Is the dog poop bush a real thing?

Nature Talk
1

Uh I came a cross a plant named dog poop push while trying to see if there a poop area for scat.
I thought it was a joke but is this a real plant?

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/469114-Ebenopsis-confinis

https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/2128586

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Correct. It is a real thing.

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I thought it was something someone made up because the name was so funny…

4

Yep, this is a real plant. And so is the dog poop tree frog (although this goes by a different name on iNat) as well as a dog vomit slime mold. I am sure there are more odd names, but so far I have only come across these. If you are wondering about IDing animal droppings, check out this project:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/scatology

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Thanks on that. Also I see that your user is the gecko girl, does that mean you know / like geckos?

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Yes. I have 4 leopard geckos, 1 day gecko, and I raise Tropical House Geckos. I used to only ID geckos on iNat but have since then expanded my range to a point where I stopped IDing geckos at all. Currently trying to get back into IDing more than just FL’s house geckos again. :)

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Thats so awesome I love leopard geckos I want one as a pet.

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It’s dog vomit slime mold, which is a multicellular amoebozoa, not a fungus

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Sorry, I know nothing about that stuff. I will change it.

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:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Too funny!

11

You should check out some slime mold time lapse videos. They move very slowly. Here’s one of the dog vomit slime mold: https://youtu.be/f49T7F8cW_s

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Amazing!!

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Sometimes you just gotta say things for what they are.

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Nice!

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Every scientific English source I could find gave it’s common name as palo fierro, which I think is Spanish for iron tree. Googling “dog poop bush” only got two hits other than iNat. On the taxonomy page, it gives the Spanish name as Ébano peninsular, which translates to peninsular ebony. The iNat observation map looks like the tree is endemic to lower Baja California. In English it is pretty common to use the Spanish or indigenous name for Mexican natives (yucca, cocoa, agave, manzanita, Palo Verde, etc.) I wonder how many people actually call it dog poop bush.

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Well, I was first introduced to guacimo as part of a college course in tropical biology. One of my classmates coined the name “granola tree,” and that’s what it has been to me ever since. So the dog poop bush may be a similar case, i.e. someone calling it what it reminded them of, and a few people they know adopting the name, too.

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