Sighting 4722468
Physarum sp. (genus)
A slime mould at Monash, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Physarum sp. (genus) | Teresa | 14 Mar 2026 | |
| Physarum sp. (genus) | Heinol | 6 Mar 2026 | |
| Unverified | debhart | 5 Mar 2026 |
Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.
User's notes
Not 100% sure but is this a fungi growing on our colourbond fence? Its only on one panel of the fence. mycelium?
4 comments
6 Mar 2026
This is a slime mould. On the fence you see an excellent example of the fanning out growth during the mobile, feeding stage. Given the white-shelled fruitng bodies, with the dark spores inside, I'd guess this is a Physarum but @Teresa could offer a more auhtoritative opinion.
14 Mar 2026
Sorry for not logging in sooner. A beautiful example of the phaneroplasmodium (the fanning out growth) one will often see in nature. Physarum species are usually the most most obvious at this stage of growth but its impossible to identify positively without microscopy. As Heino has suggested the white-shelled fruiting bodies, with the dark spores inside are suggestive of several species of Physarum such as P. luteolum, P. cinereum or P. bitecum. This is a great find and would be a great herbarium specimen.
15 Mar 2026
Thanks for the id @Teresa Its still lives on my fence! I also had some fruiting bodies growing in the grass that looked similar.
Location information
- Places Monash, ACT
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- debhart Recorded by
Collections
Species information
- Physarum sp. (genus) Scientific name
- A slime mould Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 960.4m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Additional attributes