The Sky Blue Mushroom

It looks like it could be something offered to Alice just before she makes a journey in to Wonderland but this sky blue mushroom is not a product of the imagination of Lewis Caroll. It can be found on both islands of New Zealand – and bizarrely enough in a few places in India. Image Credit Flickr User Ewan-MImage Credit Flickr User Roberta WBThe sky blue mushroom does not have a common name other than, well, sky blue mushroom but if you have a moment for a real tongue twister its scientific name is Entoloma hochstetteri. It gets its very distinctive blue color from pigments within the body of the fruit known as azulene. Azulene is found in nature as a constituent not only of pigments in mushrooms but of some marine invertebrates. Image Credit Flickr User Ewan_MImage Credit Flickr User crispykingThe mushroom appeared briefly along with five other native fungi on a set of stamps issued by the New Zealand government in 2002 and it can also be seen on the reverse of the country’s $50 note…