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Wolf's Milk - Lycogala epidendrum Habitat: Peeking out from under the bark of a snag Geotagged,Lycogala epidendrum,Spring,United States,Wolf's milk,slime mold Click/tap to enlarge

Wolf's Milk - Lycogala epidendrum

Habitat: Peeking out from under the bark of a snag

    comments (3)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Nice, they seem so variable in color. Posted 5 years ago
    1. View Christine Young's profile
      Christine Young
      Lion
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      They are pink when young, then brown, and finally olive/brownish when old. The pink ones ooze pink slime, the brown ones are fairly solid, and the olive/brownish old ones puff spores out.

      Young:
      Wolf's Milk Small, pink aethalia that resemble fuzzy pink blobs.<br /> <br /> The life cycle of slime molds is very interesting and complex. Here is a simplified description of what goes on...Slime molds form structures called plasmodia, which actually lack cell walls. Plasmodia are able to move up to an inch an hour - their motion being the result of protoplasm that flows through the organism in a rhythmic motion. The masses of protoplasm move around and engulf particles of food in an amoeboid manner. Eventually, when the plasmodia runs out of food, it transforms into sporangia, which (simplistically) are balls of spores. These "sporangia spore balls" are called the aethalia, which are the fruiting bodies of the slime mold. Fall,Geotagged,Lycogala,Lycogala epidendrum,United States,Wolf's Milk,Wolf's milk,slime mold

      Middle-aged:
      Wolf's Milk - Lycogala epidendrum Habitat: Rotting log in a mixed forest<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/90006/wolfs_milk_-_lycogala_epidendrum.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/90003/wolfs_milk_-_lycogala_epidendrum.html Geotagged,Lycogala epidendrum,Spring,United States,Wolf's milk,slime mold

      Old:
      Wolf's Milk Slime Mold - Lycogala epidendrum Mature, brown aethalia with a powdery mass of lavender spores inside. When pressed, the spores burst out. I tried to get a video, but my cell phone battery chose that moment to die.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Growing on rotting wood in a deciduous, swampy forest.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/69848/wolfs_milk_slime_mold_-_lycogala_epidendrum.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/69850/wolfs_milk_slime_mold_-_lycogala_epidendrum.html Fall,Geotagged,Lycogala epidendrum,United States,Wolf's milk
       Posted 5 years ago, modified 5 years ago
      1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Very useful info! Posted 5 years ago

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The Wolf's milk

Lycogala epidendrum is a cosmopolitan species of plasmodial slime mould which is often mistaken for a fungus. The aethalia, or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to November.

Info 62 0
Similar species: Liceales
Species identified by Christine Young
View Christine Young's profile

By Christine Young

All rights reserved
Uploaded Feb 17, 2020. Captured Jun 19, 2019 07:16 in 67 York St, Kennebunk, ME 04043, USA.
country flag of United States of America Explore United States of America 39,925 9,640 8
  • Canon EOS 80D
  • f/5.6
  • 1/64s
  • ISO400
  • 100mm

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