Slime mould species

[Josh Hulbert]

Hi,

I got a slime mould by lucky accident; I was trying to grow some mushroom mycelium in woodchip and wood shavings, but a slime mould took over! It must have been hiding in the woodchip mulch pieces from where I'd taken the mycelium. Anyway, how can I tell what species it is? It looks and moves just like Physarum polycephalum, but would Fuligo septica look obviously different? (Google images doesn''t help much). Are there many similar looking species? Are there any identification features?

Thanks! so glad to find Slimoco.  

[ian]

If you divide it and let it form spores you'll get a much more obvious phase of the life cycle to use for ID. I'd love to get hold of fuligo

[Josh Hulbert]

I haven't had a chance to try to get it to make spores, but I found a site that suggests to me that it's not Fuligo. Apparently Fuligo eats the paper it's sitting on and the veins look straighter and thicker.
https://sites.google.com/site/plasmodiumpulsation/cultivation

[Natalie Andrew]

I have spores if you'd like to try hatching them :)

[Josh Hulbert]

The slime mould has made sporangia, it doesn't look like either fuligo or polycephalum. They're perfect little spheres with no stalks. 

[ian]

That's brilliant!

I'd make a stab at diachea species but that's mostly because I can only name four genera and I know that one has some round ones in it.

[Natalie Andrew]

I'm putting in a vote for Physarum cinereum! Lovely.

[Josh Hulbert]

Might well be! I think I've got a hesitant identification though... Badhamia foliicola. Looks just right as sporangia and as a plasmodium, has been recorded in the South East, and occurs in woodchip, which is just where mine was. Thoughts?
Does anyone want some? Could swap for a Physarum.