What is this?

[+mertat]

Anybody have any idea what this is?

 

I was hiking yesterday in NC and this was on the trail.

[+CurmudgeonlyGal]

Can you describe the characteristics of your big blob of gelatinous goo? (Well, that's kinda what it looks like... that or pitch.)

 

michelle

[bogleman]

Looks like Black Cherry tree sap. We have several in a green space behind the house and they leak this stuff all the time.

[+mertat]

Can you describe the characteristics of your big blob of gelatinous goo? (Well, that's kinda what it looks like... that or pitch.)

 

michelle

Funny you should describe it that way because I spent quite a bit of time googling "gelatinous" and "goo" to no avail. Anyway, it was about 5-6" in length. At first I thought it was some kind of scat but on closer inspection I didn't see any fur, seeds, or other plant or animal parts in it. I didn't really think it was a fungus because it didn't seem to be attached to anything - it was pretty much sitting out in the middle of the trail. There was also a smaller blotch nearby - maybe about 2". It seems to be mostly transparent. I'm thinking that some kind of sap might be the right answer.

 

Here's the smaller blob:

[+mertat]

Just found a picture of Black Cherry tree sap - it certainly looks like the same stuff.

[+fox-and-the-hound]

I've seen pine resin piles like this before. Usually there are small areas full of air bubbles though like wood glue that has hardened. Sometime a large branch breaks off in a storm. The excess water from the storm cause a rush of sap moving upwards where it leaks out, gathers and finally breaks off when the weather dries out again. Was this find gelatinous or crystaline?

 

edit to ask: Did you happen to smell it?

Edited September 5, 2008 by fox-and-the-hound

[+mertat]

It was gelatinous. I was back up there this past weekend and checked it out again (I had it waymarked ). It had dried / shrivelled up some. I poked it with a stick and it was kind of rubbery. There aren't any pine trees around there but there were other trees that could have been the source.

 

And, no, I didn't smell it.

[+fox-and-the-hound]

It might be Nostoc. Had it rained recently?

[+Nishnabotna]

Did it have any acidic qualities?

[+Guinness70]

in a few million years that will be amber :-)

[rogheff]

You've discovered Bigfoot scat

Edited October 7, 2008 by rogheff

[+TotemLake]

Speaking of gelatinous goo, does anyone know what this is? I’d say it was about 6” across and the only of its kind floating by the lake’s shore. Found it near this cache.

 

Egg sac. First guess looking at how shallow that is in, it is probably frog or salamander. The most likely description I've been able to find on amphibian egg sacs in your area is it is from a Marbled Salamander. They breed and hatch right around the time frame this picture was taken.

Edited October 8, 2008 by TotemLake