Skip to main content

Ranela (Selaginella plana)

Ranela or Asian spikemoss (Selaginella plana) is a species of plant in Selaginellaceae, fibrous roots, creeping in the forest, stems 0.5-1 cm in diameter, yellowish brown and slightly grooved, used by local residents as an antidote to demons and treat poisonous snake bites.

S. plana has green leaves with small and simple sizes that resemble flat scales, smooth surface, encircling the trunk and on the side branches arranged in four rows where the two side leaves consist of large leaves that fall off easily and two front rows of small, attached leaves.

Dlium Ranela (Selaginella plana)


Leaves are not stemmed, appear crossed, smooth surface. Ranela produces two types of spores that are not the same size. Sorus grows at the tip of the terminalia. Sporangia in fertile axillary leaves. The sporophyll is larger than the sporangia, collected into rectangular and sometimes slightly flattened terminal grains.

Shaded terrestrial at an altitude of more than 200 m in the tropics. Often used as an ornamental plant. In some areas it is used as a wound medicine, blood purifier, stomachache medicine and fever medicine by bathing using boiled water.



Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Lycopodiopsida
Order: Selaginellales
Family: Selaginellaceae
Genus: Selaginella
Species: Selaginella plana

Popular Posts

Javan broadhead planarian (Bipalium javanum)

Cacing palu or Javan broadhead planarian ( Bipalium javanum ) is a species of animal in Geoplanidae, hermaphrodite, living on the ground, predators, often called only hammerhead or broadhead or shovel worms because of wide heads and simple copulatory organs. B. javanum has a slim stature, up to 20 cm long, up to 0.5 cm wide, head wide up to 1 cm or less, small neck, widening in the middle and the back end is rounded, all black and shiny. Javan broadhead planarians walk above ground level by raising their heads and actively looking left, right and looking up using strong neck muscles. Move swiftly, track meander, climb to get through all obstacles or make a new path if the obstacle is too high. Cacing palu track and prey on earthworms and mollusks. They use muscles and sticky secretions to attach themselves to prey to lock in. The head and ends of the body are wrapped around and continue to close the body to stop prey reactions. They produce tetrodotoxins which are very strong...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

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