Original paper
Household slime molds
Tucker, Danielle R.; Coelho, Isadora Lima; Stephenson, Steven L.
Nova Hedwigia Band 93 Heft 1-2 (2011), p. 177 - 182
published: Aug 1, 2011
DOI: 10.1127/0029-5035/2011/0093-0177
ArtNo. ESP050009301012, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds or myxogastrids) are common to abundant organisms in nature, but they are not generally associated with indoor environments. In the present study, samples of dead leaves and herbaceous stems collected from common household plants were used to prepare 130 moist chamber cultures. The majority (70%) of these cultures yielded some evidence (either plasmodia or fruiting bodies) of myxomycetes, and 12 species representing eight genera were recorded. The two most common species were Stemonitis fusca var. nigrescens and Physarum cinereum, present in 29 and 26 moist chambers, respectively. The order Physarales was predominant, both in terms of number of species (9 of 12) and number of collections (59 of 90).