Slime mold

We found two patches of yellow slime mold when a few of us were down in south eastern Alberta for the day on Saturday, botanizing the Purple Spring Sand Dunes area. I hadn't expected to find slime mold in such a hot place.

Here is a fascinating, short video showing how slime molds MOVE : ) Created by Biology Professor Emeritus John Bonner, who has studied slime molds for almost 70 years! He made films of them when he was an Undergraduate Student.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkVhLJLG7ug

"Slime mold (or slime mould) is a broad term describing fungus-like organisms that use spores to reproduce. Slime molds were formerly classified as fungi, but are no longer considered part of this kingdom.

Their common name refers to part of some of these organisms' life cycles where they can appear as gelatinous "slime". This is mostly seen with the myxomycetes, which are the only macroscopic slime molds.

Slime molds have been found all over the world and feed on microorganisms that live in any type of dead plant material. For this reason, these organisms are usually found in soil, lawns, and on the forest floor, commonly on deciduous logs. However, in tropical areas they are also common on inflorescences, fruits and in aerial situations (e.g., in the canopy of trees). In urban areas, they are found on mulch or even in the leaf mold in gutters. One of the most commonly encountered slime molds, both in nature in forests in the temperate zones of the earth as well as in classrooms and laboratories is the yellow Physarum polycephalum.

Most slime mold are smaller than a few centimeters, but some species may reach sizes of up to several square meters and masses of up to 30 grams. Many have striking colours such as yellow, brown and white." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold