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Sandbox tree (Hura crepitans)

Sandbox tree ( Hura crepitans ) is species in Euphorbiaceae, a tropical tree, growing up to 60 meters tall and with a trunk circumference of up to 13.2 meters, the trunk is covered with long and sharp thorns and exudes a poisonous sap. H. crepitans has large, oval leaves, 15 cm wide and 20 cm long. The petioles are 22 cm long. The flowers are red and lack petals. Male flowers grow on long stalks, while female flowers grow singly in leaf axils. The fruit is a large, flask-shaped capsule, up to 10 cm in diameter, with 12-16 radially arranged carpels. The seeds are flat and about 2 cm in diameter. The capsule bursts when ripe, dividing into segments and ejecting the seeds at a speed of 70 m/s, a distance of 30-100 meters. This tree prefers moist soil and partial shade or partial to full sun, a warm, humid environment. It is often cultivated for shade. The wood is light and used to make canoes. The sap is used to poison fish. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angio...

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

Black potato ( Coleus rotundifolius ) is a species of plant in Lamiaceae, herbaceous, fibrous roots and tubers, erect and slightly creeping stems, quadrangular, thick, and slightly odorous. Single leaves, thick, membranous, opposite and alternate. Leaves are oval, dark green and shiny on the upper side, bright green on the lower side. Up to 5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, slightly hairy and pinnate leaf veins. Leaf stalks up to 4 cm long. Small, purple flowers. Star-shaped petals, lip-shaped crown, dark to light purple with a slightly curved tube shape. Flowering from February-August. Small tubers, brown and white flesh and tuber length 2-4 cm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Nepetoideae Tribe: Ocimeae Subtribe: Plectranthinae Genus: Coleus Species: Coleus rotundifolius

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Brown-woolly fig (Ficus drupacea)

Brown-woolly fig ( Ficus drupacea ) is a species of plant in the Moraceae, a tropical tree, cylindrical and 10-30 meters tall. The leaves are oval, up to 16 cm long, up to 6 cm wide, with petioles up to 2 cm long. The fruit is round-oval, up to 3 cm long, up to 2 cm wide, young yellow and old red. The fruit is eaten by pigeons, and pollinated by Eupristina belgaumensis. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Moraceae Tribe: Ficeae Genus: Ficus Tourn. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 1059 (1753) Species: Ficus drupacea Thunb. in Ficus: 11 (1786) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Urostigma drupaceum (Thunb.) Miq. in London J. Bot. 6: 581 (1847) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Ficus aurantiicarpa Elmer in Leafl. Philipp. Bot. 9: 3454 (1937) Ficus chrysochlamys K.Schum. & Lauterb. in Fl. Schutzgeb. Südsee: 274 (1900) Ficus chrysocoma Blume in Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 443 (1825) Ficus citrifolia Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 4: 1137 (1806) Ficus drupacea var...

Beach spider lily (Hymenocallis littoralis)

Beach spider lily ( Hymenocallis littoralis ) is plant species in Amaryllidaceae, herbaceous perennial, up to 80 cm tall, with bulbs 7-10 cm in diameter and over time developing a neck 4-5 cm in diameter. The leaves are elongated, flat, thick, up to 80 cm long and up to 3 cm wide. The flowers are large, white, vanilla-scented, and in sticky clusters. The flower awns are attached to staminal cups. Each flower tube is up to 17 cm long or longer. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Amaryllidaceae Subfamily: Amaryllidoideae Tribe: Hymenocallideae Genus: Hymenocallis Salisb. in Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 338 (1812) Species: Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb. in Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 338 (1812) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Hymenocallis adnata Herb. in Amaryllidaceae: 215 (1837) Hymenocallis adnata var. littoralis (Jacq.) Herb. (1837) Hymenocallis adnata var. princeps Herb. (1837) Hymenocallis littoralis var. lo...

Asian water hyacinth (Pontederia hastata)

Asian water hyacinth ( Pontederia hastata ) is a species of plant in the Pontederiaceae, herbaceous, aquatic, erect, growing in colonies in wet environments with freshwater bodies, lakes, swamps, rivers and agricultural land and abandoned lands. P. hastata is up to 120 cm tall, cylindrical leaf stalks and green in color. Leaves are heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, up to 25 cm long, up to 21 cm wide, green and thick. Inflorescences in panicles and grow on leaf stalks. Fan-shaped flowers, up to 3 cm wide, six-winged, blue in color, white stamens and yellow pollen. Flower stalks up to 3 cm long and white. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Commelinales Family: Pontederiaceae Genus: Pontederia Subgenus: Monochoria Species: Pontederia hastata

Java ruellia (Ruellia treubiana)

Java ruellia ( Ruellia treubiana ) is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae, herbaceous, erect, up to 35 cm tall, cylindrical and green stems, fibrous and white roots. R. treubiana has leaves sitting opposite each other with long stalks up to 1 cm. The leaves are oval, up to 6.5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, pointed at the tip, a main vein in the middle with many small pinnate veins and flat margins. Fan-shaped flowers with five fins, bluish white, up to 3.5 cm long and up to 2.5 cm wide. This species grows on the forest floor in narrow colonies, under teak forests that tend to be shady, on the edge of puddles, on the edge of roads etc. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Acanthaceae Subfamily: Acanthoideae Tribe: Ruellieae Subtribe: Ruelliinae Genus: Ruellia Species: Ruellia treubiana