Wolf's Milk
Wolf's Milk - Lycogala epidendrum
Lycogala epidendrum var. terrestre
Pinkish-buff or reddish, sub-spherical cushion- or blob-like fruiting bodies (aethalia) on dead wood, usually clustered; becoming more brown/grey and dull in colour as they mature. The surface texture is slightly warty or rough.
Some authorities (see Ing, 1999) consider that Lycogala terrestre and Lycogala epidendrum are separate species, with a different colour plasmodium and spore mass. Lycogala epidendrum is described with fruiting bodies that exude a red paste (plasmodium) if the outer wall is broken, and a greyish or olivaceous spore-mass inside the mature fruiting bodies. Lycogala terrestre is descibed as having plasmodium that is pink, peach etc. but not red, and a spore mass that is initially pink, peach or salmon.
Photograph the fruiting body and the plasmodium of younger specimens (the inside paste that oozes out when broken) and/or the spore-mass inside older specimens
On decaying wood
All year round
Common and widespread.
Some authorities (see Ing, B. 1999) consider that Lycogala terrestre is a separate species, other authorities consider there are two forms of one species.
The position of Lycogala in the taxonomic hierarchy is unclear. On the NBN, Lycogala are not assigned to a family. They are listed under Tubiferaceae on Wikipedia, and in Lycogalaceae in Ing, B. (1999).
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