Strumpshaw Fen Lycogala epidendrum – April 2023
30 April 2023
Edit 10.04.24: Lycogala — epidendrum or terrestre !
During April at Strumpshaw Fen, the daughter & I spotted a number of slime moulds in the reserve woodland including this group of Lycogala epidendrum—Wolf’s Milk—on the morning of 9th April :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230409_01-600x452.webp)
10.45am – 9th April 2023
There were two groups—one orange and the other orange-pink. You can see the orange-pink group top-left in the photo above.
We poked one of the aethalia blobs to see the orange slime, full of immature spores, ooze out :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230409_02-600x452.webp)
10.45am – 9th April 2023
The photo below shows the orange-pink group better :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230409_03-600x452.webp)
10.45am – 9th April 2023
24 hours later the orange group has become orange-pink and the orange-pink group a pinkish buff :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230410_01-600x452.webp)
10.15am – 10th April 2023
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230410_02-600x452.webp)
10.15am – 10th April 2023
They look kind of cute with the orange-pink opening forming in the aethalia :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230410_03-600x452.webp)
10.15am – 10th April 2023
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230410_04-600x452.webp)
10.15am – 10th April 2023
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230410_05-600x452.webp)
10.15am – 10th April 2023
In the photo below taken another 24 hours later, the aethalia have turned pale mouse-grey and the openings are becoming more distinct :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230411_01-600x452.webp)
9.45am – 11th April 2023
And later in the evening, the aethalia had turned ash-grey—notice the aethalia that we had poked two days before with coral slime inside :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230411_02-600x452.webp)
19.30pm – 11th April 2023
Towards the end of April the aethalia had turned olivaceous buff and were open, releasing their spores :
![](https://traversingthehinterland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lycogala_epidendrum_20230422_01-600x452.webp)
22nd April 2023
I have use colour descriptions from the Danish Mycological Society (opens in a new tab as a PDF).