Strophariaceae family. Known only from central Mexico, the fungus grows
on decomposing woody debris, and is found in mountainous areas at
elevations of 3,200 to 4,000 m (10,500 to 13,000 ft), typically in
meadows or open, grassy forests associated with Hartweg's Pine. The
mushrooms have convex to bell-shaped caps 1.5–2 cm (0.6–0.8 in) in
diameter, set atop slender cylindrical stems that are up to 7.5 cm
(3.0 in) long. The color of the caps changes with variations in
hydration, and ranges from dark chestnut brown to straw yellow or
whitish when dry. The species was first reported by French mycologist
Roger Heim in 1956 as a variety of Psilocybe mexicana before he
officially described it under its current name a year later. Named for
its association with the Aztec people, P. aztecorum may have been one
of the sacred mushroom species, or teonanácatl ("flesh of the gods"),
reported in the codices of 16th-century Spanish chronicler Bernardino de
Sahagún. The mushrooms are still used for spiritual ceremonies by
Nahuatl Indians in the Popocatépetl region, although this traditional
usage is waning.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybe_aztecorum>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1606:
The first recorded performance of the play King Lear, a tragedy
by William Shakespeare based on the legendary King Lear of Britain, was
held.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear>
1862:
American Civil War: Confederate defenders were victorious in
the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou as the Union Army attempted to capture the
city of Vicksburg, Mississippi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickasaw_Bayou>
1919:
American baseball player Babe Ruth was sold by the Boston Red
Sox to their rivals, the New York Yankees, starting the 84-year-long
Curse of the Bambino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Bambino>
1991:
The Supreme Soviet officially dissolved itself, completing the
dissolution of the Soviet Union.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union>
2006:
The Hengchun earthquake struck off the southwest coast of
Taiwan, on the anniversaries of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that
devastated coastal communities across Southeast and South Asia, and of
the 2003 Bam earthquake that destroyed areas of southeastern Iran.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rebarbative:
Irritating, repellent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rebarbative>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We're creators by permission, by grace as it were. No one creates
alone, of and by himself. An artist is an instrument that registers
something already existent, something which belongs to the whole world,
and which, if he is an artist, he is compelled to give back to the
world.
--Henry Miller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Miller>
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