Myxomycete - sclerotium stage

Under unfavorable conditions (low temperatures, low moisture, overcrowding, lack of food, or accumulation of metabolic products), the plasmodium will either migrate to a new location or desiccate and harden into a durable resting or dormant state that can survive for several months or longer under controlled conditions (Alexopoulos, 1960b; Gray and Alexopoulos, 1968). This dormant stage is called the sclerotium and is composed of spherules that are contiguous and enclose one to many nuclei. Once favorable conditions return, the sclerotium will hydrate and the active plasmodium will crawl out, continue feeding, and produce fruiting bodies.