How to get a physarum culture

by ian

Sep 18, 2019

So you want slime? 

I can give you slime. I'll post physarum to anyone anywhere free of charge. 

"Free?" you say, surely that's too good to be true? 

Indeed it is, I said free of charge, not actually free. This is the slime mould collective, lone oat flakes do not get visited by physarum fairy. You must prove your worth if you want to join and engage with the network. Assimilation doesn't hurt, we promise and you might like it. 

Tell us why you want the slime, what are your hopes and fears for slimekind? Where do you you see your slime in five years time?

A paragraph, a short story, maybe a few lines of verse, how about an expressive dance? We don't mind we just want you to communicate.

In return we will let you have your very own slime sent discreetly in a plain envelope - your friends and family need never know! 

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  • up

    john

    ok
    long story

    having had a long interest in math and science
    i sm somewhat ( understatement ) nerdy

    half a century ago, in highschool biology class, i found slime mold to be quite fascinating

    skip forward to about 15 years ago

    it was a wet christmas eve in portland
    one of my sons came to visit
    going out to the back of the house
    lifting up pieces of pine bark

    we discovered some physarum

    we each cultured some
    and
    enjoyed it


    it has since been returned to nature


    unable to find any more
    i would like to enjoy another culture

    just a minor pleasure of and old guy

    thank you

    john

    who else celebrates christmas eve with a slime mold hunt and capture ???

    Aug 18

    • up

      Spencer B

      Greetings to Ian the Slime Fairy (fairies are definitely cooler than Santa) and the rest of the Slime Mold Collective!

      My name is Spencer, and I'm a life-long nature lover and scientist by trade. I've been interested in slimes ever since I saw some "dog vomit" as a kid and watched it over the course of a couple days. My interest in myxomycetes was revamped when I took a plant pathology course a couple years back. However, life pulled me in all kinds of different directions, and I've since been only a casual observer of slimes I find hiking or in my garden.

      As a hobby, I raise several types of springtails, isopods, millipedes, and beetles. Some varieties of springtails like to eat slime molds, and I hope to raise Physarum polycephalum to offer to them. If I'm successful keeping slime mold, I want to introduce more people in my community to the world of slimes. Ultimately, I would love to develop techniques for collecting and rearing other types of slime molds. I'd especially love to raise Tubifera ferruginosa or Physarum roseum, but those are definitely a pipe dream.

      Happy to be here and part of the slime community!
      1

      Aug 30

      • up

        qiuwenxing

        interesting .we have a complete slime mold trading circle in mainland China (though the ecosystem might not be in the best shape). Why is it "trading" instead of "exchanging"? The reason is quite complex, but many enthusiasts do engage in species exchange.

        Physarum polycephalum has never appeared in our market (only some universities and a very small number of individuals have it). The status of Physarum rigidum in the market is comparable to that of the former species, and the market is made up of 5 major sellers along with other smaller vendors (among whom there are also some resellers).

        In the market, Physarum rigidum is the most common, followed by Fuligo septica, Physarella oblonga, and Physarum melleum. There are also quite a few identified and unidentified species (these are relatively rare in the market, not in circulation, or more expensive—such as Physarum roseum and other plasmodium species that are not yellow, most of which belong to the Physarum genus).

        Our enthusiast group (which does not participate in market transactions,only species exchange) has access to some slime mold species from other countries and regions (e.g., Physarum polycephalum and other species with interesting characteristics like Daywalker). We are delighted to conduct species exchange with you and also hope to engage in in-depth exchanges of experience and knowledge with professional enthusiasts.lol

        Sep 1