365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Conk!
Day 146: This is a bracket fungus or shelf fungus, otherwise known colloquially as a conk. Mind you don't confuse a conk with a conker which, as you may know, is a horse chestnut and the implement used in a rather hazardous game played by British children and now banned in most schools. The name "conker" becomes obvious to players in a very short time, but that's another subject entirely. I first encountered the term "conk" in reference to a bracket fungus somewhat late in life and was curious with regard to its etymology. The results of my research into the word's origin were inconclusive, although many experts seem to hold that it most likely originated in "conch" (a shell with a somewhat similar shape), and "conk" is an accepted pronunciation for "conch." Trust me, you would not want to play conkers with conks like these!
Labels:
bracket fungus,
conk,
etymology,
shelf fungus,
T Woods
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