Echinostelium is a genus of slime mould, and the only genus in the monotypic family Echinosteliaceae,[1] or Echinosteliidae.

[2] It was discovered by Heinrich Anton de Bary in 1855, apparently near Frankfurt am Main.

[3] Some species of Echinostelium have a sexual life cycle; others have been shown to be asexual.

[4] The plasmodium can divide vegetatively, in a process called plasmotomy, to distinguish it from true cell division.

[5] The genus Echinostelium comprises at least five species:[6]