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 Diderma niveum
SynonymsChondrioderma niveum
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 (or sometimes subsessile) sporangium, gregarious to crowded, depressed-globose to pulvinate, 0.7–2.2 mm in diameter. Hypothallus white, calcareous, ranging from abundant to inconspicuous. Peridium consisting of two layers, the outer layer smooth, calcareous, fragile, the inner layer membranous, often iridescent, yellow or orange below, often closely adherent to the outer layer, dehiscence irregular. Columella prominent, globose to hemispherical, ochraceous to deep orange. Capillitium abundant, elastic, consisting of two types of threads, the first type coarse, purple or dusky brown with pale tips, the second type colourless with bead-like expansions, both types sparsely branched and anastomosing. Spores black in mass, violet-brown by transmitted light, minutely roughened, 9–11 µm in diameter. Plasmodium white.
Habitat: Dead twigs and other types of plant debris or (more rarely) living plants, usually near the edges of melting snowbanks in alpine regions
Distribution: Widely distributed in the mountains of Europe and western North America (Martin & Alexoupulos 1969) and also known from the Antarctic (Ing & Smith 1983). Reported from New Zealand by Stephenson & Johnston (2003), based on specimens from Central Otago
Notes: This is perhaps the most common and widely distributed of the "snowbank" myxomycetes. It is quite variable, and several varieties have been described that possibly warrant recognition as distinct species.
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