Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes)

Apple of Peru (Nicandra physalodes) is a species of plant in the Solanaceae, an erect shrub up to 1 meter high, evergreen, strong with spreading branches, ovate leaves, bell flowers, green stems, toothed and wavy, grows in tropical forests at elevations 1000-1500 meters.

N. physalodes has a cylindrical stem with linear angles and is green in color. Leaves oblong, pointed tip, serrated margin, thick and leathery, green, a main vein in the middle with many small pinnate veins.

Bell-shaped flowers, 5 parts, 5 cm or more in diameter, pale purple corolla with white passages, only open for a few hours a day. Five pistils, white and white stalks.

The fruit is berry-shaped in thin petals and has a strong odor. All parts of the plant may be poisonous. The seeds are used as an insecticide and antipyretic, for fever, indigestion and constipation.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Nicandreae
Genus: Nicandra
Species: Nicandra physalodes

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 ...

False nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica)

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Devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)

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