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 Lamproderma ovoideum
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, clustered or scattered, up to 2 mm total height. Sporotheca ovoid, 0.8–1.2 mm broad and 1.0–1.8 mm high. Stalk up to 0.5 mm long, usually broad and triangular at the base, black. Hypothallus dark brown at the centre and light brown at the margin, often contiguous for a group of sporangia. Peridium black, usually persistent, at least in the lower part, which forms a cup. Columella cylindrical, somewhat thickened at the apex, attaining up to three-quarters the height of the sporotheca, black, usually with membranous expansions in the upper part. Capillitium arising from the entire length of the columella, branches stout, rigid, dark brown to black, forming a dense net at the periphery, with many pointed, paler free tips. Spores black in mass, dark brown by transmitted light, spiny, 13–16 µm in diameter. Plasmodium unknown.
Habitat: Living plants and various types of plant debris, usually near the edges of melting snowbanks in alpine regions.
Distribution: This species was described originally from Europe and has since been reported from North America, Asia and subantarctic Macquarie Island (Stephenson et al. 1992). First reported from New Zealand by Stephenson and Johnston (2003), based on specimens collected in Mid Canterbury and Central Otago.
Notes: Lamproderma ovoideum is a difficult species to define and probably represents one member of a species complex that also includes L. carestiae (a species not known from New Zealand) and L. sauteri (Kowalski 1970, Neubert et al. 2000). The combination of an ovoid sporotheca and relatively large, spiny spores distinguish this species from other members of the genus known from New Zealand.
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