#multi stem tree

[melankoliadam]

Landscape Pond in London Design ideas for a small farmhouse full sun and drought-tolerant backyard stone pond in summer.

[oberynmaartell]

Landscape Pond

Photo of a small farmhouse full sun and drought-tolerant backyard stone pond in summer.

[mqslow]

Pond - Farmhouse Landscape

Design ideas for a small farmhouse full sun and drought-tolerant backyard stone pond in summer.

[turner-the-awkward]

Modern Landscape An example of a mid-sized modern full sun backyard stone landscaping in summer.

[millionponds]

Hertfordshire Landscape

Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary drought-tolerant and full sun backyard gravel landscaping.

[instapride]

Landscape Pond in London Summertime photo of a medium-sized, modern, stone-paved backyard.

[conductivemithril]

Contemporary Landscape in Hertfordshire a picture of a sizable, modern, full-sun, stone flower bed in the fall.

[gfloutdoors]

Single Stem vs Multi Stem Tree: Why Plant Each One?

Single Stem vs Multi Stem Tree: Why Plant Each One?

Trees all have slightly different growth habits, including whether they grow as a single stem or multi-stem. A single stem tree has only one main trunk, while a multi-stem tree has multiple trunks, all growing from the same root system. Both have their own benefits and drawbacks, so it’s essential to know why each type of tree might be the right choice for your landscaping project. This article…

[thealienfantasy]

Alien Fantasy-File 8: The giant that gives us water.

(It's been a minute since i've uploaded. I've been focused on my new job and i've also been suffering a bit from writers block. I can't say it's been fixed. But hey, i got something out. hope ya'll enjoy it.) the Chlorovian Research team wandered about in their makeshift settlement. This research squad, literally the size of ants, crash-landed in this weird place full of giant plants about a month ago. And using whatever they could salvage, they were able to create a small camping site that served as their home until they could repair the ship and return home.

Commander Zeno gazed up at the towering plants surrounding them. his leaf-like appendages rustled as they gathered around a particularly interesting specimen - a small tree that stood out from all the massive ones in the area. This one was roughly the size of the trees back on their home planet. if not slightly larger.

"Fascinating...." Dr. Phyla said. Her iridescent wings fluttered with excitement as she pointed towards the tree.  "Look at this specimen! It's so much smaller than the others. Do you think it will grow to match their size eventually?"

The group turned their attention from the small one to the big trees. These were so big. Almost bigger than the biggest mountain on their home world. and there were several of these. She suspected they were behind the mass amount of oxygen on this planet. 

As they continued admiring the gigantic trees, Scout Pol slid up to the group, munching on a small piece of the red fruit he just gathered.

"You know, I wouldn't mind staying here. Have you seen the size of the fruit? It's incredible! Way bigger than anything we have on Chlorovia!" He said, taking another munch. "The other day, I saw a green sphere hanging from one of the plants down there. It was easily twice the size of my house! And the flowers! Some of them are big enough to house our entire colony!" He said with excitement. 

"It's not just the plants." Phyla said. "Have you noticed the creatures that fly around? They're massive compared to us, with wings that create gusts of wind as they pass by. And don't get me started on those eight-legged monstrosities that build sticky traps between the plants!"

A collective shudder passed through the group at the mention of the multi-legged monster. They're the reason why they were now one squad member short.

As they chatted, Commander Zeno's attention was drawn to the enormous structure looming over their base. His gaze fixed on the transparent section. It was definitely a window. Much larger than the ones on his home planet. but a window nonetheless. 

"I wonder what lies beyond that clear barrier.." Zeno mused aloud.

"Well, We've sent rovers to investigate, but they never last long inside." The engineer said. They had gleaned precious little information from their ill-fated expeditions into the structure.

"From what we've gathered," She added. "giants inhabit that building. Beings of unimaginable size and power."

As if summoned by the mere mention, a massive shadow suddenly loomed behind the window. 

"They're back! Everyone, back to the main plant! Now!" Zeno commanded. The entire squad scrambled towards their crash site, seeking shelter among the leaves.  They watched  as one of the giants emerged from the structure and began approaching the plants. This particular giant was taller than the others they had caught a glimpse off, with hair on the lower half of its face. In its massive appendage, it wielded a strange device that seemed to dispense water.

The squad huddled together, some cowering in fear while others watched anticipation as the giant moved from plant to plant, dousing each with a torrent of water.

As the behemoth approached their plant, the aliens held their breath. Some ducked under leaves, while others pressed themselves flat against stems and branches as the giant loomed over them. Suddenly, water cascaded down upon them, flooding their makeshift home. The squad clung desperately to whatever they could grab, fighting against the raging current that threatened to sweep them away. Just as quickly as it had started, the rain ceased. The giant moved on, leaving the drenched aliens in its wake.

"Is everyone alright?" Commander Zeno called out, doing a quick headcount of his team. A bunch of affirmatives rang out, followed by a series of relieved sighs. Then, unexpectedly, a moan of delight pierced the air.

"Oh, by the great deity of chlorophyll!" exclaimed one of the scouts, his body practically glowing.  "That was... incredible!"

"Speak for yourself." grumbled one of the members, shaking his antennae. "I nearly got washed away... again! We really need to find a way to secure our equipment against these floods."

Commander Zeno watched thoughtfully as the giant continued its watering ritual with the other plants. Questions swirled in his mind: Did this enormous being know of their presence? Was this act of watering an attempt at communication? A gesture of kindness? Or simply the incomprehensible behavior of a creature beyond their understanding?

As the squad regrouped and began the process of salvaging their waterlogged equipment, while soaking in the giant droplets left behind by the titan, Zeno couldn't help but wonder...What would it be like to establish contact with these giants. 

Maybe they could come to an agreement. Maybe they could get along? Maybe the giant would give them a whole ocean?

"Oh, for the love of {{Redacted}}! One of our rovers got destroyed again!" 

...Of course, it was just as likely that they would dispose of them the same way they've been disposing of the rovers.

..Maybe it was for the best to remain confined to these plants for now.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Donnie stepped back from the last plant, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as he set down the watering can. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, taking a moment to admire his handiwork.

The garden was his pride and joy, and it always filled him with delight to see it it flourish. It was an activity that always seemed to calm him down.

His eyes lingered on the bonsai tree, a recent addition to his collection. It had been a surprising challenge to keep it healthy, but the results were worth the effort.  Though come to think off it, he recalls hearing of his kids go on about how they saw something glowing near the bonsai every night. Maybe it was just fireflies. who knows?

 "DAD?! WHERE IS THE FLY SWATTER!?" A young voice shouted from the house.

[jinxedruby]

Whumptober Day Twelve: Underground Caverns

Featuring Sky and Wild.

Heads up for a panic attack in this one.

AO3

First part | <- Previous part | Next part ->

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Humidity hung thick in the air, pouring down Sky’s throat with each breath and clogging his lungs. Sweat coated his skin, clinging to his hair and the collar of his sailcloth. Some animal he didn’t recognize hooted in the distance, joining the cacophony of the hordes of unseen bugs chirping and whirring from the trees.

“We’re in Faron, alright,” Wild said from beside him as they tromped together through the thick underbrush.

Sky huffed, clothes chafing uncomfortably against him with each step. “Faron Woods was never this… sticky.”

Wild laughed, the sound too light-hearted for Sky’s current mood. “That’s my era’s Faron, for you. Zelda called it, uh… tro- trol- tropical.”

“Whatever it’s called, I don’t like it,” Sky grumbled, peeling his tunic away from his chest in an attempt to get cool air on his skin. It didn’t work. “It feels like trying to breathe underwater.”

Wild laughed again and Sky really couldn’t fathom what he found so humorous. They continued picking their way through the lush forest, following the base of a cliff. Wild had been chosen to scout since the area was familiar to him, even if his device’s map wasn’t working. Sky had volunteered to go with him, having always liked the natural beauty of Wild’s era. He found himself regretting that decision a bit. While Sky slogged along, Wild seemed to take little issue with the climate, despite him sweating through his clothes the same as Sky. The cook kept darting off whenever they passed by certain trees that held large, harpastum-sized fruits with spiny exteriors.

Something bright yellow in their otherwise green surroundings caught Sky’s attention. He turned to see a short tree with bunches of oblong yellow fruits.

“Hey, Cook, do you know what these are?” he asked, stepping closer to examine them. Wild jogged after him.

“Bananas,” Wild said. He reached up and plucked the multi-lobed fruit from the tree. Then he grabbed one lobe and separated it before breaking the brown stem. He peeled the skin apart to reveal a pale yellow interior. He held it out to Sky. “Here, try one. They’re pretty good raw.”

Sky took it hesitantly. He poked at the weird, soft interior. He glanced up at Wild who had peeled another banana and bit off half the interior. He gave Sky an encouraging nod. Sky slowly brought the fruit to his lips and bit off a small chunk. He blinked, chewing the soft fruit only twice before it reduced to pudding in his mouth. “That’s really sweet,” he said in surprise after swallowing.

“Isn’t it?” Wild squeezed the bottom of the peeled skin, popping the rest of the interior into his mouth. “If you cook it right, it makes you stronger for a bit.”

Sky laughed, taking a larger bite. “Fledge would love that.”

Wild tapped the surface of his device and the rest of the bananas vanished into it in a flash of blue light. He beckoned Sky and the two continued onward. Sky picked away at the banana as they walked, the snack lifting his mood at least a little. Wild took just about every fruit they passed and Sky could only wonder at how he carried so much.

After a few more minutes of walking, a dark splotch on the cliff wall beside them caught Sky’s attention. He glanced over to see the mouth of a cave in the rock. A little dot of yellow sat in the entrance. He moved closer to see a bunch of those oblong yellow fruits on the ground just inside the cave. Curious, he headed toward it.

“Hey, Cook,” he called. Wild hummed a response from some distance, busy picking more spiny harpastum fruits. “Do those, uh, bananas grow on the ground?”

“What?”

Sky pointed, only a couple steps away. He walked into the cave, stooping down to grab them. “Here, there’s-”

“SKY, DON’T!”

Sky froze, head snapping around. He caught barely a glimpse of Wild sprinting toward him, eyes wide. Then an explosion boomed overhead. Something cracked and roared in the same moment. Burning heat rushed over Sky, dirt and rocks pelting him from above. Before he could react, Wild slammed into him from behind, sending them both flying into the cave. Not a moment later, the ceiling of the cave entrance gave way. He felt Wild pressed against his back, covering his head. The sound of boulders and chunks of rock cracking and collapsing rattled in Sky’s skull. He clenched his teeth as the intense vibration made them buzz, thrumming through his chest.

Finally, the crashing and rumbling stopped. Sky’s ears rang in the ensuing silence. He cautiously opened his eyes only to be met with near-complete darkness. The weight on his back shifted as Wild pushed himself up and off of him.

Wild coughed then said, “You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Sky replied. He slowly turned onto his back and sat up, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dimness. He could just make out Wild’s silhouette against the slivers of light filtering through the gaps in the rocks filling the entryway. “You?”

“Fine.” Wild turned toward the rocks, pushing himself to his feet. As Sky stood, Wild walked up to the rocks, pushing experimentally at them. “We must be closer to my era than I thought if the Yiga are active.” He froze abruptly. “Yiga- Oh, I’m such- Sky, watch our backs! The Yiga can teleport!”

Sky immediately drew his sword, whirling around to face the cave. Eerie, unending blackness greeted him. He swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. The temperature in the cave dropped significantly compared to the outside. His neck felt cold, the cool air sucking the heat out of his sweat and leaving a chill on his skin. He heard a grunt from behind as Wild tried to move the rocks. After a few seconds, Wild let out a gasp.

“That’s not… gonna work,” he panted. “Okay, new plan. Step back a bit.”

Sky glanced over his shoulder to see Wild walking toward him, waving him farther into the cave. Sky obliged, through walking deeper into the darkness caused a pit to form in his stomach.

“What’s your plan?” he asked, fighting the unease back.

A whir answered him, a glowing blue bomb appearing in Wild’s hands. Its light shone on his arms and the underside of his face, illuminating his grinning teeth. Wild hurled the bomb, blue wisps trailing after its path. It landed with a thud at the base of the rocks. Sky heard a small click as Wild hit a button on his device.

The bomb detonated in a flash of blue light. A harsh crack and heavy rumble shook the very earth. The rocks blocking the entrance exploded outwards. At the same time, the ceiling caved. Wild cursed. Sky barely heard it over the deafening sound of tons of rock crashing down. He whipped around and sprinted deeper into the cave. He couldn’t see Wild. Something knocked against his shoulder, sending him stumbling.

The toe of his boot caught on a ridge in the ground. His heart leapt into his throat as he pitched forward. Another ridge jabbed hard into his ribs as he fell flat on his stomach. Something popped in his chest and he let out a wheezing cry, the sound swallowed by the roar of the cave-in. He tried to struggle forward until something slammed into his back. He curled up in place, wrapping his arms around his head. Teeth clenched and eyes screwed shut, he waited as the cave collapsed around him. Rocks slammed down somewhere near him, the impact jolting through Sky’s bones. His chest ached horribly but he could only curl tighter, bracing himself for the ceiling to inevitably crush him.

Then the rumbling slowed and grew fainter. Crashes of massive stone chunks gave way to small clatters as the rocks settled into place. Sky remained still until only the sound of blood roaring in his ears remained. He slowly, carefully uncurled. Pain sprung into his chest at the movement, robbing him of breath. He sank his teeth into his lip as he drew a breath through his nose despite the pain. He felt grit on his eyelids and used the underside of his sailcloth to wipe some of it away. He opened his eyes.

Pure, unbroken blackness.

He blinked again. He saw no difference between closing his eyes and opening them. It wasn’t like before when the little bit of light coming through the rocks allowed at least some sight. The deep darkness stole away all sense of space. His lungs clutched at his ribs.

“C-Cook?” he called, voice croaking. No echo. The walls of the dark stole the sound from his throat. His chest clenched again, stomach rolling. “Champion?”

When Wild still didn’t respond, the reality of the situation fully sank in. Sky sat up, keeping one hand on the ground, the other stretched out into the infinite void. His chest ached with pain, gut twisting. A chill sank into his bones, his sweat working against him and leaving him feeling freezing. “Link!” His heart throbbed heavily, pulsing painfully in his throat. His head spun. His lungs tightened. He scrambled to his knees, regardless of the pain. “Link!” He darted forward. His forehead smacked into a rock wall. He spun, head reeling as he pressed his back to the wall.

Cook’s dead. He couldn’t hold the thought back. He slid down to a sitting position, knees failing to support his weight. His breaths turned to gasps. Cook’s dead. His chest burned like someone had poured lava down his throat. He pressed his palm flat against it. He couldn’t breathe. It hurt too much. His shallow gasps vanished into the darkness. Gray sparks winked before him as his head filled with cotton. The darkness crushed against his lungs and dug into his eye sockets. He could hardly feel the wall at his back anymore. His fingers buzzed, vision graying and gravity yanking at his head. He brought a hand to his hair, trying to hold his head up. His heart thudded frantically against his aching ribs. His lungs squeezed and refused air.

“Sky?” Wild’s voice called from the blackness.

Air shuddered in Sky’s throat. “C-” He couldn’t speak. “C-” He couldn’t breathe.

“Sky, where are you?”

Sky could only gasp, chest burning as his head grew lighter. His abdomen and limbs felt stuffed with wool. Something gripped his arm. He thrashed with a breathless yelp. The hand vanished. There may have been a voice, but a whine took up residence in his ears, drowning out any words. He felt himself tip forward. His forehead collided with his bent knees and he let it stay there, rubbing his chest with numb fingers.

An orange light flared behind his tightly shut eyelids. He flinched and wrenched them open. The blackness fled to the edges of his vision as light shone into the void. He could actually see his feet propped up beneath him, see the rocky ground under them. At least, until the blackness began overtaking his sight again.

“Deep… deep breaths, Link,” a voice directly to his right said. The words sounded slow, muffled and distant. “I’m ‘onna… count. For four. In and out.”

Sky could hardly hear as Wild started counting to four repeatedly. Vaguely, he recognized what Wild was doing. He tried matching his breaths to the count but his chest burned as his lungs attempted to expand. A cry built in him but couldn’t escape. He rubbed his chest harder, neck muscles pulling taut in a grimace.

“It’s okay, it’s… it’s okay,” Wild soothed. Sky couldn’t tell if he imagined the slur in the cook’s words or not. “Just breathe.”

“I can’t,” Sky wheezed.

“You can, you jus’ did. Did to… to talk, yeah?”

Sky pulled in a trembling gasp. Wild resumed counting and Sky waited to exhale until Wild started from one again. His breath hitched constantly, thorns spearing into his ribs with each inhale. Even so, slowly but surely, his breaths began to even out. The blackness inched out of his vision. The wool threaded out of his body and head. After several deep breaths, though the pain in his chest never receded, he managed to lift his head from his knees.

Wild crouched beside him, leaning one shoulder against the wall Sky sat against. Sky’s gaze followed the light to its source; a lit torch lying on the ground. The orange light of the flame hurt his eyes after seeing absolutely nothing for however long it had been since the cave-in. Sky couldn’t tell. He looked back over at Wild, limbs trembling like pudding. Wild’s hair matted oddly at the top of his head, a dark patch visible against the blond. Sky didn’t notice until just then that Wild leaned his head against the wall too, posture slumped slightly.

“Feelin’ alright?” Wild asked. Sky definitely hadn’t imagined the slur earlier.

“Y-yeah. Thanks,” Sky responded, raspy from his sore throat. “Your head…”

Wild lifted a hand and gingerly patted the matted hair on his crown. He winced. “It’s… fine. Jus’ aches a bit.”

Sky gestured for Wild to let him see and the cook leaned over. “Did a rock hit you?” he asked. He gently parted Wild’s bloody hair, struggling to rein in the quiver of his hands so he could look at the wound. As Wild tipped forward, blood rolled along his scalp and down his forehead. He idly wiped it away.

“Think so,” Wild answered. He paused. “Might’ve been unconscious. For a bit. Not tha’ long.”

That would explain why he hadn’t responded when Sky first called out to him. It was a miracle he hadn’t been crushed.

“’M sorry,” Wild said as Sky took his hands from his hair. Sky glanced up from his pouch to see Wild with his gaze cast down, brow knitted. Blood trailed into the furrow, curving down the side of his nose. “Stupid idea. Blowing up th’ rocks…”

“Honestly?” Sky pulled out a bottle. He held it to the light, making sure the liquid inside was indeed red. “I probably would’ve done the same thing.”

Wild laughed, breathy and quiet. “The captain’s gonna let me have it. And Rancher. And the ol’ man. An’ Collector…”

“I won’t say anything if you don’t tell them that I fell for the most obvious trap ever.”

Wild barked out another laugh, quickly cut short by a pained hiss. Sky held the heart potion out to him. Wild blinked at it then frowned.

“It’s not tha’ bad,” he protested.

“I need your brain at full function to help us figure a way out of here.” Sky felt a brief flash of panic at the reminder of their predicament. He knotted his lips, fixing his gaze on the wavering flame of the lit torch until the feeling subsided.

Thankfully, Wild didn’t need more convincing. After a few long moments of deliberation, he took the potion from Sky and pulled the cork out with a light pop. He tipped his head back as he drank it, the drop of blood rolling along his cheek at the motion. Once he finished it, he handed the empty bottle back to Sky, prodding the top of his head.

“Good as new,” he said, though Sky didn’t miss how his words still came out slow and slightly stilted.

Sky tucked the bottle back into his pouch. He started to turn to look around, but the deep, unending darkness swelled beyond the light of the torch. He stiffened and hurriedly turned back around, staring at the flame.

“You okay?” Wild asked gently, concern evident in his tone.

“I- yeah,” Sky stammered. He took a deep breath but the ache in his ribs stopped it short. He rubbed his chest, glancing up from the torch to Wild. “I don’t- I don’t like feeling trapped.”

Wild nodded. He glanced around in the way Sky couldn’t. “Well, what do you say we get out of here, then?”

Sky’s gaze flicked back to the torch. “How exactly are we… we going to do that?”

“Well…” Wild looked over his shoulder, torchlight dancing off his long hair as he moved. “I don’t think leaving the way we came is an option anymore.” He turned back around, staring down the cave with narrowed eyes. Sky couldn’t bring himself to look, focusing solely on Wild and the torch.

“I think these are cart rails,” Wild said, tapping the toe of his boot against one of the ridges Sky had tripped over earlier. “There… might be… a-another entrance? On the other side of the mountain?”

His doubtful tone did not instill Sky with confidence. Sky bit his knuckle, fighting back the surge of panic. Wild glanced at him and his expression flinched just slightly. Abruptly, he pushed himself to his feet.

“Well, listen, I think I- I remember Zelda talking about these Sheikah excavation tunnels, back when they were looking for more Guardians and stuff,” Wild began. “The project probably got, um, abandoned once the Calamity hit, but they were really thorough. I’d be surprised if there weren’t multiple entrances.”

Sky pursed his lips, letting the words sink in. He still had his doubts on the validity of Wild’s statement. But… He let out a rough sigh. If it meant keeping the angst at bay, he’d be willing to believe it. He lifted his head to meet Wild’s gaze. The cook gave him a half smile, offering a hand to help him up. Sky took it, letting Wild pull him to his feet.

“We also need to be on the lookout for Yiga,” Wild said as he stooped to pick up the torch. “In case they actually think to check if we survived.” He paused, regarding the torch. After a moment, he held it out to Sky. “It might help if you held it.”

Sky blinked. Then his shoulders slumped, gratefulness washing over him. “It would. Thank you.”

He took the torch in hand, feeling its warmth against his face. With a steadying breath, he turned to look deeper into the cave. The voice lying in wait sent a shudder through his body. He tightened his grip on the torch, glancing at Wild. With a determined nod from the cook, the two set off through the cave.

(Concluded here)

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Thursday 16 November 2023

This is a young plant of Parrotia persica (Persian ironwood, iron tree, ironwood) which becomes a wide-spreading, normally multi-stemmed deciduous tree or large shrub. In autumn the leaves turn yellow, red and purple falling to reveal the trunks of flaking bark and small crimson flowers on bare twigs.

Jill Raggett

[moraxsthrone]

so...as lovely as the idea of tighnari bringing you a single pretty flower or a whole carefully selected and arranged bouquet sounds...

he doesn't like to pluck live flowers or the bases of their stems. hence why he always picks leaves and flowers from the forest floor, after they've already fallen naturally.

plus, he'd much rather give you something that has the potential to live for decades, not something that will wither and die in a matter of days.

he's far more likely to dig up a small flowering plant, or take a cutting and place it on a mist table until it roots. then he'll transfer it to a little terra cotta pot, taking special care to ensure that it has a healthy root system and the best potting mix.

he'll bring it to you when he knows you'll most likely be home and offer it as a romantic gesture. it's not a huge, colorful bunch of picked or cut flowers. it's a small plant that only has its green foliage bc the blooms it had when he found it in the wild have long since died and fallen off in the time it took to stand on its own as an established, healthy plant.

but knowing that he's cared for it for weeks after taking a small cutting off one of its mother's branches, that he went to such lengths and meticulous effort to ensure it became its own plant, able to grow and bloom once again in its own right...just for you? you don't take a single leaf for granted. you smile brightly and take the little pot between your hands and immediately start looking for the best place to put it in your little cottage in the trees.

"where do you think would be the best place to put it, nari?" you ask, looking this way and that.

he fights back the smile that threatens to overtake his whole cute face and nods towards your quaint kitchen window. "how about there? that's where it would get the best filtered afternoon light, which it likes the best."

you twirl around and place it lovingly on the small window ledge next to a couple of other plants which have been living there happily for a long time now. you run a gentle finger over one of its little leaves before turning to face tighnari again, a wide smile gracing your lovely face. from the first time he saw you, he's always loved the way the sincerity of your happiness reaches your eyes when you smile at him. the corners of his lips can't help but lift for you in return, his multi-colored eyes widening when you throw your arms around his neck and hug him.

"thank you, nari," you murmur against his neck. "i love it. i'll take really good care of it, i promise."

he relaxes, his arms wrapping tightly around your waist. "i know you will. i wouldn't entrust you with its life otherwise."

you pull back to meet his gaze for a moment. then you kiss him, his tall ears turning and leaning back against his head and his tail swishing quietly behind him when he exhales against your soft, slow lips.

he's so content in this moment, so happy he found someone as beautiful and intelligent as you. but the fact that you obviously care so deeply for plant life...and him...is what is making him fall helplessly in love with you.

[learnplants]

Back again! Today, we have a very spooky fungus, scientifically called Hydnellum peckii, or commonly Devil's Tooth! It's a non-toxic fungus that, despite its name, is actually beneficial for conifer forests, and is often found in late summer and autumn!

Devils tooth grows about 10cm tall at most, but as small as 3cm! The cap is between 3-8 cm across when fully developed and is usually round but can be oval or multi-lobed! The young caps also secrete a red ooze as they grow, but generally stops when it reaches maturity!

Underneath the cap, the fungus doesn't have gills! It instead has spines, but very small ones, being between 1-5mm long and below 1mm in diameter!

The stem is quite variable, being as tall as 5 or 6cm but it's been seen as small as 0.5cm, but this is because the fungus stem is predominantly underground!

The fungus has a beneficial relationship with conifererous trees, sometimes called a symbiotic relationship, but in the fungus world, it can be called 'ectomycorrhizal'! The tree will give the fungal system, or mycelium, sugars, made during the photosynthesis process, and the fungus will give the tree access to more nutrients, because the fungus can burrow deeper than the trees roots! What a good friend!

The fungus derived its name from the greek word for 'edible mushroom' "hudnon"! The peckii comes from honouring an American mycologist called Charles Horton Peck!

Overall, Hydnellum peckii, or devils tooth fungus, is a beneficial fungus for conifer trees and an edible mushroom for people, albeit a very bitter and not tasty one! Fell free to like, comment and reblog, and follow for more! Now, without further delay, here it is!

[turner-the-awkward]

Landscape London Ideas for a mid-sized, contemporary, stone-paved backyard in the summer sun.

[kirindensetsu]

The difference between being an immigrant and being an expat is that the subreddit for expats in Japan hit me with a scolding and a ban for referring to Japanese endemic plants/tools/cultural practices by their Japanese names LMAOOOOOO imagine getting your JLPT N1 moderator weenie slammed in the car door over normal levels of code-mixing???

Anyways please look at my ナツツバキ/シャラノキ/Stewartia pseudocamillia. If you know "The Tale of the Heike", the flowers referred to in the opening stanza are these.

These were ridiculously hard to find. The "trendy" trees that they sell at home improvement stores are mountain ash, olive, eucalyptus, and juneberry/amelanchier; if you want anything else, Sucks To Be You. I was recommended a little independent nursery way out in the boonies and they had some :)

They have been pollarded (cut off at ground level and regrown) to produce that multi-stemmed shape. In a decade or two they will get to be about 20 feet tall and look majestic af.

The balcony of my apartment is dedicated to acclimatizing plants for the house. The house has no existing yard trees, so everything has to get used to afternoon sun or they'll get cooked. They'll be here until next spring and then go in the ground up in Gokayama.

[warsofasoiaf]

What army do you think is the most overrated in history?

As with all questions about "overrated" and "underrated," the question is, who is doing the rating? Being "overrated" or "underrated" means evaluating someone's judgment, while being "bad" or "good" means evaluating performance. The latter is far easier to evaluate.

Take for example, the Mongols. The Mongols were an exceptionally good army, one of the best in history for a whole host of reasons including their highly exceptional C2 system. But in "The Death that Saved Europe," Cecelia Holland argues that Ogedai Khan's unlikely death was the only thing stopping the Mongols from conquering all of Europe to the Atlantic Ocean, and this just doesn't stand up to scrutiny when evaluating their performance in Hungary and Poland. The Mongols struggled with European stone-walled castles, and moving further into Western Europe would only see the castle density increase. They're still incredibly good, but that's a clear case of overrating.

Or by contrast, take the Red Army in the Winter War. By all conventional metrics, the Red Army was absolutely abysmal in performance - poor tactics, poor leadership, poor equipment. Yet Adolf Hitler thought that they were so garbage that all he would need is a swift kick in the door for the rotten foundation of the Soviet Union to collapse like old scaffolding, and it very clearly did not. Clearly, that was a case of underrating the army. By contrast, modern non-military historians frequently overrate the performance of the Red Army in the Second World War to the point of parody, omitting the exceptionally high levels of unnecessary casualties stemming from poor military performance.

But if I had to pick, I'd either pick the Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein or the current Russian military, which has largely inherited its weakness from the Red Army.

The Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein was considered the 5th strongest army in the world, with a formidable array of tanks, aircraft, and missile defense systems. Using primarily Soviet equipment, it was believed to be by far the most powerful regional hegemon in the region despite it's rather lackluster performance against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. In practice, the officer corps was extremely nepotistic and poorly-trained. The T-72 was shown to be an underperforming tank compared to modern Abrams, the Soviet missile systems proved unable to detect stealth fighters or handle Wild Weasel SEAD missions, and the aircraft were poorly maintained and their pilots even worse. At Medina Ridge and 73 Easting, Saddam's ground forces were poorly organized and sent into complete disarray. Far from being a million strong legion that could enforce its will on the region, it was a hollow, rotten tree trunk about to be struck by lightning.

I've already spoken at length about Russian weakness in the current Russo-Ukrainian War, but it's extremely indicative of systemic weakness when a so-called Great Power army is incapable of performing multi-theater combined arms warfare in the 21st century. This has been a staple of warfare and an overriding design feature of military equipment for decades now. Russia's much-vaunted hypersonic missiles are being intercepted by old Patriot AD systems, turning them into yet another Wunderwaffen. Their technology is not even comparable to last-gen systems and their troops incompetent. For a military that was vaunted as the second-most powerful in the world, its diminished capacity has shown it to be far inferior than numbers would suggest. Its vaunted tank fleet are vulnerable to old anti-tank weapons down to bargain-bin fwoop tubes. Its aircraft can't be stealthy and can't secure airspace even against a vastly inferior airforce. It's sole aircraft carrier is more of a floating environmental disaster whose maintenance log reads like an SCP entry. The T-14 Armata and Su-75 Checkmate are vapor-ware projects established primarily, it seems, to embezzle money for more dachas and yachts. Worst of all, its logistics corps are so deficient that countless Russian soldiers are dying from easily treatable injuries. This was supposed to be the mightiest army in Europe and the military leader of the non-Western world, the lynchpin of the "new multipolar world order," the army that was to defend the Motherland against NATO. It's losing badly to an army that wasn't even ranked in the top 20 by military observers using a combination of legacy Soviet equipment and the stuff that NATO found in the back of the toolshed.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King