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 Dictydiaethalium plumbeum
SynonymsFuligo plumbea
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 pseudoaethalium (occasionally sporangiate or aethaliate fruiting bodies are encountered) composed of numerous cylindrical sporangia, grey at first but becoming dull yellow to yellowish brown, sporangia densely compacted into a flat, palisade-like layer, the individual sporangia 0.3–0.5 mm in diameter and 1–3 mm tall, the total composite structure sometimes 10 cm or more in total extent. Hypothallus thick, often extending beyond the margin of the fruiting body, silvery or pallid. Peridium membranous, not persisting in mature fruiting bodies except at the apices of the individual sporangia (where it is thicker and forms a well-defined "cap") and in the junctions between adjacent sporangia (where it persists as threadlike strands), dehiscence occurring as a result of the breaking apart of the individual sporangial caps, each of which remains connected to the threadlike strands formed in the sporangial junctions. Pseudocapillitum consisting of these persistent remnants of the peridium. Spores olivaceous brown to yellow or clay-coloured in mass, nearly colourless to pale yellow by transmitted light, distinctly spiny (spines up to 1 um long), 8.5–11.0 µm in diameter. Plasmodium bright pink.
Habitat: Decaying wood.
Distribution: Reported to be cosmopolitan (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969) but apparently most common in temperate regions of the world and rare at high latitudes (Stephenson et al. 2000). First reported from New Zealand by Chessman & Lister (1915), based on a specimen from the Bay of Plenty. Also known from Auckland, South Canterbury, and Dunedin (Rawson 1937).
Notes: Although quite variable in size and colour, this species is usually fairly easy to recognise because of the distinctive nature of the fruiting body.
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