Mucilago crustacea (Mucilago crustacea) photo and description

Mucilago crustacea (Mucilago crustacea)

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• Mucilago spongiosa var. solid
• Mucilago crustacea var. solid

Mucilago crustosus is a representative of the “mobile” fungi, the “amoeba fungus” or myxomycete, and among the myxomycetes, it is one of the easiest to spot due to the good size and white (light) color of its fruiting body, which stands out among the litter. In countries with a warm climate, it can be observed throughout the year in wet weather.

In the phase of the creeping plasmodium, mucilago is almost invisible due to the too small size of individual “amoebae”, and they do not protrude, feeding on microorganisms in the soil. Mutsilago cortical becomes noticeable when the plasmodium “creeps” into one place for sporulation.

What we see is a kind of analogue of the fruiting body – aetalia (aethalium) – a package of compressed sporangia that cannot be distinguished. The shape is often elliptical, 5-10 cm long and about 2 cm thick. Suspended between the stems and leaves of grasses a few centimeters above the ground or wrapping fallen branches, both dry and live, can climb both young shoots, including young trees, and old stumps. It appears especially abundantly in places where a large amount of lime is present in the soil.

The mobile, multinucleated stage (Plasmodium) is pale, creamy yellow at the beginning of the fruiting stage, when it emerges from the soil onto the grass and merges into a single mass, becoming an etalia. At this stage, it turns white (rarely yellow) and is a mass of tubules. A crystalline outer crust appears, and very soon this begins to flake off, revealing a mass of black spores.

Actually, this mixomycete received the name “Mucilago cortical” because of the calcareous colorless crust, consisting of lime crystals.

Inedible.

Summer autumn. Cosmopolitan.

May be similar to the light form of myxomycete Fuligo putrefactive (Fuligo septica), which does not have an outer crystalline shell.

It is absolutely impossible to describe the appearance of Mucilago in words, apparently, therefore, many epithets are used in different sources.

“Thick semolina” is the most banal of them, although perhaps the most accurate.

Other simple comparisons include “cauliflower”.

Italians compare it to cream in a spray, and also to sprinkled meringue (a cake made from egg whites whipped with powdered sugar). Meringue in the stage “just took a crust” also quite accurately describes mucilago, at the stage when spores mature. If you scratch this crust, we will see a black spore mass.

Americans say “Scrambled egg fungus”, comparing the appearance of mucilago with scrambled eggs.

The English use the name “Dog sick fungus”. Adequate translation here is a little tricky… but it really does look like something a sick puppy can put on the lawn!

Photo: Larisa, Alexander