Sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus)

Waru or sea hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus) is a species in the Malvaceae, a small tree, 5-15 meters high, the stem grows straighter and the crown narrower on fertile soils, while the trunk grows crooked and the crown widens on arid soil.

H. tiliaceus has leaves with long stalks. Strands circular or ovoid or heart shaped, flat edge, diameter up to 19 cm. Veins with glands at the base. The underside has gray hair. The supporting leaves are oval in shape, 2.5 cm long and leave marks at the ends of the branches.

Flowers solitary or in bunches with 2-5 florets. Additional petals 8-11 items, more than half attached. Petals 2.5 cm long and 5 items. Fan-shaped crown, 5-7.5 cm wide. The flowers bloom yellow in the morning, turn orange in the afternoon and turn red in the evening, before finally falling.

Fruit egg-shaped, short beak, imperfect 5 chambers and opens with 5 valves. The seeds are small and light brown. Taproot and yellowish white.

This tree has high adaptability, is tolerant of drought and flooding. Grows well in hot areas with rainfall 800-2000 mm/year. Common in sandy coasts, mangroves and riparian forests. This species grows wild in forests, agricultural land and roadsides.

The leaves contain saponins, flavonoids and polyphenols, while the roots contain saponins, flavonoids and tannins. This plant contains Cyanidin-3-glucoside as the main anthocyanin found in flowers. The leaves exhibited strong free radical scavenging activity and the highest tyrosinase inhibitory activity among 39 tropical plant species.

Light wood, quite dense, fine structure and not too hard. Bluish gray or pseudo purple or purplish brown or greenish. Tough and durable survive in the soil. Commonly used as building materials, boats, cartwheels, tool handles, carving and firewood. Bark is soaked and beaten to obtain fiber and rope for further use as the basis for making nets and bags.

Leaves for animal feed. Young leaves are used as vegetables and soy sauce fermentation process. The leaves are crushed to treat boils, hair fertilizer. Young leaves are boiled with sugar to dissolve phlegm in severe coughs. Leaf buds are used to treat dysentery and mucus in children. Root for fever medicine.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Malvoideae
Tribe: Hibisceae
Genus: Hibiscus
Species: Hibiscus tiliaceus
Subspecies: Hibiscus tiliaceus ssp. hastatus, Hibiscus tiliaceus ssp. tiliaceus
Variety: Hibiscus tiliaceus var. elatus, Hibiscus tiliaceus var. pernambucensis

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 ...

Pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia heterophylla)

Pink trumpet tree ( Tabebuia heterophylla ) is a species of plant in the Bignoniaceae family, growing 6–9 meters tall with a cylindrical trunk and brown bark that is often linearly fissured. The leaves are opposite, compound, with five or fewer minor leaflets. T. heterophylla has striking bright red flowers, tubular, five-lobed, and 5–7.5 cm long. The fruit is a cylindrical pod, up to 20 cm long and up to 1 cm wide. The pod stalk is up to 3 cm long. The pod splits along two lines to release numerous thin, light brown seeds, 0.5–2.5 cm long with two white wings. This species is often used as a street tree and shade tree for residential properties. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Bignoniaceae Genus: Tabebuia Species: Tabebuia heterophylla

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...

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