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 Cribraria intricata
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 stalked sporangium, gregarious, 1.5–3.5 mm tall. Sporotheca globose, usually nodding but sometimes erect, commonly ochraceous to dusky brown to blackish brown, 0.5–0.7 mm in diameter. Stalk slender, furrowed, tapering upward, dark brown, 1.5–3.0 mm long. Hypothallus inconspicuous. Peridial net regular, the meshes often somewhat triangular, the nodes dark, prominent, thickened, polygonal or branched, with each node giving rise to five to eight connecting threads and one or more free ends. Calyculus prominent, occupying one-third to one-half the lower portion of the sporotheca; dictydine granules brown, 0.5–2.0 µm in diameter. Spores ochraceous in mass, pallid by transmitted light, minutely spiny, 5–6 µm in diameter. Plasmodium greenish brown, lead-coloured, or brownish black.
Habitat: Decaying wood.
Distribution: Common in North America and also reported from Europe and the tropics of Central and South America (Farr 1976) but apparently uncommon elsewhere (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969). First reported from New Zealand by Lister & Lister (1905), based on a specimen collected in Taranaki. Also known from Southland.
Notes: Cribraria intricata is very similar morphologically to C. tenella Schrad., a species not yet known from New Zealand, and also to C. dictydioides. The sporangium of C. intricata differs from that of C. tenella in that it tends to be somewhat larger, has a shorter stalk, and is characterised by a peridial net possessing more angular nodes that have a greater number of unconnected short filaments with free ends. In the tropics, forms with more or less intermediate features are sometimes encountered.
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