Lolot (Piper sarmentosum)

Lolot pepper (Piper sarmentosum) is a species of plant in Piperaceae, perennial herb, erect or lodging, creeping rhizome, up to 120 cm long, branched, enlarged branches, cylindrical stems, brown or green, often grooved, growing on the forest floor and shade.

P. sarmentosum has leaf up to 15 cm long, up to 13 cm wide, green, alternately arranged, heart-shaped, pointed tips and flat margins.

The leaves have 5 main veins from the base of the blade, linear and slightly curved to the tip, glands on the upper surface and many fine pinnate veins. The upper side is shiny green, the lower side is pale green. The flowers are white. The fruit grows in the upper armpit of the leaf, is slightly oval and green.

The leaves are used as a medicine for asthma, malaria, stomach ache, tinea versicolor, toothache, difficulty urinating, aches and pains, maintaining stamina, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and so on.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Piperales
Family: Piperaceae
Genus: Piper
Species: Piper sarmentosum

Cockspur coral tree (Erythrina crista-galli)

Velvet coral tree or cockspur coral tree ( Erythrina crista-galli ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. It is a small tree, 5-8 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of about 50 cm, irregular branches, light wood, and fissured, soft, and light brown bark. The taproot is white. The leaves are ovate, with three strands, dark green and glossy on the upper surface, and pale green on the underside. The central lobe is up to 17 cm long and up to 11 cm wide. The left and right lobes are up to 15 cm long and up to 10 cm wide. The flowers are red, arranged in racemes, at the apex, pentameric, complete, and bilaterally symmetrical. The flowers are up to 6 cm long and 4 cm wide. The pods are long, containing about 8 seeds, green when young and turning brown as they mature. The seeds are ovate, flat, and brown. It grows well in lowlands up to an elevation of 1,500 meters, with an annual rainfall of 800-1,500 mm/year, and a temperature of 20-32°C. It thrives in well-drained soils, but...

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 ...

Tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus)

Tanglehead ( Heteropogon contortus ) is a species of Poaceae, an erect grass, up to 65 cm tall, with leaves up to 13 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is at the top and hairy. The tip is black. This plant forms dense colonies in forests, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. TAXON : Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Subfamily: Panicoideae Tribe: Andropogoneae Subtribe: Anthistiriinae Genus: Heteropogon Pers. in Syn. Pl. 2: 533 (1807) Species: Heteropogon contortus (L.) P.Beauv. in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, Syst. Veg., ed. 15[bis]. 2: 836 (1817) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS : Andropogon contortus L. in Sp. Pl.: 1045 (1753) Heteropogon contortus var. hirtus Hack. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 2(3): 267 (1883) Heteropogon hirtus Pers. (1807) Holcus contortus (L.) Stuck. in Anales Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, ser. 3, 4: 48 (1904) Sorghum contortum (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. ...

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