Curiouser and Curiouser: Saskatoon


“Curiouser and curiouser the world makes me curiouser
I’ve so many dreams that come and go
Why is it so? Does no one know?”

“Curiouser and Curiouser”
Tall and white when they first emerge, Shaggy Mane mushrooms soon transform as they autodigest, turning into a black gooey liquid. “The spores aren't digested, however. They are released in the liquid and exposed to air currents, enabling them to be carried to new areas.”


You can see why they are also known as Inky Cap mushrooms. Another name is Lawyers Wig.


Percy Bysshe Shelley, included 4 lines about Shaggy Mane mushrooms in his poem, The Sensitive Plant (the lines were omitted from later versions of the poem). They’re a bit morbid!

“Their mass rotted off them flake by flake, 
Till the thick stalk stuck like a murderer's stake, 
Where rags of loose flesh yet tremble on high, 
Infecting the winds that wander by.”

“It’s Delightful”

No, it’s not spring blossom. Unlike the Manitoba Maple, which has green/yellow helicopter seeds, this maple (? Red Maple) has lovely pink double-winged seeds (known as samaras).


More Curiousities
Richmond and False Creek

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