Lycogala epidendrum

Wolf’s Milk or Toothpaste Slime

Phylum Myxomycota, Order Liceales

FRUITING BODY CLUSTERS OF SMALL SPHERES, PINK THEN BROWN

0.3 – 1.5 cm round to cushion-shaped, pinkish gray then yellow brown to olive-brown in age, opening on top; warted or rough surface.

SPORE MASS  bright pink, then purple, and finally powdery

The young fruiting bodies are pink inside (a paste resembling toothpaste), and the mature fruiting body is powdery and pinkish-gray to ochre inside.

Spores: 6-7.5 µ, round, netted.

ON DEAD WOOD, CLUSTERED

NOT EDIBLE

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Lycogala epidendrum is a “slime mold”, which isn’t a mushroom or even a true fungus at all. It has more in common with the amoeba or paramecium you find in pond water . We are including it because it resembles some fungi and is most often studied along with the true fungi.

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