A Northern Woodlands staff member was walking along a river in Virginia when she found this sweet-smelling, multicolored goo dripping down the side of a toppled stump, directly under some recently cut wild grape vines. Despite the southern location of this photo, you can find similar slimy specimens in the Northeast. What is this?
Answer
This is tree slime, and as you may have guessed from the way we worded the question, the grape vine is a primary factor here. The photo shows grape vine sap that has dripped onto the stump, where a combination of yeast and fungi from the genus Fusicolla has colonized the sap. One common species in this genus is Fusicolla merismoides, also known as “deer vomit.”
This week’s contest winner was Ann Basehore