Slime Molds of the Mid-Atlantic Region

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About Slime Molds
(yes, I know, slime molds aren't actually plants or fungi
but they can be confused with them, and they're cool, so...)

"Slime mold" is a generic term for a variety of small or microscopic organisms in different groups. They have both single-celled and multicellular forms during their life cycle, the individual cells coming together to form fruiting bodies that produce spores. The term "slime mold" does not refer to a specific clade of organisms, but rather refers to several groups that share similar visual traits.

All slime molds are Eukaryotes, meaning the nucleii in their cells are bound within a membrane (unlike the prokaryotes bacteria and archeaea). However, they are neither animals, nor plants, nor fungi, but are instead in a collection of living organisms traditionally called "protists".

Class Ceratiomyxomycetes
	Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa - Honeycomb Coral Slime Mold         [ Class: Ceratiomyxomycetes  -  Order: Ceratiomyxales  -  Family: Ceratiomyxaceae ]
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Class Myxomycetes
	Arcyria denudata - Carnival Candy Slime Mold         [ Class: Myxomycetes  -  Order: Trichiales  -  Family: Arcyriaceae ]
	Lycogala epidendrum - Wolf's Milk         [ Class: Myxomycetes  -  Order: Reticulariales  -  Family: Reticulariaceae ]
	Metatrichia vesparium - Wasp's Nest Slime Mold         [ Class: Myxomycetes  -  Order: Trichiales  -  Family: Trichiaceae ]
	Reticularia lycoperdon - False Puffball         [ Class: Myxomycetes  -  Order: Reticulariales  -  Family: Reticulariaceae ]
	Tubifera ferruginosa - Red Raspberry Slime Mold         [ Class: Myxomycetes  -  Order: Reticulariales  -  Family: Reticulariaceae ]

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All photographs and images are copyright © Janis Stone