Okay, I was hiking/caching up in NC and ran across this on the trail:



Anyone have any idea what it is?

Was it alive? How big was it?

It looks like a half digested frog, but I don't think Mertat would be posting that for us to look at.

~erik~

It looks like it could be slightly scrambled Amber jelly Roll (Exidia recisa), a jelly-like fungus.



Puzzler of ...
The Waysiders

Looks like a giant loogie of pine tree sap to me.

No, it wasn't alive or even previously alive, as far as I could tell. It was about 5-6" in length. At first I thought it was some kind of scat but on closer inspection I didn't see any fur, seeds, or other plant or animal parts in it. I didn't really think it was a fungus because it didn't seem to be attached to anything - it was pretty much sitting out in the middle of the trail. There was also a smaller blotch nearby - maybe about 2". It seems to be mostly transparent. I'm thinking that some kind of sap might be the right answer.

The Blob...staring Steve McQueen

quote:

Originally posted by Trez:
The Blob...staring Steve McQueen

Actually, that was one of the first things I thought of. That movie scared the bejeebers out of me when I was little, so I wasn't about to poke this thing with a stick. Do you remember what happened to the guy who poked The Blob?

"Beware of The Blob, it creeps
And leaps and glides and slides
Across the floor
Right through the door
And all around the wall
A splotch, a blotch
Be careful of The Blob"

the Waysiders could be right ,but it looks more like "Black Witches' Butter" (Exidia glandulosa).It looks like it's been scrambled!! JMHO. Poppoppig

I'd bet it's of the Exidia genus. It probably fell and splattered on the ground. Some folks actually eat that stuff.

quote:

Some folks actually eat that stuff.

I know of someone that wont!

quote:

Originally posted by LZ33:

quote:

Some folks actually eat that stuff.

I know of someone that wont!

DUUUUUUDE!
Make that 2 you know that won't! Yuuuuuk!