Calvatia sculpta, commonly known as the sculpted puffball, is a species
of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Up to 8 to 15 cm (3.1 to
5.9 in) tall by 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in) wide, the pear- or egg-
shaped puffball is readily recognizable from the large pyramidal or
polygonal warts covering its surface. It is edible when young, before
the spores inside the fruit body disintegrate into a brownish powder.
Originally described from the Sierra Nevada, C. sculpta is found in
mountainous areas in western North America, and was found in a Brazilian
dune in 2008. It may be easily confused with Calbovista subsculpta, a
similar puffball that—in addition to differences observable only with
microscopy—is larger, and has slightly raised warts with a felt-like
texture. Other similar species include Calvatia arctica and immature
specimens of Amanita magniverrucata. The species was first described in
1885 by American mycologist Harvey Willson Harkness, who called it "a
curious and strikingly beautiful species".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_sculpta>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1533 – : Conquistador Francisco Pizarro executed the last independent
Inca Emperor Atahualpa in Cajamarca during the Spanish conquest of the
Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atahualpa>
1759:
French and Indian War: Rather than defend Fort Carillon near
present-day Ticonderoga, New York, from an approaching 11,000-man
British force, French Brigadier General François-Charles de Bourlamaque
withdrew his troops and attempted to blow up the fort.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ticonderoga_(1759)>
1908:
Unable to use U.S. Secret Service agents as investigators,
Attorney General Charles Bonaparte established what is now the Federal
Bureau of Investigation as his own staff of special agents.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation>
1953:
Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl led a group of approximately
135 rebels in an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus
beginning the Cuban Revolution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moncada_Barracks>
2007:
After widespread controversy throughout Wales, Shambo, a black
Friesian bull that had been adopted by the local Hindu community, was
slaughtered due to concerns about bovine tuberculosis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambo>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
mantelletta:
(Roman Catholicism) A sleeveless, knee-length vestment open at the front
which is worn by Roman Catholic prelates.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mantelletta>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
No language exists that cannot be misused … Every interpretation
is hypothetical, for it is a mere attempt to read an unfamiliar text.
--Carl Jung
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Jung>