Merapi orchid (Vanda tricolor)

Merapi orchid (Vanda tricolor) is an endemic orchid species of Mount Merapi with flowers shaped like spiders, has three dominant colors in one petal are white, brownish red spots, and purple. V. tricolor is considered the most beautiful of the 70 species of orchid found at Merapi.

Orchid Merapi is the queen of orchids from the slopes of Mount Merapi. V. tricolor and Dendrobium mutabile are extraordinary orchids where the two plants survive after being hit by the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010. V. tricolor has a heat shock protein (HSP) that makes it heat resistant.

V. tricolor can live in the lowlands up to 1,000 meters above sea level. Cultivation is very easy and only needs patience. The plant's height is around 15 centimeters at the age of two and continues to rise up to several meters.

This Merapi orchid has a fragrant aroma, but only at 7.00-9.00 in the morning. Each tree can have dozens of flower stems that generally appear from October to September. Even so, this orchid can flower at any time. Indonesia has at least 5,000 orchid species.

This orchid has always been the focus of attention among a variety of flowering plants. Vanda tricolor is very unique, beautiful, fragrant and special for orchid lovers, even though Indonesia has at least 5,000 species of orchids.

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Orchidaceae
Subfamily: Epidendroideae
Genus: Vanda
Species: V. tricolor

Elephant bell gourd (Trichosanthes tricuspidata)

Elephant bell gourd ( Trichosanthes tricuspidata ) is a plant species in the Cucurbitaceae, stems grow elongated to propagate or climb, many branches, cylindrical in shape and green in color. T. cochinchinensis has stem tips or branches that twist to attach themselves to a support or other plant. It grows to climb to cover a support, usually on another plant, up to several meters and creeps along the ground to reach another support. Arrow-shaped leaves, split base, sharp apex and two wings at an acute angle, have many veins ending at a sharp edge, green and have a long petiole. Single flower is white. The fruit is round to oval, ends with a tail, young green and turns red with maturity, thin skin, thick flesh and reddish yellow, has a short stalk and hangs. The seeds are in the middle of the fruit. Seeds are white, oval and flat. Black coated seeds. Elephant bell gourd grows wild in primary and secondary forests, agricultural land, roadsides, watersheds, especially on slopes, damp a

Matthias Asmuss pitcairnia (Pitcairnia asmussii) from Venezuela similar to Pitcairnia xanthocalyx Mart. 1848

NEWS - Matthias Asmuss pitcairnia ( Pitcairnia asmussii Gouda spec. nov.) discovered by Matthias Asmuss from Caracas, Venezuela, and cultivated at the Utrecht Botanical Gardens is similar to Pitcairnia xanthocalyx Martius (1848), but with shorter flower stalks with larger sepals and petals, and dimorphic, non-petiolate leaves. Pitcairnia L’Heritier (1788) is a mostly terrestrial genus widespread from Mexico to Argentina with a total of 217 species and about 52 species known from Venezuela. In 2015 Matthias Asmuss from Caracas collected a new Pitcairnia from Aragua, Venezuela. The specimen is kept in the VEN herbarium, but due to the chaotic period in the country, it may have been lost, only the photo remains. At Utrecht Botanic Gardens, Eric Gouda obtained a young specimen from the collection in November 2018 and it flowered in May (2024). This living specimen is next to the type specimen used for the description. Pitcairnia asmussii is an acaulescent or short caulescent plant, flow

Multi-branch wild rye (Elymus multiramosus) from China has similarities with Elymus nutans Griseb

NEWS - Multi-branch wild rye ( Elymus multiramosus Y.C. Zhang, sp. nov.) reported from Delingha City, west of Qinghai Province, China, which has similarities with Elymus nutans Griseb. However, it can be easily distinguished from other species by its compound spikes characterized by elongated rhachilla at the base of the main axis, producing 3–6 mini-thorn-like branches. Elymus L. is the most extensive genus in Triticeae, characterized by polyploid and mostly short-lived perennial grasses including about 172 species from the Arctic to subtropical regions, adapting to diverse environments such as grasslands, semi-deserts and mountains. Elymus provides important annual forage in temperate regions and especially in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In October 2020, in Delingha City, west of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, plants with compound spikes were found in a dry and rocky alpine grassland area. Elymus multiramosus is a herb with culms are usually erect, sometimes slightly decumbent at base,

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