Pretzel Slime Mold - Hemitrichia serpula

Pale orange, pretzel-shaped network of slime mold strands.

Slime molds do not form penetrating or absorptive masses of hyphae on the wood substrate. Rather, slime molds form structures called plasmodia, which do not have cell walls. Plasmodia are masses of protoplasm which can move and engulf particles of food in an amoeboid manner. They creep over surfaces, engulfing bacteria, fungal spores, protozoa, and particles of nonliving organic matter. Eventually, the plasmodia turn into spore-bearing structures.
In Hemitrichia, the plasmodium forms a plasmodiocarp fruiting body where the spore-forming structure retains the
shape of the main veins of the plasmodium.

Habitat: Growing under the bark of a rotting stump in a mixed forest.