Calostoma cinnabarinum is a species of gasteroid fungus in the family Sclerodermataceae. Commonly called the stalked puffball-in-aspic or gelatinous stalked puffball, it is the species most commonly associated with genus Calostoma. The fruit body has a layer of yellowish jelly surrounding a spherical bright red head atop a spongy red or yellowish brown stalk. The innermost layer of the head, called the gleba, contains clear or slightly yellowish elliptical spores. The spore surface features a pattern of small pits, producing a net-like appearance. In eastern North America, Central America, northeastern South America, and East Asia, it grows on the ground in deciduous forests, where it forms a symbiotic relationship with oak roots. Despite its appearance and common name, C. cinnabarinum is not related to some other stalked puffballs, true puffballs, earthstars, or stinkhorns, though during its complex taxonomic history it has at various times been confused with each of those groups. It is typically considered inedible, but is eaten or used in folk medicine in some areas.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1271:

The Knights Hospitaller surrendered the Krak des Chevaliers to the army of the Mamluk sultan Baibars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers

1341:

Italian scholar and poet Petrarch took the title poet laureate at a ceremony in Rome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch

1864:

American Civil War: A decisive Confederate victory in the Battle of Mansfield stopped the advance of the Union Army's Red River Campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mansfield

1911:

Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity

2008:

The wind turbines at the Bahrain World Trade Center, the first building to incorporate turbines into its design, became operational. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain_World_Trade_Center

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mar: To spoil, to damage. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mar

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

One of these days when the air clears up And the sun comes shining through We'll all be drinking free bubble up And eating some rainbow stew.   --Merle Haggard https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Merle_Haggard