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 Physarum globuliferum
SynonymsSphaerocarpus globulifer
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 or sometimes united in small clusters, 0.6–1.5 mm tall. Sporotheca globose, erect, white, 0.4–0.7 mm in diameter. Stalk moderately slender, smooth or wrinkled, calcareous, usually white but sometimes ochraceous or dull red. Columella short, conical or blunt (rarely lacking). Peridium consisting of a single layer, membranous, densely encrusted with lime, pinkish white, grey, pale to dingy yellow, or ochraceous. Capillitium consisting of small, rounded white or yellowish lime nodes connected by hyaline threads. Spores dark brown in mass, light violaceous brown by transmitted light, minutely warted, 7–9 µm in diameter. Plasmodium yellow or white.
Habitat: Decaying wood and bark.
Distribution: Cosmopolitan (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969). First reported from New Zealand by Lister & Lister (1905), based on a specimen collected on Stewart Island. Also known from South Canterbury (Rawson 1937) and Southland.
Notes: This species can usually be identified by the combination of the calcareous stalk, the conical columella, and the dense capillitium that retains its shape even after the spores have been dispersed.
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