5 ms·
Earlier this year, I found a big yellow blob in my garden with no idea what it was. It disappeared the next day (basically baked in the sun) then reappeared a f
by wannabebarista 3y ago
Earlier this year, I found a big yellow blob in my garden with no idea what it was. It disappeared the next day (basically baked in the sun) then reappeared a few days later several yards away. The color in person was really striking! It turns out it is a Jasmine slime mold [0]. It has been creeping around my garden off and on ever since.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuligo_septica https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuligo_septica
- Kaijo 3y agoThere's a rare ascomycete fungus, Nectrioposis violacea, that parasitises Fuligo septica and turns it from yellow to blue in color. There seem to be various color morphs, one I found was a really spectacular deep violet-blue. The ecology of these specialized fungal parasites whose hosts are themselves rare or very patchily distributed really fascinates me.
- verytrivial 3y agoThis is literally my favouriate living thing beyond my immediate family. Even the names are amazing: dog vomit slimemould. I mean COME ON.
- Loughla 3y agoScientists are usually pretty tongue in cheek when naming things, but slime mold scientists are especially plain. I love it.
- teekert 3y agoHad one in my garden as well last month! Here we call them “Witch’s butter” [0]. It was there for some days and seemed to move a bit over those days but then crumbled indeed. [0] https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heksenboter https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heksenboter