2011-05-15

Sporangia of Stemonitis splendens (a slime mold)


In the course of discovering what it was I'd shot in these photographs I learned some disturbing facts. My research uncovered details of living things I believed to be fiction; things that, nevertheless, jad haunted my childhood and have, conceivably, dimmed my overall life experience ever so slightly. I'll explain...

First, I have to point out that Stemonitis splendens (Stemonitis sp.) typically does not appear as in my photos. When it runs out of food, or conditions become otherwise unfavorable, it sprouts super-thin black hairs on which brown spore groups grow. The spores eventually fall off and are spread by wind, and possibly other means. I don't know what this slime mold looks like in its normal thriving state. Perhaps it's not very noticeable when it's normal. It only grows sporangia when it must.

So, Stemonitis sp. is a type of slime mold. There are different forms of slime molds, but this one is particularly disturbing (to me) because it's basically "The Blob" until it becomes hairy, as in my photos.

I saw the Steve McQueen version of "The Blob" when I was a little kid. The memory of "The Blob" gave me frights as a child when I'd notice shadows under doors and caused me nightmares for many years. The most recent nightmare was just a few years ago... The dream was one of those commonly experienced 'chase' situations that most people have from time to time, in which someone or some 'thing' is after you. Also, "The Blob" ruined my desire to enjoy puddings and gelatins. I'm over that food problem now and will eat such things, but, if I have a choice between pudding/gelatin and anything else, Else always wins.

So, slime molds (slime/s), like Stemonitis sp., are large single-celled organisms containing multiple nuclei and lacking cell walls. Such organisms are called 'plasmodia' and are made up of protoplasm, the same stuff inside most single cells. They move by pulsating, though I have no idea how they manage to pulse in the first place.

Stemonitis sp. are different from other molds and fungi in that they do not grow roots into surfaces. Rooting would hinder their ability to move about in search of food. They creep along, blob-like, enveloping bits and pieces of organic matter and 'consuming' those bits. Unlike "The Blob" they do not subsist on living matter, but may pass over living plants in their search for other organic debris foodstuffs.

Stemonitis sp. are not edible by humans. Even if they were, they would barely make a decent snack. However, they do provide food for slugs and other creepy crawlies, which will eat just about any debris they find. I often find slugs feasting on the poo residue on scoops we use outside to clean up the yard when our dog has to go #2.

For the sake of posterity, my first impressions upon seeing the mass of sporing slime were as follows:
I thought that someone had stuck a patch of stringy brown fuzz to the window frame. Why would someone do this? I don't know, but I've seen far more random things than a patch stringy brown fuzz on a windowpane.

I should mention that, in this sporing state, the slime is not readily visible, perhaps having dried out. I suspect the slime was thriving in our remarkably rainy Spring. Then, the recent day and a half of no rain, plus a wee bit of sunshine, may have dried out the slime enough to cause this batch to go into spore mode.

The black stems, at first glance, resembled a patch of black velcro to which the stringy brown fuzz was attached. As I leaned in for a closer look I noticed the dusty brown stuff laying on the windowsill beneath and to the side of the fuzz and recognized it as spore dust. Even after discovering that this was a patch of mold I thought it looked like something else. The storefront where this was found had once been home to a dealer of saltwater aquariums, fish, corals, etc. and I considered the sporangia to resemble a sea anemone.

Spring is a good time for finding many odd things. Later, in the evening of the same day,  I found a large Cleopatra moth at a local convenience store. I have photos of it to post as well.

I hope this information will be of use to someone else in the future.

Thanks to http://www.messiah.edu/Oakes/fungi_on_wood/club%20and%20coral/species%20pages/Stemonitis.htm for the scientific details concerning my strange find.

2011-05-03

Hey Dayton!

UprootedMushroomsFallen TreeStick HouseStalag Stalac differencesSchool's In Session
Children's Discovery ZoneStick SculptureWoven WoodStrange LandscapeWell TrimmedTarnished Arches
Over and UnderRoberta strollingOne of FourUptightReflecting on ReflectionNo Painted Lady
Elven DwellingsDSCF0021Choose a SideNarrow PassColumnsInside Outside

Patrick Dougherty Woven Wood Scupture!
Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark has a new attraction. Photos don't do it, or the park, justice. Go see it for yourself!

Limberger PSA - A Warning

I love cheese. Not just in the cultural sense, but in the edible sense. I love to try cheeses I've never had before.

One day, about a year ago, a friendly clerk at the grocery store had samples of Limberger.
I've seen enough cartoon Limberger gags to know that it was probably fairly potent stuff, so I tricked myself into disbelieving Tom & Jerry. I convinced myself that it couldn't be so bad, and that I shouldn't allow cartoons to deprive me of a life experience. As it turned out the cartoons were right.
I was Wile E. Coyote ordering another fine ACME product. My palate paid the price, falling to it's apparent death. And, just like Wile E. Coyote, as my taste buds begin to rise from the impact crater, a boulder of Limberger memory comes crashing down to ruin a good day and add insult to the "injury". The cartoons were right! I'm sure you'd rather not imprint your face in a frying pan; so too, you do not want to try Limberger cheese.

When it comes to Limberger, I can't stress this enough, DO NOT EAT IT. DO NOT EVEN TASTE IT. I mean that with all my being. It's not a warning, not merely a request, but a Commandment.

Limberger tastes like the combined scents of month old used cat litter, on a plate of fresh bird droppings, with a severed decaying hobo foot for garnish.

Limberger will not kill you, but it will haunt your tastebuds for eternity, really. NEVER, EVER PUT LIMBERGER CHEESE ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR MOUTH. And if anyone else tries to tell you it's not all that bad, make them eat it first. They won't. You'll know them for a liar, and you have a duty to punch them square in the face.


Limberger really is that bad. FACTS: This is not a matter of personal taste. Limberger cheese is not an acquired taste, like oysters or caviar. It's not a flavor that you will grow to appreciate. I believe Limberger cheese exists only to create a market for gourmet dog poop!

People get struck by lightning and live, but there ain't a'one of them that'll suggest you try getting struck by lightning for yourself. Limberger is just like that.

Limberger is the worst thing I've ever experienced that didn't cause me any physical harm, but the random phantom-smells and taste memory of the experience is still with me over a year later. I have Limberger PTSD!

If you feed a prisoner Limberger cheese, their lawyer will probably get them freed on grounds of cruel and unusual punishment.

Limberger is really that bad. Like a cobra snake bite, just believe Limberger is bad. Don't find out for yourself.

Thank You