Comatricha

Comatricha
	Slate-gray thread balls ( Comatricha nigra )
Systematics
without rank:	Amorphea
without rank:	Amoebozoa
without rank:	Myxogastria
Order :	Stemonitida
Family :	Stemonitidae
Genre :	Comatricha
Scientific name
	Comatricha
	Preuss 1851

Comatrichia is a genus of the slime molds ( Myxomycetes ) from the order Stemonitida .

Type species is Comatricha nigra .

features

The fructifications ( sporocarps ) are petiolate and have spherical, ovoid, spindle-shaped or cylindrical spore capsules (sporocarps). They grow dispersed, gregarious or densely grouped. The cover ( peridia ) disappears early and is not seen in many species. Sometimes remnants of it stick to the tip of the handle. It seldom stays longer on the spore carriers.

The stem consists of parallel or intertwined fibers. At the base it is networked. Sometimes it's hollow. The continuation of the stalk ( Columella ) extends at least to the middle, often to the top of the spore capsules.

The capillitium arises from all parts of the columella. It is branched and often formed into an inner network. It has hardly any widened areas. It is twisted at the edge and has numerous free ends. Sometimes there are closed meshes.

The spores are brown, reddish brown, dark brown or black in bulk. The Plasmodium is watery white to milk white, less often yellowish.

species

Comatricha nigra

The genus includes around 40 species worldwide. Around 20 species are specified for Central Europe:

literature

Hermann Neubert , Wolfgang Nowotny , Karlheinz Baumann , Heidi Marx: The Myxomycetes of Germany and the neighboring Alpine region with special consideration of Austria . tape 3 : Stemonitales . Karlheinz Baumann Verlag, Gomaringen 2000, ISBN 3-929822-02-4 , p. 41 f .