Bluemink (Ageratum houstonianum)

Bluemink (Ageratum houstonianum) is a species of plant in the Asteraceae, an annual herbaceous shrub, cylindrical stems, branching, and green or reddish, white-haired, 0.3-1 meter high, leaves oval to triangular, 2-7 cm long, wide 2-5 cm, green, serrated margins and white hairs.

A. houstonianum has bright blue or red or purple or white flower heads. Flower heads in dense corymbs. The flowers are thread-like and have fine hairs. The lanceolate bracts are narrow, pointed, serrated at the top and glandularly hairy.

This species grows to form dense colonies in grasslands, moist forest clearings and bushes up to an elevation of 1000 meters, prefers cool soil and full sun.

This plant produces a methoprene-like compound that disrupts the normal function of the corpus allatum in insects, the organ responsible for secreting hormones and making insects sterile. This plant is toxic to grazing animals causing liver damage.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Eupatorieae
Subtribe: Ageratinae
Genus: Ageratum
Species: Ageratum houstonianum
Vareity: Ageratum houstonianum var. angustatum, Ageratum houstonianum var. muticescens, Ageratum houstonianum var. tipikal
Form: Ageratum houstonianum f. isokroom, Ageratum houstonianum f. luteum, Ageratum houstonianum f. niveum, Ageratum houstonianum f. normal, Ageratum houstonianum f. versikolor

Stinking passionflower (Passiflora foetida)

Rambusa or senthiet or stinking passionflower ( Passiflora foetida ) is a species of plant in the Passifloraceae, herbaceous creeping or climbing, pungent smell, fruit covered by enlarged flower petals, growing in forest bushes, agricultural lands and abandoned lands. P. foetida grows to a length of 5 meters, the stem is cylindrical and has white hairs. Single leaf, 1-3 cm stalk and long hair. Strands ovate, 3.5-13 cm wide, 4.5-14 cm long, three pointed corners, heart-shaped leaf base, may be flat or not deep toothed. Additional flowers and petals are bandage leaves with 3 strands, sharing a double pinnate with a woven thread-like crown, 1-3 cm. The calyx tube is wide bell-shaped. The corolla and corolla extend up to 2.5 cm, bright white and often with purple in the center. Stalks at the base and attached. The pistil stalk is in the shape of a mace with 3 items. The berries are covered by a bandage leaf, oval in shape, 1.5-2 cm long, yellow-orange when ripe and have many seeds. Sent...

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 ...

Perikapur (Microchirita caerulea)

Perikapur ( Microchirita caerulea ) is plant species in Gesneriaceae, herbaceous, non-woody, upright, growing up to 65 cm tall. Its stems are straight, cylindrical, and bright green. Its roots are fibrous and white, clinging to limestone surfaces and cliffs in karst landscapes. M. caerulea grows in sparse or distant colonies. The stems are erect, straight, cylindrical, bright green, reddish, or brownish, and have white hairs. The leaves are opposite, with petioles up to 5 cm long. The leaf blades are oval, up to 14 cm long, up to 8 cm wide, and have pointed tips. The upper side is green, with white, and rough hairs. The underside is bright green. A main vein runs through the center and minor veins run laterally. The inflorescences grow above the leaf blades. The flowers are fan-shaped or trumpet-shaped and hairy, 2 cm long and 1 cm wide, with violet stripes on the upper side. The leaf blades are green, butterfly-shaped, and have white, and rough hairs. The leaves grow from the leaf ...

Dlium