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badhamia utricularis
The fruiting bodies are numerous grape-like clusters that form tightly packed groups. The capsules are spherical, oval but mostly ovoid or pear-shaped. They have a blue to blue-gray color. In rare cases, they are deep dark blue stained trough gipsum-short. Sometimes the surface is metallic iridescent. The fruiting bodies reach a diameter of 0.4 to 1.5 millimeters and a length of one to two millimeters. You are on thin filamentous and ribbon-like stems, where they usually hang. In rare cases, the reproductive organs are sessile. The envelope (peridium) consists of a thin skin. The surface may be wrinkled by lime. The peridium breaks in the top panel irregularly, but often remains almost intact. After disappearance of the spores, they appear bright white. By transmitted light can be detected meandering lines, which may form an incomplete network. The stems are pale yellow to brown in color and quite fragile. They are 0.5 to 3 mm thick and 5 mm long, rarely longer. They are often bundled together and remember dry grass. The stems have cross-connections and share the fiber-like. At the tips are sometimes more fruiting bodies. The common membranous base (Hypothallus) is ocher to brown and goes into the stems. Often it is hardly noticeable. The spores appear black in mass. The plasmodium is yellow to orange yellow. ( http://www.hiddenforest.co.nz/slime/inde... ) [fruitingbodies - Sporangia]
The fruiting bodies are formed from September to April, except during frost. Sometimes they can also be found in the summer. The slime fungus colonizes the bark or dead wood of deciduous and coniferous trees. He often can be found also on the layer Striegel fungus (Stereum hirsutum), sometimes also on the Gelbstieligen Muschelseitling (Sarcomyxa serotina) or the large-pore Datronie (Datronia mollis). Socializations were Badhamia foliicola, Physarum nutans and Trichia contorta (var. contorta) were observed. Badhamia utricularis is distributed worldwide and in Central Europe quite frequently encountered
Slime mold or mould is a broad term describing protists that use spores to reproduce. Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi, but are no longer considered part of this kingdom. Their common name refers to part of some of these organisms' life cycles where they can appear as gelatinous "slime". This is mostly seen with the myxomycetes, which are the only macroscopic slime molds. Slime molds have been found all over the world and feed on microorganisms that live in any type of dead plant material. For this reason, these organisms are usually found in soil, lawns, and on the forest floor, commonly on deciduous logs. However, in tropical areas they are also common on inflorescences, fruits and in aerial situations (e.g., in the canopy of trees) and also grow in air conditioners, especially when the drain is blocked. In urban areas, they are found on mulch or even in the leaf mold in gutters. One of the most commonly encountered slime molds is the yellow Physarum polycephalum, found both in nature in forests in temperate zones, as well as in classrooms and laboratories. Most slime molds are smaller than a few centimeters, but some species may reach sizes of up to several square meters and masses of up to 30 grams. Many have striking colours such as yellow, brown and white
Spotted on Aug 29, 2010
Submitted on Aug 28, 2011
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