The Mystical World Of Mushrooms Captured In Photos

The Mystical World Of Mushrooms Captured In Photos

Most people consider mushrooms to be the small, ugly cousins of the plant kingdom, but theirs is  surprisingly beautiful and wonderful world waiting to be explored. These beautiful mushrooms, captured by enthusiastic nature photographers, are a far cry from the ones you find in the woods or your local grocery store.

Most mushrooms, as we know them, are actually just the reproductive structure of the fungus they belong to – their fungal networks expand far further underground, and some fungi don’t even sprout the sort of mushrooms that we’re used to seeing. In fact, depending on your definition of “organism,” the largest living organism in the world is a fungus – there’s a honey mushroom colony in Oregon that occupies about 2,000 acres of land! ( Bored Panda )

I can't reblog this without including a few of the fantastic submissions I've read!

fence-sitting, fence-riding by Janet McConnaughey

"Are you fence-sitting, Mom, or just '-riding?" I don't know either term, so I'm biding My time till I know Which way I should go. Oh! They both mean "averse to deciding."

filling By Celia Warren

Count Dracula's fangs needed drilling; Gold amalgam would be their new filling. He said he'd behave If the dentist would save Any blood that he chanced to be spilling.

epitaxy By Recumbentman

Where semiconductors are made There are plenty of tricks of the trade. Epitaxy works fine To grow crystals in line; They conform to the bed where they're laid.

fourth By Chris J. Strolin

To the meaning of fourth, I'm assigning Two examples, the couple combining In a way that is terse: It's this line of this verse, And the "r" of the word I'm defining.

footnote by timon

I use footnotes* to show Erudition**. It takes skill*** To make sure your scanning Of my text will be careful****. *Like this one **That's how much I know ***And good planning ****And slow

There are some with extra wordplay

conviction by mephistopheles

"I'm convinced that your alibi's fiction. You've been caught in the wrong jurisdiction. Contradictory facts Show your criminal acts. Twenty years!" cried the judge, with conviction.

botanist by Chris Doyle

A botanist studies the ways That a plant is deserving of praise: "See that mesh of racemes? It is part of God's schemes, For He works in wisteria's maze."

They even have Tom Swifties!

crestfallen by Dr. Work

The crash that he heard was his dad. "You are grounded tonight"—Dad was mad! "I'm so sorry you slipped On the toothpaste I dripped," Tom said, crestfallen, downcast, and sad.

caustically by Dr. Work

Said the chem prof, "When working with lye, Wear your gloves, in case things go awry." "Why didn't you tell me Before it befell me!" Tom caustically said in reply.

The founders of the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form are seeking a limerick for each meaning of every word in the English language by 2043. Have long have you got?

Thanks to Neil Gaiman for pointing me towards this site, where I have whiled away much of the morning. Well, how could…

Please tell me that the one thing thing he managed to salvage from his original campsite was a poster of Dian Fossey that he carries around in his pocket....

But in all seriousness, I would would LOVE to read this comic. I know you said you were interested in making this a webcomic, but I would gladly pay for a story like this.

   So, here is a sketch for a new comic I want to make about a renegade naturalist turned feral poacher hunter. The idea would be about a biologist in the congo who after being the lone survivor of an attack by rebels is forced to hide in the jungle to survive where he slowly loses his mind. Upon meeting a group of poachers in the jungle who had just killed the last of a species that he had been studying as well as his colleagues he takes his revenge. Tarzan meets Batman is the tone of the story and I think it would be a good outlet for my rage against people who hurt the natural world as well as a PSA. I want to bring attention to the problems of structural racism and colonialism that force many of the indigenous people to kill their endangered animals. If this gets good feedback I’ll make a separate Tumblr for it as a web comic. Let me know what you guys think.

-Wes. 

This was a mispost, but enjoy the adorable owl anyway!

(But if you are interested in seeing more owls and other cute animals, unconventionally-adorable is where I initially intended to post this. So, please forgive this awkward self-promotion; I'm just proud of my cute-animal-curating skills.)

All birds look a little raggity when molting, but I think Screech Owls have the hardest molt of all. Hunter and Lucy both look pitiful this time of year - they’ve lost almost all their feather tufts. Thankfully, they’ll have all new feathers soon! #bird #owl #screechowl

Allosaurus feeding her chicks, by James Gurney

The young are covered with a white coat of downy feathers.

Ryan Woodward Sketches Part 1