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Tubifera
ferruginosa
The young fruitbodies
(seen here) of Tubifera ferruginosa are a bright coral-pink and at this stage are
amongst the most attractive of the slime moulds. As they mature, however, they turn
a drab clay-brown and lose their glamour. The fruitbody is referred to as a
pseudoaethalium (the prefix "pseudo" = false). Thus, it looks something like an
aethalium but doesn't quite fit the bill. In the pseudoaethalium the sporangia are closely
packed to form a cake-like mass as in the true aethalium (see Fuligo).
In Tubifera, however, we can still make out quite clearly the outlines of the
individual sporangia that make up the compound fruitbody.