Biology Collection #2: Jessie-Mara

The following pictures were taken during my recent trip to the Philippines.

1. Stem (herbaceous) - Pictured in the center, you can see the yellow trumpet plant growing by the waterfalls. The stem of the plant does not have any woody tissue, which makes it herbaceous. The stem is soft and bendable, but provides support for the plant.

2. Stem (woody) - This picture shows the durian tree that my dad planted about 12 years ago. The trunk of the tree is its stem, which provides structural support and storage for nutrients. Durian wood can be made into various products, including furniture.

3. Eukaryote - If you look closely, you can see a praying mantis resting on the leaf. The praying mantis itself is an example of a eukaryote. Unlike prokaryotes, eukaryotes are organisms whose cells have a nucleus and other membrane-enclosed organelles. Eukaryotes include animals, plants, and fungi.

4. Angiosperm - An angiosperm can be defined as a flowering plant. I feel that this picture of a hibiscus I took is an ideal model of the term. The hibiscus is also capable of producing seeds insides its ovary.

5. Frond - In the Philippines, there are coconut palm trees everywhere. Palm trees have many fronds, which are its large, leaflike parts.

6. Endotherm - I found these two adorable stray kittens playing in the woods. Like most warm-blooded animals, they are endothermic, which means that they are capable of regulating their own body temperatures by keeping them constant.

7. Adaptation of a plant - I took this photo of a madre de cacao tree located by the beach. As you can see, the ground is pretty rocky, yet the roots of the tree have managed to maneuver their way around them. The tree has adapted to its surroundings, and roots are able to set themselves in the ground so that the tree may receive its nutrients.

8. Ectotherm - Unlike an endotherm, an ectotherm, such as the frog picture above, has its body temperature dependent on the environment. An ectotherm regulates its body temperature by exchanging heat with its surroundings.

9. Lichen - I found this large rock covered with lichen, which is a plant-like growth resulted from the cohabitation of algae and fungi. Lichen is slow-growing, but can live for a long time.

10. Exoskeleton - Providing support and protection, an exoskeleton is an external skeleton that covers an animal's body, especially in some invertebrates. I was fortunate enough to catch this millipede crawling all over a coconut husk. The millipede's exoskeleton protects its segmented body.