''Trichia decipiens'' is a worldwide widespread

slime mould Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms with a life cycle that includes a free-living single-celled stage and the formation of spores. Spores are often produced in macroscopic mul ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

from the order

Trichiida Trichiales (synonymous with Trichiida) is an order of slime moulds in the phylum Amoebozoa. Trichiales is one of five orders in the group Myxomycetes (also called Myxogastria), or the true plasmodial slime molds. It is also currently categorized ...

Characteristics

The

plasmodium ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a blood-feeding insect host which then injects parasites into a vert ...

is white, becoming pink to red at maturity. The small- to large-group-forming fruiting bodies are shiny olive to yellow-olive or brown, and bear mainly stalked, rarely sessile

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cyc ...

. These are conical to peak-shaped and are up to 3 mm high and 0.6 to 0.8 (rarely up to 1.3) mm wide. The shiny, membraneous

hypothallus In true slime molds (myxogastria), lichens, and in species of the family Clavicipitaceae, the hypothallus is the layer on which the fruit body sits, lying in contact with the substrate. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek root ''hypó'' ("u ...

is wide, and pale to brown in colour. The cylindrical stem is wrinkled, dark brown at the base and becoming gradually lighter toward the top, and is filled with up to 1 mm-long,

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

-like bodies. The solid or membranous

peridium The peridium is the protective layer that encloses a mass of spores in fungi. This outer covering is a distinctive feature of gasteroid fungi. Description Depending on the species, the peridium may vary from being paper-thin to thick and rubbe ...

is yellow, often transparent on thin areas, thickened and deeper beneath, surviving as an initially shallow calyculus. The capillitium from the mass is olive to olive-yellow and is composed of non-overgrown, simple or branched, deeply olive-yellow, 5 to 6 µm thick

elater An elater is a cell (or structure attached to a cell) that is hygroscopic, and therefore will change shape in response to changes in moisture in the environment. Elaters come in a variety of forms, but are always associated with plant spores. In ...

s, which stand in relief as three to five overhanging spiral strands and become pointed towards the end. The spore mass is olive-yellow to olive, in transmitted light appearing pallidly olive-yellow, occasionally paler. The spores are 10 to 13 µm in diameter, and have a largely reticulated surface, the remainder being densely warty or prickly.

Habitat and ecology

The species has a worldwide distribution. ''T. decipiens'' slime molds live on the deadwood of

conifers Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...

and

broadleaf tree A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with ne ...

s year-round. The slime mould is associated with, among others, species of the genera ''

Trichia ''Trichia'' is a genus of slime molds in the family Trichiidae. , there are 34 species in the genus. Species *''Trichia affinis'' *''Trichia agaves'' *''Trichia alpina'' *''Trichia antartica'' *''Trichia botrytis'' *''Trichia brevicapillata'' ...

'', ''

Arcyria ''Arcyria'' is a genus of Amoebozoa in the family Arcyriaceae.Cooke, M.C. (1877) Contributions to Mycologica Britannica. The Myxomycetes of Great Britain: 69 (1877)Cribraria'' as well as '' Lycogala epidendrum'' and '' Stemonitis typhina''.

Classification

''Trichia decipiens'' was first described as ''Arcyria decipiens'' in 1795 by

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1 February 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a German mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, the third child of an immi ...

on the basis of a 1778 collection from a forest in Chemnitz. Macbride reclassified the species in 1899 into the genus ''

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2452607 Myxogastria