14 de fevereiro de 2023

Striga asiatica - jarum emas

Name
Scientific name : Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze
Synonyms : Striga lutea Lour, Striga coccinea Benth, Buchnera asiatiaca L.
Common names : red witchweed, Asiatic witchweed, rumput jarum emas, rempah padang

Classification
Order : Lamiales (mint order)
Family : Orobanchaceae (broomrapes)

Many of the Orobanchaceae genera ( e.g. Pedicularis, Rhinanthus, Striga ) wer formerly include in the family Scrophulariaceae (figwort) sensu lato.
The Orobanchaceae are annual or perennial herbs/shrubs, and most are parasitic – either holoparasitic or hemiparasitic.

Distribution
S. asiatica is native to sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world including Australia and the United States.

Botanical Description
S. asiatica is a obligate & hemiparasite.
Its seedlings are not visible above ground, but white succulent shoots can be found attached to host roots.
Mature plants have green foliage above ground, sparsely covered with coarse, short, white, bulbous-based hairs.
Mature plants are normally 15–30 cm tall, but have grown to 60 cm.
Leaves are nearly opposite, narrowly lanceolate, about 1–3 cm long, with successive leaf pairs perpendicular to one another.
Flowers, produced in summer and fall, are small (< 1.5 cm in diameter), sessile and axillary, with a two-lipped corolla, occurring on loose spikes. Flower colour varies regionally, from red, orange, or yellow in Africa to pink, white, yellow, or purple in Asia. The flowers give way to swollen seed pods, each containing thousands of dustlike seeds.
Underground stems are white, round with scale-like leaves, turning blue when exposed to air.
The roots (haustoria) are succulent, round, without root hairs, and found attached to a host species root system.

Economic Importance

Weed
Striga asiatica parasitise important agricultural crops such as corn, sorghum, sugar cane and rice.
S. asiatica has been included in the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD 2006). It has been listed as a noxious weed in several Australian states.

Ethonography
The plant can be used for treating intestinal parasites.
In Malaya, it is used in post-natal care.

http://ongzi-secretgarden.blogspot.com/2023/02/striga-asiatica-jarum-emas.html?m=1

Posted on 14 de fevereiro de 2023, 05:06 AM by ongzi ongzi | 1 observação | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

10 de fevereiro de 2023

Melastoma malabathricum

Melastoma malabathricum ( Malay : Senduduk ) is native to Indomalaya, Japan and Australia.

Melastoma consist of about 50-70 species distributed all around Old World. M. malabathricum is divided into 2 subspecies:
• M. malabathricum ssp malabathricum
• M. malabathricum ssp normale

On rare occasions, M. malabathricum consists of 3 varieties :
• petals with purple-magenta colour
• petals with light-magenta colour
• petals with white colour

M. malabathricum can grow on a wide range of soils : cleared land, waste late, roadside, plantation, etc ; ranging from sea-level up to an altitude of 3000 meters.

M. malabathricum is a hyperaccumulator of aluminium and as such can be used for phytoremediation.

It is an evergreen shrub, up to 2 m tall.

Grows well in most tropical habitat.

Propagation via seeds. Seeds dispersed by birds.

Stem with appressed scales.
Leaves ovate, hairy, 4-14cm length x 1.7-3.5cm width.
Flowers in clusters, produced at tip of shoots. Petals reddish purple.
Fruit is a berry-like capsule with numerous seeds coated with red, sweet astringent pulp.

Seeds dimorphic, with and without embryo.

Fertile seeds folded or spiral, triangular to D-shaped, 0.45-0.8m long x 0.35-0.5mm wide ; testa light yellow to dark cream coloured.

Infertile seeds appear similar to fertile seeds but smaller, 0.3-0.5mm long x 0.2-0.3mm wide ; appeared collapsed, dented, or wringkled ; testa black or reddish-black.

Fruits is edible, sandy-feel taste, and stain the mouth and teeth dark-blued. The fruits are also used to produce black dye.
The roots are used to produce pink dye.

Due to its growth habit, it is regarded as noxious weed in many places.
However, regardless of its nuisance to human, it provides abundant food to birds, and other small mammals. Its flowers attract butterflies, and its leaves host caterpillars.

http://ongzi-secretgarden.blogspot.com/search/label/Melastoma%20malabathricum%20-%20senduduk?m=0

Posted on 10 de fevereiro de 2023, 03:24 AM by ongzi ongzi | 1 observação | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

07 de fevereiro de 2023

Decalobanthus elmeri

Posted on 07 de fevereiro de 2023, 05:48 AM by ongzi ongzi | 1 observação | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

Ficus pumila

Synonyms : Ficus hanceana, F. longipedicellata, F. pumila var. lutchuensis, F. repens var. lutchuensis, F. scandens. F. stipulate, F. stipulate, F. vestita, Plagiostigma pumila, P. stipulate, Tenorea heterophylla. Urostigma scandens, Varinga repens.

Common names : Climbing fig, creeping fig, 薜荔

Varieties & Cultivars

Ficus pumila var. awkeotsang 愛玉子
Ficus pumila var quercifolia
Ficus pumila ‘Curly’
Ficus pumila ‘Variegated’
Ficus pumila ‘Snowflake’

Habitat

F. pumila is native to the Old World tropics but is now cultivated and in some cases invasive to introduced places.

Description

The juvenile phase of this plant is morphologically different from the adult phase. Juvenile plant attaining several metres in length, much branched, climbing by means of adventitious roots; stems flattened; leaves 1.5-2.5 cm long, ovate to oblong, retuse at the apex, very closely spaced.

Adult plant developing into a much branched liana, with adventitious roots, attaining 10 m in length; produces abundant white latex when wounded. Stems flattened, striate, tomentose, glabrescent when mature, with short pendulous branches. Leaves alternate, simple, 4-7 × 2.2-4 cm, oblong, oblanceolate, ovate, or elliptical, the apex obtuse, the base subcordiform, the margins entire; upper surface dark green, slightly shiny, with the venation notably lighter; lower surface light green, dull, with prominent reticulate venation; petioles 1.3-1.6 cm long, flattened on the upper surface, pubescent, light brown; stipules oblong-lanceolate to subulate, persistent, 1-1.2 cm long, brown, sericeous. Syconium green, pyriform, up to 6 cm long, soft.

F. pumila has a symbiotic relationship with Blastophaga pumilae , an agaonid wasp for pollination, and is fed upon by larvae of the butterfly Marpesia petreus.

Uses

Landscape : Green walls, topiari
Ethnobotanical : Traditional Chinese herb

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_pumila
http://ongzi-secretgarden.blogspot.com/search/label/Fiocus%20pumila?m=0

Posted on 07 de fevereiro de 2023, 05:41 AM by ongzi ongzi | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

Melothria pendula

Melothria pendula, also known as the creeping cucumber or the Guadeloupe cucumber, is a plant in the Cucurbiteae tribe.

The plant resembles the cultivated cucumber, possessing miniature yellow flowers, similar leaf shape, same leaf patterns, as well as similar growth patterns. The unripe berries strongly resemble minuscule watermelons.

The berries, when unripe and light green can be eaten raw.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melothria_pendula
http://ongzi-secretgarden.blogspot.com/search/label/Melothria%20pendula?m=0

Posted on 07 de fevereiro de 2023, 05:39 AM by ongzi ongzi | 2 observações | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

Senagalia pinnata - petai duri

Senegalia pennata ( Clilmbing Wattle ) is Petai Duri in Malay. It is a legume species native to South and South East Asia.

It is not common in Malay peninsula, but widely consumed as green in Indochina, India Subcontinent and Indonesian Archipelago. It can be eaten raw, cooked in curry, stir-fried, mixed in omelettes, in soups or simply boiled.

It has a distinctively stinky odor, similar to those of petai.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegalia_pennata
http://ongzi-secretgarden.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2022-02-26T16:14:00%2B08:00&max-results=7&m=0

Posted on 07 de fevereiro de 2023, 05:35 AM by ongzi ongzi | 0 comentários | Deixar um comentário

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