fairyhouse-Magpie Inkcap

Coprinopsis picacea is a species of fungus in the Psathyrellaceae. It was first described in 1785 by French mycologist Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard in 1785 as Agaricus picaceus.
When fresh, their glistening caps are cylindrical and covered in tattered veil remnants.

As the gills liquify, the cap shrinks and flattens. Its brim rolls up and drips an inky substance. This allows all the spores to get their turn at maximum exposure, so they can be carried away by air currents.

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fairyhouse - fly agaric mushroom

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly Amanita , is a poisonous and psychoactive basidiomycete fungus, one of many in the genus Amanita. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Amanita muscaria has been unintentionally introduced to many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, generally as a symbiont with pine plantations, and is now a true cosmopolitan species. It associates with various deciduous and coniferous trees. The quintessential toadstool, it is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, usually deep red mushroom, one of the most recognizable and widely encountered in popular culture.
Although generally considered poisonous, deaths are extremely rare, and it has been consumed as a food in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America after parboiling in water. Amanita muscaria is now primarily famed for its hallucinogenic properties, with its main psychoactive constituent being the compound muscimol. It was used as an intoxicant and entheogen by the peoples of Siberia and has a religious significance in these cultures. There has been much speculation on traditional use of this mushroom as an intoxicant in places other than Siberia; however, such traditions are far less well-documented.

A single source for the notion that Vikings used A. muscaria to produce their berserker rages was first suggested by the Swedish professor Samuel Ödman in 1784. Ödman based his theories on reports about the use of fly agaric among Siberian shamans. The notion has become widespread since the 19th century, but no contemporary sources mention this use or anything similar in their description of berserkers. Today, it is generally considered an urban legend or at best speculation that cannot be proven. Muscimol is generally a mild relaxant, but could create a range of reactions within a range of people. It is possible that it could make a person incredibly angry, as well as make them "very jolly or sad, jump about, dance, sing or give way to great fright".

The red-and-white spotted toadstool is a common image in many aspects of popular culture, especially in children's books, film, garden ornaments, greeting cards, and more recently computer games. Garden ornaments, and children's picture books depicting gnomes and fairies, such as the Smurfs, very often show fly agarics used as seats, or homes. Fly agarics have been featured in paintings since the Renaissance, albeit in a subtle manner. In the Victorian era they became more visible, even becoming the main topic of some fairy paintings.

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nymphaea

Nymphaea  is a genus of aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. There are about 50 species in the genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution.

The common name, shared with some other genera in the same family, is Water Lily.
The name Nymphaea comes from the Greek term "Νυμφαία", possibly related to "Νύμφη" meaning "nymph". The nymphs in Greek mythology were supernatural feminine beings associated with springs, so the application of the name to delicately flowered aquatic plants is understandable.

Despite their name, water-lilies are not related to the true lilies (family Liliaceae). The name "lily" is applied to a number of plants that are not at all closely related, such as day lilies, spider lilies and arum lilies, in addition to the water lilies. Nymphaea (Egyptian lotuses) are also not related to the Chinese and Indian lotus of genus Nelumbo, which are used in Asian cooking and sacred to Hinduism and Buddhism.
However, the genus Nymphaea is closely related to Nuphar, another genus commonly called "lotus". In Nymphaea, the flower petals are much larger than the sepals, whereas in Nuphar the petals are much smaller than its sepals. The fruit maturation also differs, with Nymphaea fruit sinking below the water level immediately after the flower closes, whereas Nuphar fruit are held above water level to maturity. Both genera share leaves with a radial notch from the circumference to the petiole (leaf stem) in the center.

A water lily is also known as a lotus. Depictions of the lotus can be traced back to the tombs of ancient Egypt. The water lily is an important symbol in many religions including Buddhism and Hinduism.

The water lily symbolized Upper Egypt and was used, along with the papyrus flower, symbol of Lower Egypt, to depict a united country. The blue water lily was sacred to the Egyptians to whom it represented the sun and rebirth.

Water lilies are an important religious symbol in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. They symbolize resurrection in both spiritual arenas because many of the lilies close their flowers at night and reopen in the morning at first sunlight. Buddhists regard the water lily as a symbol of enlightenment because of the beautiful bloom that emerges from the mud. They also consider the water lily a symbol of purity, spontaneous generation and divine birth.

There are more than 70 species of plants in the Nympheaceae family, including the water lily. The three types of water lily are the night, tropical and hardy.

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bleeding hearts

Lamprocapnos spectabilis (commonly called  bleeding-heart, Venus's car, Lady in a bath, Dutchman's trousers, or Lyre-flower) is a rhizomatous perennial plant native to eastern Asia from Siberia south to Japan.

Compound leaves with leaflets in threes grow on fleshy green to pink stems up to 0.9 m (3 feet).
Flowers are heart-shaped and 3–5 cm (1–2 inches) long, with pink outer petals and white inner petals, hanging in a horizontal raceme. They bloom from late spring to early summer.
Seeds with whitish elaiosomes are borne in long pods.
The plant often goes dormant in summer after blooming.

It is a popular ornamental plant for flower gardens in temperate climates, and is also used in floristry as a cut flower. In a moist and cool climate, it will grow in full sun, but in warmer and drier climates it requires some shade.
Aphids, slugs and snails sometimes feed on the leaves.
Seeds must be sown while fresh. Division should be done in the late fall or early spring.

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