Sacred fig (Ficus religiosa)

Sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) is a species of plant in the Moraceae, a large tree, up to 30 meters high, trunk diameter up to 3 meters, heart-shaped leaves with elongated drop tips, up to 30 cm long, up to 20 cm wide and leaf stalks up to 10 cm long.

F. religiosa has small fruit 1-1.5 cm wide, green, purple to black when ripe. Strong trunks submerged in floodwaters.

This species grows at elevations of 10-1500 meters, temperatures from 0-35, various types of soil to rock crevices, but prefers alluvial sandy loam soil.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Tribe: Ficeae
Genus: Ficus
Species: Ficus religiosa

Temulawak (Curcuma zanthorrhiza)

Temulawak or Java ginger or Javanese ginger or Javanese turmeric or Curcuma xanthorrhiza ( Curcuma zanthorrhiza ) is a plant species in Zingiberaceae, grows well in loose soil in tropical forests in the lowlands to an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level and tubers are used for medicinal herbs and drinks. C. zanthorrhiza has pseudo stems up to 2 m tall. The stem is a midrib of upright, overlapping leaves, green or dark brown in color. Rhizomes are perfectly formed, large, branched and reddish brown, dark yellow or dark green. Each bud forms 2-9 leaves with a circular shape extending to lancet, green or light purple to dark brown, leaves 31-84 cm long and 10-18 cm wide, stems 43-80 cm long and each strand is connected with a midrib. Flowers are dark yellow, uniquely shaped and clustered with lateral inflorescences. The stems and scales are in the form of lines, 9-23cm long and 4-6cm wide, having protectors with comparable crowns. Petals are white, hairy and 8-13mm long. The...

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 ...

Mung bean (Vigna radiata)

Kacang hijau or mung bean ( Vigna radiata ) is a plant species in Fabaceae, shrubs, growing vines on the ground or climbing on supports, seeds are used as food sources with high vegetable protein and sprouts are eaten as vegetables. V. radiata has a cylindrical stem, grows in vines, is branched, is dark red or green in color and has white hair. The leaves have long stalks with one at the end and two on the opposite side. The leaves have a heart or oval shape, white hair, blunt base, pointed tip, flat margin, top side has a green color with light or white ornaments in a triangular shape. A main vein in the middle with several smaller pinnate veins. Flowers have long stalks, semicircular with the center having a bent shape towards the front and bright yellow. The fruit is pod-shaped, slightly curved and white-haired. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Phaseoleae Subtribe: Ph...

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