Pinang Jawa (Pinanga javana)

Pinang Jawa or Javan pinang (Pinanga javana) is a species of plant in Arecaceae, stems erect, 4-10 meters high, 10-15 cm in diameter, 10-30 cm in segments, the surface of the stem is green or brownish green, smooth, slightly longitudinally slit. The crown axis is elongated, 150-200 cm long, 25 cm in diameter, swollen, purplish brown with brown scales and grows at an elevation of 800-1700 meters.

P. javana has 10 leaves on the crown, pinnate, full length 250-300 cm with silvery indumentum on petiole and rachis. Midrib up to 100 cm, stalk up to 30 cm, concave at the adaxial and convex at the bottom.

Rachis diameter 3 cm. Leaflets 10-15 items on each side of the rachis, regularly arranged, slightly curved, longitudinally linear-lanceolate, falcate-sigmoid, equidistant, basal leaflet 65-95x1-6 cm and 1-3 ribs, middle leaflet 70-115x2.7 cm and 1-3 ribs, apical leaflets 19-55x1.5-7.5 cm and 2-7 ribs.

Infrafoliar inflorescences, like hands, pendulous spreading, 40-50 cm long, peduncle erect at base, flattened, 9-16 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm thick. Racillae 8-13 items, arranged alternately, 23-35 cm at base with 19-21 triads, at apex 18-27 cm with 15-17 triads, peduncle, rachis and racillae green when young or bright red with age.

The petals and crown are cream in color and the ovary is green. Petals cup-shaped, 3 sepals, imbricate, broad orbicular, 6-8x4-4.5 mm, smooth, thick in the middle, thin on the sides with ciliated edges, apex mucronate. Corolla with 3 ciliate petals, cucullate round, 4-6x3-4 mm, apex mucronate-blunt.

Fruit ovate to ellipsoidal, 20-26x11-14 mm, pale light yellow or red when young, dark red when ripe then black, dense fibrous pericarp, thin endocarp, membrane. Seeds ovate to ellipsoidal, 18-21x10-13 mm, deep rumination.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Arecoideae
Genus: Pinanga
Species: Pinanga javana

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

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

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