dog vomit slime mold

Description:

Like many slime molds, the cells of this species typically aggregate to form a plasmodium, a multinucleate mass of undifferentiated cells that may move in an ameboid-like fashion during the search for nutrients. F. septicas plasmodium may be anywhere from white to yellow-gray, typically 2.5–20 cm (1.0–7.9 in) in diameter, and 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) thick. The plasmodium eventually transforms into a sponge-like aethalium, analogous to the spore-bearing fruiting body of a mushroom; which then degrades, darkening in color, and releases its dark-colored spores. This species is known to have its spores dispersed by beetles (family Lathridiidae). ---The spores have a two-layered wall, with a dense outer layer with spines, and a fibrous inner layer. During germination, the outer layer splits to create an opening, and more elastic inner layer ruptures later as protoplasm emerges. A remnant of the inner layer may be persistent and adhere to the protoplast after it has emerged from the spore. A peroxidase enzyme present in the inner cell wall plays a role in germination. ---Fuligo septica grows on rotten wood and plant debris, but can also grow on the leaves and stems of living plants ( wikipedia )

Habitat:

---Scientific name: Fuligo septica (L.) Wigg. ---Derivation of name: ---Synonyms: ---Common name(s): Scrambled-egg slime. Dog vomit slime ---Phylum: Myxomycota ---Order: Physarales ---Family: Physaraceae ---Occurrence on wood substrate: Occurring as slimy to crust-like sheets or cushion-like iregular masses on stumps, logs, living plants, and wood mulches in landscapes; May through October. ---Dimensions: Masses are 2.5 to 20 cm long, almost as wide, and 1-3 cm thick. ---Description: This slime mold first appears as a white to yellow slimy mass with dimensions as given. The "flesh" transforms into a crusty, cake-like mass of darker and variable color. The brittle crust easily breaks away to reveal a dull-black spore mass. ---Edibility: Inedible. ---Comments: Although many slime mold species fruit on wood they do not form a penetrating and absorptive mass of hyphae in the wood substrate. Rather, slime molds form structures called plasmodia which are naked (i.e., without cell walls) masses of protoplasm which can move and engulf particles of food in an amoeboid manner. Slime mold plasmodia creep about over the surfaces of materials, engulfing bacteria, spores of fungi and plants, protozoa, and particles of nonliving organic matter. At some point, plasmodia convert into spore-bearing structures. In Fuligo, the plasmodium converts into a cushion-shaped mass of spores enclosed by an outer wall called a peridium. This structure is called an aethalium (plural: aethalia). Fuligo septica produces the largest spore-producing structure of any known slime mold. ( http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wo... )

Notes:

Fuligo septica is a species of plasmodial slime mold, and a member of the Myxomycetes class. It is commonly known as the dog vomit slime mold or scrambled egg slime because of its peculiar yellowish, bile-colored appearance. A common species with a worldwide distribution, it is often found on bark mulch in urban areas after heavy rain or excessive watering. Their spores are produced on or in aerial sporangia and are spread by wind.(wikipedia ), ( http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/... ), ( http://www.hiddenforest.co.nz/slime/fami... )