Devil’s Finger Fungus,

Clathrus archeri is commonly known as octopus stinkhorn, or devil's fingers, is a fungus indigenous to Australia and New Zealand, and an introduced species in Europe, North America and Asia. In Britain this amazing fungus is usually known as Devil's Fingers, and in parts of the USA it is referred to as the Octopus Fungus. This crazy organism looks better suited to life on Proteus than Earth the fungal “egg” opens, unleashing four to eight blood-red arms. A large, starfish-like fruit-body whose 4 to 8 arched red arms are coated with a smelly gleba on the upper surface, the mature fruit-body is typically 20cm across with arms arching to 10cm in height. Devils Finger habitually is a saprobic and mainly found in leaf litter under trees and shrubs; also increasingly on bark mulch in parks and gardens.  

The young fungus erupts from a sub-erumpent egg by forming into four to seven elongated slender arms originally erect and attached at the top. After that arms unfold to reveal a pinkish-red interior covered with a dark-olive spore-containing gleba. Therefore, at the time of maturity it smells like putrid flesh. Before rupturing the ball or egg of Clathrus archeri is typically 2 to 3cm in diameter. The bright red color makes this remarkable species very easy to identify; however, it is a relatively rare find in Britain and mainly found in the south of England and in the Channel Islands.

Devil’s Finger is not proven to be toxic, but it is treated as suspect, can tolerate the stench it's a risky snack. In fact the eggs of numerous stinkhorns are edible, but there are no archives of fights having taken place over these delicacies as there surely are over truffles, morels and some kinds of edible boletes.  The arms of Devil's Fingers emerge vertically and spread out, making the gleba accessible to insects; it is by this means that the spores are distributed. In the recent times Devil’s fingers, with white tentacles or arms has been witnessed in the Shola Forests of Western Ghats, Kerala, India.

14 Badass Trees That Refuse To Die

It is estimated that trees have been around us about 370 million years, and as you can have an idea from these unbelievable pictures, there's a good reason why they've survived for so long. Whether they're growing in the middle of gale-force winds, on the tops of rocky platforms, inside concrete tunnels, or even growing out of each other, because trees know very well how to survive in places that few living organisms can, which explains why the earth planet is host to more than 3 trillion adult trees that cover an expected 30% of the earth's land. Moreover considering that plants produce the massive amount of the oxygen that we breathe every day, we should all think ourselves very fortunate that trees are as resilient as they are. We wouldn't even be here if they weren't.

 

Crown Shyness, A Natural Phenomenon Where Trees Avoid Touching

Crown shyness is a naturally occurring phenomenon in some tree species where the upper most branches in a forest canopy avoid touching one another. The visual effect is striking as it creates clearly defined borders akin to cracks or rivers in the sky when viewed from below. This intriguing behavior was first observed in 1920’s, but somehow researchers yet have to reach a consensus on what causes it.

Thus, various hypotheses have been presented since then in an attempt to explain it. It might simply be caused by the trees rubbing against one another, although signs also point to more active causes such as a preventative measure against shading (optimizing light exposure for photosynthesis) or even as a deterrent for the spread of harmful insects. Some believe it occurs to reduce the spread of harmful insects, while some believe that trees are attempting to protect one another's branches from getting cracked and broken in the wind, and it's also been suggested that "crown shyness" happens so that trees can optimize light exposure in order to maximize the process of photosynthesis.

One theory suggests that this empty space around the crown might be caused by breakage of twigs and branches from violent collision that happens during storms and high winds. Experiments show that if trees with crown shyness are artificially prevented from swaying and colliding in the wind, they slowly fill in the empty space in the canopy. Similarly, some research suggests that continuous abrasion at growth nodules disrupts bud tissue such that it is unable to continue with lateral growth. Despite these various theories however, nobody knows for sure why this occurrence occurs, but it serves to remind us of just how breathtaking Mother Nature can be. The next time you're out walking through the forest, take a moment to look above you and you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

WWII Long Lost Airplane Discovered on the Riverbed of a Remote Pacific island

A long lost airplane that crashed during WWII is lastly discovered almost without a glitch preserved on the riverbed of a remote Pacific island. Holiday tourists visiting the Micronesian archipelago of Palau discovered an unusually rare sight, recently - after stumbling across a doomed WW2 plane. They are expecting to witness numerous unexpected wonders when they explore the world. It is believed the craft is a Japanese Aichi E13A long range reconnaissance seaplane - was found in a shallow river on the archipelago of Palau, which boasts 500 attractive islands.

 A remarkable image which surfaced on Imgur, shows the plane largely intact with the wings still attached to the fuselage. Hence weirdly positioned upside-down, it's not clear which country the military craft belonged to, but the undisturbed site has now become something of a makeshift grave. It clearly, exerts a charm with holidaymakers, two of whom can be seen canoeing past the plane's rusted body. Unsurprisingly, the image has stunned people across the internet, with one saying, “Looks like a movie set or the beginning or end of a novel.”

If was the pilot that died with that plane I would be happy with my final resting spot so beautiful and serene. A third chimed-in, it's the juxtaposition between the wreck and the person kayaking carefree right next to it. It seems disrespectful given that someone could have died in that wreck. It's an A13 floatplane. It is inverted and has lost its floats. This is a rare beast, an increasingly popular location; Palau is described by Lonely Planet as scenically enchanted. For such a tiny area of land, it packs a big punch.

It's hard not to be overwhelmed by its amazing array of natural wonders: this is an archipelago of pristine limestone and volcanic islands, blanketed in emerald forest, surrounded by a shimmering turquoise lagoon. Obviously, diving is the number-one activity here, with truly world-class dive sites. Divers swear by Palau's thrilling seascape, fascinating wrecks and strikingly diverse marine life it's not dubbed 'the underwater Serengeti for nothing.

 

 

Swiss Photographer Caught Sperm Whales Nap Vertically Between 6 to 25 Minutes

Swiss wildlife photographer Franco Banfi and a team of scuba divers were following a pod of sperm whales off the Coast of Dominica Island in the Caribbean Sea, when suddenly the large creatures became motionless and fell into vertical slumber.  The underwater photographer has captured a rare set of photographs which capture a pod of sleeping whales. You’d probably never see before that. But Franco Banfi, caught the superb creatures around 65ft underwater as well as his partner, free diver Sabrina, just off the coast of the Caribbean island Dominica. Almost 40ft long sperm whales, known to be quite social, spend around 7% of their time sleeping and nap vertically for six to 25 minutes in this case it was ten.

Mr Banfi 58, from Cadro, Switzerland, said: This was a group of around ten sperm whales all sleeping together. I don't know why they sleep vertically, perhaps because they can use the sonar they have in their head to sense any danger approaching. I was extremely lucky to see such a memorable moment in nature, and I'm highly thankful the whales trusted me and gave me the opportunity to show up the show. It doesn't happen like that every time you see them. This rare phenomenon was first discovered in 2008, when a team of biologists from the UK and Japan inadvertently drifted into a group of sperm whales floating just below the surface, completely oblivious to their surroundings. The 2008 incident advised that whales might sleep with both sides of the brain turned off.

Chinese Red Eggs

Chinese red eggs are bright pink colored cooked chicken eggs. The eggs are first hard boiled and then a wet red calligraphy paper is wiped over the eggs to create a pink coloring. In the Chinese culture, it is common to hold at the baby´s first-month birthday a red egg and ginger party. For the Chinese, one month is the first huge milestone of a baby’s life, so it is celebrated with Red eggs. They are nutritious, symbols of fertility, rebirth. Red means happiness.

Generally the baby's name is announced to friends and relatives at this party, and one might find a bowl of brightly colored cooked chicken eggs on the guests' buffet or serving tables. The hosts might hand out the red-dyed eggs, symbolizing happiness and renewed life. These days, some people also will give red eggs to their friends and families to celebrate their birthday. Moreover, same to Western Easter eggs, in Chinese culture eggs symbolize birth or a new start. For eggs to be served to invitees during a significant birthday such as the first month or first year is very important. The color red means prosperity and good fortune to the Chinese, while white or beige is considered the color of death.