Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Kunyit or turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a species of plant in the Zingiberaceae, herbaceous perennial, up to 1 meter tall, aromatic rhizome, branched, cylindrical, yellow and thin skin, yellow to orange inside.

C. longa has leaves sitting alternately and arranged in two rows, divided into leaf midrib, petiole and blade. The leaf midrib forms a false stem. The petiole is 50-115 cm long. The leaf blade is simple, usually 76-115 cm long and rarely up to 230 cm. 38-45 cm wide, extending to an ellipse and narrowing at the tip.

At the top of the inflorescence, there are stem bracts where there are no flowers, white to green and sometimes reddish purple in color and the upper tip is tapered.

Hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and triple. Three sepals, 0.8-1.2 cm long, fused, white in color, have fine hairs and three unequal calyx teeth. The three petals are bright yellow, fused into a crown tube and up to 3 cm long.

The three crown lobes are 1.0–1.5 cm (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) long and triangular in shape with soft spiked upper ends. The outer staminode is shorter than the labellum. The labellum is yellowish in color with a yellow band in the middle, ovoid in shape and 1.2-2.0 cm long. Three carpels under constant trilobed ovary. The fruit capsule opens with three compartments.

The tip on the false stem is an inflorescence stem, 12-20 cm long and bearing many flowers. Bracts are light green, ovate to oblong, obtuse upper end and 3-5 cm long.

Turmeric powder contains about 60-70% carbohydrates, 6-13% water, 6-8% protein, 5-10% fat, 3-7% dietary minerals, 3-7% essential oils, 2-7% dietary fiber and 1 -6% curcuminoids.

Turmeric is often used as a spice, giving a yellow color to dishes and as a preservative. The rhizome is used to cool the body, release gas from the intestines and stomach, stop bleeding and prevent blood clots.

Turmeric is also used as an anti-itch, anti-septic, anti-spasmodic, reducing swelling of the mucous membranes of the mouth and nasal congestion. The extract is used as an ointment to treat swelling and sprains. Turmeric is used to treat irregularities in the work of the kidneys, body odor and eyes that are not resistant to sunlight.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Subfamily: Zingiberoideae
Tribe: Zingibereae
Genus: Curcuma
Subgenus: Curcuma
Species: Curcuma longa

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 ...

Red costate tiger moth (Aloa lactinea)

Red costate tiger moth ( Aloa lactinea ) is an animal species in the Erebidae, a moth with a wingspan of 40 mm, a yellow belly, black antennae with red basalt joints, dark red palpi on the sides and white below, black terminal joints, living in forests and agriculture in the lowlands to mountainous areas. A. lactinea has a white head with a red stripe on the back. Thorax is white. The wings are predominantly white in color with black dots on each corner of the cells and a red margin. The wings have branched pulse lines and a starchy surface. The wing-covered upper abdomen is black with large elliptical plots and is colored yellow forming cells. The lower abdomen is white and has fine hairs that fall out easily. A pair of antennas is black. The forelegs are red, white and black. The other legs are white on the top and black on the bottom. The final joints are white and black which form alternating rings. Tip and sole black all over. The larvae are black in color with a lateral crest ...

Sweetpotato bug (Physomerus grossipes)

Kutu ketela or sweetpotato bug ( Physomerus grossipes ) is an insect species in Coreidae, brown with black legs, adults growing about 2 cm long, oval shaped, segmented antennas, heavily veined membranes, metathoracic odor glands and enlarged rear tibia. P. grossipes generally live in Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae especially sweet potato ( Physomerus grossipes ), pink morning glory ( Ipomoea carnea ), purple beans ( Vigna unguiculata ), Asian pigeonwings ( Clitoria ternatea ) and common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ). Sweetpotato bugs suck liquid from the stem which causes plants to wither and disrupt fruit production. P. grossipes places eggs at the bottom of the leaves or stems or grass around them. Females are very protective of their children, keeping eggs and nymphs from predators as the most famous example of maternal care in Coreidae. Even so, about 20% of eggs are eaten by predators such as ants and 13% are lost by parasitoid predation by chalcid wasps which lay eggs in egg...

Dlium