''Physarum cinereum'' is a
slime mold
Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms with a life cycle that includes a free-living single-celled stage and the formation of spores. Spores are often produced in macroscopic mul ...
that grows on
turfgrass
A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...
or
beet
The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...
but is not a
pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
.
Taxonomy
The species was originally named ''Lycoperdon cinereum'' by
August Johann Georg Karl Batsch
August Johann Georg Karl Batsch (28 October 1761 – 29 September 1802) was a German naturalist. He was a recognised authority on mushrooms, and also described new species of ferns, bryophytes, and seed plants.
Life and career
Batsch was born ...
in 1783;
transferred it to ''
Physarum
''Physarum'' is a genus of mycetozoan slime molds in the family Physaraceae.
It contains the following species:
*''Physarum albescens''
*'' Physarum album''
*'' Physarum andinum''
*'' Physarum bivalve''
*'' Physarum bogoriense''
*'' Physarum c ...
'' in 1794.
References
Root vegetable diseases
Turfgrass diseases
Taxa named by August Batsch
Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
Physaraceae
{{plant-disease-stub