Mucilago crustacea
Dog Sick Slime Mould
Didymyaceae
September and other months
It is found throughout the country but is less common in
northern areas, the Southwest and parts of the Southeast.
For a map see the National Biodiversity Network Atlas
It grows on grassland when conditions both warm and
wet and is associated with the Poaceae family of
grasses.
Dog Vomit Slime Mould is a slightly yellow to cream,
highly visible amorphous sporocarp several cm long.
When you first see it, you immediately think "dog sick".
It is neither a plant, a bacterium or a fungus, but it has
similarities with both fungi and protozoa, such as
amoebae.
Normally, it lives in grassland and feeds on bacteria,
yeasts and small pieces of detritus.
At times of nutrient limitation and/or extra warmth
and wet it goes into a sexual stage where large
numbers of nuclei occur in a sporangium or sporocarp.
It moves out of the soil and onto the grass, forming a
largish mass and is motile, moving over surfaces.
As it ages it turns from yellowish to white and becomes
covered in a cortical layer which flakes off to leave a
mass of black spores.
It is unsightly but harmless.
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