''Physarum polycephalum'', literally the "many-headed slime", is a slime mold that inhabits shady, cool, moist areas, such as decaying leaves and logs. Like slime molds in general, it is sensitive to light; in particular, light can repel the slime mold and be a factor in triggering spore growth.
Similar species: Physarales
By morpheme
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Uploaded Oct 25, 2019. Captured Oct 24, 2019 12:27 in 3956 WA-6, Chehalis, WA 98532, USA.
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The many-headed slime mold (Physarum polycephalum), aka ‘the blob’, is shaking up our assumptions about intelligence. It has no brain, yet it can learn, organize, and navigate. It sounds impressive, right? Well, that’s because it is!
First, what is a slime mold? A slime mold is not a plant, animal, or fungus. It is a soil-dwelling amoeba: a single-celled organism! You may never notice them, but our planet is absolutely covered with them! They are found on every single continent, and often dwell on forest floors where they break down rotting vegetation, feasting on bacteria, yeast, and fungi.
Scientists have long thought that learning was a complicated process requiring at least some neurons, if not a brain as well. But, studying slime molds has revealed that learning may involve a simple mechanism that is more universal than we realized. Slime molds show a basic kind of learning, called habituation, which is when behavior changes in response to stimuli. For example, slime can find the shortest path through a maze, while avoiding obstacles, to reach food. It reinforces favored pathways, and learns to avoid areas it already visited or areas it doesn’t like. The slime exhibits sensory integration, decision-making, and learning―processes that were previously assumed to require a brain. Yet, the slime can do it all without even a single neuron! Slime molds are clearly not as simple as they seem! {Spotted in Washington, USA by JungleDragon moderator, morpheme} #JungleDragon
Posted 5 years ago