If the interest in mycology is deeper, further information may be obtained from the recommended specialized literature and also from a professional mycologist who will supply the fundamental framework of knowledge, which is the prerequisite for such a study. This also requires a good microscope and basic laboratory equipment, which for beginners can be very simple.

Blight specifically attacks wheat and some dust blight can destroy whole ears of corn and transform them into a mass of black spores; on the other hand, hard blight leaves corn ears alone.

Such descriptions should contain details of shape, measurements, colouring, smell, textural colour changes along with the data about the locality of the find and its general habitat and finally the date and name of the collector.

The fungus should be either photographed or sketched and only then can it be dried out. Finally the dried specimens can then be collected in a herbarium. Every specimen should be kept in a separate envelope accompanied by the data generally associated with all botanical collections. Only collections maintained in this way have any real scientific value.

Springtime is the perfect time for gardening. It’s the period when plants awaken from their long sleep in winter and beautiful flowers start to bloom.

Unfortunately, this time of the year is a nightmare for over 35 million Americans with hay fever and other seasonal allergies. When spring arrives, these people experience a runny nose, nasal congestion and sneezing.

These uncomfortable and annoying symptoms make it impossible for those with a green thumb to do some gardening and prevent them from enjoying the flowers.

“In the early spring, the major culprit is wind-borne pollen from trees. In late spring, grasses start to cause trouble. The worst springtime allergy signs and symptoms occur during hot, dry or windy days when there’s a lot of pollen and mold in the air,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

One solution is to use artificial plants. However, giving plastic flowers to your loved ones can make you look bad no matter how good your intentions are. That’s why I don’t recommend them.

The best way to battle springtime allergies is to be prepared. Be aware of what you can do to avoid the problem. In this regard, here are some practical tips from the Mayo Clinic to consider:

The Jew’s Ear likes to grow on the common elder and on false acacia. Its very supple fruit-bodies are bone hard when dry, but become pliable again when moistened. Some related species which grow in Asia arc used in cooking. Tremella mesenterica is often found on the dead branches of deciduous trees, usually hornbeams and oaks.

There also exist other species of this genus, the most frequently found being Helvella crispa, H. lacunosa and the minute H. macropus. Some of their common features are wide, ellipsoid and colourless spores which contain large drops of oil.

Some species with larger fruit-bodies are picked for food, such as H. acetabulum, but their flesh is thin and quite tough. They grow in masses among fallen leaves and needles.

Inonotus hispidus is an annual fungus which attacks orchards with apple and occasionally pear trees, causing great damage. It prefers older trees as their central wooden column rots quickly. In the past a yellow dye has been produced from its fruit:- bodies, used for painting and silk dying. In favourable conditions this fungus grows very fast, reaching a large size and weight, which can amount to as much as 5 kg when fresh. It is inedible.

Clitocybe nebularis is one of the sturdiest representatives of its genus. It is readily identified by its loudy whitish cap, whose surface has a slight ashp:ey bloom, and by its sharp aromatic distinctive men, reminiscent of soap. It grows gregariously in different types of woods and even outside them.

Clitocybe wbularis is edible but of a poor quality, though some mushroom-pickers collect it and add it to a mixture of other mushrooms or pickle it in vinegar. It is advisable to scald the sliced mushrooms be[bre proceeding further, otherwise they can cause indigestion.

Like Blewits, fresh fruit-bodies of Wood Blewits contain a substance which damages red blood- cells. However, it is neutralized by boiling and so thoroughly cooked mushrooms are not dangerous. Wood Blewits can be confused with some purple species of the Cortiwarivs genus. However, all of these are distinguished by their rust-brown spore powder, by the presence of the cobweb-like veil (cortina) and by their unpleasant smell.

A lot of people bring home house plants and flowers from a gardening center or nursery to display in their home, in their same containers. The issue with this point is that the flimsy plastic containers are not meant to be a permanent home. Plants need a special pot to call home and one in which they can expand and grow.

Terra Cotta Pots

The most common form of indoor pot is made from terra cotta, which means baked earth, because of its warm, orangish color. A terra cotta pot is made from porous clay that has been fired in an oven to make it harden into the common shape it is sold in today. For the most part, terra cotta pots have one drainage hole at the bottom of the pot so you need to get the saucer as well as the pot. An indoor terra cotta pot can also be hand painted or you can purchase one that has been fired with a color glaze on it.

Sturdy Ceramic Pots

A common feature of all Lactarius species is the presence of a milky latex in the flesh of its fruit- bodies, which trickles away when the mushroom is cut or broken. Its milky colour and the colour changes that take place when it is exposed to the air, as wsell as its taste, are the most important distinguishing features of the individual Lactarius species.

Laclarius volemus is a good edible mushroom, which grows predominantly in well-established pine forests. It can be safely eaten even in its raw state, which is an unusual feature of mushrooms. Its caps are a delicacy when salted, spiced with carraway seeds and fried in hot fat.

When preparing the mushroom in this way, the caps should be placed in the frying pan with the gills facing upwards. Lactarius volemus is also good for soups. It can, however, be mistaken for the very acrid Lactarius rufus, and it is wise to taste a small piece raw, in order to make sure that the flavour is mild.

The methods of maintaining records are numerous, the simplest being by entry in a lined diary, one or two lines being allowed to each variety or, if possible, to every plant, or to certain selected plants if a great number are grown.

Furthermore, it is almost possible, by quite simple preventive action, to ensure that none of the dahlia’s diseases will develop, much more easily that it would be to confer immunity on a human being. So, when reading, remember that it is intended only to show what may happen, not what will happen, to your dahlias. If the sole result is to make each and every dahlia grower diligent in his spraying and dusting routine.

The trouble is that really comprehensive records are tedious things to maintain, unless one is extremely enthusiastic, but even a comparatively simple record will be most useful.

Being capable of combining with substances within the cell sap, it must be fairly obvious that they can be transmitted quite quickly all over the plant, with the normal flow of sap. Usually the plant infected with virus will show aggressive leaf symptoms, but these may disappear later in the season, the plant apparently growing out of the disease. However it is probable, in fact almost certain, that the virus has spread throughout the plant, but is not active, and so does not cause leaf symptoms.

When the leaves begin to fall, comfort food is what we all crave. Soup is a popular form of comfort food the world over. Each culture has their own version of soup as comfort food, and most use chicken stock as their base.

Every kitchen should have chicken stock. It can be used in so many different dishes that you need to keep some on hand, either homemade or store-bought. Stock and broth are not the same thing, although most people use whichever one they have on hand when cooking. Stock is made from bones, while broth is made from meat. Bony parts of the chicken like wingtips, necks, and backbones make the best stock.

The difference between stock and broth truly lies in how it reacts during cooking. Stock, since it is made from bones, will contain more natural gelatins than broth will. The gelatin will make it taste richer, and when used for deglazing a pan, can help bind up the drippings more effectively. The amount of gelatin in a stock will depend on the length of time spent reducing the liquid.

Easier Than Pie

Out of the mycelium grow the fruit-bodies. These are constructed of densely interwoven hyphae and, according to the type of fungus, they adopt a variety of shapes. The study and differentiation of these systems of hyphal tissue are important criteria in the recognition of the mutual affinity of fungi as well as in their classification of microscopic micron measurements to several tens of centimetres.

Fruit-bodies also contain the reproductive organs. The range of their common features, covering shape, coloring and size, is a constant factor in every systematic group (order, family and genus), but individual characteristics often vary considerably. In this respect the microscopic features of fungi are the most reliable.’

Some types fungi grow on their mycelium hardened, tuberous, globular or irregular formations, which have a dark surface. They are lied sclerotia and store reserves of food and enable such fungi to survive even in unfavourable growing conditions. In some types of fungi, these sclerotia can later develop into fruit-bodies.

The Fly Agaric belongs to the childhood world of fairy tales. Apart from Boletus, it is the most popular mushroom. The red colour of its cap has always been taken as a poison warning, but, although the Fly Agaric is poisonous, its effects are not as dangerous as those of the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) or the white Amanita species. The alkaloid called muscarine is the main component which causes poisoning if fresh or dry fruit-bodies of this mushroom are consumed in some quantity.

When the fresh fruit-bodies are cut, the milk pours out in quantity: although this is less of a feature in dry, old fruit-bodies, which sometimes lack milk altogether. The conspicuous pickled herring smell grows stronger as the fruit-bodies die away.

Its closest relative is Amanita regalis, whose distinctive feature is a liver-like, yellowish-brown cap; it grows in mountainous spruce forests and is as poisonous as the Fly Agaric, containing the same muscarine alkaloid.