Nature provides an incredibly beautiful wonder in slime molds. They feed on decaying things which is not a bad thing considering all of us gardeners who love enriched soil.
Basically, slime mold works on just these sort of things.
Decaying wood is its food of choice so it shouldn't be too alarming to see it in your mulch or on a stump in the woods.
Red Raspberry Slime Mold is a beautiful red color when it first appears. It can be found on oak logs.
Their color is a show stopper.
It is so small and pretty with such a pure red color. Indeed it looks like tiny beautiful raspberries.
As it ages, which is rather quickly, it changes colors and becomes brown.
Below: Fresh Red Raspberries Slime Mold
View from the side:
24 hours later:
I had someone tell me today that they thought my slime mold photos were 'gross' and I laughed and said they were absolutely beautiful, mysterious, and exotic living things.
They don't fit in plant, animal, or fungi categories and are considered plasmodial or blobs that eat bacteria. It is more complicated than that, but this part of nature is absolutely fascinating.
US National Parks has a nice easy to read article on slime molds. You can read it here.
Every time I turn around I seem to find something new that amazes me in the forest. The really cool thing is...
I only have to walk out my door and start to look to find incredible beauty in tiny things. Yes, I have been taking a magnifying glass with me!
It is such a shame it got a yucky name.
To tell you the truth, it is fun to look for them. It is sort of like a game of Where's Waldo.
Last up, two pretty white ones that probably turn brown and will disappear after they send off spores.
Coral SM:
There it is. My adventure of two and a half days of searching out slime molds. The conditions were perfect for them. Rain, humidity, heat, and decaying logs in the forest.
Who knows what the next weather event will bring to the forest?