Behold the surreal magic and mystery of slime molds

They’re spore-sprouting, rainbow-hued marvels—neither plant nor animal—and full of fascinating surprises.

Lamproderma scintillans
On a forest walk, look in damp areas for tiny, striking slime molds; these stalks topped with jewel-like spheres grow on the edge of a leaf. Andy Sands’s images in this article capture slime molds in the reproductive stage, when they’re easiest to spot.