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 Arcyria ferruginea
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, gregarious to crowded, 1–2 mm high. Sporotheca ovoid, not greatly expanding, dull orange to brick-red or brownish red, sometimes weathering to yellowish or greenish brown, 0.5–1.0 mm in diameter. Stalk rugose, dark reddish brown to orange-brown, one-third to one-half the total height of the fruiting body. Hypothallus contiguous for a group of sporangia, shining, yellow-brown. Peridium persisting in mature fruiting bodies only as a distinct calyculus, the latter widely funnel-shaped, shallow, shining, plicate, nearly smooth to reticulate on the inside. Capillitium slightly elastic, dense, deciduous at maturity, forming an even, coarse reticulum with the upper filaments 5–8 µm in diameter, and basal filaments more slender, marked with transverse bars, warts, spines, and reticulation. Spores reddish orange in mass, pale ochraceous by transmitted light, minutely warted, 9–12 µm in diameter. Plasmodium rose-red or cream-coloured.
Habitat: Decaying wood, usually that of conifers.
Distribution: Known from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969, Farr 1976, Yamamoto 1998). First reported from New Zealand by Lister & Lister (1905), based on a specimen collected in Taupo. Also known from Auckland and Bay of Plenty (Cheesman & Lister 1915).
Notes: The orange to reddish-brown colour of the fruiting bodies, relatively large (for an Arcyria) spores, and the coarse threads of the capillitium are the distinguishing features of this species.
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