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 Physarum hongkongense
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 plasmodiocarp (or sometimes sporangiate), gregarious or in small groups, strongly laterally compressed, constricted at the base, 0.5 mm in diameter. Hypothallus inconspicuous. Peridium consisting of two layers, the outer layer calcareous, crustose, bright to dull yellow, the inner layer distinctly separated from the outer layer, membranous, greyish white, dehiscence of the outer layer by a preformed fissure along the top of the fruiting body. Capillitium consisting of rounded to angular white lime nodes connected by hyaline threads. Spores blackish brown in mass, pale brown in transmitted light, globose, evenly, minutely warted, 7.5–9 µm in diameter. Plasmodium unknown.
Habitat: Leaf litter and decaying fronds of nikau palm
Distribution: Described originally from Hong Kong and now known from elsewhere in Asia (Chung & Tzean 1998). First reported from New Zealand by Stephenson (2003), based on a number of specimens from Auckland.
Notes: This species may be more common than indicated by available records, since it could be confused with Physarum bogoriense. The two species are found in similar ecological situations, but the fruiting bodies of P. hongkonense are laterally compressed (those of P. bogoriense are more or less terete), and the colour of the outer peridium and the pattern of dehiscence are different for the two species.
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