Inocybe saliceticola is a fungal species found in moist habitats in Nordic countries. The species produces brown mushrooms with caps of varying shapes up to 40 millimetres (1.6 in) across, and tall, thin stems up to 62 millimetres (2.4 in) long, at the base of which is a large and well-defined "bulb". The stem varies in colour, with whitish, pale yellow-brown, pale red-brown, pale brown and grey-brown all observed. The species produces unusually shaped, irregular spores, each with a few thick protrusions. This feature helps differentiate it from other species that would otherwise be similar in appearance and habit. It grows in mycorrhizal association with willow, and it is for this that the species is named. However, particular species favoured by the fungus are unclear and may include beech and alder taxa. The mushrooms grow from the ground, often among mosses or detritus. The species was first described in 2009, and within the genus Inocybe, it is a part of the section Marginatae. The holotype (pictured) was collected from the shore of a lake near Nurmes, Finland. The species has also been recorded in Sweden and, at least in some areas, it is relatively common.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inocybe_saliceticola

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1506:

Construction of the current St. Peter's Basilica (interior pictured) in Vatican City, to replace the old basilica built in the 4th century, began. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica

1689:

Provincial militia and citizens gathered in Boston, and arrested officials of the Dominion of New England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1689_Boston_revolt

1923:

The New York Yankees of Major League Baseball began playing their games in the newly constructed Yankee Stadium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Stadium_(1923)

1938:

Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, made his debut in Action Comics #1, the first true superhero comic book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman

1947:

In one of the largest non-nuclear single explosive detonations in history, the Royal Navy set off 4,000 tonnes of surplus ammunition in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the island of Heligoland, Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heligoland

1949:

Ireland officially left the British Commonwealth and became a republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland

1996:

Israeli forces shelled Qana, Lebanon, during Operation Grapes of Wrath, killing over 100 civilians and injuring over 110 others at a UN compound. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_shelling_of_Qana

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

oubliette: A dungeon only accessible by a trapdoor at the top. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oubliette

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The moral nature of man is more sacred in my eyes than his intellectual nature. I know they cannot be divorced — that without intelligence we should be Brutes — but it is the tendency of our gaping, wondering dispositions to give pre-eminence to those faculties which most astonish us. Strength of character seldom, if ever, astonishes; goodness, lovingness, and quiet self-sacrifice, are worth all the talents in the world.   --George Henry Lewes https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Henry_Lewes