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 Prototrichia metallica
SynonymsTrichia metallica
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 (or rarely short-stalked) sporangium, scattered to gregarious, globose to subglobose, orange-brown to dull brown or sometimes rosaceous, 0.5–2.2 mm in diameter. Hypothallus usually inconspicuous. Peridium thin, transparent, often somewhat iridescent. Capillitium consisting of numerous yellow-brown, more or less spirally banded threads that originate at the base of the sporangium and ultimately become somewhat subdivided above. Spores orange-brown to dull brown in mass, yellow by transmitted light, spiny, 10–14 µm in diameter. Plasmodium white.
Habitat: Decaying wood and bark, especially that of conifers.
Distribution: Widely distributed in Europe and in the mountains of western North America (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969). In the Southern Hemisphere also known from Australia. First reported from New Zealand by Mitchell (1992), based on specimens collected in South Canterbury and Southland.
Notes: Prototrichia metallica is one of the more distinctive myxomycetes characteristically found in alpine regions of the temperate zone in the Northern Hemisphere.
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