Key Features
- Looks like vomit on shrub surface
- Leaves dark, smutty spores
- Appears under wet conditions.
Symptoms
Slime molds are not fungi and are actually more closely related to animals. They appear as unsightly masses that resemble scrambled eggs or vomit. They suddenly appear on shrubs, grass, annuals, perennials and mulch.
Biology
Slime molds consist of protoplasm that can move and engulf available food, like an amoeba, or "The Blob", if you are old enough to remember the movie. Slime mold creep over the surfaces of materials, engulfing and eating whatever it can by way of bacteria and other protozoans. At some point, the plasmodia convert into spore-bearing structures shown in the photos. The spores are released, are often purple-gray to brown and black, and the process starts all over.
Management Recommendations
Digging up the mass and disposing of it is the easiest way to contain it. It will not cause any harm but can be unsightly. Water sprayed from a hose actually spreads the slime mold and creates additional outbreaks.
Effective Pesticides
Pesticides are neither available nor recommended for managing this condition.
Resources
- Not satisfied with ID? Contact the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab
- Sign Up for the Purdue Landscape Report
