Slime Molds and Yeasts- Not a Pest

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slime mold

Physarum polycephalum is a yellow slime mold. It advances as it grows on the front side then dies on the rear.

There are many unusual forms of life on this planet. Man has classified the different types of life into Kingdoms including the animals, the plants, the fungi and the protists. All of the kingdoms contain weird organisms.

slime mold

Physarum polycephalum is a yellow slime mold. It advances as it grows on the front side then dies on the rear. This picture was taken a day after the one above.

Among the animals there are such strange and fascinating creatures as the platypus, the sea cucumber, the jellyfish, the praying mantis and the ever-mysterious home gardener. Among the plants there can be found such strange botanical organisms as the bromeliads (Spanish moss), Giant Redwoods, Resurrection fern and the Bradford Pear.

The fungi include some of the funkiest of all the life on earth. There are stinkhorns which attract flies by emitting odors similar to that of a bloated road-killed raccoon, the Lion’s Mane which hangs pendulously like a big head of hair from hollows in old hardwoods and foxfire, a bioluminescent fungi that glows at night an the forest floor. But the weirdest of them all is the protists, which includes the protozoa, algae and the slime molds.

slime mold yellowSlime molds are not fungi. They are officially grouped into the phylum of organisms known as Myxomycota but are often lumped in with the mushrooms because they are more similar to fungi than plants or animals. Organisms of this group are characteristically fungi-like in that they reproduce by spores. They differ from fungi in that they are not made up of hyphae, the filamentous strands that form the body of a fungi.

Slime molds come in various shapes, colors and sizes. The most commonly reported slime mold is Fuligo septica or ‘dog’s vomit’ mushroom. Charming title isn’t it? The name is appropriate however because the organism does look like some canine became violently ill in your flowerbed. Fuligo actually feeds off of decomposing organic matter like mulch. But the really cool thing about the slime molds…they move. Yeah, this big pile of dog vomit-like funk actually marches across flowerbeds leaving a trail of slime behind it.

slime mold

Fuligo septica is a slime mold that infests mulch.

Other slime molds can be pretty funky as well. Physarum polycepharum can be found growing on rotting logs in the forest. It is usually yellow and forms spiderweb-like filaments under the bark of rotting logs. Brefeldia maxima is usually whitish and looks alot like a cottage cheese. It grows on plant surfaces appearing like some horrible disease is infecting your plant. Turf can also be affected. Gray structures form on turf during cool wet weather. Sometimes the mold can form a ring in turf but usually it forms a patch.

slime mold

Slime mold.

Slime molds are harmless and very interesting. If you find one in your lawn or garden, observe it and appreciate its funkiness. And tell all your neighbors…it is sure to make them envious.

Update: All things slimy are not slime molds. These are yeasts fermenting the sugary sap leaking out of trees in the spring.

yeast

Yeast growing in sugary sap that is oozing from a tree. In the sporing sap rises up from the root system and is moved upward into the trunk and canopy of the tree. If there is wound on the tree the sap will leak out. This sap is sugary and sometimes yeasts and bacteria will ferment in the sugary liquid.

slime mold

Yeast growing in sugary sap that is oozing from a tree. In the sporing sap rises up from the root system and is moved upward into the trunk and canopy of the tree. If there is wound on the tree the sap will leak out. This sap is sugary and sometimes yeasts and bacteria will ferment in the sugary liquid.