Better Read 020: Psathyrella Hydrophila Specimen, New York Botanical Garden

Pierre Bulliard, Herbier de la France, 1791, plate 511, nybg via biodiversity heritage library

This edition of Better Read comprises a found text, the documentation of a fungi specimen submitted to the New York Botanical Society. That documentation in turn comprises several elements: an archivist’s gnomon, a page removed from a mycology guidebook; item labels, notes, and a submission form with NYBG letterhead. They are read from the top of the digitized scan of the specimen record to the bottom.

One thing I noticed, besides the rather remarkable combination of words, and their genesis: after 20 recordings, I only just noticed that Alex, the computer-generated voice, inhales before he starts speaking. Now it kind of freaks me out.

Specimen Detail: Psathyrella hydrophila (Bull.:Fr.) Maire [nybg via]
Download Better Read #020: Psathyrella Hydrophila Specimen, New York Botanical Garden [greg.org, mp3, 5:19, 2.6mb]