Materi Kelas XI

Durian

  

Durian is the name of tropical vegetation which comes from south east asia. It is also the name of fruit. This name is taken from its skin characteristics which is similar with “duri” or thorn
. Its famous name is King of Fruit. Durian is a controversial fruit because many people like it but many of them hate its smell. 

Because the strong smell of it, and it tends to smell rotten, some transportation companies forbid people bring durian, for example in the plane, public transportation or into the hotel. However, many people still like durian. Durian is quite expensive. 

Durian has various kinds. There are 20 species of durian in Indonesia. Nine of them can be eaten. Durian fruit is eaten when it is in the fresh condition. In general this fruit is sweet and very nutritious because it consists of carbohydrate, fat, protein, and mineral. 

In the harvest season of durian, this fruit is everywhere, especially in its production centre region. Traditionally, the flesh of the fruit can be cooked with sugar and it becomes “lempok or dodol” or it can be fermented to be tempoyak. The taste of tempoyak is sour and it is usually eaten with sambal or to be additional ingredient to cook fish. 

Sometimes, durian can be mixed with other traditional cake ingredients like gelamai or jenang. It is also mixed in the desert with glutinous rice. In this modern era, the taste of durian is also added in candy, ice cream, milk, and other kind of fresh drink. 

The seeds of durian can be eaten as snack after being boiled or roasted. The raw seed cannot be eaten because it is poisonous. It consists of cyclopropene, a poisonous material. 

Some of durians are sometimes used as traditional medicine materials. Its root is used as fever medicine. The leaves can be mixed with Acorus calamus leaves and it is used to cure infection on nails. The skin of the fruit can used to cure skin diseases and constipation. Some of Javanese societies use the skin of durian to shoe mosquito and put it on the corner of the room. The durian fruit is a good source of antioxidant vitamin-C. It can help the human body develop resistance against infectious disease. 

Moreover, it contains minerals like manganese, copper, iron and magnesium which is utilized by the body for the antioxidant enzyme. Copper is needed in the production of red blood cells. Iron is needed for red blood cell formation. Fresh durian fruit is the source of potassium which is an important electrolyte inside cells and body fluids that control heart rate and blood pressure. Further, it also contains high levels of essential amino acid, tryptophan which metabolizes into serotonin and melatonin in human body. 

Durian flesh is also exported in the form of canned durian. In Bangkok, durian paste is mixed with pumpkin. Malays keep the flesh in salt in order it can still be eaten with rice, even though it has been a year. They always their own way to enjoy durian. 

Kangaroo 

Kangaroo is Australian animal. This animal belongs to mammals that have pouch (marsupials). Kangaroo can be found throughout Australia main land, especially in the Savanna and eucalypt forests area. Kangaroo eats grass which is still fresh and green. 

When viewed from the physical characteristics, kangaroo has unique characteristics which different with other animals. Kangaroo has a small head size but has pretty long ears. These long ears can hear voice from a great distance to help them out of danger, especially from predators. This animal’s body is covered by a fairly dense fur. Kangaroo has a snout like a rabbit whereas female kangaroo has a pocket in front of its body. The pouch serves to keep their children away from danger. 

Their hind legs have a larger size than the front legs. These hind legs are very strong and size of the palm is so big which make them easier to jump. They can leap so fast. It could reach 70 km / h. While their front legs are used to attract or to hold food and to dig. Then, their tails are very long and strong which serve as a tool for balancing the body while standing. They can survive up to 9-18 years in the wild. But there is also a kangaroo who reached the age of 28 years. 

Based on the color and distribution, they are divided into three species. The first is Red Kangaroo. This species is the largest marsupial animals which are still alive on the earth. When standing, their height can reach more than 2 meters and weigh up to 90 kg. This kind of kangaroos lives in large groups. Red kangaroo is very dependent on the weather and water. They are more active in cold weather and become passive in hot weather. The next one is eastern gray kangaroo. This species has a gray fur color. They are smaller than the red kangaroo. This type of kangaroo is found in eastern Australia, and the last is western gray kangaroos. This species is found in the western and southern Australia. They are very numerous in nature. 

They reproduce by bearing its child. Time period of pregnancy in female kangaroo depends on every species. In gray kangaroo ranged 18-38 days, while for red kangaroo species (Macropus rufus) experienced a period of gestation about 33 days. After the baby kangaroo is born, kangaroo raises the child inside its pouches