Someone emerged from hibernation too early! The deceptively mild weather earlier this week obviously tempted this little frond out from its winter sleep.
They don’t do so well in the snow, however- the usually shy insectivore was surprisingly eager to come inside to harass our spider population.
Name: Fungal Glum
Class: Neutral
Designation: Fauna
Description: A brown, hairy body with two large feet and large yellow eyes. Algae, fungi and moss grow in its fur, most distinctively the top of its head.
Notes: At first you might mistake it for a tuft of dead grass or a root-ball, but then you see its face, its eyes, its large feet…
The fungal glum gets its eponymous fungus by not moving very much. Once it finds a good spot in its preferred damp habitat- marsh, swamp, or dense woodland- there it stays.
It is a symbiotic relationship: the glum and the fungus provide each other with protection from their respective predators. Foxes, badgers and others that would eat the glum are put off by the poisonous toadstools and algae; and insects attracted to the fungus are eaten by the glum, which also provides a perfect growing environment.
Entry Compiled by: Thursday Madaki
Name: Roaming Flytrap Nomas Muscipula
Class: Neutral
Designation: Flora
Description: Similar in appearance to Dionaea Muscipula (Venus Flytrap), the roaming flytrap has four to seven stems from a central shoot. Each stem has two to three fleshy leaves, and end with the distinctive hinged lobes that it uses to catch and digest insects.
Nomas also has four bulbs underneath that it uses as appendages to move itself to new places. It is from these bulbs that roots emerge to supply water and nutrients to the plant.
More pictures below!
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