Witi clearweed (Pilea wightii)

Witi clearweed (Pilea wightii) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae, herbaceous perennial, erect, multi-branched stems, 20-30 cm high, bright green, distal succulent with galls in the middle internodes, grows in shade, forest floor, abandoned lands and roadsides.

P. wightii has leaves with unequal stalks. The strands are oblong, unequal in size, 2-6.5 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, 3 main veins with many lateral veins. The base is rounded or emarginate, the edges are serrated and the tip is pointed.

Solitary inflorescence, growing in leaf axils, green. Male inflorescence a cymose panicle, stemmed, obovoid bud. Subsessile female flowers.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Pilea Lindl. in Coll. Bot.: t. 4 (1821)
Species: Pilea wightii Wedd. in Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 4, 1: 186 (1854)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Adicea wightii (Wedd.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 622 (1891)
Urtica radicans Wight in Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 6: t. 1974 (1853)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Pilea huegelii Blume in Mus. Bot. 2: 53 (1856)

PUBLICATIONS

Pusalkar, P.K., Mao, A.A. & Inge, P. (eds.) (2022). Flora of India 24: 1-688. Botanical Survey of India.

Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2003). Flora of China 5: 1-505. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).

VERNACULAR NAME

English: Witi clearweed
Indonesian: Witi
Java: Witi
Malayalam: Valiyanarali

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium

Comments

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 ...

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Awar awar (Ficus septica)

Awar-awar or lagnob or hauli tree or barabar or sirih popar or tobo tobo ( Ficus septica ) is species of plants in Moraceae, trees grow in bushes or in neglected places and sap contained in roots, twigs, leaves and fruit is used to treat poisoning and digestive problems. F. septica is usually 1-5 m high, although in the forest it can be up to 25 m. Round, hollow and bare branches. Roots, twigs, leaves and fruit will emit a yellow sap and sticky if injured. The base of the leaves is large and spiky, arranged alternately or face to face with a stem length of 2.5-5 cm. Large leaf blade, round egg, 9-30x9-16 cm, rounded base and blunt narrow tip, flat-edged, upper side dark green with 6-12 secondary bones pale white. Fruit paired, single or clustered up to 4 items, short-stemmed, at the base has 3 protective leaves, light green or gray green and 1.5 cm in diameter. F. septica is food for 22 animal species including wasps, bats, birds, monkeys and mice as well as seed dispersing vecto...

Dlium

Search This Blog