Wooden It Be Wonderful

Five Nō Plays (Yōgyoku goban), 1st of 5 Volumes, Hon'ami Kōetsu, 16th-17th century, Harvard Art Museums: Calligraphy

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of the Hofer Collection of the Arts of Asia Size: H. 16.3 x W. 18.4 cm (6 7/16 x 7 ¼ in.) Medium: 1st of 5 thread-bound books; ink, gold and silver on paper; some colored paper

Thistle mantis, Blepharopsis mendica, Empusidae

Found in northern Africa, parts of the Mediterranean, Middle East, southern Asia, and on the Canary Islands.

Cora glabrata

Coming back from my brief hiatus with a heavy-hitter I’ve been putting off featuring for just the right moment. And here they are, the one and only, Cora glabrata. Which I say with irony, as recent genetic analysis revealed that what was once considered 1 or maybe 2 species (Dictyonema glabratum) was revealed to actually be hundreds of distinct species! C. glabrata is a Basidiolichen, meaning that it comes form the same evolutionary line as other basidiomycete (classic mushroom) fungus, but has evolved a lichenized lifestyle in the same way “typical” ascomycete lichens have. Lichenization is so cool that everyone is getting into it! This is largely the reason for C. glabrata looks so distinct–more like a typical saprotrophic polypore than a lichen. It has a concentrically lined, glossy, blue-green upper surface, and a slightly darker lower surface. It typically grows on moss, soil or wood, in tropical locations. And y’all, research into this lichen/lichen group is currently ongoing, so the info I reported here, and the pictures, might not even be the *most* correct. I can’t even begin to summarize and pick through all the info out there on the Cora and Dictyonema genra–there is just waayyy too much. So consider this your very brief introduction to this spectacular basidiolichen complex, and feel free to learn more on the info sources linked below. Take as deep a dive as you like. The water is fine in the land of lichenology! 

images: source | source | source | source

I think sometimes we motivate ourselves by saying we can earn rest after we work hard, which is totally understandable and I’ve done it myself too! But at the same time, we deserve rest even if we haven’t worked hard because rest is good for our health. Needing rest is natural, and we shouldn’t overwork ourselves to the point of exhaustion.

Coccocarpia prostrata