Annual Business Meeting

Dog Vomit: Stories of Earth’s Most Common Slime Mold by Lee Stark

If you’ve encountered a slime mold, it’s likely been a bright yellow Fuligo septica, commonly known as Dog Vomit. Charismatic, cosmopolitan, and maybe millions of years old, F. septica has been at the center of folktales and controversies over centuries. Could Dog Vomit be from outer space? Evidence of witches? Our relationship with F. septica might say more about us.

Lee Stark is a creative director, naturalist, and citizen myxomycetologist with special interests in common genera Fuligo, Lycogala, and Tubifera. Previously, Lee found and studied the less common species Badhamia polycephala in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and wrote about the experience in Are.na Annual. Lee is interested in the historical relationships between humans and slime molds, why slime molds are perceived as “gross” or “geniuses” in popular culture, and how we can increase awareness of this wonderful Phylum of life.