Identification: Can someone ID this white hair-like growth

Discussion in 'Fungi, Lichens and Slime Molds' started by Carita, Oct 2, 2006.

  1. Carita

    Carita Member

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    I made this photo in January at Morden Colliery Park just south of Nanaimo, BC and have been unable to identify the lichen? that was growing on this broken alder tree. Can someone help me out?

    Thanks,
    Judy
     

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  2. tipularia

    tipularia Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Looks like a white slime mold.
     
  3. Carita

    Carita Member

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    Thank you very much.
     
  4. Buzzbee

    Buzzbee Active Member

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    I looked up white slime mold and I didn't think it looked like your photo but I am no expert.

    Tried to find a lichen similar , some look close, but this is an interesting one.
    It does look like hair, will be interesing to see what one of the more seasoned readers thinks.

    Buzz
     
  5. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I think it's a slime mold as well, but as resources online and in our library are lacking for this group of organisms, I can't verify or identify. Very beautiful looking, though.
     
  6. Carita

    Carita Member

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    Thanks Buzzbee and Daniel.........I was fascinated with the cottony aspect of it and felt that it resembled a bandage on a knee. I will be visiting that trail this winter again to see if there are more examples of it.

    Cheers,
    Judy
     
  7. tipularia

    tipularia Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    It could just be a white fungus mycelium, but here is a link to some slime molds in the genus Ceratiomyxa which might be a possibility. LINK
    Also, found this one that looks just like the post, but I traced the photo back to the source and it might be misidentified. LINK
     
  8. Ken Ramos

    Ken Ramos Member

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    Could possibly be a slime mold but I would not count on it. It certainly isn't Ceratiomyxa, at least not a speices I have found here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, however, that is not to say that it isn't either. Just that I have never ran across any myxos' that resemble this specimen. Little is known about myxomycetes and their diversity, therefore the amateur or professional mycologist/botonist can or could make a considerable contribution to the study of them or so I have read. It maybe as tipularia stated, that it is a white fungus mycelium, then again it could also be the fruiting bodies of the fungus living below the substrate. It would be something to research or investigate further I would say.
     
  9. Carita

    Carita Member

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    Thank you for all the help. Many of the photos of the Ceratiomyxa look similar but so far I haven't found anything that looks exactly like it. I wish now that I had done more investigating at the time and taken closeup photos. I returned to the site today but at the moment there's nothing happening. We're in the midst of a drought here in BC and there is very little growing in the fungus world but I will keep track of it in the coming weeks and see if it appears anywhere in the area.

    Thanks again,
    Judy
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 3, 2006
  10. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Yes, I suppose it could be a fungus mycelium as well, with its intriguing growth pattern due to the bark being loose, and therefore being "pushed out" by the mycelium which in turn forces the mycelium to continue to extend outward.
     
  11. Frog

    Frog Generous Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I'm pretty certain this is ice.
    We kept running across this cottony, hairy substance pushing out from bark ... we theorized many identifications ... but when you touch it, it melts into water. Moisture inside the wood emerges this way under certain conditions.
     
  12. Carita

    Carita Member

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    Thanks Frog. That's precisely what occurs with the fallen alder branches. If there is a sudden frost following a heavy rainfall soaking these branches, this "hairy" frost pops out through the tiny holes in the branch. Thanks to Kent Brothers for passing on this information as a result of seeing this photo in my fungus collection.
     
  13. bsmith

    bsmith Member

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    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 26, 2009
  14. Frog

    Frog Generous Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Naw - the jury was paid and dismissed awhile back :-)
    Ice be ice
     
  15. Carita

    Carita Member

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    Hi Frog........I left a note on bsmith's photo at Flickr, telling him what we'd discovered about this curious item being frost so he'll have the answer now. I've seen a lot of it this winter.

    Cheers,
    Judy
     
  16. C.Wick

    C.Wick Active Member

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    Incredible! Isn't nature just amazing in all it's oddities? Thanx for finding this site to share with us.
     

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