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Slime Molds. A bright yellow slimy blob is commonly seen in the summer on mulched flower beds.

Slime Molds

It is not pretty, unless you like yellow, and it soon gets uglier. The yellow blob turns gray, becomes hard, then breaks down into a brown powder. People complain that the yellow blob looks like dog vomit and that the brown powder stains sidewalks. The blob is a slime mold called Physarum polycephalum.

The brown powder is made up of the millions of spores it makes in order to reproduce. Slime molds may be slimy, but they are not molds. They did not move, like animals. Today, organisms in the Kingdom Fungi are defined by: having chitin in their cell walls. Slime molds move, and lack chitin in their cell walls. Physarum polycephalum is a plasmodial slime mold. The plasmodium may be ugly to some, but it is not harmful.

One fascinating thing about plasmodial slime molds is that the millions of nuclei in a single plasmodium all divide at the same time. Slime Mold Photos. Slime molds were once placed in the kingdom Fungi, although some authorities now place them in the kingdom Protoctista (Protista).

Slime Mold Photos

Most fungi are composed of threadlike filaments of eukaryotic cells called hyphae, collectively referred to as a mycelium. Slime molds are composed of an acellular mass of naked protoplasm with no cell walls in its vegetative state. They are typically found in damp, shady areas with abundant organic matter, although they may move to bright areas to "fruit. " The vegetative stage is essentially a multinucleate mass of protoplasm (called a plasmodium) composed of numerous diploid nuclei. Depending on the species, the plasmodium may be only a few millimeters in diameter to large pizza-sized slime molds over 12 inches (30 cm) across.

The transformation of the plasmodium into spore-bearing "fruiting bodies" or fructifications can occur within hours. The life cycle of a slime mold begins with a haploid spore which is produced inside the fructification by meiosis. Mushroom Hobby: California and Beyond. Top 10 Mistakes in Mushroom Photography. BMS Teaching Resources: drawing, painting and photographing fungi. Key to Botryobasidium. Mushrooms, Fungi, Mycology. Mycological Links. Mycology Resources. Key to Major Groups of Mushrooms. Forest Fungi of New Zealand. Shroomers. MycoKey home. Mushroom Observer: Activity Log. Fungus identifier, agarics. Using a Microscope: Viewing and Measuring Spores. Using a Microscope: Viewing and Measuring Spores by Michael Kuo Observing spores, and measuring them, is the easiest of the various microscope routines involved in mycology.

Using a Microscope: Viewing and Measuring Spores

You will be surprised at how useful it can be in the identification process to know whether a mushroom's spores are smooth, "ornamented," "ridged," or "pitted" (etc.), and to know their dimensions. You want to measure mature spores since, like other parts of a mushroom, spores are little before they are big. The spore sizes quoted in field guides and in technical mycological literature represent mature spores--which, by definition, have fallen off the mushroom. Tap the spore dust off the razor blade, onto a clean slide. Now put the slide on your microscope's stage. Sketch and describe the appearance of spores in your journal. Spore Shapes Spore Surfaces Many spores have smooth surfaces--but other spores feature spines, warts, ridges, lines, and other distinctive surface structures. Cite this page as: © MushroomExpert.Com. Template:Mycomorphbox. MycoMorphBoxes depict 8 mycological characteristics that are often useful in identifying mushrooms.

Template:Mycomorphbox

The template is given as a quick way to display information about mushrooms, and to enable quick comparison between them. Usage Copy the following code into the article you want to add a MycoMorphBox to, and then add the parameters: {{ mycomorphbox | name = | hymeniumType = | capShape = | whichGills = | stipeCharacter = | sporePrintColor = | ecologicalType = | howEdible = }} Parameters MycoMorphBoxes have 8 basic parameters: Example These basic parameters can be specified in any order, but should be typed exactly as above. {{ mycomorphbox | name = Phlebopus marginatus | whichGills = seceding | capShape = infundibuliform | hymeniumType = gills | stipeCharacter = NA | ecologicalType = mycorrhizal | sporePrintColor = buff | sporePrintColor2 = cream | howEdible = unknown }}