Hydnellum peckii is an inedible fungus, and a member of the genus
Hydnellum of the Bankeraceae family. It is a hydnoid species, producing
spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that
hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North
America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea
(2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually
beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on
the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses. The fruit bodies
typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the
shape can be highly variable. Young, moist fruit bodies can "bleed" a
bright red juice that contains a pigment known to have anticoagulant
properties similar to heparin. The unusual appearance of the young
fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names,
including the bleeding tooth fungus and Devil's tooth. Although the
fruit bodies are readily identifiable when young, they become brown and
nondescript when they age.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1620:
William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known
as Plymouth Rock in modern-day Massachusetts, US, establishing the
Plymouth Colony.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony>
1872:
HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sailed from
Portsmouth, England, on a scientific expedition that eventually made
many discoveries that laid the foundation of oceanography.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenger_expedition>
1883:
The Royal Canadian Regiment and The Royal Canadian Dragoons, the oldest
regular regiments of the Canadian Army, were both formed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_Canadian_Regiment>
1970:
United States President Richard Nixon met singer Elvis Presley in the
White House, wherein Presley expressed his patriotism and his contempt
for the hippie drug culture.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon>
1988:
A total of 270 people were killed when a bomb on board Pan Am Flight
103 exploded while the plane was in flight over Lockerbie, Scotland,
launching an eventual three-year joint investigation by Britain's
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the United States' Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigation_into_the_bombing_of_Pan_Am_Flight_103>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
frowst (v):
To enjoy a warm, stuffy room
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frowst>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
All of us encounter, at least once in our life, some individual who
utters words that make us think forever. There are men whose phrases
are oracles; who condense in one sentence the secrets of life; who
blurt out an aphorism that forms a character or illustrates an
existence.
--Benjamin Disraeli
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli>