Showing posts with label Mushroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mushroom. Show all posts

2/26/16

On To Bigger Things



The Lost Ladybug, Coccinella Novemnotata. Pen and ink on 19"x22" Bristol Board
Read more about the sad story of New York state's threatened and endangered insect and how you can help its resurgence.

I am posting today because I promised my dearest sisterfriend Bella Sinclair that I would post if she did. Remember when blogging was popular? However, one had to have something interesting or worthwhile to blog about. These days everyone is on Facebook where people post photos of their breakfast or dinner and sometimes a selfie in a bathroom. Have you ever taken a photo of yourself in a bathroom? I don't see a virtue in that act. In fact, I find it rather sad and forlorn that one has to take of photo of oneself because nobody else cares or bothers to take the photo for that person. Some Facebook users are extreme sharers. What they share and how often they share provide an interesting human study. I have a Facebook profile. My friends are mostly family and relatives, childhood friends and classmates from elementary, high school and university and several blog friends. These days I post my art mostly on Instagram and Behance.

As you can see I don't have much to say except sharing another drawing. On to bigger things, I have decided that I will use up all the 19"x22" Bristol Board pads I have in my possession. With the number of pads and the rate at which I am drawing, I would probably be drawing for the rest of my life. I hope my wrist and eyes could hold up to the task. Afterwards, I still have oil paints and canvases to use. That is why I seem to be everywhere but hardly there.










10/16/15

Dead Man's Fingers






Empire: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Ascomycota
Class: Sordariomycetes
Subclass:Xylariomycetidae
Order:Xylariales
Family: Xylariaceae
Genus: Xylaria
Species: X. polymorpha
Binomial Name: Xylaria polymorpha (Pers.) Grev., (1824)
Common Name: Dead Man's Fingers



8/12/15

Cyathus striatus




Early this year I drew Cyathus striatus on a Moleskine journal and posted it hereCyathus striatus or Fluted Bird's Nest mushroom looks like a miniature bird's nest with tiny eggs called peridioles that contain spores. It has a hairy exterior and grooved (striated) inner walls. It is a saprophyte, growing on dead or decaying wood but may also be found on wood chip mulch. 

Well, today I was watering some plants and noted these tiny objects on the mulch. At first they looked like nail heads but when I looked closer I discovered that they are Cyathus striatus mushrooms. See how small they are on the image with my pointing finger. Pretty cool hey? Look at the periodoles. This phone camera is not bad either. Yay!




5/31/15

Ophiocordyceps sinensis or Caterpillar Fungus



Whoa! A blog post. I have been absent from my blog since I became engrossed with gardening. What an awesome activity. I get to plant something and watch it grow. It is a great test of patience but I am learning. I did start a Moleskine journal consisting of mushroom illustrations and have been posting them on Instagram. I like Instagram. It is lazy and impersonal. Oh yes, I have been studying mushrooms, though it has slowed down because of June. June is the last month of our fiscal year and so many of my projects at work are being implemented. Hope you are all well and safe.




Ophiocordyceps sinensis or Caterpillar Fungus, is a fungus that infects and parasitizes a species of ghost moth caterpillars found mainly on the Tibetan plateau. This fungus is highly valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine and its high demand and price have caused ecology issues in the Tibetan plateau and Ophiocordyceps sinensis to be considered a threatened species.