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Bubble Gum Fungus

Lycogala epidendrum

Photo by AngelChandler
Published on Project Noah
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47.0025, -123.009

Field Notes

Description:

Flesh-colored and ball-shaped.

Habitat:

A tall dead western redcedar (Thuja plicata) stump.

Notes:

This stuff is only growing in this one location way back behind the creek. In all the years of visiting this park I have never seen anything remotely like this stuff. It was alarming to spot. I have never seen it growing anywhere before and I visit nature parks in this area all the time.

Species ID Suggestions

Wolf's Milk slime mold

Lycogala epidendrum

Reference Link
Mark Ridgway
1

Comments (7)
Mark Ridgway
Also called "Bubble Gum Fungus" but it's NOT a fungus. It is a plasmodial slime mold - of entirely different kingdom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycogala_epidendrum
AntónioGinjaGinja
It's a fungus and it could killed the tree,but normaly they began to grow in allready dead or desised trees,i think is a kind of slime mold,but i'am not sure. From what i know these kind of fungi,or mold is not dangerous because nobody in his good jugement is going to eat them,not even animals make that error,so you can relax,that is not going to be any problem and fungi are very common,in weet places,if you search well you will find much more than you imagine :-)
AngelChandler
Because it is the strangest looking stuff I have ever seen and the tree stump is so tall that it obviously befell a disaster of some kind and this stuff is also growing on a living tree right next to the stump but not growing anywhere else in the entire park. My imagination leads me to think it could have killed the tree. Is it a fungus or is it a parasite?
AngelChandler
This stuff freaks me out so please help me if you can in identifying it. Thank you!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
The Pacific Northwest Bioregion

Tags

Photographed
PublishedFebruary 24, 2013

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