Ceratiomyxa hemisphaerica

Plasmodium: Net-like or thin layer enveloped in mucous. Often translucent or white in colour but can also be tinted slightly yellow, pink, or blue-green. The protoplasm within the plasmodium can be seen flowing, resting, and resuming flow in the opposite direction. This occurs in intervals of approximately 40 seconds. Protoplasmic flow slows as the sporangia develop and halt completely during mitosis.

Sporangia: Can be found in many different forms. Common forms include:

Simple pillar: Pillar-like projections. In some species, pillars expand at the base and fuse to form a layer of plasmodium Fruticulus: Clusters of finger-like projections that are usually undivided Arbuscula: Branched resembling small trees. Spores develop on branch surfaces Filiforme: Long and slender pillars Porioides: Net-like formations of walls. Spores develop on sides and edges of wall Spores: The spores are round or oval globules individually attached to stalks sprouting from sporangia. Spores vary in size (8–13 μm in diameter). The spore walls are thin and transparent. Spores appear grainy and may have some vacuoles which are often near the perimeter or surrounding the nucleus. The nucleus within the spore is about 3 μm in diameter.

Swarm cells: Oblong with either one long flagellum, one long and one short flagellum, or two long flagella. …

Ceratiomyxa is commonly found on rotting wood. Large logs and stumps are cited as ideal substrates for growth, although smaller colonies can also be found on tree branches. The Ceratiomyxa collection of Henry C. Gilbert has specimen growing on various evergreen coniferous trees (Pseudotsuga), elm (Ulmus), maple (Acer), oak (Quercus), Tilia, and willows (Salix). A specimen collected by F. O. Grover was found growing on a burlap sack. Species of Ceratiomyxa can be found world-wide. C. fruticulosa is the most common species and has a cosmopolitan distribution. C. morchella and C. sphaerosperma have only been recorded in the tropics.

Ceratiomyxa plasmodia is diploid and can often be found emerging from rotting wood and spreading into a thin layer. The plasmodium then fruits to form sporangia: erect pillar or wall-like structures. The sporangia mature in about six hours. Many small stalks emerge from the sporangia to form protospores. Meiosis then begins in the protospores. Synapsis of the chromosomes in prophase is achieved at this stage. After the stalks have fully elongated, a thin transparent wall is secreted around the protospores to become spores. Spores take approximately 24 hours to mature. The first meiotic division is then completed in the spores followed by a second meiotic division which leaves the spore with four nuclei. After dispersal, these four-nucleate spores germinate and naked protoplasts emerge. The protoplasts take in water upon emergence and enlarge to about 3 times the size of the spore from which they emerged. The protoplasts then form short thread-like filaments that later retract back into round globules. In some cases, the protoplast skips the thread phase and remains isodiametric. The nuclei then migrate to four points of a tetrahedron and the protoplast cleaves into a tetrad of lobes. …

Ceratiomyxa comes from the Latin word ceratus meaning "waxed" and the ancient Greek word myxa meaning "mucus".