Tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens)

Cabai rawit or tabasco pepper (Capsicum frutescens) is a plant species in Solanaceae, growing annuals as shrubs for 50-135 cm tall and widening 50-90 cm, an important horticulture and widely cultivated for fruits that have a spicy taste for various uses.

C. frutescens has a perpendicular and sturdy stem, a diameter of 1.5-3 cm, woody and greenish brown. Formation of wood on the main stem begins at the age of 30 days after budding. Each leaf armpit will grow new shoots as secondary branches, tertiary and so on with a Y shape and can reach 21-23 branches.

Strong, branching roots to the side form fibrous roots, penetrating the soil to a depth of 50 cm and a width of 45 cm. The leaves are bright green to dark green depending on variety, have stems, oval shaped with tapered ends and pinnate bones.

Flowers emerge from the leaf armpits, hermaphrodites, trumpet-shaped and complete organs. Usually hanging, calyx has six greenish strands and corolla has five white strands. Pistilum stems are white with greenish-yellow heads.

Each flower has one pistilum and six white colored stamen with purplish blue anthers. After pollination fertilization will occur. At the time of formation of the corolla fruit generally will fall but calyx remains attached to the fruit.

The fruit is short round with a pointed or conical tip, 2-3.5 cm long and 5-12 mm wide, yellowish white when young and red when ripe, flat round, arranged in clusters and attached to the pith.

Tabasco pepper grows well in clay-textured soils, sandy loam and dusty loam, pH 5.5-6.5, open land to get sunlight from morning to evening and good drainage system in the rainy season.

Fresh fruit contains 11,050 SI of vitamin A, or more than any other chili, considered important for ingredients in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Usually used to cure sore throats, replace the function of rubbing oil to reduce aches, rheumatism, shortness of breath, itching, boils, skin irritation and stimulate appetite.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Capsiceae
Genus: Capsicum
Species: Capsicum frutescens
Varieties: Capsicum frutescens var. baccatum, Capsicum frutescens var. cerasiforme, Capsicum frutescens var. grossum, Capsicum frutescens var. longum, Capsicum frutescens f. piment

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 ...

False nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica)

False nettle ( Boehmeria cylindrica ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family, a herb or small shrub, up to 160 cm tall, usually monoecious but rarely dioecious. The leaves are paired or alternate, and the inflorescence is a spikelet with a cluster of small bracts at the tip. B. cylindrica generally grows to a height of 50-100 cm. Spine-like hairs form in the leaf axils. The leaves are oval and up to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide. The flowers are green or greenish-white and emerge from the upper leaf axils. Male and female flowers usually grow on separate plants. Male flowers are more numerous among the spikes in clusters. Female flowers are less evenly distributed along the spikes. The small, oval seeds are covered with small, hook-like hairs. Ripe seeds are dark brown. The inflorescence resembles a spike and is up to 3 cm long. This species can be found in moist to mesic deciduous forest habitats, growing abundantly along streambanks, floodplains, and lowlands. B. cylindrica is ...

Alexandrian Laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum)

Alexandrian Laurel ( Calophyllum inophyllum ) is a species of plant in the Calophyllaceae family. It is a low-branching, slow-growing, spreading tree with a wide, irregular crown. It grows up to 30 meters tall, has a cylindrical trunk, and thick, black, and fissured bark. The leaves are thick, oval, with rounded tips, even margins, and a smooth surface. The upper side is dark green and glossy, the underside is bright green, with a central vein in bright green. The leaves are up to 27 cm long, 13 cm wide, and have a 1 cm petiole. Flowers bloom throughout the year, but typically from April to June and October to December. Flowers are 30 mm in diameter and occur in racemose or paniculate inflorescences of four to 15 flowers. The flowers have a sweet aroma and attract numerous pollinating insects. The fruit is round, green, up to 4 cm in diameter, with a large seed in the center. When ripe, the fruit wrinkles and turns yellow to brownish. The fruit is light, with thin, spongy flesh and a...

Dlium