Slime Flux

I spotted this slime flux growing on a stump that had been created by a beaver. Ironically, a tree had fallen on top of the stump - which had also been felled by a beaver AND was also being cut up by a beaver.

Slime flux begins as a bacterial infection. As the bacteria grows (in the roots of the tree), methane gas is produced, which causes pressure within the tree. The pressure forces the bacterial flux through any wounds in the tree. The flux is then quickly consumed by numerous different species of fungi - mostly types of yeast. Some of these types of yeast are pathogenic to humans. So, Fusicolla merismoides/Fusarium merismoides is actually a complex of species - a microbial consortium.