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Project Noah Nature School
Lycogala epidendrum
Clusters of small, warty pinkish-orange blobs measuring about 8mm. On touching one it felt very soft and broke open easily releasing an orange, thick fluid.
Two specimens were found; one o a pine log and one on a eucalyptus log with bark. Both were within 50 metres of each other in a local nature reserve.
Not a fungus at all. Not even the same kingdom. At maturity the sporangia and fluid inside turns gray, ready to release powdery spores. Apparently the plasmodium (travelling form) is reddish in color, but rarely seen. I was unsure if it existed in Australia. Now I know. :-)
kingdom: Protozoa
phylum: Amoebozoa
subphylum: Mycetozoa
class: Myxogastrea
order: Liceida
family: Tubiferaceae
Distribution in Australia http://spatial.ala.org.au/?q=lsid:%228d2...
Spotted on Apr 13, 2014
Submitted on Apr 13, 2014
12 Comments
Hey Sera if ever you see it you must touch it. You'll be in fits of laughter.
Never seen this - looks fantastically odd!
awesome name really...
Ha ha! I think I did say eek. Then I got Leuba to touch it and she definitely said eek.
Eek. I think you were brave to touch one...!
Thank you all for comments. Amoeba rules ok. :)
OH! I've seen something very similar, but in Chile.
So, you are saying this is some kind of mold?
I even have pictures, but had not yet identified what it was, also thought some sort of fungus, but seems not.
Thanks! so happy to have stumbled upon this.
Thant's right Shekainah! It looks like GUM! And thats why I find it tempting to eat. :)) Thanks Shekainah.
If they are edible, I wish they taste like gum.
:)) :))
I know what you mean Chief... but you are welcome to my share.
Oh! Its tempting me to eat it. :))