If you take a close look at fallen logs as you walk along the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails, you might notice quite a few strange things. 

Does this tree have a pimple?! 

Nope! 

It’s Wolf’s Milk, a type of slime mold. 

Don’t let the name fool you – this isn’t mold like what ruins your bread! 

Slime molds are their own thing, and aren’t even fungi! These strange and often beautiful organisms belong to the protist kingdom, a group of organisms that often share attributes of plants, animals, or fungi, and their life cycle resembles that of fungi. 

(You can learn more about slime molds in this Natural Parks Service article – with examples from Mount Rainier!) 

Most slime molds are difficult to appreciate with the naked eye, only revealing their true appearance to a macro lens, but Wolf’s Tooth is easy for the average hiker to spot. 

It starts as an orange or red bulb that contains a milky substance, which can leak out as the Wolf’s Milk matures. At the reproductive stage, the slime mold dries out to a brown color and releases spores in a burst of dust!  

Slime molds play a vital role in the health of our forests, decomposing dead organisms and recycling their nutrients. Wolf’s Milk specializes in decomposing fallen trees, which is why their orange and red bodies are so easy to spot compared to other species that take up more discreet locations. 

And don’t be afraid – these are harmless organisms with no poisonous attributes! Though they may cause gastronomic distress if eaten… but I’m hoping that none of our readers are eating random organism off of the forest floor.