Srengseng (Benstonea kurzii)

Srengseng (Benstonea kurzii) is a species of plant in the Pandanaceae, shrub, 1-2 meters high, short stems or no trunks, 2 cm in diameter at the lower end, brownish, without spines, mostly or completely lying on the ground or climbing on the stems other plants and without root.

B. kurzii has ribbon-shaped leaves, narrow, 92-150 cm long, 2.5-4.0 cm wide, chartaceous, two linear folds, cross section forming the letter M and a prominent vein on the underside. Thorns along the margins and veins of the lower side.

Compound fruit, almost round to broadly oval, 5.5-8 cm long, 3.5-4.3 cm wide and composed of 168-308 drupe. The fruit is brown, single and erect at the end of the stem.

Srengseng grows at an elevation of 20-1000 meters, in tropical rain forests. The leaves are traditionally woven to make a kind of mat, hood or wrapper for brown sugar.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Benstonea
Species: Benstonea kurzii

Blue pea (Clitoria ternatea)

Blue pea ( Clitoria ternatea ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. It is a climbing herb with compound leaves, 5-7 leaflets, up to 12 cm long. The leaflets are oval to round, up to 4 cm long and 3 cm wide, and green. The flowers are blue and white, up to 5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide. The pods are up to 11 cm long and 1 cm wide. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Phaseoleae Subtribe: Clitoriinae Genus: Clitoria L. in Sp. Pl.: 753 (1753) Species: Clitoria ternatea L. in Sp. Pl.: 753 (1753) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Clitoria spectabilis Salisb. in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 336 (1796) Nauchea ternatea (L.) J.-T.Descourt. in Mém. Soc. Linn. Paris 4: 8 (1826) Ternatea ternatea (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 72 (1898) Ternatea vulgaris Kunth in F.W.H.von Humboldt, A.J.A.Bonpland & C.S.Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. 6: 415 (1824) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Clitoria albiflora Matte...

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...

Dadmari (Ammannia baccifera)

Dadmari ( Ammannia baccifera ) is a species of plant in the Lythraceae, an erect, branched herb, up to 50 cm tall, with slightly angular stems and narrow, oblong leaves about 3.5 cm long. The flowers are about 1.2 mm long, greenish or purplish, and grow in dense axillary clusters. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Myrtales Family: Lythraceae Genus: Ammannia L. in Sp. Pl.: 119 (1753) Species: Ammannia baccifera L. in Sp. Pl.: 120 (1753) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Ammannia baccifera f. genuina Koehne in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 1: 260 (1880) Ammannia baccifera f. typica Koehne (1880) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Celosia bicolor Blanco in Fl. Filip.: 191 (1837) Celosia nana Blanco (1837) Ammannia apiculata Koehne (1880) Ammannia attenuata Hochst. ex A.Rich. in Tent. Fl. Abyss. 1: 278 (1848) Ammannia attenuata var. latifolia Koehne (1880) Ammannia attenuata var. micromerioides Chiov. in Bull. Soc. Bot. Ital. 1917: 27 (1917) Ammannia attenuata f. pe...

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