Lethal Prejudice (today’s two-worder grab) sounds like the title of a terrible Jean Claude van Damme action movie. It’s not. But it is a shape poem (or indeed, an anti-shape poem) about the world’s most lethal mushroom. A relatively easy choice when Anzac/war etc + mushrooms turned up very few hits.

The Poetic Factoid poem was one of the very few minor fun facts I discovered & even so, is barely more than prose broken into couplets (not my finest work) but I spent waaaaay too long on the proper poem.

[Disclaimer: Another block of catch up poems, all written on the correct day (Saturday) but unable to get online in time.]

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Case Study: Nucula flammagenitus      #7: The Most Lethal Mushroom in the World

[ Click to enlarge image ]

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Day 25 Factoid — WWII Was A Key Factor in Making this Mushroom Popular 

Pleurotus Prejudice 

i.
put-upon, food-scarce, & desperate — the failing third reich was forced
to cultivate what was previously considered a mediocre second choice crop

ii.
the easy ability of oyster mushrooms to thrive on diverse substrates 
(wood & agricultural waste) made them a vital sustainable food source

iii.
following the war they were recognised for their subtle, savoury flavour 
became high culinary artefacts & started sprouting in posh shops everywhere