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 Physarum pusillum
SynonymsPhysarum calidris
Didymium pusillum
BiostatusPresent in region - Indigenous. Non endemic
Images (click to enlarge)
Caption: Four sporangia of Physarum pusillum. The one on the right is about 1.5 mm tall.
Owner: S.L. Stephenson | 
Owner: J.A. Cooper |
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: Physarum pezizoideum is easily recognized by the combination of the flat, saucer-shaped ( or "pizza-shaped") sporotheca and the long, reddish-brown stalks. Because this species seems to be restricted to the tropics, its potential ecological distribution in New Zealand is likely to include only the more northern portions of the North Island
Habitat: Leaf litter and other types of plant debris.
Distribution: Reported as cosmopolitan (Martin & Alexopoulos 1969) but particularly common in warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. First reported (as Physarum calidris) from New Zealand by Lister & Lister (1905), based on a specimen collected on Stewart Island. Also known from Auckland, Coromandel, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Nelson, and Southland (Rawson 1937).
Notes: The reddish brown colour of the stalk and the lower portion of the sporotheca, and the a relatively long stalk, are the distinguishing features of this species. The colour of the peridium is quite variable, and specimens with a yellow peridium are sometimes encountered. Physarum pusillum is one of the myxomycetes commonly found on old decaying fronds of nikau palm (Stephenson 2003).
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