Eye Of The Beholder

Day 329: After winding up a discussion with Arnie, I was on my way back to my desk and had just exited Tobin Center when something lime-yellow caught my eye at the base of a tree. "Well, hello!" I said. "Where'd you come from, beautiful?" Immediately, I regretted not having hung the camera around my neck when I'd left the office. It never fails. The one time you don't have the camera is when you'll find something interesting you want to photograph. Fortunately, our offices are only separated by a parking lot, so this wasn't a huge issue. However, I was so excited by the discovery that I wanted to share it. I pelted back into Tobin at full speed and came to a stop in Arnie's doorway with the enthusiastic announcement, "You have got an absolutely gorgeous Dog-Vomit slime mold just outside your door! C'mere! You gotta see this!" Dutifully, Arnie joined me with a question on his lips: "Dog vomit?" Apologetically, I replied, "Don't blame me. That's the thing's common name." Together, we bent over to examine the specimen. For just a second, I imagined that I could see it pulsing plasmodially. Exultantly, I said, "Isn't it beautiful?" Arnie is used to me. He replied tactfully, "It looks like scrambled eggs."

"Scrambled Eggs" is indeed an alternate common name for Fuligo septica, although with humans being the strange creatures that they are, "Dog-Vomit" has taken the popular lead. The term covers a number of different Fuligos which are similar in appearance, but the four usual contenders can be distinguished from each other by the thickness and colour of the cortex and the size of the spores of each species. What invariably surprises me when I find one in the late summer is that they often occur in the hot, dry season rather than in cooler weather which one might imagine they'd prefer. Whatever food source drew these protists together, it was entirely concealed by their active consumption of it. At this site, they will eat and reproduce, and then go their separate ways until another food source is identified. As a scientist, it would be difficult for me not to admire the cooperation and communication which the slime molds display, better at social skills than many humans. Yes, I admire these handsome little critters despite the uncomplimentary terms others have laid upon them. "Dog-Vomit" indeed! Fuligo septica, your beauty is in the eye of this beholder.