Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I like that bit where he's talking about the really big ones, several acres? And how it's probably not even the biggest.
Yeah, those honey fungus colonies can be huuuge. I think the first really massive one was discovered in the 90s, but every few years a new one gets discovered that's even bigger.

There's a great bit in Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares about the discovery of the first one, and the news interest it generated. Apparently a Japanese businessman wanted to build some sort of walkway around the forest and charge people for guided tours ("Over here, you can see some fairly generic-looking mushrooms... and over here, you can see some more fairly generic-looking mushrooms... which are genetically identical to the first lot of mushrooms! Promise!"), and a news team from CNN even wanted to take a helicopter over the forest to see the "giant fungus".

Since "fungus" is synonymous with "mushroom" in everyday speech, I do have to wonder if they thought they were going to see a single mushroom literally several miles across. (Although I suppose it's not impossible that you might be able to trace a sort of 'fairy ring' of dead and dying trees, I dunno.)
 

catalog

Well-known member
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catalog

Well-known member
Went to see my friend who lives on the tops last night and he had these wings just lying there on his worktop. It's a dead blue Jay he found, and he's removed the body. I think it's that quite rare blue, sought after by fishermen.

Jays are rough birds like magpies, they wait til chicks of smaller birds are born and then go nick them.
 

version

Well-known member
Are Taleb's books any good? Would a layman understand them? Is he as insufferable in print as he is on Twitter?
 
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