''Lycogala epidendrum'', commonly known as wolf's milk or groening's slime, is a

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

species of myxogastrid amoeba which is often mistaken for a

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

. The aethalia, or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to November. These aethalia are small, pink to brown cushion-like blobs. They may ooze a pink "paste" if the outer wall is broken before maturity. When mature, the colour tends to become more brownish. When not fruiting, single celled individuals move about as very small, red amoeba-like organisms called plasmodia, masses of protoplasm that engulf bacteria, as well as fungal and plant spores,

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

, and particles of non-living organic matter through

phagocytosis Phagocytosis () is the process by which a cell uses its plasma membrane to engulf a large particle (≥ 0.5 μm), giving rise to an internal compartment called the phagosome. It is one type of endocytosis. A cell that performs phagocytosis is ...

(see

slime mould 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 mu ...

for more information).

Description

During the plasmodial stage, individuals are reddish in colour, but these are almost never seen. When conditions change, the individuals aggregate by means of chemical signalling to form an aethalium, or fruiting body. These appear as small cushion-like blobs measuring about in diameter. Colour is quite variable, ranging from pinkish grey to yellowish brown or greenish black, with mature individuals tending towards the darker end. They may be either round or somewhat compressed with a warted or rough texture. While immature they are filled with a pink, paste-like fluid. With maturity the fluid becomes a powdery mass of minute grey spores. The spores measure 6 to 7.5 µm and are round in shape with a netted texture and appearing

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

to lavender in colour. The pseudocapillitia, sterile elements in the spore mass, are long, flattened, branching tubes with transverse wrinkles and folds.

Similar species

Similar species include ''Hemitrichia calyculata'', ''

Physarum cinereum ''Physarum cinereum'' is a slime mold that grows on turfgrass or beet but is not a pathogen. Taxonomy The species was originally named ''Lycoperdon cinereum'' by August Johann Georg Karl Batsch in 1783; Christiaan Hendrik Persoon transferred it ...

'', ''Physarum nutans'', and ''

Trichia varia ''Trichia varia'' is a type of slime mold in the order Trichiida, first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1794. Its sporangium A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a ...

''.

Natural products found in this species

Staurosporine analogues: * Lycogarubin C (also known as chromopyrrolic acid) * 6-hydroxystaurosporinone * 5,6-dihydroxyarcyriaflavin A Antimicrobal lactones: Chemically, these are polypropionate

lactone Lactones are cyclic carboxylic esters, containing a 1-oxacycloalkan-2-one structure (), or analogues having unsaturation or heteroatoms replacing one or more carbon atoms of the ring. Lactones are formed by intramolecular esterification of the co ...

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s. Lycogalinoside A contains a 2-deoxy-alpha-L-fucopyranosyl-(1-4)-6-deoxy-beta-D-gulopyranosyl unit. Lycogalinoside B contains a beta-D-olivopyranosyl-(1-4)-beta-D-fucopyranosyl unit.

Taxonomy

This species is classified in the family Tubiferaceae,The Global Biodiversity Information Facility: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, 2013-07-01. Accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/3213352 on 2013-11-10 although it is accepted in the

Reticulariaceae Reticulariaceae is a family of slime molds recognized by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliabl ...

family by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System.Integrated Taxonomic Information System nternet2013. pdated 2013 April; cited 2013 Nov 10Available from: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=181336

References

Sources

*Stephenson, Steven L & Stempen, Henry (2000). ''Myxomycetes. A Handbook of Slime Molds''. Portland : Timber Press. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lycogala Epidendrum Myxogastria