Another Slime Mould

Mature sporangia of the slime mould Badhamia panicae on the bark of a log. The distribution of the sporangia over the surface of the log suggests that the slime mould plasmodium first moved along the cracks in the bark before spreading out slightly and then forming the sporangia.

The following close-up show that the sporangia are stalkless, unlike Badhamia utricularis. Also, where the calcified sporangial wall has split, you can see the spore-mass contains badhamioid (calcified) particles of capillitium.

On the surface of the bark, you can also make out the thin red film that is the remains of the plasmodium.  This thin red film is characteristic of B. panicea.

Photos taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2013-10-05.