In male whitetail deer, antlers begin to grow in late spring, covered with a highly vascular tissue known as velvet, which supplies the nutrients needed to grow. The antlers harden in late summer and then shed their velvet once they quit growing. Shedding normally only takes a day or two, often facilitated by rubbing their antlers against trees, and it is not painful. Some deer have been observed eating their own antler velvet, likely as a way to preserve the nutrients.
Scientifically known as hydnellum peckii, the bleeding tooth fungus’s moist fruit bodies can “bleed” a bright red fluid that contains a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. The underside of the cap has tooth-like spines. Native to Europe and North America’s Pacific Northwest, the bleeding tooth fungus mainly resides among moss and pine needle litter in coniferous forests. The bleeding tooth fungus is a mycorrhiza fungus, engaging in a symbiotic association with the roots of a vascular plant.The fungus receives fixed carbon from the host and, in return, improves the host plant’s mineral absorption. Despite its appearance, it is not poisonous. (x)
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