Auriscalpium vulgare, the pinecone mushroom, is a species of fungus in the family Auriscalpiaceae. It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus, who included it as a member of the tooth fungi genus Hydnum. British mycologist Samuel Frederick Gray recognized its uniqueness in 1821 and created the genus Auriscalpium for it. It is widely distributed in Europe, Central America, North America, and temperate Asia. The small, spoon-shaped mushrooms grow on conifer litter or on conifer cones in soil. The dark brown cap is covered with fine brown hairs, and reaches a diameter of up to 2 cm (0.8 in). The underside of the cap has an array of tiny tooth-shaped protrusions up to 3 mm long. The dark brown, hairy stem, up to 55 mm (2.2 in) long and 2 mm thick, attaches to one edge of the cap. High levels of humidity are essential for optimum mushroom development, while excesses of either light or darkness inhibit growth. A. vulgare is generally too tough to be considered edible, but some historical literature says it used to be consumed in France and Italy.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriscalpium_vulgare
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
The first officially recorded baseball game using modern rules developed by Alexander Cartwright was played in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball
1867:
Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico was executed by firing squad in Querétaro. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I_of_Mexico
1970:
The Patent Cooperation Treaty, an international law treaty, was signed, providing a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_Cooperation_Treaty
1987:
Basque separatist group ETA detonated a car bomb at the Hipercor shopping centre in Barcelona, killing 21 people and injuring 45 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Hipercor_bombing
2009:
Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers broke out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shishou_incident
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
anomaloscope: (ophthalmology) An instrument used to test for color blindness by measuring quantitative and qualitative anomalies in color perception. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anomaloscope
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Weak logic, inconsistencies and alienation from the people are common features of authoritarianism. The relentless attempts of totalitarian regimes to prevent free thought and new ideas and the persistent assertion of their own lightness bring on them an intellectual stasis which they project on to the nation at large. Intimidation and propaganda work in a duet of oppression, while the people, lapped in fear and distrust, learn to dissemble and to keep silent. And all the time the desire grows for a system which will lift them from the position of "rice-eating robots" to the status of human beings who can think and speak freely and hold their heads high in the security of their rights. --Aung San Suu Kyi https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi