Resembling dog vomit, slime mold is of the class Myxomycetes; myxa (slime) and myketes (fungi). Note, though, that the use of the word was based on work done in 1833 by Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link who considered these organisms as fungi. Even today, the true relationship of the Myxomycetes to fungi remains obscure. Life Cycle - A Simplified Version: The vegetative body of the slime mold is a plasmodium, an amoeboid mass of protoplasm which has many nuclei and no definite cell wall. Under Western Colorado conditions, the creeping phase the common bark-inhabiting slime molds dries into hardened structures producing dark masses of spore-like bodies and clouds of dust-like particles when the fungus body is broken apart. Some slime molds are known to move into drier, more exposed locations in order to accomplish this life cycle change. The spores, capable of surviving unfavorable weather, are spread by wind, water, mowers, or other equipment. Under cool, humid conditions, the spores absorb water, crack open and release a single motile spore. Each motile (swarm) spore feeds like the plasmodium undergoing several changes before uniting with another spore to produce an amoeboid zygote. The zygote enlarges, becomes multinucleate and forms a plasmodium. Some species produce a stalk of hardened cells which other cells climb to create a fruiting structure from which spores are produced. This starts the cycle over again. For a more detailed discussion of slime molds and their life cycles, see the book by Stephenson, S.L. & Stempen, H. 1994. Myxomycetes: A Handbook of Slime Molds. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.