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Project Noah Nature School
Metatrichia vesparium
Fluffy red, yellow, and orange spore masses with tiny, empty red goblets that were only about 0.5 mm wide. Initially, these goblet clusters would have been black and shiny, but these had already opened leaving just the empty red goblets.
Growing on rotten wood in a deciduous forest.
This is the only North American species of Metatrichia.
Spotted on Nov 19, 2017
Submitted on Nov 20, 2017
8 Comments
Thanks Muckpuk! I too have just started learning about slime molds and think they are so delicate and beautiful! But, so hard to photograph because they are so small, lol! Here’s a link for another cool slime mold that I spotted earlier this week: https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/35...
I LOVE it! Slime moulds is a fairly new discovery for me but I LOVE them. And orange is my favourite colour!
Thank you so much for the nomination!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thank you Leuba! I agree and love finding slime molds! It's hard to find information about them, so thanks for the tidbit about the calcium - interesting!
That's a fantastic spotting Christine. I love the little goblets - I might be wrong but I assume the calcium contained within the structures help to hold the shape.
Slime molds do not get the attention they deserve and so little is known about them. This one is fascinating - thanks for the information.
Me too! Thanks :)
I love slime molds! <3 Great shots!