Cotton Candy Slime mould fruiting bodies in Windsor Park
Photo credits: Amelia Lim
Common name: Carnival Candy Slime Mold, Cotton candy Slime mould
Although once classified as a fungi, slime molds (phylum Myxomycetes) are no longer considered as true fungi.
Although they can be easily identified by their iconic pinkish-red colour and fruiting bodies that resemble cotton candy when mature, it spends most of its life as single cells or as a boring white slime (plasmodium stage). As long as food is abundant, these slime molds exist as single-celled organisms, but when food is in short supply, many of these single-celled organisms will congregate and start moving as a single body in the form of a slime. It is sensitive to the environment in the slime stage.
The slime mold is able to move about only in the plasmodium place, moving to suitable spots before maturing. In fact, Slime molds have been known to be very intelligent, navigating mazes accurately despite the lack of a brain.
Commonly found on injured trees and decaying wood, the Carnival Candy slime mold feed on the bacteria, yeast and other fungi that are commonly found in dead plant matter. They help to contribute to the decomposition of dead vegetation.
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