Lycogala terrestre Fr.
(Wolf’s Milk)

Taxonomic hierarchy:
SpeciesLycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)
GenusLycogala (a genus of slime moulds)
FamilyTUBIFERACEAE (a family of slime moulds)
OrderLICEIDA (an order of slime moulds)
ClassMYXOGASTREA (slime moulds, myxomycetes)
SubphylumMYCETOZOA (a subphylum of slime moulds)
PhylumAMOEBOZOA (amoebae and cellular slime moulds)
SubkingdomSARCOMASTIGOTA (a subkingdom of protozoans)
KingdomPROTOZOA (protists, single-celled organisms)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)
Records of Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk) :
1: Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)
8 May 2004 OSGR: TF40 52° 40’ N, 0° 10’ E Vice County: Cambs (VC 29) England
12 immature fruitbodies on split, fallen, rotten, waterlogged, soft ?Apple trunk
Image 1: Immature aethalia - in situ - close-upImage 2: Immature aethalia - damaged - in situ - enlargedImage 3: Immature aethalia - in situ - enlargedImage 4: Mature aethalia - enlargedImage 5: Mature aethalia - highly enlargedImage 6: Mature aethalium - surface - close-up - highly enlargedImage 7: Pseudocapillitium fragment - magnifiedImage 8: Pseudocapillitium - magnifiedImage 9: Pseudocapillitium - microscope low magnificationImage 10: Pseudocapillitium - microscope low magnification (2)Image 11: Sporees and pseudocapillitium fragment - magnifiedImage 12: Spores - magnifiedImage 13: Spores - magnified (2)Image 14: Spores - magnified (3)
2: Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)
8 May 2004 OSGR: TF40 52° 40’ N, 0° 10’ E Vice County: Cambs (VC 29) England
6 ripe fruitbodies on dead Apple stump
Image 1: Group of grazed ripe fruitbodies Image 2: Unripe fruitbody - damaged - close-up
3: Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)
27 May 1979 OSGR: SU94 51° 10’ N, 0° 40’ W Vice County: Surrey (VC 17) England
Young sporocarps
Image 1: Unripe sporocarps - close-up - enlarged
4: Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)
23 Apr 1977 OSGR: SU74 51° 10’ N, 0° 60’ W Vice County: North Hants (VC 12) England
unripe fruitbodies, on burnt log
Image 1: Unripe fruitbodies - in situ - close-up

Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk) may be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)
BioInfoBioInfo (www.bioinfo.org.uk) has 0 host/parasite/foodplant and/or other relationships for Lycogala terrestre (Wolf’s Milk)

The pale buff or pink aethalia are very common on damp rotting wood.

The commonest species of the genus in Britain. Formerly not distinguished from the less frequent L. epidendrum.

The fragile pseudocapillitial tubes are 12-25µm diam (8-12µm in L. epidendrum).

The pink plasmodium, pale aethalia and pink spore mass separate it from L. epidendrum.

L. epidendrum.

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