Giant reed (Arundo donax)

Glagah putih or giant reed (Arundo donax) is a species of plant in the Poaceae, tall perennial reeds, long erect reeds, hard and woody, hollow, growing to form dense colonies in moist, riparian, freshwater and saltwater habitats.

A. donax grows to a height of 6-10 meters and a stem diameter of 2-3 cm. The leaves are elongated, gray or green or white, alternate, 30-60 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, pointed at the tip and have a tuft of hairs at the base.

Flowers have erect feathers, 40-60 cm long and have seeds or without seeds. Most reproduce vegetatively with hard and fibrous underground rhizomes, spreading and penetrating up to 1 meter into the soil.

Giant reed adapts to a variety of ecologies from heavy clay to loose sand and gravel soil, contaminated with arsenic, cadmium and lead. The species has two varieties, Arundo donax var. donax and Arundo donax var. versicolor.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Arundinoideae
Tribe: Arundineae
Genus: Arundo
Species: Arundo donax
Varieties: Arundo donax var. donax, Arundo donax var. versicolor

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

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