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 Diderma ochraceum
SynonymsDiderma ochraceum var. izawae
BiostatusPresent in region - Indigenous. Non endemic
Article: Stephenson, S.L. (2003). Myxomycetes of New Zealand. Fungi of New Zealand. Ngā Harore o Aotearoa 3: xiv + 238 p. Hong Kong: Fungal Diversity Press.
Description: Fruiting body a sessile sporangium, scattered to clustered, subglobose, 0.4-1.2 mm in diameter and 0.3-0.8 tall. Hypothallus inconspicuous. Peridium consisting of two layers, the outer layer cartilaginous, nearly smooth, ochraceous or pale dingy yellow, the inner layer membranous, closely adherent to the outer layer, dehiscence irregular. Columella absent or represented by a rough ochraceous mound. Capillitium abundant, consisting of delicate, very slender, brown, sparsely branched and hardly anastomosing threads. Spores dark brown in mass, pale grey in transmitted light, minutely warted or spiny, 8–10 µm in diameter. Plasmodium lemon yellow.
Habitat: Bryophytes in moist places
Distribution: Reported from widely scattered localities in North America, Europe, northern Africa (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969, Yamamoto 1998, Ing 1999) but apparently rare. First reported (as Diderma ochraceum var. izawae) from New Zealand by Yamamoto & Nannenga-Bremekamp (1995), based on a specimen collected in Hawkes Bay
Notes: This is a very distinctive species that invariably occurs in association with bryophytes. The apparent ecological relationship that exists between bryophytes and some species of myxomycetes has been noted by various authors (e.g., Stephenson & Studlar 1985) but no detailed investigations have been carried out. The collection upon which the New Zealand record is based differs from typical material of Diderma ochraceum in a number of minor features and was described as the variety izawae
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