Identifying those 'Fungi'

No-one was able to help with the unidentified orange fungus featured in Thursday's blog post, here, so it was good to succeed for a change in identifying what I took to be a fungus found today growing on a rotten log deep in the Loch Mudle forestry.  It turns out it isn't a fungus at all, but a slime mould, Lycogala epidendrum or the wolf's milk slime mould.

This is my first acquaintance with a slime mould as fearsomely named as this one, but have to say it's a rather a neat creature.  There were, in fact, three of them on the log, and it's described as not uncommon.

Google leads one to the surprise fact that, in Missouri, it's known as toothpaste slime because, if it's popped, it exudes a substance with the texture of toothpaste. The Missouri Department of Conservation's website page, here, ends with an encouraging box entitled 'Other Content You May Like', the top item of which is Dog's Vomit Mold.