New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

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Myxomycetes associated with decaying fronds of nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida) in New Zealand

Steven L. Stephenson

Department of Biology
Fairmont State College
Fairmont, West Virginia 26554-2470, USA

Abstract  The assemblage of myxomycetes associated with the special microhabitat represented by the basal sheath of decaying fronds of nikau palm (Rhopalostylis sapida) in the forests of New Zealand was investigated. At least 37 species in 14 genera were represented among 280 field collections obtained from decaying fronds; the vast majority of species (89%) and of collections (>98%) consisted of members of the orders Physarales or Trichiales. Among the myxomycetes recorded from nikau palm were several species not previously known to occur in New Zealand or known from only one or two collections. Prominent examples include Badhamia gracilis, Craterium aureum, Diderma effusum, Physarum hongkongense, and P. pezizoideum.

Keywords  ecology; myxomycetes; New Zealand; nikau palm

B02041 Received 23 May 2002; accepted 24 December 2002; published 11 June 2003
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2003, Vol. 41: 311-317
0028-825X/03/4102-0311 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2003

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