Today's find had me puzzled at first. To the naked eye, it just looked like mould ( or a fungus.) In fact, if I am totally honest, I have been stepping over this piece of decaying wood and ignoring it for a few days now. It was only Chris's new-found interest in lichens that made him take a hand lens (a magnifying glass would be a great thing to take on a walk if you have one.) Upon closer inspection, we could see the frost-like protrusions (some of them shaped like little fallow deer antlers.)
This is no fungus. I have said many times how fascinating I find slime moulds but this is even more awe-inspiring! Slime moulds are actually organisms that can live as single cells but that come together to reproduce. This (or should I say, "these"?) are
Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, sometimes known as coral slime mould due to the structure of these reproductive bodies. These will produce spores but I am not sure whether my photography skills or my eyesight will be up to seeing those.
This slime mould is actually found throughout Britain but most people would never notice it. Like much of nature, we have no idea how the single cells come together to form the colony and these leave us with more questions than answers but that is why I find them so fascinating!
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