Fungus or slime mold?
June 9, 2018 3:04 AM   Subscribe

(Or other?) Friend saw this on their run today and wants to know what it is, location S. Korea. Another shot. I've tried Google but I don't have much previous knowledge to go on. Thanks!

Also if you have a good website that helps identify things like this (e.g. Akinator/20 Questions for plants and fungi), please let me know.
posted by lesser weasel to Science & Nature (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I could tell you down to the species level - but I'd need a physical sample (for 18s sequencing).

It is definitely not a slime mold, it's a saprophytic fungus of some kind.
posted by porpoise at 8:28 AM on June 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


Yeah, I'd say it's some kind of polypore fungus.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:12 AM on June 9, 2018


Best answer: After more Googling, check out pictures of veiled polypores.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:14 AM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Also if you have a good website that helps identify things like this (e.g. Akinator/20 Questions for plants and fungi), please let me know.

I missed this part of your question the first time around (was on my phone, glasses off). Mushrooms Demystified is the go-to for North American fungus identification. There's a general botanical key ("Is it blue, or is it red? If red, go to page 32.") that will get you to the phyla, and each phylum has a key that will guide you to the species. It's totally 20 questions for mushrooms.
posted by mudpuppie at 6:15 PM on June 9, 2018 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Perhaps as a companion, MycoBank. It is more search-for-name get-pictures.

But if you're interested, I'd absolutely do 18s sequencing for your friend. Gratis. All I need is a small (sub gram) sample in the mail (I'm in Canada). I've done this for a friend who found something similar on a tree that she thought resembled something of medicinal value from her ethnic pharmacopoeia. Turns out, related but different. No reliable phytochemistry analyses were ever done, so...

Memail me if interested.
posted by porpoise at 8:09 PM on June 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: (Thank you for the offer! I'll let them know and contact you if they're up for it.)

And thanks for the answers so far! It's been a learning experience for both of us.
posted by lesser weasel at 8:27 PM on June 9, 2018


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