Lactarius indigo, commonly known as the indigo milk cap, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Russulaceae. First described in 1822, it is a widely distributed species and grows naturally in eastern North America, East Asia, and Central America; it has also been reported from southern France. L. indigo grows on the ground in both deciduous and coniferous forests, where it forms mycorrhizal associations with a broad range of trees. The cap has a diameter of 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 in). The fruit body color ranges from dark blue in fresh specimens to pale blue- gray in older ones. The milk, or latex, that oozes when the mushroom tissue is cut or broken—a feature common to all members of the Lactarius genus—is also indigo blue, but slowly turns green upon exposure to air. The blue color is due to an organic compound known as an azulene which is unique to this species, but similar to a compound found in Lactarius deliciosus. It is an edible mushroom, with a mild to slightly acrid taste; the firm flesh is best prepared by cutting the mushroom in thin slices. The blue color disappears with cooking. It is sold in rural markets in Mexico, Guatemala, and China.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1786:

Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat completed the first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc in the Alps, an act considered to be the birth of modern mountaineering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc

1918:

The Battle of Amiens began in Amiens, France, marking the start of the Allied Powers' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines that ultimately led to the end of World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amiens_(1918)

1963:

The Zimbabwe African National Union was formed when Ndabaningi Sithole, Robert Mugabe, and others decided to split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe_African_National_Union

1988:

The 8888 Uprising, a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme Party in Burma, began. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8888_Uprising

2008:

Eight people died and 64 more were injured when a EuroCity express train en route to Prague, Czech Republic struck a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the track near Studénka station in the Czech Republic and derailed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stud%C3%A9nka_train_accident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

shuttlecock: (badminton) A lightweight object that is conical in shape with a cork or rubber-covered nose, used in badminton as a ball is used in other racquet games; a birdie. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shuttlecock

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in the case of poetry, it's the exact opposite!   --Paul Dirac https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Dirac