''Stemonitis axifera'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 mu ...

. It fruits in clusters on dead wood, and has distinctive tall reddish-brown

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

, supported on slender stalks.

Taxonomy

The species was first described as ''Trichia axifera'' by

Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard (also Pierre Bulliard; 24 November 1752, in Aubepierre-sur-Aube Haute-Marne – 26 September 1793, in Paris) was a French physician and botanist. Bulliard studied in Langres, where he became interested ...

in 1791.

Thomas Huston MacBride Thomas Huston Macbride (July 31, 1848 – March 27, 1934) was the tenth president of the University of Iowa, serving from 1914 to 1916. Macbride was a naturalist and botanist, Macbride Hall at the University of Iowa is named for him. He often c ...

transferred it to the genus ''

Stemonitis ''Stemonitis'' is a distinctive genus of slime moulds found throughout the world (except Antarctica). They are characterised by the tall brown sporangia, supported on slender stalks, which grow in clusters on rotting wood. The genus was first des ...

'' in 1889. ''Stemonitis fasciculata'' and ''Stemonitis smithii'' are

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

Description

The erect, stalked cylindrical

are arranged into bundles or clusters that are tall. Each sporangium is supported by a thin, shining, black stalk that is long. The bright rusty brown color of mature sporangia lightens to a pale brown after the spores have been dispersed.

Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

s measure 5 by 7 μm and have a smooth to minutely punctate surface texture.

Development

''Stemonitis axifera'' requires about 20 hours to finish making its fruit bodies. Of this, eight hours are needed for induction of the

and the development of the stalk and the

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

, six hours more for the sporocarps to produce

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

and mature, and an additional six until the spores are discharged.

Ecology

The slime mold grows on decaying wood. When the fruit bodies consist of milky white sporangia, they are a favoured food source for ''

Philomycus ''Philomycus'' is a genus of air-breathing land slugs in the family Philomycidae, the mantleslugs.Capinera, J. L., et alTerrestrial Slugs of Florida (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora).EENY-493 (IN891). Entomology and Nematology. Florida Cooperative ...

'' slugs (mantleslugs), such as '' P. carolinianus'' and '' P. flexuolaris''. The slugs emerge at night from under flaps of bark and migrate to more exposed areas at the top of wet logs, bypassing more mature, pigmented fruit bodies for the younger white ones. The slugs eat the sporangia stalks from the top down. The feeding preference of ''Philomycus'' slugs for immature white sporangia is not seen in other slug species.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q12955445 Myxogastria Species described in 1791 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard