"Geastrum triplex Geastrum triplex is an inedible fungus which is found in the detritus and leaf litter of hardwood forests in many parts of the world. It is commonly known as the collared earthstar, the saucered earthstar, or the triple earthstar—and less commonly by the alternative species name ""Geastrum indicum"". It is the largest member of the genus ""Geastrum"" (or earthstar fungi) and expanded mature specimens can reach a tip-to-tip length of up to . Immature fruit bodies are spherical—somewhat resembling puffballs with pointed beaks—and are partially or completely buried in the ground. As the fungus matures, the outer layer"
"Geastrum Geastrum (orthographical variant Geaster) is a genus of mushroom in the family Geastraceae. Many species are known commonly as earthstars. The name comes from ""geo"" meaning ""earth"" and ""aster"" meaning ""star"". The name refers to the behavior of the outer peridium. At maturity, the outer layer of the fruiting body splits into segments which turn outward creating a star-like pattern on the ground. The inner peridium is a spore sack. In some species, the outer peridium splits from a middle layer, causing the spore sack to arch off the ground. If the outer peridium opens when wet and closes"
"Geastrum quadrifidum Geastrum quadrifidum, commonly known as the rayed earthstar or four-footed earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"", or earthstar fungi. First described scientifically by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1794, ""G. quadrifidum"" is a cosmopolitan—but not common—species of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The fungus is a saprobe, feeding off decomposing organic matter present in the soil and litter of coniferous forests. The small, tough, fruit bodies are grayish-brown balls that are initially enclosed by a skin, or peridium, made up of four distinct layers of tissue. The outer tissue layer splits"
"liver-damaging chemical carbon tetrachloride. This earthstar has been used in traditional Chinese medicine as a hemostatic agent; the spore dust is applied externally to stop wound bleeding and reduce chilblains. Two Indian forest tribes, the Baiga and the Bharia of Madhya Pradesh, have been reported to use the fruit bodies medicinally. The spore mass is blended with mustard seed oil, and used as a salve against burns. The Blackfoot of North America called the fungus ""fallen stars"", considering them to be stars fallen to the earth during supernatural events. Astraeus hygrometricus Astraeus hygrometricus, commonly known as the hygroscopic earthstar, the"
"Geastrales Geastrales is an order of gasterocarpic basidiomycetes (fungi) that are related to Cantharellales. The order contains the single family Geastraceae, commonly known as ""earthstars"", which older classifications had placed in Lycoperdales, or Phallales. Approximately 64 species are classified in this family, divided among eight genera, including the ""Geastrum"", ""Myriostoma"" and ""Sphaerobolus"". The ""Sphaerobolus"" are known as ""shotgun fungus"" or ""cannonball fungus"". They colonize wood-based mulches and may throw black, sticky, spore-containing globs onto nearby surfaces. The fruiting bodies of several earthstars are hygroscopic: in dry weather the ""petals"" will dry and curl up around the soft spore sac, protecting"
"Geastrum fimbriatum Geastrum fimbriatum, commonly known as the fringed earthstar or the sessile earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"", or earthstar fungi. First described in 1829, the species has a widespread distribution, and is found in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. It is distinguished from other earthstars by the delicate fibers that line the circular pore at the top of its spore sac. Elias Magnus Fries described ""Geastrum fimbriatum"" (as ""Geaster fimbriatus"") in his 1829 ""Systema mycologicum"". It is commonly known as the fringed earthstar or the sessile earthstar. The specific epithet ""fimbriatum"" means"
"Astraeus hygrometricus Astraeus hygrometricus, commonly known as the hygroscopic earthstar, the barometer earthstar, or the false earthstar, is a species of fungus in the family Diplocystaceae. Young specimens resemble a puffball when unopened. In maturity, the mushroom displays the characteristic earthstar shape that is a result of the outer layer of fruit body tissue splitting open in a star-like manner. The false earthstar is an ectomycorrhizal species that grows in association with various trees, especially in sandy soils. ""A. hygrometricus"" has a cosmopolitan distribution, and is common in temperate and tropical regions. Its common names refer to the fact that"
"Geastrum fornicatum Geastrum fornicatum, commonly known as the acrobatic earthstar or the arched earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom in the family Geastraceae. Like other earthstar mushrooms, the thick outer skin splits open at maturity to expose the spore sac to the elements; the specific epithet ""fornicatum"" (Latin for 'arched' or 'vaulted') refers to the arched shape of the rays which extend downwards to rest on the mycelial sac and elevate the spore sac. When first described in the late 17th century, the species was called ""Fungus anthropomorphus"" due to its resemblance to the human figure. In his 1799"
"firm—but adds that they are rarely found in this form. Earthstars were used medicinally by Native American Indians. The Blackfoot called them ""ka-ka-toos"", meaning ""fallen stars"", and according to legend, they were an indication of supernatural events. The Cherokee put fruit bodies on the navels of babies after childbirth until the withered umbilical cord fell off, ""both as a prophylactic and a therapeutic measure"". In traditional Chinese medicine, ""G. triplex"" is used to reduce inflammation in the respiratory tract, and to staunch bleeding and reduce swelling. The fruit bodies of ""Geastrum triplex"" have been chemically analyzed and shown to contain"
"Geastrum minimum Geastrum minimum or tiny earthstar is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"". Although rare, it is widespread in Europe, where it occurs in a range of habitats. It is a priority species in the UK, where it has been found in the sand dunes at Holkham National Nature Reserve. The species was first described by Lewis David de Schweinitz in 1822. Fruit bodies are initially roughly spherical before the outer peridium splits to form a star with 6–11 ""rays"". When opened, the diameter of the fruit body is . The inner spore sac is"
"when dry, it is described as hygroscopic. In some species, the inner peridium is borne on a stalk or pedicel. The columella is a column-like clump of sterile tissue to be found inside the inner peridium. The network of fertile tissue inside the inner peridium, the capillitium, arises from the columella. The mouth in most species of ""earth-stars"" is quite prominent, often arising as a small cone at the apex of the inner peridium. It may be even or sulcate (grooved). They are generally not toxic but considered non-edible due to their fibrous texture in the mature stage at which"
"Geastrum saccatum Geastrum saccatum, commonly known as the rounded earthstar, is a species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"". It has a worldwide distribution and is found growing on rotting wood. It is considered inedible by mushroomers because of its bitter taste. It is a common mushroom, but collections are at their peak during late summer. The opening of the outer layer of the fruiting body in the characteristic star shape is thought to be due to a buildup of calcium oxalate crystals immediately prior to dehiscence. ""G. saccatum"" is distinguished from other earthstars by the distinct circular ridge"
"WeatherStar WeatherStar (sometimes rendered Weather Star or WeatherSTAR; ""STAR"" being an acronym for ""S""atellite ""T""ransponder ""A""ddressable ""R""eceiver) refers to the technology used by American cable and satellite television network The Weather Channel (TWC) to generate its local forecast segments (currently known under the brand ""Local on the 8s"") on cable and IPTV systems nationwide. The hardware takes the form of a computerized unit installed at a cable system's headend. It receives, generates, and inserts local forecast and other weather information, including weather advisories and warnings, into TWC's national programming. The primary purpose of WeatherStar units is to disseminate weather information"
"Montenegro, Denmark, Norway, and Poland. Like most earthstars, ""G. quadrifidum"" is a saprobic fungus, and spends most of its life cycle as thin strands of mycelium, deriving nutrients by decomposing leaf litter and similar detritus, converting it to humus and mineralizing organic matter in the soil. The fungal fruit bodies are generally found in coniferous woodland, where they appear in summer and autumn. In Mexico, it was found in tropical thorn forest and pine-oak forest in the summer. In Britain, all collections have been made in beech forest on calcareous soil. Geastrum quadrifidum Geastrum quadrifidum, commonly known as the rayed"
"collecting algae and dead animals from the ocean floor. Bat star The bat star (""Patiria miniata""), also known as a sea bat, webbed star, and broad-disk star, is a species of sea star (also called a starfish) in the family Asterinidae. It typically has five arms, with the center disk of the animal being much wider than the stubby arms are in length. Although the bat star usually has five arms, it sometimes has as many as nine. Bat stars occur in many of colors, including green, purple, red, orange, yellow and brown, either mottled or solid. The bat star"
"material. Myriostoma Myriostoma is a fungal genus in the family Geastraceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species Myriostoma coliforme. It is an earthstar, so named because the spore-bearing sac's outer wall splits open into the shape of a star. The inedible fungus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and has been found in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe, where it grows in humus-rich forests or in woodlands, especially on well-drained and sandy soils. A somewhat rare fungus, it appears on the Red Lists of 12 European countries, and in 2004 it was one of 33 species proposed"
"Star A star is type of astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, the brightest of which gained proper names. Astronomers have assembled star catalogues that identify the known stars and provide standardized stellar designations. However, most of the stars in"
"Astrosarkus Astrosarkus idipi is a species of sea stars in the family Oreasteridae. It is the sole species in the genus Astrosarkus. It is sometimes referred to as a ""Pumpkin sea star"". It is a big sea star with a subpentagonal and very plump body. It is quite recognizable because of its bright orange color, and globally displays the color, texture and size of a pumpkin. It is thus a very big star, measuring approximately 30 cm in diameter for 10 cm high. The lower face is white dirtied with orange, and crossed by 5 ambulacral grooves. Inside the body,"
"spherical or egg-shaped, and measures . The more-or-less round spores measure 5–5.5–4–4.5 μm and have warts on their surface. Geastrum minimum Geastrum minimum or tiny earthstar is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"". Although rare, it is widespread in Europe, where it occurs in a range of habitats. It is a priority species in the UK, where it has been found in the sand dunes at Holkham National Nature Reserve. The species was first described by Lewis David de Schweinitz in 1822. Fruit bodies are initially roughly spherical before the outer peridium splits to form a"
"Myriostoma Myriostoma is a fungal genus in the family Geastraceae. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species Myriostoma coliforme. It is an earthstar, so named because the spore-bearing sac's outer wall splits open into the shape of a star. The inedible fungus has a cosmopolitan distribution, and has been found in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe, where it grows in humus-rich forests or in woodlands, especially on well-drained and sandy soils. A somewhat rare fungus, it appears on the Red Lists of 12 European countries, and in 2004 it was one of 33 species proposed for"
"a means of defence. The Asteroidea occupy several significant ecological roles. Starfish, such as the ochre sea star (""Pisaster ochraceus"") and the reef sea star (""Stichaster australis""), have become widely known as examples of the keystone species concept in ecology. The tropical crown-of-thorns starfish (""Acanthaster planci"") is a voracious predator of coral throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and the northern Pacific sea star is considered to be one of the world's 100 worst invasive species. The fossil record for starfish is ancient, dating back to the Ordovician around 450 million years ago, but it is rather sparse, as starfish tend to"
"Barnstar A barnstar (or barn star, primitive star, or Pennsylvania star) is a painted object or image, often in the shape of a five-pointed star but occasionally in a circular ""wagon wheel"" style, used to decorate a barn in some parts of the United States, and many rural homes in Canada. They have no structural purpose but may be considered lucky, akin to a horseshoe mounted over a doorway. They are especially common in Pennsylvania and frequently seen in German-American farming communities. Barnstars were meant to represent the mark of the builder but became more frequently used for aesthetic purposes"
"flat bipyramidal shape of the calcium oxalate crystals found on its endoperidium. Geastrum berkeleyi Geastrum berkeleyi, or Berkeley's earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"", or earthstar fungi. Despite being a very uncommon mushroom, it has a wide geographical distribution, having been documented in Northern and Eastern Europe, such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey, and parts of Eastern Asia, such as China and Japan. The species was thought extinct in Poland until it was discovered growing in a reserve near Chęciny."
"Earth."" According to its discoverers, HIP 57050 b provides support for the proposition that planet-bearing M-class stars tend to be metal-rich, a correlation already observed in F, G and K-class stars. At the expected planetary effective temperature, the atmosphere may contain water clouds, potentially detectable by the Hubble Space Telescope if it could capture a planetary transit. The planet's discoverers speculated about the possibility of a habitable moon: Paul Gilster of the Tau Zero Foundation has commented: Gilster suggested that an Earth-sized moon could exist around the planet if it were captured after forming independently. A second planet was suspected"
"Orthasterias Orthasterias is a genus of sea stars in the family Asteriidae. Orthasterias koehleri, the rainbow star or red-banded sea star, is the only species in the genus. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean. The rainbow star is a large starfish, growing to a diameter of about with an arm length of . It usually has five slender tapering arms and the aboral (upper) surface is pink or red with irregular patches or bands of darker red, orange or grey. The surface is covered with sharp white or mauve spines, each surrounded by a ring of pedicellariae, tiny"
"Asterism (gemology) Asterism (from ""star""), the property of a star stone (asteria), is the phenomenon of gemstones exhibiting a star-like concentration of reflected or refracted light when cut ""en cabochon"" (shaped and polished rather than faceted). The archetypal asteria is the star sapphire, generally corundum with near uniform impurities which is bluish-grey and milky or opalescent, which when lit has a star of six rays. In the red instance stellate reflection is rarer; the star-ruby occasionally found with the star-sapphire in Sri Lanka is among the most valued of ""fancy stones"". Other examples are star-topaz and certain prized chatoyant (lit."
"was known that North American and Asian versions of ""A. hygrometricus"" were not always the same; in some cases Asian specimens have been identified as new species, such as ""A. asiaticus"" and ""A. odoratus"". Although ""A. hygrometricus"" bears a superficial resemblance to members of the ""true earthstars"" ""Geastrum"", it may be readily differentiated from most by the hygroscopic nature of its rays. Hygroscopic earthstars include ""G. arenarium"", ""G. corollinum"", ""G. floriforme"", ""G. recolligens"", and ""G. kotlabae"". Unlike ""Geastrum"", the young fruit bodies of ""A. hygrometricus"" do not have a columella (sterile tissue in the gleba, at the base of the"
"its nuclear fuel. As an O-class main sequence star, it would be 8 times the solar radius and 62,000 times the Sun's luminosity. Star A star is type of astronomical object consisting of a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, the brightest of which gained"
"Geastrum berkeleyi Geastrum berkeleyi, or Berkeley's earthstar, is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the genus ""Geastrum"", or earthstar fungi. Despite being a very uncommon mushroom, it has a wide geographical distribution, having been documented in Northern and Eastern Europe, such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey, and parts of Eastern Asia, such as China and Japan. The species was thought extinct in Poland until it was discovered growing in a reserve near Chęciny. ""G. berkeleyi"" can be distinguished from other species of ""Geastrum"" by the"
"Earthling Earthling, a term identifying inhabitants of the planet Earth. Earthlings are the only form of life in the universe whose existence is known. Similar terms are Terran and Gaian. Historically, the term ""earthling"" referred to a mortal inhabitant of the Earth as opposed to spiritual or divine entities. In Early Modern English, the word was used with the intention of contrasting ""earth"" with ""heaven"", and so presenting man as an inhabitant of the sublunary sphere, as opposed to heavenly creatures or deities. The derivation from the noun ""earth"" by means of the suffix ""-ling"" is already seen in Old"
"Geastrum pectinatum Geastrum pectinatum is an inedible species of mushroom belonging to the earthstar family of fungi. Although young specimens are spherical, fruit body development involves the outer layer of tissue splitting open like a star into 7 to 10 pointed rays that eventually bend back to point downward, revealing a small – broad – spore sac. The spore sac is supported by a small radially wrinkled stalk. There is a distinct conical opening (peristome) at the top of the spore sac that is up to long. It is commonly known as the beaked earthstar or the beret earthstar, in"
"Protostar A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. The protostellar phase is the earliest one in the process of stellar evolution. For a one solar-mass star it lasts about 1,000,000 years. The phase begins when a molecular cloud first collapses under the force of self-gravity. It ends when the protostar blows back the infalling gas and is revealed as an optically visible pre-main-sequence star, which later contracts to become a main sequence star. The modern picture of protostars, summarized above, was first suggested by Chushiro Hayashi in 1966. In the"
"dust. This dust is believed to be a significant factor in providing the raw materials for the creation of subsequent generations of stars and their planetary systems. The material surrounding a carbon star may blanket it to the extent that the dust absorbs all visible light. Other types of carbon stars include: Specimens: Carbon star A carbon star is typically an asymptotic giant branch star, a luminous red giant, whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen; the two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes all the oxygen in the atmosphere, leaving carbon"