`NATURE.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

ANIMALS.

Bush Cricket
Grasshopper, Melamoplus Differentials

Interesting Behaviors:
Grashoppers may feed on many types of plants but some may be very fussy and feed on grass or selected species of plants.
Courtship of grasshoppers are melodious! To attract its mate, each grasshopper composes its individual song, produced by rubbing their lower back legs to create either a chirping or a clicking sound (known as stridulation). Females seem more shy and sing more softly than males, this is one way to differentiate their gender and now you know why there are always all the clicking sounds at night when walking past a field :) After mating some male species of grasshoppers may die and some females die after laying the eggs.

Golden Web Spider, Nephila Maculata

The colour of the spider's big web gave the
spider its common name, its web measuring
about 3 feet in diameter. The females of the
Golden Orb spiders reach an imposing 45mm
(nearly 2 inches) body length but they are
basically harmless. Commonly encountered
in the Wet Tropics, the Golden Orb Spiders
can also be seen around buildings.

Giant African Snail, Achatina Fulica

Snails move by alternating body contractions
with stretching, with a proverbially low speed.
They produce mucusin order to aid locomotion
by reducing friction. The mucus also reduces
the snail's risk of injury. Snails range greatly in
size. The largest land snail is the Ghana Tiger
Snail , which can measure up to 30 cm. Giant
Apple snail, is the largest freshwater snail,
with a diameter of up to 15 cm with a mass
of 600g.

Butterfly

Ants

Ants use their antenae not only for touch, but
also for their sense of smell. Adult ants cannot
chew and swallow solid food. Instead they
swallow the juice which they squeeze from
pieces of food. Ants are clean and tidy insects.

Some worker ants are given the job of taking
the rubbish from the nest and putting it outside
in a special rubbish dump! Each colony of ants
has its own smell. In this way, intruders can
be recognized immediately.

Garden Slug

Slugs do have a hidden shell that is located
under the mantle of its body.As burrowers
and surface feeders, the garden slugs
attack both leaf and root crops. Typically
they attack at ground level, severing the
stems of young beans or marrow plants
for example. They will also climb up and
attack the heads of cauliflowers and many
other plants or burrow down to eat the
roots of turnips or beetroot. It is a major
pest of potatoes attacking both tubers and
foliage and has been known to penetrate
the soil to as much as a yard's depth so
nothing is safe from this slug.

Spiders

Several different types of silk may be used in web construction, including a "sticky" capture silk, or with "fluffy" capture silk, depending on the type of spider. Webs may be in a vertical plane (most orb webs), a horizontal plane (sheet webs), or at any angle in between. Most commonly found in the sheet-web spider families, some webs will have loose, irregular tangles of silk above them. These tangled obstacle courses serve to disorient and knock down flying insects, making them more vulnerable to being trapped on the web below. They may also help to protect the spider from predators.

THE AMAZING MOTHER NATURE. 3:30 PM

PLANTS.

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Dumbcane, Dieffenbachia (dee-fen-bok-ee-ah) sp.

Name commemorating J.F. Dieffenbach (1794-1847), a German physician and botanist.

All parts of the dumbcane are poisonous (Toxin produced : Calcium oxalate). This plant contains irritants thus when consumed will result in a very unpleasant sensation such as painful and immediate swelling of the mouth of throat- thus causing one person to become "dumb".

Dumbcane plants originate from the South America and is very common in the tropical forest characterized by a thick, unbranched stem and large, oblong leaves with yellowish shades from the mid-rib of the leaves.

What is it used for? Dumb cane is an attractive indoor plant and acts as air purifyer. However it should never be grown near small children and your beloved pets!

Interesting common names: Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, Dumb Plant

Tapioca, Manihot esculenta (MAN-ee-hot es-kew-LEN-tuh)

Common name : Tapioca, Cassada, shushu

This is a common tropical perennial shrub. It can be identified by its palmate leaves, sometimes green flowers and a brittle stem. The root of this plant can be eaten. There is a bitter and poisonous versus the sweet, nonpoisonous variety of this plant. However the skin stays poisonous and the sweet variety is peeled before consumption.

The peeled roots of the sweet variety are usually eaten cooked or baked. The root of the bitter variety is very poisonous when raw. The young leaves are cooked as vegetables and and contain a high amount of vitamin A and C.

Taro, Colocasia esculenta

This plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an ancient crop in use for at least 7000 years. It can be identified easily by its broad heart shaped leavesIt is a crop that is cultivated for food and is poisonous raw -all parts of taro can cause stomach aches if ingested without cooking or even cause swellng of the mouth and throat; contact with the sap can irritate sensitive skin. However, taro becomes edible with heating.

Interesting common names : "potato of the tropics," and often called "elephant ears"

PS: Esculenta means edible :)

Bracket Fungi (Pored Fungi), Ganoderma spp

Common name: Shelf fungus The bracket fungi are not plants, they do not photosynthesis but feed through the decomposition of dead and dying plant matter. These fungi grow their brackets horizontally. They lack a stem and grow straight out of wood. Under the brackets are lining of pores that fall into air currents easily for dispersal by wind. Their brackets are relatively hard and makes them very resilient. Also, by forming spores, they are very hardy and can survive well in moist, warm conditions.

Bracket fungi are generally not edible because they are hard and tough, but one species, Ganoderma lucidum, is cultivated to produce Ling Zhi, a food supplement valued for its medicinal and tonic properties.

Blue Dawn Flower
Scientific name: Ipomoea congesta
Family: Morning Glory Family
Common Name: Railway Creeper

Morning Glory is the fastest cover you will find and bears luscious flowers too. It sprawl on the ground for a fast cover in a single season,to 25 feet; especially good for reducing surface erosion on newly graded slopes while woody plants and other perennials fill in. It lies around cottage gardens, aging flowers turn pinkish for a two tone effect. Need to be watered regularly.

_____ this heart shaped leaves is called Bigleaf Aster. It ranges up to 6'' to 8'' in size. These leaves are thick and basal, which forms large dense colonies.

Piper sarmentosum, Wild Pepper
The Wild Pepper:
Uses: This spreading vine is fast growing and has many uses, a herbaceous plant, creeping or erect, can grow up to 60 cm high. It is used medicinally in Asia. The plant is used as ingredients in dishes found in Thailand and Vietnam. They also help to cure pains traditionally. It is used for feverish diseases, for digestive disorders, and toothache. The extract may be applied externally to treat pain in the bones. When the root is chewed with betel nut, it is said to be helpful for the treatment of coughs and asthma; with nutmeg and ginger it is used to treat Pleurisy.

The Rambutan Tree:
Uses: There is a single light brown seed in the fruit which is high in certain fats and oils ( being heated to form a yellow oil) which are valuable to industry. It is also used in cooking and the manufacture of soap and candles (if in greater quantities) . Rambutan roots, bark, and leaves have various uses in medicine and in the production of dyes.
The fruit (perhaps unripe) is taken to relieve diarrhea and dysentery. The leaves are poulticed on the temples to alleviate headache. In Malaya, the dried fruit rind is sold in drugstores and employed in local medicine. The astringent bark decoction is a remedy for thrush. A decoction of the roots is taken as a febrifuge.

Torenia polygonoides

Tetracera indica

Tetracera indica ( belongs to family :Dilleniaceae) "Akar mempelas" is a twining climber without tendrils that has ovate-lanceolate leaves, with toothed margins and about 5-12 cm long. It is also a medium size shrub with fragrant powder-puff-like white flowers.

It attracts bees, butterflies and other insects, and is a landscaping plant. It can also be trimmed to a desired shape.

Its flowers are pinkish and numerous, and its rough surfaced leaves are used by villagers as substitute sandpaper and pounded leaves and roots relieves skin itches

The stems of this species can also supply clear drinking water in times of emergency.

<--Melastoma malabathricum Common name : Straits Rhododendron Height:Shrub up to 2 meter Distinguish Features : Attractive purple flowers. Dark purplish edible fruit. Found : On wasteland and roadside Use For : Piles : High blood pressue and diabetes

Solanum species

Solanum is a large, variable genus of annual plants and perennial plants, forbs, vines, sub-shrubs, shrubs, and small trees. They often have attractive fruit and flowers. Most are poisonous, but many bear edible fruits, leaves, or tubers, and the genus includes several cultivated species, including three major food crops:
- Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum (sometimes classed as Lycopersicon lycopersicum)
- Potato, Solanum tuberosum
- Eggplant, Solanum melongena

Solanum species, e.g. Sodaapple nightshade,Sonoita nightshade ,Ethiopian nightshade or nakati ,Bahama nightshade , ... , are used as food plants by the larvae of some lepioptera species.

Hibiscus Cultivar

Hibiscus or Rosemallow is a large genus of about 200-220 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, and woody shrubs and small trees. The leaves are alternate, simple, ovate to lanceolate, often with a toothed or lobed margin. The flowers are large, conspicuous, trumpet-shaped, with five or more petals, ranging from white to pink, red, purple or yellow, and from 4-15 cm broad. The fruitis a dry five-lobed capsule, containing several seeds in each lobe, which are released when the capsule splits open at maturity.

Many of these species are grown for their showy flowers and many are used as landscape shrubs. Hibiscus syriacus (Mugunghwa or "Rose of Sharon") is the national flower of South Korea, while Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Bunga Raya or "Chinese hibiscus") is the national flower of Malaysia. The ma‘o hau hele (Hibiscus brackenridgei) is the state flower of Hawai‘i.

---> White fungus

Snow fungus (Tremella fuciformis, also known as white fungus or silver tree-ear fungus) is a type of jelly fungus (a kind of mushroom) that is used in chinese cuisine. In Chinese, it is called 银耳 (pinyin: yín ěr; literally "silver ear") or 白木耳 (pinyin: bái mù ěr, literally "white wood ear"), and in Japanese it is called shiro kikurage (シロキクラゲ, lit. "white tree jellyfish").
The fungus grows in frilly masses on trees and is off-white in color and very translucent.
The product is often purchased dried and must be soaked before use. It is used in both savory and sweet dishes. While tasteless, it is enjoyed for its jelly-like texture as well as its supposed medicinal benefits. Most commonly, it is used to make a sweet dessert soup called luk mei (六味), often in combination with jujubes and dried longans, among other ingredients.
In traditional chinese medicine, it is believed to be beneficial for the lungs

Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
This fern is common in humid forests and swamps, especially in northern South America, Mexico, Central America, Florida, the West Indies, Polynesia and Africa. Also known as the Wild Boston fern, Tuber ladder fern or Fishbone fern is in the broader family of sword fern.

It is also a very popular house plant, usually grown in hanging baskets, or similar conditions. Although the fern may appear totally dead due to frost, it will re-emerge in the spring. In general, the Boston Fern likes damp, but not soggy soil that is rich in nutrients. Is is the most tolerant to drought among the common cultivated ferns.

The fern thrives best in humid conditions, so when grown as a house plant it becomes necessary to mist the plant when relative humidity falls below around 80%. Although outdoors this plant prefers partial shade or full shade, inside it grows best in bright filtered light. This plant is usually propagated by division of the rooted runners, as named cultivars will not produce true spores.

Bird nest fern/Asplenium australasicum. It grows in a great variety of sites in rainforests as an epiphyte on large trees or independently growing on the forest floor and rocks if good light is available. Reproduction is achieved through sporing.

Labels: plants

THE AMAZING MOTHER NATURE. 3:26 PM