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 Stemonitopsis hyperopta
SynonymsStemonitis hyperopta
BiostatusPresent in region - Origin uncertain
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, occurring in small, loose clusters, 2.5–5.0 mm tall. Sporotheca broadly cylindrical to elongated-ovate, erect, liliaceous brown, 0.2–0.3 mm in diameter. Stalk short, 0.1–0.5 mm tall, continued into the slender columella. Hypothallus contiguous for a group of sporangia but often thin and inconpicuous, colourless to reddish-brown. Peridium fugacious. Capillitium a network of slender, flexuous, brown threads, the ultimate branchlets united with the delicate surface net, which may be early fugacious above, persisting only over the lower half or two-thirds of the sporotheca. Spores lilac-brown in mass, pale lilac by transmitted light, warted and faintly but often incompletely banded-reticulate, 5–6 µm in diameter. Plasmodium watery white.
Habitat: Decaying wood, usually that of conifers.
Distribution: Widespread in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is usually associated with montane forests. First reported from New Zealand by Rawson (1937), based on specimens collected in Dunedin and Southland.
Notes: Distinguishing characteristics of this species are the pale, short-stalked sporangia usually occurring in small clusters and the faintly reticulate spores.
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