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Diderma acanthosporum

Description

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Genus Diderma

Sporocarpous, plasmodiocarpous or occasionally pseudo-aethaloid. Peridium with granular lime, typically double , but can be single or triple. In the latter case, crystalline lime may be present in the middle layer. Columella usually conspicuous but sometimes reduced to a thickened base . Capillitium lime-free, consisting of branched and anastomosed threads.

Physical Description

Species Diderma acanthosporum

Sporocarpic to subplasmodiocarpic. Sporocarps and subplasmodiocarps crowded, forming small stalked pseudoaethalia, spreading up to 10 x 5 mm, 0.4-1.0 mm total height . Sporotheca subglobose, depressed , sometimes slightly umbilicate at the top, angular from mutual pressure , pink to pinkish white, 0.20-0.35 mm high, 0.28-0.59 mm diam., up to 0.84 mm long in plasmodiocarpic forms. Hypothallus membranous, common to the whole fructification , brownish, frequently covered with calcium carbonate , whitish when calcareous. Stalk cylindrical, sometimes common to several sporocarps and then laminar and giving the appearance of being an extension of the hypothallus, erect or slightly curved , short, 0.17-0.65 mm long x 0.09-0.37 mm wide, longitudinally striate , calcareous, whitish to brownish pink. Peridium double , the two layers attached but not firmly united , the outer layer thick, crustose , calcareous, smooth , yellowish pink to light reddish brown, the inner layer coriaceous , bright, reddish brown by TL . Dehiscense irregular. Columella represented by a thickened, reddish brown basal area. Capillitium tubular , without lime, greyish brown by TL, the tubules slender, 1-2.5 µm diam., branched and anastomosed, forming a net , with membranous expansions in the axils. Spore-mass black. Spores free , dark greyish brown, paler on one side, globose , (16.5-)17-20.5 µm diam. including ornamentation, covered with few, large, sharp spines, 2-3 µm long, sometimes forked and curved, and with some wrinkles on the spore surface between the spines. On dead wood and twigs . On dead wood and twigs in tropical deciduous and juniper forests . Known only from central Mexico. Diderma acanthosporum has a unique combination of characters. These are a pseudoaethalioid fructification with stalked sporocarps and depressed sporothecae, a calcareous, crustose external peridial layer and large spores, paler on one side and with long spines. Diderma lyallii, D. subincarnatum and D. marieae also have large spores (13-16 µm diam.), but they are smaller than those of D acanthosporum. The capillitium as seen by SEM is reticulate , with an open mesh in some areas, and in others with a closed mesh. The surfaces of the capillitial tubules are ornamented with fine granules , as in many other Diderma spp.

Taxonomy

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Similar Species

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Members of the genus Diderma

There are approximately 157 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

D. acanthosporum · D. acuminatum · D. albescens · D. alexopouli · D. alpinospumarioides · D. alpinum · D. alpinum f. microcarpum · D. antarcticola · D. antarcticum · D. areolatum · D. asteroides · D. atrovirens · D. aurantiacum · D. badhamioides · D. badhamiopsis · D. botryosum · D. brooksii · D. brunneobasale · D. brunneobasalis · D. carmichaelianum · D. carneum · D. chondrioderma · D. cinereum · D. cingulatum · D. cingulatum var. rimosum · D. cingulatum var. rimosum f. pallidosporum · D. circumdissilens · D. circumscissile · D. compactum · D. complanatum · D. concavum · D. concinnum · D. contortum · D. cor-rubrum · D. corrugatum · D. crassipes · D. cribrosum · D. cristatosporum · D. crustaceum · D. cubense · D. cyanescens · D. darjeelingense · D. deplanatum · D. diadematum · D. donkii · D. donkii var. donkii · D. donkii var. echinosporum · D. effusum · D. effusum var. effusum · D. effusum var. microsporum · D. effusum var. pachytrichon · D. endoleuca · D. evelinae · D. fallax · D. flavidum · D. floriforme · D. fragile · D. geasterodes · D. gigantocolumellae · D. globosum · D. globosum var. europaeum · D. globosum var. globosum · D. globosum var. roseum · D. gracile · D. gracilis · D. granulatum · D. hemisphaericum · D. hookeri · D. imperiale · D. imperialis · D. indicum · D. laciniatum · D. lenticulare · D. lepidotum · D. libertianum · D. liceoides · D. lohgadense · D. lucidum · D. lyalii · D. lyallii · D. macrosporum · D. maculatum · D. marieae · D. meyerae · D. microcarpum · D. microsporum · D. miniatum · D. minutum · D. montanum · D. montanum var. album · D. montanum var. montanum · D. muscicola · D. mussooriense · D. neesii · D. nigripes · D. nigrum · D. niveum · D. niveum var. ferrugineum · D. oblongum · D. ochraceum

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal January 16, 2008:

Identifiers

Last Revised: 2008-11-04