Crystal bell orchid (Didymoplexis pallens)

Crystal bell orchid (Didymoplexis pallens) is a species of plant in the Orchidaceae, terrestrial mycotrophic orchid, leafless, having a fleshy rhizome, single and erect stem, 6-25 cm tall, branched, cylindrical and white or cream in color.

D. pallens has white, trumpet-shaped flowers with sepals and petals similar in size and shape and fused about half the length, 6-8 mm long, 8-10 mm wide.

The labellum is wedge-shaped, 6-7 mm long and 9-10 mm wide with the sides curved upwards. There were two or three rows of callus along the midline of the labellum.

Crystal bell orchid grows in the shade, under clumps of bamboo, moist soil and black clay deposits. Plants appear during the first rains of the rainy season or at the end of the season. Flowers open only one day. The emergence of this orchid is triggered by the right and balanced symbiotic relationship with microorganisms.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Tribe: Gastrodieae
Subtribe: Gastrodiinae
Genus: Didymoplexis
Species: Didymoplexis pallens

Korean mulberry (Morus indica)

Murbei or Korean mulberry ( Morus indica ) is a species of plant in Moraceae, shrub or small tree, up to 10 meters tall, slow growing, cylindrical stem, light brown with white nodules, M. indica has heart-shaped or oval-shaped leaves and sometimes three-lobed, 4-12.5 cm long, 2.5-7.5 cm wide, pointed tip, serrated margin, green and has a stalk. Monoecious inflorescences with male and female grow on the same tree, though often on different branches. Male flowers have a size of 9-11.5 mm and are covered with fine hairs. The female flowers are subglubose or only round in shape, measuring 6-9.5 mm. Stigma is 3.5 mm long with short, thick hair. The female flowers form compound fruit and are fleshy, green and white-haired to white, red and black when ripe. Korean mulberry is used in regulating blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Moraceae Genus: Morus Species: Morus indica

Swietenia mahagoni and Swietenia macrophylla, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - To date, mahogany ( Swietenia Jacq.) is recorded as having four species: West Indian mahogany or small-leaved mahogany ( Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq.), big-leaf mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King), Honduran mahogany ( Swietenia humilis Zucc.) and Swietenia × aubrevilleana Stehlé & Cusin. The debate over the number of taxa in the genus is still not resolved. Some researchers believe that there are only two species: S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla . I agree with that opinion and the two species can only be differentiated by the size of the leaves. All species in this genus have similar morphology except for leaf size. The following is the key to identifying these two species. S. mahagoni has a stalk length of around 37 cm with 5-6 pairs of strands. The strands are about 10 cm long and about 3.5 cm wide. S. macrophylla has a stalk length of up to 45 cm with 4-5 pairs of strands. The strands are up to 31 cm long and up to 8 cm wide. By Aryo Bando...

Aquatic bacteria Comamonas testosteroni eats plastic waste into carbon for microbial growth

NEWS - Researchers report an enzyme that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in a somewhat unlikely place: Comamonas testosteroni , a microbe that lives in sewage sludge. The enzyme could be used by wastewater treatment plants to break down microplastic particles and recycle plastic waste. Plastic pollution is everywhere, and it mostly consists of PET. The polymer is used to make bottles, containers and even clothing. PET beads are an increasingly common microplastic found in places ranging from remote oceans to inside our bodies. But the particles are so small that they can escape water treatment processes and end up in wastewater that re-enters the environment. On the other hand, wastewater also contains microorganisms that like to eat these plastic particles, including C. testosteroni, so named because it degrades sterols like testosterone. “It’s important to note that PET plastic represents 12% of global plastic use. And it accounts for up to 50% of microplastics in wastew...

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