Our search for alien life forms has most of us gazing towards the heavens and the night sky. Often overlooked are the myriad of unusual plants and animals right here on our own planet - most people are too busy or too disinterested to notice most of them.
These bizarre little structures are actually tiny fungi (or mushrooms); several small colonies appeared this week in the decaying pine straw I used to mulch my driveway (the largest of the trio is no bigger than a dime).
Commonly referred to as Earth Stars, these unusual organisms belong to a group of fungi known as Gasteromycetes. The ray-like structures open when the air is damp - if a raindrop strikes the round sac in the center, the fungus will release its spores. During dry weather the rays close, protecting the delicate structure and its contents.
A plant that most Floridians are familiar with is the ubiquitous Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides). This native bromeliad is an epiphyte; it uses tree branches for support, and to gain access to light and air (it dies soon after falling to the ground). It derives no nourishment from the tree and causes no harm (except for an occasional broken branch when the plant gets too heavy). What most people have never seen are its tiny spring flowers -three green petals no bigger than an eyelash.
Who-ville may be closer than you think.
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