Elephant ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)

Sengon buto or elephant ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a medium to large tree, 25-35 m high, 3.5 m trunk diameter, umbrella-shaped crown, dry season sheds all leaves and circular pods.

E. cyclocarpum has a cylindrical stem, has many branches from a height of 2 meters, the bark is light gray with reddish brown vertical gaps. Old trees often show damaged, chipped or scarred bark.

Leaves compound bipinnate, 15-40 cm long, 17 cm wide, petiole 2-6 cm with 4-15 pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 40-70 leaflets. Leaflets are slender oblong, 8-15 mm long and 2-4 mm wide.

Globular inflorescences in the axils of new leaves, each head consisting of 50 individual flowers with thousands of thin, filamentous stamens. Each flower consists of 20 stamens and one pistil, very fragrant up to several meters in all directions.

The fruit has a diameter of 7-12 cm, dark brown, shiny, not broken, spiral-shaped like a round disc. The fruit is made of thick soft tissue, containing 8-20 seeds arranged radially. Seeds are 14.5-17.5 mm long, 7.8-11.2 mm wide, 6.2-7.2 mm thick, brown with light brown or orange rings and very hard.

Tolerant of various levels of rainfall, temperature and soil conditions. Most grow in the lowlands in tropical habitats. Widely used as an ornamental tree, shade, shade and create many oases in the hot plains and slopes. The wood is reddish brown in color, light and water resistant.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Mimosoideae
Tribe: Ingeae
Genus: Enterolobium
Species: Enterolobium cyclocarpum

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

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

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 ...

Matchbox bean (Entada phaseoloides)

Matchbox Bean ( Entada phaseoloides ) is a species in the Fabaceae family, a large woody liana with stems up to 18 cm in diameter, dark brown, rough bark, laterally flattened, and spirally twisted. The leaves are bipinnate, up to 25 cm long, with 1-2 pairs of minor leaflets, each divided into 1-2 pairs of pinnules. The pinnules are somewhat leathery, asymmetrical or oblique, up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. The inflorescence is a spike-shaped, about 25-30 cm long, bearing numerous sessile flowers. The individual flowers are very small, about 1.2 mm in diameter. The five petals, green with reddish bases, are 3-4 mm long, and the stamens are about 7 mm long. The fruit is a very large, flattened, woody pod or capsule, about 1-1.2 m long and 12 cm wide. It is usually slightly curved and linear, with about 12 segments, each containing a single seed. The seeds are lens-shaped, shiny brown, smooth, 5-6 cm wide and 1-1.5 cm thick. Filipinos used gugo before commercial shampoos were available ...

Dlium