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 Perichaena corticalis
SynonymsLycoperdon corticale
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 or occasionally plasmodiocarpous, gregarious, subglobose to hemispherical or somewhat flattened, bright reddish brown to nearly black, 0.2–1.0 mm in diameter. Hypothallus contiguous for an entire fruiting, colourless to brown. Peridium double, the outer layer often impregnated with granular material and the inner layer membranous, dehiscence irregular to unevenly circumscissile, the latter condition producing a fairly distinct operculum. Capillitium yellow, usually scanty, consisting of slender, branched or simple threads, minutely warted or spiny, 1.5–4.0 µm in diameter, attached to the inner surface of the peridium and the operculum. Spores golden yellow in mass, bright yellow by transmitted light, minutely warted, 11–13 µm in diameter. Plasmodium watery grey.
Habitat: Decaying wood and bark; occasionally fruiting on the dung of herbivorous animals.
Distribution: Reported to be cosmopolitan (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969) but probably most common in temperate regions of the world. First reported from New Zealand by Mitchell (1992), based on specimens appearing on bark samples placed in moist chamber culture. The bark samples were collected in Bay of Plenty. Also known from Nelson.
Notes: Perichaena corticalis and P. chrysosperma are rather similar morphologically. However, fruitings of the former are gregarious and the individual sporangia are characterised by circumscissle dehiscence, while those of the latter are scattered and dehiscence is irregular.
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