Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis)

Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis) is a plant species in Malvaceae, annual shrub, crawling on the surface or climbing, up to 3 meters long, thorny stems, green leaves, yellow trumpet flowers, grows wild in forests and canal edges, widely used for vegetables and treatment.

H. surattensis has stems with spines and hairs, branching and reddish green. Petiole emerges from the stem with a straight edge to the side, up to 11 cm long, sturdy, thorny, hairy and reddish green.

The leaves have a length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm, 3-5 lobed, each has a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, sharp tip, sharp and jagged edges, wavy, stiff, green surface.

Flowers up to 10 cm long, trumpet-shaped, yellow with a purple or brown or red center, solitary, axillary. Epicalyx has forked bracts, linear inner branches, spathulate outer branches. Stalks up to 6-7 cm. The seeds have a length of 3-3.5 mm and a width of 2.5 mm.

Bush sorrels grow in pastures, marshes, abandoned fields and plantations, waste land near residences, coastal habitats such as dunes, various types of land in the lowlands to an altitude of 1,700 m and annual rainfall of 1000-1600 mm.

Slimy leaves are used as vegetables or eaten raw as a salad, sauce thickener and seasonings. Tonic for the heart and stomach, treating boils, eye diseases, dysentery, urethritis, gonorrhea, sores and itching. Leaf sap prevents miscarriage and treat vertigo. The root is used as a laxative.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Malvoideae
Tribe: Hibisceae
Genus: Hibiscus
Species: Hibiscus surattensis
Varieties: Hibiscus surattensis var. genuinus, Hibiscus surattensis var. villosus

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 ...

Devil's backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)

Pokok lipan or devil's-backbone or redbird flower or christmas candle or Pedilanthus tithymaloides ( Euphorbia tithymaloides ) are plant species in Euphorbiaceae, upright, evergreen, gummy shrubs, growing in tropical and subtropical regions. E. tithymaloides likes sandy soils especially with high concentrations of boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc. This bush grows to 2.4 m high and 61 cm wide. Simple angiosperm leaves, arranged opposite to the stem where each leaf is sessile with a length of 3.6-7.6 cm. The stem has the tip of a handle that supports a group of flowers that are not scented. Bifid crown and ovoid. The involucral bracts are bright red, irregular in shape and length from 1.1 to 1.3 mm. Hairy male and female pedicels. Seed pods are 7.6 mm long, 8.9 mm wide and ovate with clipped ends. Devil's-backbone generally blooms in mid-spring in the subtropical region and in the dry season in the tropics. Pollination is carried out by ants and birds. ...

Blue pansy (Junonia orithya)

Blue pansy ( Junonia orithya ) is an animal species in Nymphalidae, butterflies with at least 23 subspecies, have a variety of hues and colors including blue, black, brown and white, sex dimorphism, live in open areas and agricultural land, larvae grow at the end dry season or early rainy season. J. orithya has a black body with thick hair, a brown head, large white eyes, a pair of long white antennae with a hammer tip and white legs. Males have top front wings are dominated by black and whitish brown. Each side has two circles in brown, black and blue. Three stripes are brown and white. The hind wing is predominantly blue. Each side has two circles in brown, black, white and blue. The margins are bordered by white ribbons with black stripes. The rear wing is predominantly blue. Each side has two circles in brown, black, white and blue. Three stripes are brown and white. The margins are bordered by white ribbons with black stripes. The underside of the forewings is dominated by brow...

Dlium