Calocera Cornea

Day 362: Calocera cornea is distinguished from its cousin Calocera furcata not only by its pointy little fruiting bodies, but by its preference for decaying hardwood over that of conifers. Let's look at the Latin for a second, because in this case, it's descriptive of the growth forms of the two different fungi. "Cornus/cornea" means "horn." The same root word gives us English words like "cornet" and "cornucopia." Likewise, if we say that something is "bifurcated" or "furcated," it means that it divides into points (two or more than two), i.e., it is "forked." Much of the English language is rooted in Latin, and consequently, if we think about scientific names in terms of similar-sounding English words, we can often sort out their meaning and thereby discern some characteristic of the life form we are trying to identify. "Latifolia" describes a leaf with latitude, i.e., a broad leaf; "rotundifolia" refers to round leaves. That said, there is an annoying trend toward naming species after people these days, and had Calocera cornea been called "Calocera lewisia" for example, no such helpful clue would exist unless perhaps we knew that Mr. Lewis dyed his hair orange or furnished his office with oaken chairs.