fungus Archives - Quirky Science

27May 2020 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

What Factors Caused the 1840’s Irish Potato Famine?

[caption id="attachment_27084" align="alignright" width="480"] Great potatoes![/caption]I've already written about how one disaster led to my being alive today. Nothing less than a war – the War of 1812. Yet another disaster, worse than the first, that led up to my existence was the tragic 1840's Irish Potato Famine. I wrote of that, as well in Misfortune Gave Me Life. But what factors combined to produce the Irish potato famine of the 1840's? Irish Potato Famine: A Cause or Causes? An occurrence attributed to one particular factor is all-too-often actually results from a number of significant factors. Event X did not have a cause, it had causes. What causative factors led to the great Irish potato famine? [caption id="attachment_27086" align="alignright" width="200"] Phytophthora infestans infected potato.[/caption] A Fungus Among Us It is…

21Mar 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Have You Ever Seen Beautiful Gray-Green, Dipped-in-Red, Soldier Moss?

Biology, Plants

I rarely ever notice the kind of car a person is driving, or the clothing they are wearing. Yet from the first time I was exposed to a tiny lichen on a piece of rotting wood, I was enchanted by its beauty. It had short shafts of pale gray-green with tips of the brightest, purest red I've ever seen in nature. But then, I've often noticed the tiny things are often the most beautiful, if you look at them closely. Soldier Moss Soldier moss is also known as British soldier. The red tips are referred to as fruiting bodies. Although the comparison is not quite the same, the mushrooms we eat are just the fruiting body. The essential part of the fungus is called the mycelium. Actually, Soldier moss is…

23Jan 2019 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Growing African Violets – Common Misconceptions

Plants

[caption id="attachment_23222" align="alignright" width="480"] The truly historic Athena.[/caption] A newly found friend heard the story about my mother and me, that we were African Violets aficionados. The story was true. We raised hundreds of them in dozens of varieties. My friend had many questions concerning the care and welfare of her violets. My Background Mom was always taking day trips of eight or ten hours length. To view antique glass or bisque, drop by a cemetery, listen to a recital at the Academy of Music, or visit a greenhouse complex. However, she hated to travel alone. So I was drafted. I was easy to get along with. As to greenhouses specializing in African Violets, we frequented Fischer's in Linwood, NJ and Tinari in Bethayres, PA. If it had been close-by,…

25Aug 2018 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Tree Burls and Burl Wood: So Ugly They’re Beautiful

Biology, The Arts

[caption id="attachment_21404" align="alignright" width="440"] Image: Evelyn Simak CCA-SA2.0 License.[/caption] About 24 years ago, my 4th grade daughter advised us the next day her school science fair project was due. No big deal, ordinarily, we had not been told there was even going to be a science fair! I have a technical background and I hated to think my daughter would appear to be a failure at such an event, so, scratching my head, I figured I'd better come up with something we could accomplish as a father-daughter team, and in a hurry. My Wile E. Coyote (Supergenius) Idea At the time, we were living in a small house in beautiful, forested acres. Our trees included hickory, oak, cucumber magnolia, black gum, linden, tulip poplar, black locust, Paulownia, and (yes!) other…

29Aug 2016 by Vincent Summers 4 Comments

Black Knot Tree Fungus on Fruit Trees – Development and Health Issues

Biology, Health

[caption id="attachment_26968" align="alignright" width="440"] Image Bon McNeish, Edit Jonas Korte.[/caption]Black knot tree fungus (Apiosporina morbos) produces swellings on branches, limbs, and even trunks of fruit trees that can appear smooth to grainy to pebbly, depending upon the size of the knot. Photos in this article feature large specimens. Note the texture in the black knot close-up. Black Knot Tree Fungus on What Trees? Black knot tree fungus favors trees of the genus Prunus growing in a temperate zone. This genus falls within the Rosaceae or rose family of plants. This includes such fruit trees as plum, cherry, apricot, and peach. Interestingly, the almond tree is also a member of Prunus. These trees (yes, even the almond tree) feature showy flowers and fruits with large seeds, many of them called stones.…

21Aug 2016 by Vincent Summers 11 Comments

Stemonitis Chocolate Brown Slime Mold – A Health Threat

Biology, Health

A few years ago, I visited a friend’s clapboard house. I noticed on an outside surface what appeared to be (and was once labeled) a fungus - the stemonitis chocolate brown slime mold. A good friend offered the use of her cell phone to take a photograph. It is the image associated with this article. The fibrous and fuzzy brown growth was located in the area right next to an air conditioner condensation runoff. The weather had been unusually humid to boot. Stemonitis, while it is not the most toxic of molds, is of serious concern to health conscious individuals. It is most closely associated with decaying wood. This was the first time the author had ever come across the mold. The spore output of this chocolate brown thready mess…

17Jun 2016 by Vincent Summers 6 Comments

Puffballs, Earthstars, Jelly, and Bracket Fungi

Food, Plants

[caption id="attachment_14895" align="alignright" width="480"] Puffballs-from-Belfasts-St.-Georges[/caption] A famous scientist’s father asked the man to describe a specific bird. The scientist used impressive language. The father then told the young man his description told him nothing about the bird. The words were mere man-made classification terms. The scientist took the lesson to heart. He became the famous nuclear physicist, Richard Feynman. In discussing puffballs and the other fungi, we will avoid scientific jargon or lingo. Instead, we will speak of what they are and why they are special. [caption id="attachment_14891" align="alignleft" width="320"] Puffball-Fungus-from-Eaglenest-Arunachal-by-Kalyanvarma-CC-by-SA3.0[/caption] As a child, you may have been running in a field and spotted what looked like an odd round or egg-shaped white to greenish-brown object. It may have been smooth, or it may have had small warts or spikes…

20May 2015 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Differences between Warts and Moles, Boils, Corns, Bunions

Health

[caption id="attachment_28016" align="alignright" width="480"] Common moles. -National Cancer Institute[/caption]Do you have warts and moles? Or perhaps you have other unpleasant distinguishing marks on your skin such as boils, corns, or bunions? Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. Yet, sometimes, instead, it is in the eye of the possessor. We may be surprised by the sudden appearance of a growth on our head, our hand, or our foot. More commonly, especially during adolescence, we experience pimples or blackheads. However, more permanent growths can include warts and moles, boils, corns, and bunions. What are these? How do they differ? Warts and Moles Warts are growths produced in the outer layers of the skin, frequently on the hands and fingers, by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. They may generally be…