hello, i hope whoever is reading this is having a good day. anyways, i was using egg cartons for seed starting, and i left it outside for a while. it rained for the last couple of days, and this morning i saw small red bulbous dots growing out of the carton. about 6 hours later, i tried to touch it and it was slightly hard. i dont have any images, so sorry. some extra info: i live in victoria bc. thank you.
Hi @Ilman, Soft to watery red dots on the surface of an egg carton (or other surface) could be a slime mold. You could try pressing on it and see if it squishes. Firm to hard is more likely something else other than a slime mold. If it was growing *out* of the carton rather than growing *on* the carton then more likely not a slime mould. A couple of more specifics could be useful: Could you define "small" e.g. approximate diameter, and "awhile" e.g. days, weeks, months? Some red things I am aware of would not normally be on an egg carton, but if they were out there for a long time there are possibilities. Ultimately, without photos, an ID is unlikely.
I do know without a photo an id is unlikely, i just was wondering if it was harmful to my plants. anyways, it was firm, and it was growing on, but stuck to the carton. the carton was outside for about 4 months, but the red dots only formed recently. also thanks for always being here and responding. i know you're a moderator, and it is kind of your job, but its very helpful. edit: the size is about the ball of a ball point pen
For the record, it's a volunteer position, and not all the moderators are as knowledgeable in the subject area as @Frog is (thinking of myself here). Our "job" is more to make sure things are running smoothly. I have to depend on forum members to come up with replies. Frog is definitely a treasure.
Thanks for adding size and duration @Ilman - very tiny size is useful but so far hard to come up with options. If you do at some point have photos please do share them. I had a thought this morning, more applicable if the dots were larger perhaps: the cannonball fungus Sphaerobolous starts off reddish then pales to orange yellow and fires off wee black cannonballs at maturity. If you notice that sort of progression over time, it is an interesting fungus ... that would appear in the substrate/circumstance you are describing.
Hey, Frog, maybe you could post a pic of what you suspect Ilman's growth to be...? Reverse ID. https://www.freshairguide.com/different-colors-of-mold/ https://doorcountypulse.com/door-to-nature-the-motile-third-kingdom/
yes, sadly i threw it away before taking any photos, because i didnt think to take a photo, until i made this post. i dont think its the cannonball fungus you were talking about, because they were 1. dry? maybe firm is a better way to describe it. 2. they werent that tall. it was like a half sphere on top of the carton, and they werent moist at all. thank you for the help and sorry i didnt have any photos.
