Perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis)

Tempuyang or perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis) is a species of plant in the Asteraceae, herbaceous, upright with a height of 65-150 cm, stems are green, cylindrical, soft, hollow, green gummy and hairy,

S. arvensis has a single elongated oval-shaped leaf, pointed tip, purplish green, smooth surface, wavy edges and irregular teeth, 6-48 cm long and 3-12 cm wide. The leaves are near the base of the stem and are toothed and form a rosette. The leaves located at the top sit alternately hugging the stem.

Compound flowers, bell-like petals and a crown shaped like a collection of white or yellow needles. The fruit is box-shaped, has 5 ribs and has black hairs which then turn into small and light seeds.

This species grows in open places exposed to full sunlight or slightly protected such as cliffs, edges of waterways and abandoned land. It grows well in areas with lots of rain at an elevation of 50-1650 meters.

This plant contains alpha-lactuserol, β-lactoserol, mannitol, inositol, silica, potassium, flavonoids, tarak-sasterol, volatiles (decanal, eicosane, phytol, dokozan), aliphatic hydrocarbon, benzoic acid. Widely used to treat gout, kidney stones, urinary stones, gallstones, coughs, asthma, bronchitis, swelling and sedatives.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Cichorioideae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Subtribe: Hyoseridinae
Genus: Sonchus
Species: Sonchus arvensis
Subspecies: Sonchus arvensis ssp. arvensis, Sonchus arvensis ssp. humilis, Sonchus arvensis ssp. maritimus, Smooth Field Sowthistle Sonchus arvensis ssp. uliginosus

Javan broadhead planarian (Bipalium javanum)

Cacing palu or Javan broadhead planarian ( Bipalium javanum ) is a species of animal in Geoplanidae, hermaphrodite, living on the ground, predators, often called only hammerhead or broadhead or shovel worms because of wide heads and simple copulatory organs. B. javanum has a slim stature, up to 20 cm long, up to 0.5 cm wide, head wide up to 1 cm or less, small neck, widening in the middle and the back end is rounded, all black and shiny. Javan broadhead planarians walk above ground level by raising their heads and actively looking left, right and looking up using strong neck muscles. Move swiftly, track meander, climb to get through all obstacles or make a new path if the obstacle is too high. Cacing palu track and prey on earthworms and mollusks. They use muscles and sticky secretions to attach themselves to prey to lock in. The head and ends of the body are wrapped around and continue to close the body to stop prey reactions. They produce tetrodotoxins which are very strong...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

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...

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