Featured Slime Mold #1: Enteridium lycoperdon

Common Name: None commonly used

I photographed this slime mold at Mass Audubon's Habitat Education Center & Wildlife Sanctuary in August, 2003. It was on a fallen log tucked under some small white pines and cherries. At first I thought it was scat or burnt wood. One of the key identifiers is the white margin (hypothallus) that you might often spot at certain stages as its base. Like many slime molds, Enteridium lycoperdon has an earlier stage that's squishy/puffy before becoming a hardened fruiting body. An example of this earlier stage can be seen here.

Though not considered part of the fungi kingdom, slime molds can often be found in mushroom field guides, and can certainly cause pause when walking in the woods.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that you can see a larger image here.