The first time that I came across these dark chocolate colour hairy growth on wood was in September 2013. As it was found on decaying wood, I had thought that it had to be one of those unusual mushrooms. It did not take long for me to trace its identity to the genus level (Stemonitis species). The hairy growth turned out to be a slime mould, not a mushroom at all. Subsequently, I found it on different locations in the park that I first saw it which means that it is rather common. The rotting tree trunks that it was found were likely Rubber Trees (Hevea brasiliensis) as the park is full of these trees.

The slime mould is quite small and appears as a mouldy patch when seen from a distance, which is probably why I had not discovered it earlier. It is one of the better-looking slime moulds. For more pictures and references, you can look up my photo deck on this slime mould.

The month of January is going to end soon. I did not had a chance to venture far except for one trip to Admiralty Park (near my place) and 2 park walks, mainly because I am still working on the recovery of my leg caused by the slip during my Tree-top walk trail outing in December last year. It ended up with bacterial infection that is going to take more than a month to recover. I have a few days off immediately after the coming Lunar New Year in early February. Hope I will be well enough to venture out to the more exotic places.