The nursery for the Myxomycetes in my woods

 I’d like to report the occurrence of Myxomycetes at the "nursery" located in my woods. I will explain about this nursery later.

 The other day, I noticed the Myxomycetes occurred on a decomposed damp log at the nursery.  As a matter of fact, they were still immature fruiting bodies. They looked white, shiny and fresh. It reminds me of an ice bar with a stick (perhaps Japanese English?) .

What does this look like?　This is not a grain of boiled rice！

 But in the next day, they transformed drastically with maturity. Judging from the appearance, I think this belongs to the genus Stremonitis.

It goes without saying that it is necessary to check the shape of capillitia and spores in details using a microscope in order to determine the species, though. 

Putting that aside, they are looking like fingers with nails. 

 Please compare below photo with the first. You can realize the drastic changes. Fruiting bodies are filled with spores.

Above photos were taken on May 14th and 15th.

  

 Very roughly speaking, I think the Myxomycetes can be divided into two groups depending on where they form fruiting bodies. That is to say, one group forms fruiting bodies on the dead fallen leaves and the other on the dead damp logs.

 As for the latter group, even if fruiting bodies were formed on some dead logs this year, they will not always be formed on the same logs next year. This is because the heavily decayed logs would no longer be worth the foods for slime molds.

 Recently I feel that the number of the decayed logs suitable for the slime mold has been steadily declining in the forest where I always investigate.   Since almost all the woods near-by are occupied by ceder trees and cypress trees whose dead logs are unsuitable for slime molds, I think if let nature take its course, there would be a shortage of decayed logs suitable for slime molds in the woods. For example, the dead logs derived from oak trees, other deciduous trees and the pine trees, to name a few.

  From this point of view, I have collected many dead logs of such kinds from various places, put them at the margin of my woods (in fact it's very small though) last year to make the "nursery" (below photo).  I think that it is better for the Myxomycetes to place the dead logs near the edge of a forest or beside a forest road where the weak sunlight shines than in the deep in a forest where little sunlight shines during the day.

↓ Although dead logs are scattered, not stacked up, I think the dead logs should be placed in close contact with the ground, because in that way logs can keep the moist condition longer.

 As a matter of fact, prior to this nursery,  I made the similar nursery at the shady place in my orchard about 2 years ago. I put side by side the used bed logs for Shiitake production in addition to the common decayed logs.

↓Hemitrichia serpula known as the pretzel slime mold found at the nursery located in my orchard last year    

 I think it's convenient if I can check the occurrence of Myxomycetes at my nursery.  Because I feel free to go there frequently and I can put the decayed logs as much as I like.

 I'm looking forward to finding the various kinds of Myxomycetes, if possible, creeping slime molds in the future. 

Last updated on May 27th.