Russula emetica, commonly known as the sickener, emetic Russula, or
vomiting Russula, is a basidiomycete mushroom, and the type species of
the genus Russula. It has a red, convex to flat cap up to 8.5 cm
(3.3 in) in diameter, with a cuticle that can be peeled off almost to
the centre. The gills are white to pale cream, and closely spaced. A
smooth white stem measures up to 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and 2.4 cm
(0.9 in) thick. First described in 1774, the mushroom has a wide
distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows on the ground in
damp woodlands in a mycorrhizal association with conifers, especially
pine. The mushroom's common names refer to the gastrointestinal distress
they cause when consumed raw. The flesh is extremely peppery, but this
offensive taste, along with its toxicity, can be removed by parboiling
or pickling. Although it used to be widely eaten in Russia and eastern
European countries, it is generally not recommended for consumption.
There are many similar Russula species that have a red cap with white
stem and gills, some of which can be reliably distinguished from
R. emetica only by microscopic characteristics.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula_emetica>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1660:
At London's Gresham College, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins,
Christopher Wren and other leading scientists founded a learned society
now known as the Royal Society (coat of arms pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society>
1920:
Thirty-six local Irish Republican Army volunteers killed
seventeen members of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish
Constabulary, marking a turning point in the Irish War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilmichael_Ambush>
1971:
Fred Quilt, a leader of the Tsilhqot'in First Nation, was
severely beaten by Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Quilt_inquiry>
1979:
Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Antarctica's Mount
Erebus, killing all 257 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_New_Zealand_Flight_901>
2002:
Suicide bombers blew up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa,
Kenya, but their colleagues failed in their attempt to bring down an
Arkia Israel Airlines charter flight with surface-to-air-missiles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Mombasa_attacks>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
ohnosecond:
(humorous) The fraction of time between making a mistake and realizing
it.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ohnosecond>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We are the light inside light that fuses into the atoms of our bodies;
we are the fire that whirls across the stellar deeps and dances all
things into being.
--David Zindell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Zindell>