Description
Genus and Species: Physarum polycephalum (Plasmodium phase)
Optimal Medium: 2% Agar with Old Fashioned Quaker® Oats
Optimal Temperature: 25° C
Motility: Plasmodium
Classification: Slime Mold (Myxomycetes)
Physarum polycephalum is a plasmodial slime mold. The plasmodium is the active feeding stage of the organism and consists of a mass of multinucleate protoplasm. In moving, the plasmodium may move along many fronts that are connected by veins. Streaming of protoplasm is easily seen within the veins.
Optimal medium: 2% Agar with Old Fashioned Quaker® Oats. Optimal growth temperature: 25° C. Culture contains enough material for a class of 30 students.