Years back, hermaphrodite animals looked like a few outcasts on the list of animals but today we have discovered a whole lot of them and we keep finding a lot more. We have learned that these species have a purpose for being hermaphrodites and they have either an advantage or reason for being one. About 1/3 of the non-insect animal species are hermaphrodites. Still, you or I do not see them often because the animals we are familiar with, like birds, dogs, and other mammals, aren't hermaphrodites.

What is the largest tree you have ever seen. Is it the iroko, baobab, sycamore, mahogany, or the teak tree? If you believe any of these trees are large, you are right because truly they are large but have you heard about the giant sequoias? In case you haven’t heard about this giant tree that has lived on our planet for longest of time, allow me to discuss the Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum).

Did you know that slime molds aren’t animals, plants, fungi, or even molds even when it is called a mold? This organism is in a category of its own as it is an amoeba that lives in the soil. Organisms that we refer to as amoebas are single celled organisms with the ability to crawl and different amoebas are not related. One thing amoebas have in common which slime mold also have is a cell wall and a nucleus since they are single celled organisms.

I saw a documentary on a fungus-looking plant with no leaves or root and it was said not to pop out to the surface regularly and when it does, its flower has a lot of weird characteristics including having a rotten meat smell. Its name is Hydnora and I will be discussing it here today.

Have you heard of the bleeding tooth fungus which actually takes its name during a phase by bleeding around its body. It is known to grow in old-grown forest and mountain areas in regions of Eurasia and North America. The mushroom is also called Devil's tooth but has the scientific name Hydnellum Peckii and it is a part of the Bankeraceae family which is a family of fungi with about 6 genera and over 100 species.

Mating can be funny, weird, gross, and beautiful in animals as different animals have different ways to mate for the purpose of procreation. Animals find mates they like, make those mates like them back before they can mate. Mating processes can be very different in different organisms and it started over a billion year ago. How and when is very vague but one hypothesis is clear which is it must have started from single-celled organism.