Mycena haematopus is a species of fungus in the Mycenaceae family, of
the order Agaricales. It is widespread and common in Europe and North
America, and has also been collected in Japan and Venezuela. It is
saprobic—meaning that it obtains nutrients by consuming decomposing
organic matter—and the fruit bodies appear in small groups or clusters
on the decaying logs, trunks, and stumps of deciduous trees,
particularly beech. The fungus, first described scientifically in 1799,
is classified in the Lactipedes section of the genus Mycena, along with
other species that produce a milky or colored latex. The fruit bodies
of M. haematopus have caps that are up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide, whitish
gills, and a thin, fragile reddish-brown stem with thick coarse hairs
at the base. They are characterized by their reddish color, the
scalloped cap edges, and the dark red latex they "bleed" when cut or
broken. Both the fruit bodies and the mycelia are weakly
bioluminescent. M. haematopus produces various alkaloid pigments unique
to this species. The edibility of the fruit bodies is not known
definitively.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycena_haematopus>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
Union General Ulysses S. Grant pulled his troops out of the Battle of
Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia, ending one of the bloodiest,
most lopsided battles in the American Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cold_Harbor>
1889:
In one of the worst rail disasters in Europe, runaway passenger
carriages collided with a following train near Armagh, present-day
Northern Ireland, killing 88 people and injuring 170 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagh_rail_disaster>
1942:
On her thirteenth birthday, Anne Frank began keeping her diary during
the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank>
1987:
The Cold War: During a speech at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate by the
Berlin Wall , U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued a challenge to Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tear_down_this_wall>
1999:
In the aftermath of the bombing of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War, the
NATO-led Kosovo Force entered Kosovo with the UN-mandated
responsibility of establishing a secure environment for the recently
self-proclaimed, independent and partially recognized country.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_Force>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
luthier (n):
A person who makes or repairs stringed wooden musical instruments, such
as lutes, violins, and guitars
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/luthier>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
My knowledge of pain, learned with the sabre, taught me not to be
afraid. And just as in dueling when you must concentrate on your
enemy's cheek, so, too, in war. You cannot waste time on feinting and
sidestepping. You must decide on your target and go in.
--Otto Skorzeny
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Otto_Skorzeny>