Black Orchid (Coelogyne pandurata)

Black orchid / Anggrek hitam  (Coelogyne pandurata) is a species of orchid that grows only on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan). Black orchid is the mascot of Kalimantan and currently, black orchid native habitat has decreased.
Black Orchid (Coelogyne pandurata) is an epiphytic orchid species and simpodial (limited stem growth). Named black orchid, because it has a tongue orchids (labellum) is black, with a few lines of green and hairy. Sepals and petals light green. The flowers are quite fragrant and unusual fragrant blooms in March and June. Black orchid orchid is included in group simpodial with swollen bulb shape at the bottom and leaves sticking out on it. Each bulb has only two leaves only. The leaves are like palm ( coconut ) leaves on young shoots.

These plants can grow in coco media, ferns and sawdust, but the most appropriate medium is sawdust because it resembles the original habitat of these plants grow. Sawdust soaked with water beforehand for  ± 24 hours to remove the sap inherent in sawdust, and then given a solution of fungicide to avoid fungal attack.

Fertilization is given according to age of the plant and carried out two times a week. Fertilization should be done early morning (06:00 to 07:00) or afternoon (16:00 to 18:00). When using a liquid fertilizer, spray into the lower surface of leaves, stems and the roots. 
For example: 
Type of fertilizer (N-P-K) for young black orchid, select which many containing N elements to stimulate vegetative growth such as Dekastar 22-8-4, Gandasil_D 20-15-15 or Vitabloom 30-10-10 and type of fertilizer for orchids grown, to stimulate flowering such as Hyponex (blue) 10-40-15, Gandasil B 6 - 20 - 30 or Growmore (orange) 6-30-30.

Kingdom: Plantae (Plants)
    Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (vascular plants)
        Super Division: Spermatophyta (seed Produce)
             Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
                 Class: Liliopsida (monocot)
                     Sub Class: Liliidae
                          Order: Orchidales
                               Family: Orchidaceae (orchid tribe)
                                    Genus: Coelogyne
                                         Species: Coelogyne pandurata
Close relatives of: Orchid Pearl (Coelogyne asperata), Orchid chocolate (Coelogyne verrucosa)
Note:

• Black orchid flowering generally after the age of 4 years.
• Murashige and Skoog medium or MSO (MS-zero) is enough to be used as a medium for propagation of this orchid in laboratorium.

Ref:

1. http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anggrek_hitam
2. http://kalteng.litbang.deptan.go.id/ind/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=197:anggrek-hitam&catid=49:info-teknologi&Itemid=149
3. http://blogmhariyanto.blogspot.com/2010/11/anggrek-hitam-coelogyne-pandurata.html

Germination of Kalangkala ( Litsea roxburghii ) seed

By Ahmad Suhendra

Kalangkala ( Litsea roxburghii ) are long-lived perennials that have a height between 10-20 m, rarely branching and not too tightly. Leaves single, large and elongated. The fruit is round like a table tennis ball with a diameter of about 3 - 3.5 cm has a soft fruit skin and half the fruits covered by a green hard lids. Skin of young fruit is green and gradually fade to pink when ripe. Flesh soft and white with a thickness of about 0.5 to 0.7 cm, it feels good like the avocado. Seeds round, hard and light brown. At the time of the germination, seeds will split into several parts and will grow into a few individual plants about 4-6 trees. 
In Kalimantan, the fruits of this plant is used as a friend to eat rice and serve as a vegetable. As for ways of making vegetable of fruits kalangkala is by soaking the ripe fruits using lukewarm water containing a mixture of salt and sugar, such as oral rehydration salt solution.

Kingdom: Plantae (Plants)
      Subkingdom: Tracheobionta (vascular plants)
          Super Division: Spermatophyta (seed Produce)
              Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
                  Class: Magnoliopsida 
                      Sub Class: Magnoliidae
                          Order: Laurales
                              Family: Lauraceae
                                  Genus: Litsea
                                      Species: Litsea roxburghii


Common name:
Kalangkala ( Indonesia/Malay)

Ref:

1. http://ahyarbpkhonlin.blogspot.com/2008/10/agroforestry-agroforestry-in-south.html
2. http://www.dephut.go.id/HALAMAN/PDF/REP118%20Rencana%20Tindak%20Rehabilitasi%20Vol%20I,Tord%20Lindberg,Mar%200.pdf
3. http://repository.ipb.ac.id/bitstream/handle/123456789/244/Daftar%20Pustaka%202000ain-8.pdf?sequence=13
4. http://dunia-abde.blogspot.com/2011/05/mengenal-kalangkala-buah-khas-pulau.html
5. http://hasanzainuddin.wordpress.com/buah-khas-kalsel/

Phytohormone of coconut water

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is believed to have its origins in the Indo-Malayan region, from whence it spread throughout the tropics. Its natural habitat was the narrow sandy coast, but it is now found on soils ranging from pure sand to clays and  from moderately acidic to alkaline. It is non-invasive, and  people have been largely responsible for its spread, particularly inland from its natural habitat. It thrives under warm  and humid conditions but will tolerate short periods of  temperatures below 21°C (70°F). Its crown of feather-like fronds and bunches of large fruits carried atop long slender stems makes it easily recognizable.

Preferred scientific name
Cocos nucifera L.
There are no other known species in the genus Cocos.
Family
Arecaceae (palm family)
Subfamily
Cocoideae
Non-preferred scientific names
Palma cocos Miller
Common names
coconut, coconut palm (English)
Kelapa, Nyiur  (Indonesia/Melayu)

Coconut water (coconut liquid endosperm), with its many applications, is one of the world’s most versatile natural product. This refreshing beverage is consumed worldwide as it is nutritious and beneficial for health. There is increasing scientific evidence that supports the role of coconut water in health and medicinal applications. Coconut water is traditionally used as a growth supplement in plant tissue culture/micropropagation. The wide applications of coconut water can be justified by its unique chemical composition of sugars, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and phytohormones. This review attempts to summarise and evaluate the chemical composition and biological properties of coconut water.

Phytohormones are a group of naturally occurring organic compounds that play crucial roles inregulating plant growth in a wide range of developmental processes. Initially, the term phytohormone was synonymous with auxin. Later on, the other plant growth regulators such as gibberellins (GAs), ethylene, cytokinins, and abscisic acid (ABA) were categorized together with auxins as the “classical five” hormones. Coconut water contains auxin, various cytokinins, GAs and ABA

Source information	[1]	[2-4]	[5]
Coconut type		young green	mature*
Auxin		nM	µg mL-1
·indole-3-acetic acid		150.6	0.25± 0.03 0.75± 0.04 1.46± 0.13 0.71± 0.12 0.78± 0.10
Cytokinins
·N6-isopentenyladenine ·dihydrozeatin    ·trans-zeatin ·kinetin ·ortho-topolin    ·dihydrozeatinO-glucoside ·trans-zeatinO-glucoside ·trans-zeatin riboside ·kinetin riboside ·trans-zeatin riboside-5’-monophosphate		0.26 0.14 0.09 0.31 3.29 46.6 48.7 76.2 0.33 10.2
14-O-(3-O-[β-D galactopyranosyl-(1→2) -α-Dgalactopyranosyl- (1→3)-α-L arabinofuranosyl]-4-O- (α-L-arabinofuranosyl)-β- D-galactopyranosyl)-transzeatin riboside	Present
Gibberellins
·gibberellin1 ·gibberellin3		16.7 37.8
Auxin
·indole-3-acetic acid ·Abscisic acid ·Salicylic acid		150.6 65.5	0.010 ± 0.002 ND 0.023 ± 0.002 0.061 ± 0.019 0.071 ± 0.018 1.01 ± 0.10 0.67 ± 0.04 1.03 ± 0.12 1.79 ± 0.21 1.22 ± 0.07

* Five coconut water samples were analysed.
Ref:

1. Kobayashi, H.; Morisaki, N.; Tago, Y.; Hashimoto, Y.; Iwasaki, S.; Kawachi, E.; Nagata, R.; Shudo, K. Structural identification of a major cytokinin in coconut milk as 14-O-(3-O-[β-Dgalactopyranosyl-(1-->2)-α-D galactopyranosyl-(1-->3)-α-L-arabinofuranosyl]-4-O-(α-L-arabinofuranosyl)-β-D-galactopyranosyl)-trans-zeatin riboside. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 1997, 45, 260–264.
2. Ge, L.; Tan, S.; Yong, J.W. H.; Tan, S.N. Capillary electrophoresis for cytokinin analyses: A review. Electrophoresis 2006, 27, 4779–4791.
3. Ge, L.; Peh, C.Y.C.; Yong, J.W.H.; Tan, S.N.; Hua, L.; Ong, E.S. Analyses of gibberellins by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry combined with solid-phase extraction. J.Chromatogr. A 2007, 1159, 242–249.
4. Ma, Z.; Ge, L.; Lee, A.S.Y.; Yong, J.W.H.; Tan, S.N.; Ong, E.S. Simultaneous analysis of different classes of phytohormones in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) water using high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after solid-phase extraction, Anal. Chim. Acta 2008, 610, 274–281.
5. Wu, Y.; Hu, B. Simultaneous determination of several phytohormones in natural coconut juice by hollow fiber-based liquid-liquid-liquid microextraction-high performance liquid chromatography, J. Chromatogr. A 2009, 1216, 7657–7663.
6. Jean W. H., The Chemical Composition and Biological Properties of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Water, ISSN 1420-3049 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecule 
7. http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/Cocos-coconut.pdf
8. http://teknis-budidaya.blogspot.com/2007/10/budidaya-kelapa.html

ECONOMIC PLANTS OF INDONESIA

This booklet deals with 728, mostly Javanese, useful plants. The authors had to make a choice from the circa 6000 useful plant species of Indonesia. 

Besides of Javanese plants with their Sundanese (West Java) and Javanese (Central Java) names, also Indonesian names are enumerated, these are either Javanese or Sundanese adapted names or names of other parts of  Indonesia, adapted and incorporated in the Indonesian language. 

The cholce of specles is entirely the responsibility of the authors. Thelr main aim has been to create an easy tool to identify the most common Indonesian useful plants, Including also commonly cultlvated alien species. 

A small reference list will guide the more interested user to more complete information.

Such a booklet is always useful, as nobody can carry around the more complete heavy volumes on the subject.

Download e-book


Prof. Dr. A.J.G.H. Kostermans
Herbarlum Bogoriense
Jalan Juanda 22
Bogor

Pods of Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa )

By Ahmad Suhendra
Perhaps, many of us in Indonesia who are not familiar with alfalfa fruits, which are shaped pods and contain small seeds such as eggs, but with a diameter of about 1mm, and a length of about 2 mm. Skin of young fruit Alfalfa pods are green but when it is old, will be black.

Intended for readers from Indonesia, please...........

Mungkin banyak diantara kita di Indonesia yang belum mengenal bentuk dari buah yang yang berbentuk polong dan berisi biji - biji kecil seperti telur dengan diameter sekitar 1 mm dan panjang 2 mm. Kulit buah muda Alfalfa berwarna hijau akan tetapi bila sudah tua, akan berwarna hitam.

Lewat bantuan tawon, ternyata di Indonesia bisa dikembangkan tanaman alfalfa untuk menghasilkan biji yang fertil.

Development of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Plants in Indonesia

By Ahmad Suhendra

Alfalfa is a legume crops are widely grown in the world that contain minerals, vitamins, crude fiber and high protein. Early cut alfalfa (late bud, early bloom stage) may vary from 16 % to 20% crude protein. Even late cut alfalfa will contain 12 % to 15% crude protein. Fiber content of alfalfa hays range from 20 to 28%. In contrast, the average grass hay averages 8.4% crude protein and 31.4% fiber.....

Intended for readers from Indonesia, please.........
Tanaman alfalfa adalah tanaman legum semusim. yang banyak ditanam secara luas di seluruh dunia dengan kandungan mineral, vitamin dan serat kasar serta protein yang tinggi. Kandungan protein kasar (crude protein) saat akhir  kuncup atau tahap awal bunga mekar dapat bervariasi antara 16 % - 20%, bahkan pada akhir pembungaan ( awal terbentuk polong) masih berisi protein kasar antara 12 % -15% dan kandungan Serat  dari jerami ( hays) alfalfa antara 20-28%. Sementara rumput umumnya hanya mengandung sekitar  8,4% protein kasar dan serat 31,4%. Sehingga tanaman ini merupakan salah satu hijauan pakan ternak ruminansia yang paling lengkap kandungan nutrisinya. Disamping itu juga tanaman alfalfa dapat tumbuh hampir pada semua jenis tanah dan yang paling baik pada jenis tanah yang bertekstur sandy loam, silt loam dan clay loam. Akar tananaman alfalfa memiliki bintil akar yang berisi bakteri rhizobium yang dapat mengikat nitrogen ( Nitrogen Fiksasi ) dari udara dan juga akar yang panjang tertancap kedalam tanah, sehingga memudahkan tanaman untuk mencari sumber air dan unsur hara terutama pada lahan kering yang jumlah nya cukup besar di Indonesia yaitu lahan kering berupa tanah jenis Ultisol 47,5 juta ha dan Oxisol 18 juta ha (Suprapto, 2003)

Produksi tanaman alfalfa di Indonesia sudah dikembangkan dan sebahagian besar ada di Pulau Jawa, yaitu sekitar 200 hektar pertanaman alfalfa yang tersebar terutama di Boyolali, Jepara, Tegal, Semarang dan sebagian Cirebon (Kompas, Selasa 22 Agustus 2006), akan tetapi semuanya itu lebih banyak pada seputar peningkatan produktivitas.

Informasi budidaya untuk produksi biji, khususnya di Indonesia saat ini masih belum tersedia. Hal ini dikarenakan oleh karakteristik dari proses pembijian tanaman alfalfa cenderung tidak mudah dan kurang mampu memberikan produksi biji dalam jumlah besar. Sulitnya memproduksi biji Alfalfa karena tanaman ini sangat dipengaruhi oleh berbagai faktor ekologi. Tercatat bahwa perubahan faktor ekologi, mampu memberikan pengaruh terhadap proses pembijian sampai 57%. Selain itu secara alami proses pembijian alfalfa sangat susah terjadi, mengingat hampir 80-90% dari tanaman alfalfa mengalami cross-fertlized, yang artinya biji tidak akan terbentuk sebelum bunga dapat dibuahi oleh serbuk sari dari bunga lain (Derchseid and Warlstorm, 1991). Proses pembijian akan lebih efektif dengan bantuan lebah, yang berfungsi memecah selaput pada benang sari. Temperatur yang tinggi dan kelembapan rendah merupakan kondisi ekologi yang paling baik untuk menarik lebah madu melakukan polinasi. Pada kondisi seperti ini, nektar bunga yang dihasilkan lebih banyak dibandingkan dengan kondisi kelmbapan tinggi/temperature rendah. Jenis lebah tipe wild bees, merupakan polinator yang kurang baik. Karena tidak dapat hadir dalam jumlah besar dan kurang mampu mempolinasi bunga. (Derchseid and Warlstorm, 1991).