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 Fuligo cinerea
SynonymsEnteridium cinereum
BiostatusPresent in region - Exotic
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 an aethalium, rather thin, broadly effused or subplasmodiocarpous, 0.5–6.0 cm in extent or forming a network 15 cm or more across. Cortex firm, crustose, rather thick, white. Hypothallus membranous, consisting of several layers, white, calcareous. Capillitium consisting of large, irregular, white lime nodes connected by hyaline threads. Spores black in mass, dark purple brown in transmitted light, varying from globose to elliptical, 11–15 µm or 10–12 x 14–16 µm in diameter, minutely to strongly spiny. Plasmodium translucent white to milky white.
Habitat: Usually occurring on piles of decaying straw and animal dung; also found in association with other types of plant debris.
Distribution: Cosmopolitan (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969) but absent or very rare at high latitudes (Stephenson et al. 2000). First reported from New Zealand by Rawson (1937), based on a specimen from Dunedin. Also known from Auckland.
Notes: This species is easily distinguished from Fuligo septica on the basis of the thin, effused aethalium and the large, elliptical spores.
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