Description

Corpse flower

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Context:

People in Geelong city have beelined to witness an unusual event – the blooming of the Amorphophallus Titanum (called Titan Arum in short). Titan Arum is not a regular flower.

Details:

Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) has the largest flowering structure of any plant in the world, rising up to 3 metres from the ground. It is known as the 'corpse flower', from the infamous rotting smell when the plant is in bloom. This smell helps to attract pollinators during its short-lived flowering events.

Scientific Name	Amorphophallus titanum
Common Name	Titan Arum, Corpse Flower, Corpse Plant
Native Habitat	Western Sumatra, Indonesia (rainforests on limestone hills)
Etymology	Derived from Ancient Greek: amorphos ("misshapen") + phallos ("phallus") + Titan ("giant")
Structure	Spadix: Large, almost hollow, baguette-like, with male and female flowers.
	Spathe: Deep green outside, dark burgundy red inside, deeply furrowed texture.
Odor	Resembles rotting meat; attracts carrion-eating beetles and flesh flies for pollination.
Thermogenesis	Spadix heats up to near human body temperature to volatilize odor.
Pollination	Male and female flowers in the same inflorescence; prevents self-pollination.
Post-Bloom Leaf	A single leaf grows after blooming; can reach 6 meters tall and 5 meters wide.
Distribution	Native to western Sumatra; cultivated globally in botanical gardens.
Conservation Status	Endangered due to habitat loss, fewer than 1,000 individuals left in the wild.

Source:

INDIAN EXPRESS

Comb jelly

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Context:

Researchers discover new species of marine creatures that can age in reverse.

Details:

General features

Colorful, simple invertebrates belonging to the phylum Ctenophora, distinct from jellyfish.

A jelly is a simple creature with few specialized organs. Most jellies can detect chemical traces in the water that allow them to locate food, and many are equipped with a gravity-sensitive structure, called a statocyst, that provides orientation in the water.

A jelly can be very sensitive to water quality during certain points in its lifecycle. Changes in the health of jelly populations may be a tip-off to larger environmental problems.

Locomotion

Characterized by rows of cilia ("combs") for swimming and often exhibit bioluminescence. Uses sticky cells called colloblasts to capture prey.

They are the largest animals known to use cilia for locomotion.

Distinguishing features

Mnemiopsis leidyi can reverse aging, regressing from adulthood to a larval stage under extreme stress.

A comb jelly will eat other comb jellies larger than itself by biting off chunks with special cilia structures in its mouth.

These organs serve as sticky fishing lines. Many species are bioluminescen.

Evolution

Among Earth’s oldest animals, existing for approximately 700 million years. They are one of the oldest multicellular phyla in the animal kingdom.

Shares age-reversal traits with the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii), forming a rare group of “time-traveling” organisms.

Scientific Developments

Offers insights into aging, rejuvenation, and developmental biology.

Unlike their close relative, the jellyfish, comb jellies do not have stinging tentacles and are harmless to humans.

Promises to advance research on molecular mechanisms of reverse development and their potential application in human longevity studies.

Source:

DOWNTOEARTH

Sturgeon

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Context:

As the world converges on Baku for COP29, the Caspian’s highly threatened sturgeon are a reminder of the message of ‘sustainability’.

Sturgeons, one of the most endangered fish species, have existed since the age of dinosaurs. Found in large river systems, lakes, and coastal waters across the northern hemisphere, they are heavily exploited for their roe (caviar) and meat. Due to overharvesting and illegal trade, international trade in sturgeon species has been regulated under CITES since 1998 to protect their declining populations.

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Sturgeon

Source:

DOWNTOEARTH

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.The term ‘Amorphophallus titanum’ was recently in the news. It is related to which among the following?

(a) Flower

(b) Fungus

(d) Fruit

Answer: a

Explanation:

Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum, is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The inflorescence of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, is larger, but it is branched rather than unbranched. A. titanum is endemic to rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.