Polychaete worms make up one of the largest classes of marine invertebrates with well over 300 species found along the Atlantic shore. The polychaete clam worm species Nereis virens, also known by the scientific name Alitta virens, has 4 to 5 pairs of tentacular cirri (the antenna-like appendages on its head), 1 pair of short blunt palps (sensory appendages near the mouth) and four eyes. It also has two pincer like jaws that are capable of delivering a painful bite…
Although I had no intention to look for fungi while I was out on my walk this morning (I was hoping to find some early wildflowers blooming), when you come across something this bizarre looking, you have to stop and investigate further. A fairly atypical look for fungi, these mushrooms had pale yellow hollow bulbs perched atop a thick branchy stalk. Most of the “bulbs” were already split open, but the few that weren’t had the appearance of a baby…
The diminutive flowers produced by many tree and shrub species in the spring are often overlooked relative to the showiness of flowering plants like trailing arbutus, purple deadnettle, and pink lady slippers, but the delicate details are worth taking a moment to slow down and notice. The female flowers of beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), for instance, are little more than a cluster of fine red “hairs”, which are actually the flower’s pistils. Beaked hazelnuts are native to most of North…