Formosa lily (Lilium formosanum)

Taiwanese lily or formosa lily (Lilium formosanum) is a species of plant in the Liliaceae, herbaceous, erect, up to 150 cm tall, with small, round, and 2-4 cm diameter bulbs, consisting of white to yellowish lanceolate scales.

L. formosanum has smooth to papillose stems and sometimes purple shades. Leaves are distributed radially around the stem. Leaves are linear or narrow and lanceolate, up to 20 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide.

Each unit has 1-5 flowers, funnel-shaped, fragrant in umbels. Hermaphroditic flowers consist of 3 flowers. Six flower bracts are identical, broadly spatulate and up to 16 cm long. The flower base color is pure white and the outer part is purple.

Each flower contains 3 carpels and 6 stamens. Anthers are about 12 mm long and pollen is yellow. Filaments are very long, about 12 cm long. Nectar fruits are green and have papillose stalks on both sides. Seeds mature in capsules, slender and up to 9 cm long.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Liliales
Family: Liliaceae
Subfamily: Lilioideae
Tribe: Lilieae
Genus: Lilium
Section: Leucolirion
Species: Lilium formosanum

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...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

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Tekijem (Cyperus cyperoides)

Tekijem ( Cyperus cyperoides ) is a plant species in Cyperaceae, annual grasses that grow in seasonal wetlands, open or shaded fields, swamps, ponds, rice fields, roadsides, open forests, secondary forests and shrubs at altitudes up to 1,800 m in the tropics. C. cyperoides has an upright, triangular shape, 20-75 cm tall from a very short rhizome and has no stolon. The lanceolate-shaped leaves are narrow and long, the tips are pointed, slippery, shiny, green and grow at the bottom and at the top of the stem. The terminal flower appears on the tip of the stem, cylindrical spiklet shaped and green. Each stem has two to seven flowers, each of which has a short or long stem that grows at the end of the stem together with the leaves. Tekijem grows solitary or in small groups at a distance. Propagating using vegetative and generative methods using seeds. At least three sub-species are Cyperus cyperoides cyperoides , Cyperus cyperoides flavus and Cyperus cyperoides pseudoflavus . Th...

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