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Coral Slime
Scientific Name: Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa
Family Name: Ceratiomyxaceae
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Description: Translucent mass, producing spread of minute, translucent, white to yellowish, erect "icicles". Mushroom: 1/64 - 1/32 inch (0.5 - 1 mm) wide, 1/32 = 3/8 inch (0.1 - 1 cm) high; irregular; clustered, erect, branched or simple "icicles"; translucent, whitish or yellowish. Spores: 10 - 13 x 6 - 7 microns; round to elliptical, smooth, translucent; white in mass. Season: June - October. Habitat: On rotten wood; sometimes on leaves or litter. Range: Widely distributed in North America. Comments: This is one of the most widely distributed slime molds, and one of the most beautiful, resembling a thick tangle of tiny coral or icicles. There are 2 common forms: var. flexuosa (branched) and var. poroides (porelike), which may only be responses to environmental condtions, not true varieties. Except for a minute Florida species, the Morel-like Slime (Ceratiomyxa morchella), which somewhat resembles a morel in shape, this is the only species of Ceratiomyxa in North America; it differs from all other slime molds because it develops its spores externally on individual stalks. It can sometimes cover an area of 3 - 5 feet. [Lincoff, Gary H., The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1981]