Plant profile: Jungle flame

Whether planted as hedging or a container plant, Ixora coccinea has many uses

If you need a plant that can withstand the warm climate while introducing a splash of colour, the Ixora coccinea, or jungle flame, will be of interest. This brightly coloured, dense, evergreen shrub is most common in South India and Sri Lanka, but has also become one of the most popular flowering shrubs in landscapes around South Florida. The shrub grows up to 1.2 to 2 metres high and has glossy, leathery leaves. In warmer climates, it’s typically used for hedges, screens and foundation plantings, massed in flowering beds or grown as a specimen shrub or small tree. That said, it grows best as a container plant and should be planted in slightly acidic soil with added compost and fertiliser.

It can easily be propagated from seed or semi-soft cuttings. Take stem cuttings of about 10 to 15 centimetres long and plant in a pot using free-draining potting compost. Place in partially shaded areas and keep lightly watered until it takes root in between four to six weeks.

The flowers, leaves, roots and stem have been used to treat a number of ailments in traditional Indian medicine. When ripe, its fruit can be eaten.

sdenman@thenational.ae

Where to submit a sample

Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain

Racecard

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The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

Mountain%20Boy

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EPL's youngest

Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old

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Ferrari

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