”Moon Poo, also known as Luna de Caca or The False Puffball (Enteridium lycoperdon), is a fascinating slime mould. I’ve spotted these intriguing organisms quite a bit over the past few weeks, particularly on dead alder.
GeorgeFlavour Fred
They resemble someone’s melted white marshmallow stuck to a tree, which explains their nickname “false puffball” or “moon poo”. In central Mexico, this delicacy is fried and known as “moon’s excrement”, a name coined by locals in Veracruz.
“To prepare this traditional dish, the fruiting bodies of the false puffball are carefully picked, mixed with salt and aromatic “epazote” leaves (Chenopodium ambrosioides), and wrapped in a small packet. This bundle is then heated over a campfire or bonfire, allowing the flavours to meld and the texture to transform into a dense, elastic consistency similar to Oaxaca cheese. The residents of San Lorenzo Tlacoyucan recommend savouring this delicacy on-site. Transporting the cooked fungus can cause it to revert to its gelatinous state, altering its texture and making it less appealing. I’d love to try this if I find a large quantity in one place.” – https://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/false-puffball.html� Slime moulds are generally found on dead and fallen trees. They belong to a diverse group of unrelated organisms living freely as single cells and can cluster together to form larger structures called plasmodia. While slime moulds are unique, they were once thought to be part of the Fungi kingdom. These single-celled organisms are actually protists, more closely resembling amoebas. During feeding, they form a giant amoeba with thousands of nuclei known as a plasmodium. Unlike other cells, the plasmodium is not divided by cell membranes but is enclosed by a single outer membrane.
