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 Physarum obscurum
SynonymsPhysarum virescens var. obscurum
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 sometimes plasmodiocarpous), gregarious, irregularly subglobose to ovoid or slightly elongated, 0.4–0.8 mm in diameter. Hypothallus inconspicuous. Peridium consisting of a single layer, membranous, often without conspicuous deposits of lime but usually with scattered granules present, greenish-grey, olive or yellowish, glossy, dehiscence irregular. Columella absent. Capillitium consisting of bright yellow angular lime nodes connected by slender hyaline threads. Spores black in mass, pale violet-brown by transmitted light, minutely warted, 6–8 µm in diameter. Plasmodium yellow.
Habitat: Leaf litter and other types of plant debris.
Distribution: Recorded from Europe and North America (Ing 1999) but apparently uncommon. Reported from New Zealand by Mitchell (1992), based on specimens from Buller and Westland.
Notes: Some authors have considered Physarum obscurum as a variety of P. virescens, but the fruiting bodies of the former are larger and not heaped (the single most diagnostic feature of P. virescens), and the spores are smaller.
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