Shots from the Garden 11/8/11

I spotted this growing out of some mulch in the garden at work yesterday:

The Phallaceae are a family of fungi, commonly known as stinkhorn mushrooms. Belonging to the fungal order Phallales, the Phallaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are especially prevalent in tropical regions. They are known for their foul smelling sticky spore masses, or gleba, borne on the end of stalks called the receptaculum. The characteristic fruiting body structure—a single, unbranched receptaculum with an externally attached gleba on the upper part—distinguish the Phallaceae from other families in the Phalalles. The spore mass typically smells of carrion or dung, and attracts flies and other insects to help disperse the spores. Although there is a great diversity of body structure shape amongst the various genera, all species in the Phallaceae begin their development as oval or round structures known as "eggs". According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 21 genera and 77 species.[3]

Oh yeah, those are insects all over it.


And today it looked like it needed a shot of Viagra. Click photos to see the large version.

While I had the camera out, I encountered this Preying Mantis having lunch.

Just imagine if these things were 30 ft long...












A shot of some of the fall color. It's magnificent these days. Too bad it means Winter is on the way.