OT: ?? for all you science guys...warning = not too pleasant

[Phyto]

Titanfan: I think the only reason we call them mushroom corals, is because they look like mushrooms. Just like the open brain coral. Interestingly, there are a group of terrestrial fungi know as Coral mushrooms. They simply look like corals.
We find easy to remember terms that make sense to us. It has worked well as we all know what mushroom corals are. And anyone who has LPS knows what a brain coral is.
Mushroom corals are in the Phylum Cnidaria, the same as jellyfish and anemones. To my knowledge, they mostly reproduce asexually, by budding, or lateral fission. This is what you see in your tank at home. Just picture your mushrooms as anemones with no tentacles.
Terrestrial fungi are made of 100% mycelium minus the reproductive cells and spores in the gills. The mushroom is mainly for spore dispersal.
A mushroom coral has symbiotic algae, a digestive system, nematocysts (ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œstingersââ"šÂ¬Ã‚) and other organs.
They each have similar functions and appearances, but live in two different worlds. As with all things in nature, they are needed to complete essential cycles. In my mind, they are two totally different organisms that can look similar morphologically. I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t believe they share any ancestral traits through micro evolution.
Thanks for your interest, always glad to help.

By the way, if anyone in the Jackson or Nashville area has any frags to get rid of, PM me. I will be visiting family and friends (Nashville) this weekend and will be leaving on Sunday. I would be available to pick them up about mid day.

Thanks again, Dan

 

[gflat65]

ON the comparison note, if you look through a good number of the things we keep in our tanks and then look at terestrial flora, there are a god many similarities. It always intrigues me how similar the environments supported by different fluid mediums can be (air and water).

 

[Phyto]

That is very true. In fact, I consider corals to be the "Flowers of the Sea." I always thought that would be a neat name for an online coral vendor, Flowers of the Sea.
Life underwater, and above, have striking similarities in many ways. Yet in so many ways they are opposites. They interact with each other on so many levels it is mind boggling.
Finally, humans (the general public) are being made to understand the direct impact they have on the earth. Many cultures have known and respected this for centuries.
Our "quest for convenienceââ"šÂ¬Ã‚, as I call it, is leaving our earth in a sad state. I wish we could all stop, once a day, and look at the marvelous complexity of our earth.

gflat65: Do you ever breed or flask orchids?

 

[danieljames]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7298241#post7298241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gflat65
I'm sticking with Daniel's purple rimmed (around the stalk) mushrooms. I wondered if anyone else got it (or if I read more into it than was intended).

They didn't fess up if they did bro...lol

 

[gflat65]

Phyto,

I've tried pollinating, but haven't been successful. I haven't put a whole lot into it because I know that if I were to get a seed pod, there is a lot of work ahead to try to raise anything and years before it is sizable enough to bloom, etc. one of these days, I may put a little more into it to see if I can 'create life'. I'm loosing alot of my Phala's to mealy bugs. Got any easy treatments? I've used rubbing alcohol in spray bottles to try to battle them (then rinsing with water a few minutes afterward), but they keep a straight path to destruction. I don't spend as much time with them as I used to, either...

Daniel,

I was thinking the same. Must be a bunch of innocence on this board.

 

[Phyto]

gflat; try neem oil for the mealies. 91% rubbing alch will help for what you can see. keep them outside where lady bugs and other predators will help. i use neem oil religiously, even on baby orchids straight from the flask. it is a 100% organic fungicide and insecticide. neem oil is not a contact killer. it disrupts the breeding, basically it makes them sterile. with a good spray, once a week for 3-4 weeks you should solve the problem.
your problem with the germination is most likly due to the huge number of sterile hybrids that most gardeners buy. if you can talk to a grower/supplier they will be able to give you orchids that will sucessfully polinate. it is as easy as trading pollen from each plant. flasking is not as hard as you might think either. i would gladly flask any of your geen pods for free, as long as i got the pod green

no innocence here, i am guilty i say!

 

[gflat65]

Thanks Phyto. I'll hunt some down. I was battling them last summer and they got worse over the winter. I don't have a place I can keep them outside without burning them. I usually take them out in the late afternoon and bring them in just before noon (when the sun starts peeking over the back side of the house). I want a greenhouse... Maybe next house.