Substancewithoutstyle's Slightly Frivolous Flora and Fauna Photo Gallery

[HomesickAlien]

06 November 2016

Sunday

 

 

Camillea leprieurii

 

Camillea leprieurii is a fungus dependent on rainforest trees for survival but can only be easily detected when observed growing out of dead branches. It is familiar to mycologists surveying rainforests in South America and is strange owing to its fruiting structures taking two forms. The charcoal-stick form is the most frequently noted, which has black pencil-like structures, but this fungus also grows immersed in dead wood with only its uppermost surface visible. Tiny spores are ejected from the ends of the fruiting structures.

 

Camillea species are thought to live within healthy living trees, with their microscopic colonies lying dormant until the tree dies naturally. They are then in an ideal position to grow actively using nutrients from the dead wood, out-competing fungi without endophytic stages and thereby recycling the tree to fertilise the soil for its seedlings. The fungus and trees are thus entirely dependent on each other for survival.

 

Camillea leprieurii is only visible as fruiting-structures, which develop from a complex network of microscopic filaments that grow within the dead wood and bark of the host tree. The matt black charcoal-like fruiting-structures (stromata) burst through the bark and are either cylindrical or almost flat. The elongate form measures about 10−40 mm in length and 2.5−5.0 mm in diameter and develops from a slightly broader disc on the bark surface.

 

It is widely distributed in the rainforests of South America, but suitable habitats for C. leprieurii are currently disappearing as old-growth forest is destroyed, and threats to it along with a myriad of other species of fungi are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not known to grow on cultivated trees, and we know nothing about its potential needs for growth in secondary forest.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gCr77ie.jpg

Camillea leprieurii fruiting structures growing from a dead trunk in Ecuador

 

http://i.imgur.com/Sc4dMfF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ddukgCS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T4hzYkF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dWxQ5fn.jpg?1

[Babycat]

31 October 2016

Monday

 

 

Halloween Special

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/iQUQXnH.png?1

 

 

 

Mandrake

 

(Mandragora officinarum)

 

Mandrake (genus Mandragora), is a genus of six species of hallucinogenic plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), native to the Mediterranean region and the Himalayas. The plants are particularly noted for their potent roots, which somewhat resemble the human form and have a long history of use in religious and superstitious practices.

 

Mandrake plants generally have a short stem bearing a tuft of ovate leaves, often arranged in a basal rosette. The flowers are solitary with a bell-shaped corolla of five petals; they range from purple to yellow-green in colour. The fruit is a fleshy orange-coloured berry. The plants are characterized by a long thick taproot that is often forked. All parts of the plants contain tropane alkaloids and are considered poisonous.

 

The best-known species, M. officinarum, has long been known for its poisonous properties. In ancient times it was used as a narcotic and an aphrodisiac, and it was also believed to have certain magical powers. Its root was thought to be in the power of dark earth spirits. It was believed that the mandrake could be safely uprooted only in the moonlight, after appropriate prayer and ritual, by a black dog attached to the plant by a cord. Human hands were not to come in contact with the plant.

 

In medieval times it was thought that as the mandrake was pulled from the ground, it uttered a shriek that killed or drove mad those who did not block their ears against it. After the plant had been freed from the earth, it could be used for beneficent purposes, such as healing, inducing love, facilitating pregnancy, and providing soothing sleep.

 

Mandrake is still used occasionally in homeopathic and folk medicine and has applications in modern witchcraft and occult practices.

 

http://i.imgur.com/XWL7SqF.jpg?1

 

http://i.imgur.com/eJ49Wnr.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/lsXDvWE.jpg?1

 

Berries:

 

http://i.imgur.com/UghZj00.jpg

 

Root:

 

http://i.imgur.com/qVq4rXl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/Hmz8qbx.jpg?1

 

 

THE HISTORY AND USES OF THE MAGICAL MANDRAKE

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/miUTzIx.png?1

 

So that's what a mandrake is...! :D

 

I tried growing mandrake once, but the plants didn't survive long enough to bloom. :|

 

Aw.... :(

[Babycat]

06 November 2016

Sunday

 

 

Camillea leprieurii

 

Camillea leprieurii is a fungus dependent on rainforest trees for survival but can only be easily detected when observed growing out of dead branches. It is familiar to mycologists surveying rainforests in South America and is strange owing to its fruiting structures taking two forms. The charcoal-stick form is the most frequently noted, which has black pencil-like structures, but this fungus also grows immersed in dead wood with only its uppermost surface visible. Tiny spores are ejected from the ends of the fruiting structures.

 

Camillea species are thought to live within healthy living trees, with their microscopic colonies lying dormant until the tree dies naturally. They are then in an ideal position to grow actively using nutrients from the dead wood, out-competing fungi without endophytic stages and thereby recycling the tree to fertilise the soil for its seedlings. The fungus and trees are thus entirely dependent on each other for survival.

 

Camillea leprieurii is only visible as fruiting-structures, which develop from a complex network of microscopic filaments that grow within the dead wood and bark of the host tree. The matt black charcoal-like fruiting-structures (stromata) burst through the bark and are either cylindrical or almost flat. The elongate form measures about 10−40 mm in length and 2.5−5.0 mm in diameter and develops from a slightly broader disc on the bark surface.

 

It is widely distributed in the rainforests of South America, but suitable habitats for C. leprieurii are currently disappearing as old-growth forest is destroyed, and threats to it along with a myriad of other species of fungi are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not known to grow on cultivated trees, and we know nothing about its potential needs for growth in secondary forest.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gCr77ie.jpg

Camillea leprieurii fruiting structures growing from a dead trunk in Ecuador

 

http://i.imgur.com/Sc4dMfF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ddukgCS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T4hzYkF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dWxQ5fn.jpg?1

 

That's a, uh... an unusual species. :o

[x1yyz]

06 November 2016

Sunday

 

 

Camillea leprieurii

 

Camillea leprieurii is a fungus dependent on rainforest trees for survival but can only be easily detected when observed growing out of dead branches. It is familiar to mycologists surveying rainforests in South America and is strange owing to its fruiting structures taking two forms. The charcoal-stick form is the most frequently noted, which has black pencil-like structures, but this fungus also grows immersed in dead wood with only its uppermost surface visible. Tiny spores are ejected from the ends of the fruiting structures.

 

Camillea species are thought to live within healthy living trees, with their microscopic colonies lying dormant until the tree dies naturally. They are then in an ideal position to grow actively using nutrients from the dead wood, out-competing fungi without endophytic stages and thereby recycling the tree to fertilise the soil for its seedlings. The fungus and trees are thus entirely dependent on each other for survival.

 

Camillea leprieurii is only visible as fruiting-structures, which develop from a complex network of microscopic filaments that grow within the dead wood and bark of the host tree. The matt black charcoal-like fruiting-structures (stromata) burst through the bark and are either cylindrical or almost flat. The elongate form measures about 10−40 mm in length and 2.5−5.0 mm in diameter and develops from a slightly broader disc on the bark surface.

 

It is widely distributed in the rainforests of South America, but suitable habitats for C. leprieurii are currently disappearing as old-growth forest is destroyed, and threats to it along with a myriad of other species of fungi are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not known to grow on cultivated trees, and we know nothing about its potential needs for growth in secondary forest.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gCr77ie.jpg

Camillea leprieurii fruiting structures growing from a dead trunk in Ecuador

 

http://i.imgur.com/Sc4dMfF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ddukgCS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T4hzYkF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dWxQ5fn.jpg?1

 

Wow, such a bizarre shape for a fungi.

[Babycat]

05 November 2016

Saturday

 

 

Pygmy Three-toed Sloth

 

With only a small population confined to a single tiny island off the coast of Panama, the pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) is the most endangered of all sloths. As its name suggests, this recently discovered species is a dwarf compared with its mainland relatives. In addition to its small size, the pygmy three-toed sloth is characterised by usually blotchy, pale grey-brown fur and a tan-coloured face with a distinctive dark band across the forehead, from which long, shaggy hair hangs over the face, giving a hooded appearance. Sloths have an unusual means of camouflage to avoid predation; their outer fur is often coated in algae, giving the animal a greenish tint that helps hide them in their forest habitat. Three-toed sloths (Bradypus) can be distinguished from their distant relatives, the two-toed sloths (Choloepus), by the three digits on their forelimbs, blunter muzzle, and simpler, peg-like teeth.

 

Very little is known about the biology of the pygmy three-toed sloth, although much can be inferred from what is known about three-toed sloths generally. Three-toed sloths are arboreal folivores that eat the leaves of a variety of trees. This is an energy-poor diet, and these animals have a very low metabolic rate. Their main defences are camouflage, stealth and stillness, whereby they avoid predation largely by avoiding detection. However, should they be attacked, sloths also have a remarkable capacity to survive due to their tough hides, tenacious grips and extraordinary ability to heal from grievous wounds.

 

The pygmy three-toed sloth has an extremely restricted range on one very small island, Escudo de Veraguas. Although the island is uninhabited, fishermen, farmers, lobster divers and local people are all seasonal visitors, and are thought to hunt the sloths illegally. The growing tourism industry is also a potential threat to the species, by degrading its habitat.

 

http://i.imgur.com/BQFI7wY.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/YjRQqKv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MfzcaT5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NV6x97U.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/mCvhadf.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/hwDWPPn.png

http://i.imgur.com/6NQBzp0.jpg

 

 

 

Amazing creatures! :)

[HomesickAlien]

06 November 2016

Sunday

 

 

Camillea leprieurii

 

Camillea leprieurii is a fungus dependent on rainforest trees for survival but can only be easily detected when observed growing out of dead branches. It is familiar to mycologists surveying rainforests in South America and is strange owing to its fruiting structures taking two forms. The charcoal-stick form is the most frequently noted, which has black pencil-like structures, but this fungus also grows immersed in dead wood with only its uppermost surface visible. Tiny spores are ejected from the ends of the fruiting structures.

 

Camillea species are thought to live within healthy living trees, with their microscopic colonies lying dormant until the tree dies naturally. They are then in an ideal position to grow actively using nutrients from the dead wood, out-competing fungi without endophytic stages and thereby recycling the tree to fertilise the soil for its seedlings. The fungus and trees are thus entirely dependent on each other for survival.

 

Camillea leprieurii is only visible as fruiting-structures, which develop from a complex network of microscopic filaments that grow within the dead wood and bark of the host tree. The matt black charcoal-like fruiting-structures (stromata) burst through the bark and are either cylindrical or almost flat. The elongate form measures about 10−40 mm in length and 2.5−5.0 mm in diameter and develops from a slightly broader disc on the bark surface.

 

It is widely distributed in the rainforests of South America, but suitable habitats for C. leprieurii are currently disappearing as old-growth forest is destroyed, and threats to it along with a myriad of other species of fungi are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not known to grow on cultivated trees, and we know nothing about its potential needs for growth in secondary forest.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gCr77ie.jpg

Camillea leprieurii fruiting structures growing from a dead trunk in Ecuador

 

http://i.imgur.com/Sc4dMfF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ddukgCS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T4hzYkF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dWxQ5fn.jpg?1

 

Wow, such a bizarre shape for a fungi.

 

They look like cigarette butts affixed to the trees with suction cups.

[x1yyz]

06 November 2016

Sunday

 

 

Camillea leprieurii

 

Camillea leprieurii is a fungus dependent on rainforest trees for survival but can only be easily detected when observed growing out of dead branches. It is familiar to mycologists surveying rainforests in South America and is strange owing to its fruiting structures taking two forms. The charcoal-stick form is the most frequently noted, which has black pencil-like structures, but this fungus also grows immersed in dead wood with only its uppermost surface visible. Tiny spores are ejected from the ends of the fruiting structures.

 

Camillea species are thought to live within healthy living trees, with their microscopic colonies lying dormant until the tree dies naturally. They are then in an ideal position to grow actively using nutrients from the dead wood, out-competing fungi without endophytic stages and thereby recycling the tree to fertilise the soil for its seedlings. The fungus and trees are thus entirely dependent on each other for survival.

 

Camillea leprieurii is only visible as fruiting-structures, which develop from a complex network of microscopic filaments that grow within the dead wood and bark of the host tree. The matt black charcoal-like fruiting-structures (stromata) burst through the bark and are either cylindrical or almost flat. The elongate form measures about 10−40 mm in length and 2.5−5.0 mm in diameter and develops from a slightly broader disc on the bark surface.

 

It is widely distributed in the rainforests of South America, but suitable habitats for C. leprieurii are currently disappearing as old-growth forest is destroyed, and threats to it along with a myriad of other species of fungi are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not known to grow on cultivated trees, and we know nothing about its potential needs for growth in secondary forest.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gCr77ie.jpg

Camillea leprieurii fruiting structures growing from a dead trunk in Ecuador

 

http://i.imgur.com/Sc4dMfF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ddukgCS.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/T4hzYkF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dWxQ5fn.jpg?1

 

Wow, such a bizarre shape for a fungi.

 

They look like cigarette butts affixed to the trees with suction cups.

 

They really do!

[HomesickAlien]

09 November 2016

Wednesday

 

 

Banana Bat

 

The most distinguishing feature of the banana bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) is its extremely elongated snout, hence its alternative name of 'trumpet-nosed bat’. This medium-sized, highly-specialised bat also possesses a remarkably long tongue, which measures an incredible two-thirds of its body length when fully extended.

 

The banana bat has a relatively small distribution, being found only in western Mexico in the states of Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco and Morelos.

 

The banana bat feeds primarily on the nectar of a variety of plants, including native cacti and the introduced banana plant, using its specialised elongated snout to feed from particularly long-tubed flowers. It also feeds on insects, and bites or pulls off anthers from flowers to feed on the pollen. While feeding, some of the pollen may become stuck to the spiny hairs around the bat’s face and neck, and is then carried to the next flower the bat feeds from. As a result, the banana bat acts as a pollinator of bananas and other plants. The banana bat may undertake short seasonal migrations in order to find flowering plants on which to feed.

 

The banana bat typically roosts in small colonies in trees, under rocky overhangs, or in caves. Although studies of reproduction in the banana bat are scarce, it is thought to reproduce once a year during the dry season, between mid-March and mid-April.

 

The main threat facing the banana bat is habitat loss. The dry forest habitat of the banana bat is one of the most endangered habitats in Mexico, due to the pressures of an increasing human population. The banana bat is protected by Mexican law and occurs in at least two protected areas, which should offer its habitat some level of protection. As the banana bat appears to be reliant on undisturbed forests that contain its preferred food plants and suitable roost sites, it is important that the remaining dry forests of western Mexico are protected.

 

http://i.imgur.com/8JeL0Xp.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/uVTLsEC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fMwMPyV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4mfFAaW.jpg

 

Range:

 

http://i.imgur.com/dTa6j21.gif

 

 

BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL

[x1yyz]

09 November 2016

Wednesday

 

 

Banana Bat

 

The most distinguishing feature of the banana bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) is its extremely elongated snout, hence its alternative name of 'trumpet-nosed bat’. This medium-sized, highly-specialised bat also possesses a remarkably long tongue, which measures an incredible two-thirds of its body length when fully extended.

 

The banana bat has a relatively small distribution, being found only in western Mexico in the states of Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco and Morelos.

 

The banana bat feeds primarily on the nectar of a variety of plants, including native cacti and the introduced banana plant, using its specialised elongated snout to feed from particularly long-tubed flowers. It also feeds on insects, and bites or pulls off anthers from flowers to feed on the pollen. While feeding, some of the pollen may become stuck to the spiny hairs around the bat’s face and neck, and is then carried to the next flower the bat feeds from. As a result, the banana bat acts as a pollinator of bananas and other plants. The banana bat may undertake short seasonal migrations in order to find flowering plants on which to feed.

 

The banana bat typically roosts in small colonies in trees, under rocky overhangs, or in caves. Although studies of reproduction in the banana bat are scarce, it is thought to reproduce once a year during the dry season, between mid-March and mid-April.

 

The main threat facing the banana bat is habitat loss. The dry forest habitat of the banana bat is one of the most endangered habitats in Mexico, due to the pressures of an increasing human population. The banana bat is protected by Mexican law and occurs in at least two protected areas, which should offer its habitat some level of protection. As the banana bat appears to be reliant on undisturbed forests that contain its preferred food plants and suitable roost sites, it is important that the remaining dry forests of western Mexico are protected.

 

http://i.imgur.com/8JeL0Xp.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/uVTLsEC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fMwMPyV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4mfFAaW.jpg

 

Range:

 

http://i.imgur.com/dTa6j21.gif

 

 

BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL

 

The non-echolocating bats are cute! (The echolocating bats can be really odd, but also really cool!)

[Babycat]

09 November 2016

Wednesday

 

 

Banana Bat

 

The most distinguishing feature of the banana bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) is its extremely elongated snout, hence its alternative name of 'trumpet-nosed bat’. This medium-sized, highly-specialised bat also possesses a remarkably long tongue, which measures an incredible two-thirds of its body length when fully extended.

 

The banana bat has a relatively small distribution, being found only in western Mexico in the states of Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Jalisco and Morelos.

 

The banana bat feeds primarily on the nectar of a variety of plants, including native cacti and the introduced banana plant, using its specialised elongated snout to feed from particularly long-tubed flowers. It also feeds on insects, and bites or pulls off anthers from flowers to feed on the pollen. While feeding, some of the pollen may become stuck to the spiny hairs around the bat’s face and neck, and is then carried to the next flower the bat feeds from. As a result, the banana bat acts as a pollinator of bananas and other plants. The banana bat may undertake short seasonal migrations in order to find flowering plants on which to feed.

 

The banana bat typically roosts in small colonies in trees, under rocky overhangs, or in caves. Although studies of reproduction in the banana bat are scarce, it is thought to reproduce once a year during the dry season, between mid-March and mid-April.

 

The main threat facing the banana bat is habitat loss. The dry forest habitat of the banana bat is one of the most endangered habitats in Mexico, due to the pressures of an increasing human population. The banana bat is protected by Mexican law and occurs in at least two protected areas, which should offer its habitat some level of protection. As the banana bat appears to be reliant on undisturbed forests that contain its preferred food plants and suitable roost sites, it is important that the remaining dry forests of western Mexico are protected.

 

http://i.imgur.com/8JeL0Xp.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/uVTLsEC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fMwMPyV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4mfFAaW.jpg

 

Range:

 

http://i.imgur.com/dTa6j21.gif

 

 

BAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL

 

Cute lil fella! :)