The God of Heras and Herjules

Knowing Plants

A bright morning. The leaves looked wet with dew. Birds chirping on the branches. The sun is not yet visible because of the mountain. All the scouts looked busy cooking. In the distance, I saw Rangga cooking something. White smoke billows into the air because we cook using firewood. Sometimes our eyes meet each other. For some reason, my blood ripples every time we meet.

Rangga is a very handsome man. White skin. His hair was straight, his nose was sharp and his lips were pink.

I ignited the firewood in the furnace that had previously been doused with kerosene. After the fire started, I hung the pot on it. This is the easiest way to cook in the wild.

We had breakfast with instant noodle side dishes and sardines. After breakfast, we got together.

"Our activity this morning is getting to know the plants around us" said Daryo. "The Butterfly Group is led by Brother Tony. The group of Wolves will be led by Kak Azis. The Kancil group is led by Kak Bagas."

Members are divided into nine groups. Brother Daryo announced the names that would lead them. My group, the Rabbit group, is led by Kak Fendi.

Brother Fendi took our group walking down the empty land. Looks like this land has long been uncultivated because this field is overgrown with thick enough grass and bushes.

"Ouch!" my peek.

"What's up, Lis?" ask Susi worriedly.

"My feet are hit by thorns."

"Be careful. Here are many plants princess shy. Princess shame is a creeping plant. The trunk is filled with small, sharp spines" explained Kak Fendi.

I touched the daughter's leaves embarrassed. The leaf instantly closed like a withered leaf when I touched it.

"No doubt a shy plant like this can actually hurt people" Bella said.

"Yes. We can learn from the princess of shame. Never underestimate someone who looks weak. Because it may be, the person turned out to be even better than us," said Kak Fendi.

We continue the journey. We stopped at a place filled with long, narrow leaves.

"This is a weed plant. This plant can be used for the roof of the house and can also be used to bind rice seeds," explained Kak Fendi again.

A man our age walked towards a tree. Using a decoy, he plucked the fruit of the tree. The fruit of the tree is sepiral and brown in color.

"What tree is that, brother?" my many.

"It was a jengkol tree," replied Kak Fendi while watching the tree.

The tree grows on the edge of the abyss. It looks like the tree grew on its own. If my guess is correct, then the jengkol tree is a forest plant.

"I don't like to eat jengkol because it makes urine smell" said Dewi.

"Yes. Jengkol can indeed make urine smell jengkol. But, still the jengkol fruit is liked by many people including brother."

"I like it too" said Eko.

We walked back to this place. This time we found a unique plant. This plant is similar to a brisket plant. However, the trunk is spiked. The fruit is round in shape as large as marbles and green in color in harmony with the stems and leaves.

"Do you know what plant this is?" ask Brother Fendi.

"No," we answered.

"This is a pokak eggplant. This eggplant is found in many empty land and forests," explained Kak Fendi.

"Can the fruit be eaten?" my many.

"certain. Pokak fruit is very tasty made vegetable stir-fry because it has a distinctive taste. Pokak fruit can also be eaten raw for lalap. Later you can try cooking pokak fruit for lunch."

Not felt, the sun was high. The light that was originally warm, turned into a blistering and felt burning the body. We went back to camp to rest. Bella and I went back to the place where the tree had been to pick its fruit. We were curious about the taste of the fruit.