|
 Arcyria major
SynonymsArcyria insignis var. major
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 short-stalked sporangium, often forming large fruitings, individual sporangia crowded, at first bright coral-pink but fading to a dull reddish-brown, 2.5–3.0 mm tall. Sporotheca cylindrical or nearly so. Stalk reddish brown, short, up to 0.3 mm tall. Hypothallus contiguous for a group of sporangia, silvery. Peridium persisting in mature fruiting bodies only as a distinct calyculus, the latter shallow, funnel-shaped, with a smooth margin, pleated, the inner surface covered with large papillae. Capillitium very elastic, often forming a greatly expanded plume 5–6 mm long, the latter usually decumbent, 2.5–3.0 µm in diameter, decorated with half rings arranged spirally. Spores rose coloured in mass, almost colourless in transmitted light, densely but very minutely warted, with groups of larger warts, 7.5–9.5 µm in diameter. Plasmodium white.
Habitat: Dead herbaceous stalks, twigs, and leaves.
Distribution: Reported from widely scattered localities in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America (Yamamoto 1998, Ing 1999). Not reported in print as occurring in New Zealand but represented by a specimen collected on Campbell Island.
Notes: Some authors (e.g, Martin & Alexopoulos 1969) have considered what is recognized herein as Arycria major to represent only a variety of A. insignis, but others (e.g., Nannenga-Bremekamp 1991, Ing 1999) have indicated that these two forms appear morphologically distinct enough to be regarded as separate species. Arcyria major is not a common species, and the specimen from New Zealand appears to be the first time it has been collected in the Southern Hemisphere.
|