By Zak Wheeler For Daily Mail Australia
16:17 16 Jun 2023, updated 16:17 16 Jun 2023
- ‘Moving sludge’ discovered in Gold Coast garden
- Social media sleuths struggled to identify oddity
An eagled-eyed gardener has been left puzzled after discovering a mysterious ‘oozing mass’ growing on his veggie patch.
The man took to social media to find out what the peculiar beige slime was after it ‘suddenly appeared’ in his garden this week.
He posted several photos of the sludge in the hopes it could be identified, with social media users quick to liken it to cheese sauce and vomit.
‘It’s slime mould,’ one person finally revealed to other confused users.
Slime mould, otherwise known as Fulgio septica or ‘dogs vomit’, is similar in appearance to fungi, but is vastly different according to the University of Sydney’s Entomologist Tanya Latty.
‘Slime moulds are not really fungi — they are gigantic, single celled organisms with complicated life cycles,’ Professor Latty told Yahoo News.
‘This picture likely shows a slime mould in its big blob-like life stage (called a ‘plasmodium’). It will eventually develop into spores that have distinctive shapes depending on the species.
‘So a conclusive identification would require careful examination of the spore-bearing structures.’
A key characteristic of the slime mould is its ability to move, despite lacking a brain or central nervous system.
The curious substance can also remember food sources for future reference.
Slime mould is incredibly common in Australian gardens and belongs to the Protista family of organisms. It was first documented by naturalists in 1504.
It is most commonly found in areas containing wood chips or leaf litter, and Tasmania alone has over 100 species of them.
Slime mould can grow anywhere, and show no signs of preference in regards to their environment, as long it can shield itself from light.
Moisture also seems to repel the oddity, which is known to move away from overly wet environments in search of something dry or decaying.
The movement of the slime puzzles scientists to this day, and it has been known to have the ability to navigate a maze without the need for a brain.
Endurance is also a key trait of the mould, which grows up to five centimetres in length when hungry and can shoot spores to permeate its own growth.
Their primary diet is bacteria and fungi, which makes it typically harmless for humans and animals.