Day 215: Slime mold season has begun! Admittedly, this is a very small grouping of very small Lycogala epidendrum aethalia, but I was thrilled when I found it. Why? Because the director of an Oregon PBS film crew contacted me six months ago to find out if I would be interested in participating in a feature on slime molds. Even after I had explained that slime molds operate on their own schedule and the stars of the show might not appear on a timely basis, we agreed on a window in early to mid-June when they'd be most likely to appear. I will be monitoring this particular cluster closely in the hopes that all of the participants (slime molds, film crew and I) can come to an agreement on date and time.
Lycogala was the first slime mold to be described taxonomically, never mind that Carl Linnaeus initially called it "Lycoperdon" in 1753 because he believed it to be fungal in nature. The aethalia do somewhat resemble small Puffballs if you dyed them salmon-pink, but in fact they are masses of sporangia (fruiting bodies). If you squish a Lycogala bump when it's fresh, it liberates pink goo, protoplasm in which many cellular nuclei are present and potentially joining by fusion as part of the reproductive process. If allowed to mature, the aethalia turn brown and crack open to release thousands of spores, the next generation of the species. Lycogala epidendrum is commonly known as "Wolf's-milk," but before you open your mouth to ask why, let me say that some things must remain mysteries or life would be very boring indeed.
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