Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia)

Paitan or Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia) is a plant species in Asteraceae, shrubs with 2-4 meters high, abundant yellow flowers, fast growing, tolerant to high canopy density with deep roots and widely used as a barrier to erosion, insulin and green fertilizer.

T. diversifolia grows upright, erect stems are tubular and green woody. Single leaf arranged alternately, length up to 32 cm, width up to 25 cm, sharp edges and base, pinnate bones, rough surface and green. Young leaves have a tip, while adult leaves have 3-5 ends.

Compound flowers grow at the end of branches with long stems. Petals are tubular, smooth hair and green. Crown will be separated, ribbon-shaped, yellow and smooth. Yellow round stamens and curved pistils are yellow.

The fruits are round, light green and turn brown when ripe. The seeds are round, have four corners, 5 mm long, hard and brown in color. Seeds spread by the wind. White taproot.

Mexican sunflower grows wild on the edge of farmland, cliff slopes and highway edges. Fertile breeds at altitudes 550-1950 m, annual temperatures 15-31C, annual rainfall 100-2000 mm and lots of sun.

Paitan is widely used as an organic fertilizer to support growth, reduce pollutants and reduce the level of active P, Al and Fe giraffe. Leaves to reduce blood glucose levels in diabetics, treat itching and scabies, oxidize bacterial skin cells and prevent fungus.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Subtribe: Helianthinae
Genus: Tithonia
Species: Tithonia diversifolia

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 ...

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

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...

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