Dog Vomit Slime Molds

Among the strangest visitors we have in the vegetable garden are orange dog vomits like the one shown in the photo (the brick is there to give dimensions.) They are large slime molds and they turn up wherever wood mulch appears (they eat the wood chips). They start out a curiously attractive scrambled egg yellow and then, before the day is out, they morph into orange vomit before hardening into a brittle brown crust. They are known to biology as Fuligo septica and they are harmless. You also can’t get rid of them, not that I want to.

They are also one of the most interesting species on this Earth with their own distinct habits and needs. They spend their lives crawling slowly through the soil eating up bacteria and other organisms, before stopping and setting up spectacular displays on top of the mulch where you will find them. This is where they produce spores. Once the crust breaks apart, their millions of spores are released to the air and are blown by the wind and so the cycle continues.

If you find them interesting simply google slime molds. Fascinating stuff. It had Adrienne going “Yurrrgh…….”