The Victorian Way With Words

by Elio
 

Pilobolus crystallinus. Source.

In 1884, W. B. Grove, Honorary Librarian of the Birming­ham Natural History and Microsco­pical Society, wrote these golden words on Pilobolus, a small dung-inhabiting fungus. Why the name was later appropriated by a famed dance group is shrouded in mystery
 

Addendum 1:  Bora Zivkovic, better known online as 'Coturnix,' has had a splendid piece about Pilolobus on his science blog: A Blog Around the Clock Stunning pictures and an amazing story about the clock in this humble fungus. (blog no longer active as of 2023)
 
 
 
 

(Click to enlarge)

Addendum 2:  We neglected to suggest two reasons why you should visit the Cornell Mushroom Blog (enter "Pi­lobolus" in the search field) in connection with Pilobolus. First, you will find there the amazing story of a hitch­hiking lungworm of cattle that takes advantage of the propelling action of the fungus for dispersal. Worms in the soil climb up the stalk of Pilobolus fruiting bodies and go along for the ride when the spore cap is shot off. Second, there is a stunning movie of the Piloboli doing their thing.
 

And a bit farther on...
 
 
 
 
 

(Click to enlarge)

 
 

 
 

Comments

[Brett]

A lovely description of a beautiful fungus! Thanks for sharing!