-
Life Around Us: The Cabbage White Butterfly
The cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) is an insect belonging to the white butterfly family (Pieridae) within the order Lepidoptera, featuring a medium-sized wingspan of 45 to 60 mm. Female wings are a bright milky white tinged with yellow. The fore-margins of the wings are dark gray, typically
InsectsGeol Yu07-20 16:28 -
Medicinal Mushroom Stories : Hoof Fungus
Hoof fungus (Fomes fomentarius), also known by the English common names true tinder polypore, surgeon's fungus, or amadou, derives its scientific and common designations from historical utility. The terms fomes and foment both signify "tinder." The common name amadou originates from a northern Frenc
MushroomsJongsoo Choi07-20 16:12 -
Asian Celandine
Asian celandine (Chelidonium majus var. asiaticum) is a winter annual belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). It grows commonly at the foot of low mountains, valleys, riverbanks, and in slightly shaded, damp spaces like the base of walls, roadsides, orchards, and the edges of cultivated land.
Wild herbsGeol Yu07-20 14:33 -
Life Around Us: Indian Wax Scale
The Indian wax scale (Ceroplastes ceriferus) is a highly polyphagous pest that feeds on a wide range of hosts, damaging over 60 species of fruit trees and landscaping plants. Its targets include citrus fruits (Citrus spp.), Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), tea plant (Camellia sinensis), persim
InsectsGeol Yu07-06 12:04 -
Catchweed Bedstraw
Catchweed bedstraw (Galium spurium var. echinospermon) is an annual plant belonging to the madder family (Rubiaceae). It commonly grows in agricultural fields, orchards, vacant lots, roadsides, and forest edges. In the southern regions of Korea, it occasionally germinates in autumn and overwinter, b
Wild herbsGeol Yu07-06 11:54 -
Medicinal Mushroom Stories: Enoki Mushroom (=Velvet Foot)
The enoki mushroom (Flammulina velutipes), widely known by its English common names velvet foot or velvet stem, earns its other nickname, the winter mushroom, due to its remarkable ability to fruit during the chilly onset of winter. The genus name Flammulina is derived from the Latin flammeus, meani
MushroomsJongsoo Choi07-06 11:47 -
Life Around Us: Squash Bug (Pumpkin Bug)
The squash bug (Acanthocoris sordidus) is an insect of the leaf-footed bug family (Coreidae) in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). It mainly occurs on nightshade-family (Solanaceae) crops—chili pepper, Chinese lantern (kkwari), tomato, paprika, bell pepper, goji berry, and potato—and on morning-glory-
InsectsGeol Yu06-29 10:07 -
Annual Bluegrass
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is a winter annual in the grass family (Poaceae) and a common weed that grows nationwide, in both urban and rural settings. It is famous as a worldwide weed, found not only in Korea but across the entire globe. It springs up on vacant lots, in fields and rice paddies, in
Wild herbsGeol Yu06-29 10:00 -
Medicinal Mushroom Stories : Beefsteak Fungus
Fistulina hepatica (Schaeff.) With. The English common names are many and varied: beefsteak fungus, poor man's beefsteak, the jelly fungus, beefsteak polypore, and ox-tongue, among others.The genus name Fistulina means "hollow, shaped like a pipe," while the species name hepatica was given because t
MushroomsJongsoo Choi06-29 09:48 -
Decumbent Bugle
Decumbent bugle (Ajuga decumbens) is a perennial herb belonging to the mint family (Lamiaceae). It thrives along roadsides, fields, rice paddy ridges, orchards, lawns, gravesites, forest roads, and mountain foothills in the southern regions. Like a winter annual weed, its basal leaves typically spre
Wild herbsGeol Yu06-15 10:43 -
Life Around Us: Oriental tussock moth
The swan moth (Euproctis subflava) is an insect belonging to the family Erebidae (tussock moths), characterized by its small body covered entirely in vibrant yellow hairs. Adults emerge from their pupae between June and August. Because they are highly attracted to artificial lights, they frequently
InsectsGeol Yu05-28 13:17 -
Spiny Sowthistle
The spiny sowthistle (Sonchus asper) is a winter annual weed commonly found growing along roadsides, vacant lots, field margins, and orchards. While it typically germinates in autumn and overwinters as a rosette cushion flat against the ground, it can also germinate in late spring, continuing to blo
Wild herbsGeol Yu05-28 13:04 -
Medicinal Mushroom Stories (11): Shaggy Mane Mushroom
The scientific name for the Shaggy Mane mushroom is Coprinus comatus. The genus name, Coprinus, is derived from the Greek word kopros, meaning "dung," particularly from large animals. The species name, comatus, comes from the Latin word coma, meaning "shaggy hair" or "adorned with hair tufts."In Eng
MushroomsJongsoo Choi05-21 14:14 -
Shepherd’s Purse
Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) is a winter annual of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family, cherished as one of the oldest and most representative namul (Korean edible wild greens). It commonly grows in agricultural lands such as fields, field margins, rice paddy banks, and orchards, as well
Wild herbsGeol Yu05-20 15:30 -
Life Around Us: Mustard Sawfly
The mustard sawfly (Athalia proxima) is a small sawfly species measuring about 5 to 7.5 mm in body length. Its head, antennae, tibiae, and tarsi are black; its thorax, notum, and femora are orange; and its abdomen is yellow. The forewings are an opaque gray, appearing black when folded over each oth
InsectsGeol Yu05-18 11:39 -
Medicinal Mushroom Stories : Puffballs
Common puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum Pers.)Pear-shaped puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme Schaeff.)Skull-shaped puffball (Calvatia craniformis (Schw.) Fr.)Purple-spored puffball (Calvatia cyathiformis (Bosc.) Morg.)Giant puffball (Calvatia gigantea (Bat.: Pers.) Llyod)As seen in the list above, there ar
MushroomsJongsoo Choi05-11 09:13 -
White Goosefoot
White goosefoot (Chenopodium album) is a summer annual weed commonly found growing in sunny, slightly dry areas such as roadsides, vacant lots, the edges of abandoned fields, and open plains. It prefers fertile soil and can grow up to 2 meters tall in nitrogen-rich environments. However, it is highl
Wild herbsGeol Yu05-08 12:14 -
Life Around Us: Cattle Egret
In the past, during the rice-planting season, flocks of the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) would competitively follow behind tractors plowing the fields, snatching up unearthed insects, frogs, and loaches. However, their population has noticeably declined in recent years, making such scenes a rare sig
ColumnsGeol Yu05-08 12:06 -
Medicinal Mushroom Stories : Chanterelle
There are several mushrooms belonging to the chanterelle genus. Besides the representative chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius), there is the small chanterelle (Cantharellus minor), the cinnabar-red chanterelle (Cantharellus cinnabarinus), and mushrooms whose genus was changed to the horn of plenty g
MushroomsJongsoo Choi04-20 10:15 -
Hairy Beggarticks
Hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilosa) is a naturalized annual plant native to South America. Since it was first discovered in Ulsan, South Korea, it has spread nationwide and now grows in various locations, including roadsides, fields, orchards, vacant lots, and mountain foothills (Yoo, 2020). Armed wit
Wild herbsGeol Yu04-20 09:38
