Lycogala epidendrum, commonly known as wolf's milk or groening's slime, is a cosmopolitan species of myxogastrid amoeba which is often mistaken for a fungus. The aethalia, or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to November.

Lycogala is a genus of Amoebozoa, including the species Lycogala epidendrum. [2]

Lycogala epidendrum, commonly known as wolf's milk, groening's slime is a cosmopolitan species of plasmodial slime mould which is often mistaken for a fungus. The aethalia, or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to …

Lycogala epidendrum is one of the most widely distributed and well-known slime molds. The fruiting bodies resemble puffballs but are much smaller. If an immature fruiting body is broken open, the contents ooze out as a pink slimy substance that has the consistency of toothpaste.

In 2023, 15 species of Lycogala were newly described, and their holotypes were obtained from various collections, including private ones (Leontyev et al. 2023b). To safeguard these specimens from potential loss, in September 2023, they were officially deposited in the State Botanic Collection (SNSB) in Munich, Germany.

Found after rains on well-rotted logs throughout the Midwest (and the rest of North America), Lycogala epidendrum is probably our continent's most frequently noticed slime mold. The fruiting bodies, called "aethalia," are round and pink at first, but they become gray to brownish with age.

Lycogala flavofuscum which resembles L. epidendrum but which is larger (2 cm or more in diameter), has a thicker, nearly smooth peridium, occurs on living as well as dead wood, and is not nearly as common. Photo © Steve Nelsen.

Based on a study of 255 collections from four continents and four floristic kingdoms, we describe 15 new species of the genus Lycogala.

Lycogala epidendrum (Wolf's Milk) is a little, round, orange or pink ball that grows in groups on dead wood. As it gets older, it slowly tans into an olive color. When opened, a pinkish-gray or...

Lycogala epidendrum, commonly known as wolf's milk or groening's slime, is a cosmopolitan species of myxogastrid amoeba which is often mistaken for a fungus. The aethalia , or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to November.