This morning I came across two colonies of slime mould. At least, I think that’s what this yellow gunge is. I’m not a mycologist — it’d be great to hear from someone who knows for certain.

This photo shows two mounds of bright yellow slime mould (I think) that I spotted on the ground in Manly Dam Park, New South Wales. The mounds nestled amongst the ground cover of leaves and sticks:

The stuff was soft to the touch. I prodded the larger piece with a stick, and discovered that the inside was mushy and slightly darker in colour than the outside:

Slime mould is the coolest thing since poached eggs. It spends part of its time as tiny separate organisms. When the going gets tough, the separate bits find each other and form a single body that can move around in search of food. The body seems to have an intelligence of its own, and scientists are intrigued by the possibilities of human cooperation with slime mould. 

In a different area of the park was a collection of similar stuff, this time part-way up a tree trunk:

I didn’t get very close, because there was a lot of vegetation-covered ground ground between me and the tree. It looked like the ideal home for snakes, spiders, and leeches. Instead, I used my camera lens to zoom in:

So, what do you think — slime mould or not?

If you’re interested in more beautiful and interesting fungi, take a look at my Soothing Musing: The humble mushroom.