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 Physarum limonium
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 (or sometimes sessile) sporangium, almost spherical or somewhat oblate, 0.8–1.0 mm in diameter and up to 1.2 mm tall. Stalk slender, up to one and a half times longer than the diameter of the sporangium, grooved, reddish brown. Hypothallus discoid, small, red brown. Peridium consisting of a single layer, thin, lemon yellow to orange yellow but fading when exposed to light, covered with circular scales of yellow lime, darker at the base and there usually limeless, dehiscence irregular. Columella absent. Capillitium with large, sometimes more or less badhamioid, yellow or orange yellow lime nodes, sometimes merged in the center to form a pseudocolumella, the limeless portions short, delicate, colourless and difficult to see. Spores dark brown in mass, greenish or lilac grey in transmitted light, 10–13 µm in diameter, covered with fine warts and sometimes with groups of larger ones. Plasmodium yellow.
Habitat: Bark of living trees, dead leaves, and other types of plant debris
Distribution: Described originally from Europe (Nannenga-Bremekamp 1966), where it is now known from a number of scattered localities. First reported from New Zealand by Mitchell (1992), based on a specimen from Auckland.
Notes: The combination of a stalked sporangium and the circular lime scales on the peridium makes this rare species easy to recognise. Some authors consider Physarum limonium doubtfully distinct from P. auriscalpium, a species not known from New Zealand. However, the sporangia of the latter are usually sessile and the spores much darker.
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