Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana)

Akalfa or copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana) is a species of plant in the Euphorbiaceae, a low shrub or tree, growing up to 3 meters long, 2 meters wide, densely packed clumps with erect stems, woody, brown bark and many branches.

A. wilkesiana has leaves of highly variable shape and are generally oval, flat or wrinkled, large and wide, toothed margins, 10-20 cm long, up to 15 cm wide, red on top, reddish green or copper on the underside.

The male and female flowers are separate and appear on the same plant. Male flowers have long thorns that hang down, female flowers have short spikes and are often hidden among the leaves. The flower stalk is 10-20 cm long.

Tropical and subtropical plants that like dry soil and temperatures above 10C. This species grows wild forming dense colonies in forests, agricultural land and abandoned places.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Acalypha
Species: Acalypha wilkesiana

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 ...

Asian palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifer)

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Pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia heterophylla)

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