The portrait on the left is "King Alfred manages to burn the cakes" -Legend has it that the king was given refuge by a peasant woman who knew nothing of his identity, she asked him to watch the cakes and King Alfred let them burn. The pic on the right shows an inedible fungus variety commonly known as King Alfred's cakes.
The inedible fungus Daldinia concentrica is known by several common names, including King Alfred's Cake, cramp balls, and coal fungus. It can be found in North America and Europe, where it lives on dead and decaying wood, especially on felled ash trees. It is a common, widespread saprotroph.
The fungus is ball-shaped, with a hard, friable, shiny black fruiting body 2 to 7 centimeters wide. It resembles a chunk of coal, which gives it several of its common names, including coal fungus and carbon balls. According to legend, King Alfred once hid out in a countryside homestead during war, and was put in charge of removing baking from the oven when it was done. He fell asleep and the cakes burned. Daldinia concentrica is said to resemble a cake left to this fate.
3 comments:
The portrait on the left is "King Alfred manages to burn the cakes" -Legend has it that the king was given refuge by a peasant woman who knew nothing of his identity, she asked him to watch the cakes and King Alfred let them burn.
The pic on the right shows an inedible fungus variety commonly known as King Alfred's cakes.
King Alfred lets the cakes burn and also gives the fungus his name.
The inedible fungus Daldinia concentrica is known by several common names, including King Alfred's Cake, cramp balls, and coal fungus. It can be found in North America and Europe, where it lives on dead and decaying wood, especially on felled ash trees. It is a common, widespread saprotroph.
The fungus is ball-shaped, with a hard, friable, shiny black fruiting body 2 to 7 centimeters wide. It resembles a chunk of coal, which gives it several of its common names, including coal fungus and carbon balls. According to legend, King Alfred once hid out in a countryside homestead during war, and was put in charge of removing baking from the oven when it was done. He fell asleep and the cakes burned. Daldinia concentrica is said to resemble a cake left to this fate.
Post a Comment