Matchbox bean (Entada phaseoloides)

Matchbox Bean (Entada phaseoloides) is a species in the Fabaceae family, a large woody liana with stems up to 18 cm in diameter, dark brown, rough bark, laterally flattened, and spirally twisted.

The leaves are bipinnate, up to 25 cm long, with 1-2 pairs of minor leaflets, each divided into 1-2 pairs of pinnules. The pinnules are somewhat leathery, asymmetrical or oblique, up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide.

The inflorescence is a spike-shaped, about 25-30 cm long, bearing numerous sessile flowers. The individual flowers are very small, about 1.2 mm in diameter. The five petals, green with reddish bases, are 3-4 mm long, and the stamens are about 7 mm long.

The fruit is a very large, flattened, woody pod or capsule, about 1-1.2 m long and 12 cm wide. It is usually slightly curved and linear, with about 12 segments, each containing a single seed. The seeds are lens-shaped, shiny brown, smooth, 5-6 cm wide and 1-1.5 cm thick.

Filipinos used gugo before commercial shampoos were available in stores. This shampoo is obtained by soaking and rubbing the bark of the stem, producing a lather that cleanses the scalp. It is also used as an ingredient in hair tonics. This plant contains saponins, triterpenes, and phenolic compounds. Gugo prevents hair loss by stimulating microcirculation in the blood vessels.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Mimosoideae
Tribe: Mimoseae
Genus: Entada
Species: Entada phaseoloides

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 ...

Salak (Salacca zalacca)

Salak or snake fruit ( Salacca zalacca ) is a species of palm plant in Arecaceae, dioesis, shrubs and not trunked, has many thorns, many shoots, grows into dense and strong clumps, spreads below or above the ground, often branching and 10-15 cm diameter. S. zalacca has compound leaves, pinnate and 3-7 m long. Petiole, midrib and sapling have many long thorns, thin spines and a blackish-gray color. Minor leaves have a lanceolate shape, a pointed tip, 8x85 cm and a white underside by a waxy coating. The flowers in the cob are compound, appear in the armpit of the leaf, stem, initially covered by a sheath then dry and break down like fibers. Male flowers 50-100 cm long, 4-12 cylindrical items, 7-15 cm long, reddish in the armpits of tightly arranged scales. Female flowers 20-30 cm long, stemmed long and 1-3 items. The fruit has scaly skin, is eaten and is known as a table fruit, triangular shaped rather rounded or inverted ovoid, pointed at the base and rounded at the tip, 2.5-10 ...

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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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