Mucilago crustacea

The white aethalium of Mucilago has a crisp or crusty texture and feel at maturity.  You can see the porous structure of the outer wall.   Inside the spore mass is black.  This slime mould has crawled about a foot up this sapling to produce its fruitbody.  There were half a dozen saplings in the vicinity similarly adorned with Mucilago.