Agaricus deserticola is a species of fungus found only in dry or semi- arid habitats in southwestern and western North America. It is similar to, and sometimes confused with, the mushrooms of the desert fungus species Podaxis pistillaris and Montagnea arenaria. Unlike other Agaricus species, it produces fruit bodies with a networked system of spore-producing tissue called a gleba, instead of true gills. When the cap splits, or the partial veil breaks or pulls away from the stem, the blackish-brown gleba is exposed, and spores are dispersed. The fruit bodies can reach heights of 18 cm (7.1 in) with caps up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) wide. The tough woody stems are 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) wide, thickening towards the base. Fruit bodies grow singly or scattered on the ground in fields, grasslands, or arid ecosystems. The edibility of A. deserticola is not known definitively. The fungus was transferred to the genus Agaricus in 2004 after molecular analysis. In 2010, its species name was changed to deserticola after it was discovered that the previous name, texensis, had already been taken for a different species.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaricus_deserticola
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1180:
The Byzantine Empire was weakened by the death of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_I_Komnenos
1877:
The Imperial Japanese Army defeated Saigō Takamori and the Satsuma clan samurai at the Battle of Shiroyama in Kagoshima, the decisive engagement of the Satsuma Rebellion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiroyama
1911:
His Majesty's Airship No. 1, Britain's first rigid airship, was wrecked by strong winds before her maiden flight at Barrow-in-Furness. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMA_No._1
1946:
Clark Clifford and George Elsey, military advisers to US President Harry S. Truman, presented him with a top-secret report on the Soviet Union that would form the basis of the US policy of containment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Containment
1996:
Representatives from 71 nations signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which has not yet come into force because not enough signatories have ratified it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Nuclear-Test-Ban_Treaty
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
rooibos: 1. (South Africa) A shrub (Aspalathus linearis) from which a tisane (herbal tea) is made. 2. The tisane (herbal tea) made from this plant. 3. (South Africa) Various shrubs of the genus Combretum. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rooibos
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
If a passion for freedom is not in vogue, patriots may sound the alarm till they are weary. The Act of Habeas Corpus, by which prisoners may insist on being brought to trial within a limited time, is the corner-stone of our liberty. --Horace Walpole https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace_Walpole
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