Crêpe ginger (Hellenia speciosa)

Pacing tawar or crêpe ginger or Cheilocostus speciosus (Hellenia speciosa) is a plant species in Costaceae that grows upright for height of 0.5 meters to 3 meters, has a large flower, likes damp and shade in primary forests, secondary forests and teak forests on lowlands up to 1050 meters above sea level.

C. speciosa has a brownish yellow stem, the size of an adult's finger, contains a lot of water and is easily broken. The plants go upward in harmony with the tops, the leaves are green, single, short stalks and the strands extend to the lanceolate shape and are arranged in a spiral circle around the stem.

Tapered leaf tips, flat edges and blunt leaf base. The surface of the lower leaves is soft, while the upper surface is grooved. Large-sized inflorescence located at the end of the stem. Flowers are white or yellow. Egg-shaped protective leaves with pointed ends. The crown is tubular, pointed tip and green.

The pistil pops up on the starch and is white. The fruit is ovoid and red. Hard seeds, small and black. Rhizomes and seeds contain diosgenin (sapogenin steroid), tigogenin, diosin, grasillin, sitosterol and methyltryacontan. Also contains saponins, flavonoids and tannins.

Traditional Javanese treatment uses to treat swelling in the kidneys (Nephtiric edema), stomach ulcers, urinary tract infections (urinary tractus) and liver shrinkage (chirosis). All parts are used as external medicine for wounds from being bitten by snakes and insects.

Leaves are used as a medicine for eye mucous inflammation. Young leaves to nourish hair. The stem is used as a medicine for fever and dysentery. Pith stems to cool the eyes in people with smallpox.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Costaceae
Genus: Hellenia
Species: Hellenia speciosa

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

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