More things that lurk at the bottom of the garden

The willow logs have come up trumps again! In the shadiest corner of the garden, as the light was fading, I found a clump of tiny creamy fruiting bodies at the end of jet-black stalks. These belong to the slime mould Comatricha nigra, another new species for the garden.

The plasmodial stage of this species is translucent white, while the sporocarps are initially yellowish on a black stalk, gradually darkening through shades of brown until they become jet black and shiny. As the sporocarps ripen they lose their sheen and take on a rougher appearance, before discharging the brown spores that will form the next generation. 


I picked up my photos from Helpston where the art exhibition had been a great success, helping to fund sixteen diesel generators for medics in the Ukraine. I sold a couple of images which pleased me as there was a lot of choice!