Silvery cocoon-like blobs on Hatanpää tree likely silky cushion slime mold

A reader spotted silvery, cocoon-like growths on a large Hatanpää tree. Tomi Kumpulainen of the Tampere Museum of Natural History, a nature expert writing in Aamulehti, identifies them as a mature slime mold, most likely the silky cushion slime mold.

The formations can look like insect pupae, but their irregular shape does not match any known Finnish insect development stage, Kumpulainen says. They are not insect pupae. Slime molds are related to amoebas rather than true fungi. They can move slowly across their substrate and reproduce via spores instead of forming a mycelial network. The specimens in the photo appear dried and immobile, with spores likely ready to disperse.

Moro often highlights observations from Pirkanmaa. Similar finds have appeared in our coverage before, including a slime-mold patch on garden candytuft and a thread-like mold on a decaying mushroom at Tohloppijärvi bog. Readers can send nature questions and photos to [email protected].