Slime Mould

Fruiting bodies of the slime mould Lycogala epidendrum.  These  fruiting bodies are know as aethalia and are much larger than the smaller sporangia of most other slime moulds.

The older aethalia are brown.

The spores are spherical and are about 6um in diameter (this x600 image is about 86um in width).  This is consistent with the 6 - 8um given for Lycogala epidendrum by Stephenson and Stempen (Myxomycetes: A Handbook of Slime Molds, 1994, page 136).  You can also see some of the tubular pseudocapillitium in the background.

First 2 photos taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading, UK, on 2012-05-06.