with orange, yellow to brownish spots and sexual dimorphism. The eyes are protected by a movable eyelid surrounded by a slightly darker color, while males have a bright blue color around the eyes. Short head with a triangle and thorns above the eyes. Medium-sized head scales, vary, smooth and have a little tubercle that extends above the ear. Heterodont teeth with acrodont type and dorsal tongue are covered by reticular papillae. The upper labial scale consists of 10-12 units and the lower labial scale consists of 11-14 units. Dorsal body scales are composed of small and fine ...

Dlium