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 Arcyria stipata
SynonymsLeangium stipatum
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 sporangium, crowded and usually more or less superimposed, 1.5–3.0 mm tall. Sporotheca cylindrical, in fresh collections copper-coloured or reddish brown, metallic, often with lavender or rose tints, changing to deep ochraceous or brown with age, 0.5–0.6 in diameter. Stalk 0.1–1.5 mm tall, dark brown, hollow, the interior filled with spore like cysts. Hypothallus dark brown, contiguous for a group of sporangia. Peridium persistent, especially where it is in contact with adjacent sporangia, eventually fugacious elsewhere and leaving a shallow calyculus, the latter usually shallow but sometimes deep, pleated or smooth. Capillitium attached at the base, somewhat elastic, forming a loose net, with bulbous thickenings and numerous free ends, the upper part often breaking way with the peridium, the threads 3–5 µm wide, bearing 3 or 4 spirals, these more less intermixed with spines, cogs, half-rings or occasional rings and reticulations. Spores pallid, minutely roughened, sometimes with occasional larger warts, 6–8 µm in diameter. Plasmodium yellow, becoming white, then rosy as fruiting occurs.
Habitat: Decaying wood.
Distribution: Reported from localities throughout Asia, Europe, and North America (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969). First reported from New Zealand by Rawson (1937), based on a specimen collected in South Canterbury.
Notes: This species is easily recognised by the densely crowded or heaped copper-coloured sporangia with a more persistent peridium than is typical for members of the genus Arcyria. In temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, A. stipata fruits later in the season than most other species of Arcyria.
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