Queen of Philippines (Mussaenda philippica)

Nusa Indah or Queen of Philippines (Mussaenda philippica) is a plant species in the Rubiaceae, a shrub or small tree, fibrous roots and yellowish white, cylindrical stems, many branches, rough and brown bark.

M. philippica has leaves that sit opposite and alternate, ovate, 5-15 cm long, 4-8 cm wide, tapered tip and base, smooth hair, pinnate veins, flat margin, green upper side and lower side whitish green.

Compound flowers, appears at the end of the stalk, umbrella-shaped bouquets, small trumpet-shaped flowers, 1 cm and yellow. Seeds riding, lancet-shaped and yellow-brown. This species grows at elevations of 1-1700 meters. This plant flowers in summer.

This plant contains β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, arjunolic acid, alkaloids, isoquercitrin flavonoids, triterpenoid saponins (mussaendoside F), iridoid compounds, heinsiagenin A. Often used to treat flu, fever, cough, tonsillitis, sore throat, wounds, boils, prevent and treat breast cancer.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Ixoroideae
Tribe: Mussaendeae
Genus: Mussaenda
Species: Mussaenda philippica
Variety: Mussaenda philippica var. aurorae, Mussaenda philippica var. philippica, Mussaenda philippica var. pubescens

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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