Rhino rattan (Plectocomia elongata)

Rhino rattan (Plectocomia elongata) is a species of plant in the Arecaceae, large rattan, single or in clusters, up to 50 meters high, large stem, segment length 30-40 cm, diameter with leaf midrib up to 25-100 mm, grows in forests, along rivers and slopes in the lowlands up to an elevation of 1200 meters.

P. elongata has leaves 6-7 meters long, including a 3 meter apex and a 20-30 cm petiole. The leaf midrib is green with many horizontal spines or rosettes. The leaves number 50-60 on the right and left of the rakis, in the shape of oblong bands, arranged irregularly or in groups of 1-4 items, the upper side is green and the lower side is whitish.

Inflorescences appear from the tip, 7-10 heads, up to 80 cm long and milky white in color. The fruit has a diameter of 1.5 cm and is covered with reddish brown scales. Seeds have a diameter of 1 cm. The flowering season is June-August and the fruit season is until December. This plant dies immediately after bearing fruit.

This plant produces brown to reddish brown rattan sticks, large and hard. The sap is drunk or rubbed on the body to treat fever. The sap is cooked to treat wounds. Edible fruit and flower panicles for decoration.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Subfamily: Calamoideae
Tribe: Calameae
Genus: Plectocomia
Species: Plectocomia elongata
Variety: Plectocomia elongata var. elongata, Plectocomia elongata var. philippinensis

Yellow garden spider (Argiope appensa)

Yellow garden spider ( Argiope appensa ) is a species of spider in Araneidae that lives on the coast to forests on islands in the western Pacific Ocean. Black and yellow females are striking and have a length of 5.1-6.4 cm including long legs, while males are brown and have a length of about 1.9 cm. A. appensa lives on cliffs in the hills at 600 m above sea level in Kewu plain to rice fields in the lowlands. They make nests at a height of 1.5 meters from the ground between teak ( Tectona grandis ), sonokeling ( Dalbergia latifolia ), sonosiso ( Dalbergia sissoo ), crown flower ( Calotropis gigantea ) and various grasses. Yellow garden spiders grow in large sizes, but are not toxic to humans. Advanced builds ball-shaped nets and most of them make stabilizers which are zigzag-shaped lines in nets made of thicker bands. This species spends more time in stationary and sits in the middle of the net with its head down to wait for insects to be entangled in fine silk thread. Unli...

Skyflower (Duranta erecta)

Sinyo nakal or skyflower ( Duranta erecta ) is plant species in Verbenaceae, a broad shrub or small tree, up to 6 m high, stems growing upright or horizontally with broad clumps, many branches, bark light brown, old tree has axillary spines and grows to form dense colonies. D. erecta has bright green leaves, elliptical to ovoid, pointed or rounded ends, sitting opposite, 7.5 cm long, 3.5 cm wide, a main vein in the middle with several small lateral veins, petiole long 1.5 cm. Flowers are light blue or lavender or white, appear in tight clusters as on terminal stems and axils, often curled or pendulous, blooms in summer. The fruit is a berry having a stalk, small round, yellow or orange or white in color, up to 11 mm in diameter, an eye green in front and containing several seeds. Skyflower grows in dry or humid areas and lots of sun, rocky or sandy beaches, forests, farmland and disturbed places. Plants will grow at a rate of up to half a meter per year. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum:...

Big-leaved acacia (Acacia mangium)

Big-leaved acacia ( Acacia mangium ) is a species of woody plants in the Acacieae, long oval leaves, growing up to 30 m and straight stems, except in less favorable places will grow only 7-10 m, have hardwood, rough, longitudinal grooved and dark to light brown. A. mangium has shoots with compound leaves consisting of many minor leaves and after growing a few weeks does not produce any more real leaves but the main axis of the petiole of each compound leaves widens and turns into known pohyllocladus or pseudo leaves. Big-leaved acacia has about 142,000 seeds/kg. Long pods form circular threads and are black or brown when ripe. Dry pods will open to expose small black seeds. Trees bind nitrogen to the soil and are a popular species for agroforestry projects. This plant is weather resistant, although it requires special care if it is planted as a garden plant where the leaves are falling a lot. These plants include legumes that grow quickly by increasing height 4 m per year near ...

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