Myriostoma, the salt-shaker earthstar, is the largest fungus in the
earthstar family, with a fruit body up to 12 cm (4.7 in) across. It
has been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. It
grows in humus-rich forests or in woodlands, especially on well-drained
and sandy soils. Myriostoma coliforme, the only species in the genus, is
somewhat rare, appearing on the Red Lists of 12 European countries. It
was one of 33 species proposed for protection in 2004 under the Bern
Convention by the European Council for Conservation of Fungi. The
inedible fruit body, initially shaped like a puffball, is encased in an
outer covering that splits open from the top to form rays. These pieces
curve down in a star shape to expose a papery spore case surrounding the
fertile spore-bearing tissue, the gleba. The fungus is unique among the
earthstars in having a spore sac that is supported by multiple stalks,
and is perforated by several small holes, suggestive of its common name.
The spores are dispersed when falling water hits the sac, forcing them
up through the holes.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myriostoma>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1002:
King Æthelred II ordered the massacre of all Danes in England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Brice%27s_Day_massacre>
1642:
First English Civil War: The Royalist army engaged the much
larger Parliamentarian army at the Battle of Turnham Green near Turnham
Green, Middlesex.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Turnham_Green>
1927:
The Holland Tunnel, connecting Manhattan with Jersey City, New
Jersey, under the Hudson River, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Tunnel>
1992:
The High Court of Australia ruled in Dietrich v The Queen that
although there is no absolute right to have publicly funded counsel, in
most circumstances a judge should grant any request for an adjournment
or stay when an accused is unrepresented.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_v_The_Queen>
2007:
An explosion hit the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City,
the Philippines, killing Congressman Wahab Akbar and at least four
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batasang_Pambansa_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
go it alone:
1. (colloquial) To do something alone or independently, especially
something that is normally or better done in groups.
2. (card games) To play a hand without the assistance of one's partner.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/go_it_alone>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Some men are called sagacious, merely on account of their avarice:
whereas a child can clench its fist the moment it is born.
--William Shenstone
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Shenstone>
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