While hiking in a wooded lot across the street from my house, I noticed tiny orange globs on some on the logs on the forest floor. The fruiting bodies of this organism are small in width and height – about 1/3 -5/8 of an inch.

This slime mold resembles a tiny orangish-pink puffball. Before it is fully mature, you can pop it and a pinkish-orange substance, with the texture of toothpaste, will ooze out. As the fruiting bodies age, they turn brown or purple. Found after rains on well-rotted logs throughout North America, Wolf’s-Milk Slime is probably our continent’s most frequently noticed slime mold. This species feeds on bacteria, yeasts, and fungi that colonize decaying materials such as rotting wood.

Like fungi, slime molds are interesting and strange – and well worth learning about. Slime molds are so weirdly beautiful that they have even inspired science fiction movies (such as “The Blob” in 1958). They are also studied for their unusual cellular characteristics.

Wolf’s Milk Slime Mold is a plasmodial slime mold, a group of slime molds that live part of their lives as a large single cell (from tiny to over 12 inches) containing many nuclei called a plasmodium. The plasmodium spends its time moving through the soil, under logs and over dead leaves and grass feeding on bacteria.

Thought it may seem like one, this species isn’t actually a mushroom or fungus. Slime molds, or myxomycetes are a group of fungus-like organisms that at one time were regarded as animals, then thought to be plants, and then fungi. Now, because of DNA studies, slime molds are believed to be most closely related to protozoa.

Slime molds are colorful, fanciful creatures. Blackberry, Toothpaste, Many-goblet, Chocolate Tube and Scrambled Egg Slime all have interesting stories to go along with their names. Wolf’s Milk Slime, for example, is so named because when the non-moving, reproductive structure is young, the pinkish, milky substance it secretes evidently reminded someone of wolf’s milk.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

While hiking through a damp, dark forest in Maryland, I noticed some bright coloration on a log. Also known as Scrambled Egg Slime, because of its peculiar yellow appearance, it often appears suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere.

This is common species with a worldwide distribution. In non-natural areas, it is often found on bark mulch or in lawns after heavy rain or excessive watering. Slime molds are most often found in moist, shady areas with abundant organic matter, such as dead leaves and wood.

Though it is often referred to as a fungus, slime molds are now thought to be a different type of primitive organism and more closely related to amoebas and certain seaweeds than fungi. They derive nourishment from decaying organic materials, and will not attack living plants.

The ecological role in nature of slime mold is to break down dead materials to recycle the nutrients for other species to utilize. Although some people may be alarmed, grossed out, or frightened by it, this slime mold is harmless to plants, pets and humans.

Yellow Dog Vomit Slime Mold is without a doubt is one of nature’s interesting oddities.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail