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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Carbon Antlers or Candlesnuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)

After checking out the pumpkin graveyard at Mount Douglas Park I went for a walk in the park itself and was pleased to see these little fungi - Carbon Antlers or Candlesnuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon). I like them because they always remind me of how fundamentally mysterious nature is. Normally I think I know how common plants function - flowers and seeds and photosynthesis etc., but when I see these little plants I realize I haven't a clue about why they look like they do and what their life cycle is and I feel like I'm visiting Mars or some equally alien environment.

3 comments:

Dzjiedzjee said...

Rear picture! The first thing I thought it was, was the remains of a deer. Glad it wasn't :-)

Greetings from The Netherlands!

JoJo said...

Amazing! I thought they were real antlers.

William Kendall said...

They certainly do look the part, don't they?