Slime Molds are a diverse group of odd life-forms: they are not fungi, not plants, and not animals. For hikers, the most likely type of slime mold to encounter is that seen in forests on rotting logs or in the plant litter on the ground. These are the Myxomycetes, and they live like independent amoeba in rotting matter when conditions are damp. When the forest starts to dry out, however, they all get together to form a reproductive mass that we see as the "slime mold." The reproductive mass actually moves slowly along the forest floor leaving a slime trail like a snail. The reproductive mass eventually produces spores that drift on the wind to establish the next generation.

Around Las Vegas, look for slime molds up in the mountains where forest conditions are moist, places such as Kyle and Lee Canyons on Mt. Charleston.

The species shown here might be Fuligo septica. For more information, see the slime mold page in Wikipedia.