Badhamia calvescens T. Macbr., Mycologia

Lado, Carlos & Basanta, Diana Wrigley De, 2024, The type material in the David W. Mitchell myxomycete collection at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, Phytotaxa 649 (2), pp. 135-158 : 138

Badhamia calvescens T. Macbr., Mycologia 18(3):129 (1926)

Isotypus?: NEW ZEALAND. Auckland, on grass litter, Jan 1924, coll. T. Patterson, ex herb. PDD 3616, DWM 4579, [one box, K-M], ( Fig. 2B ).

Notes. According to Mitchell’s notes on the box, this is a fragment of the holotype conserved in PDD. However, in Macbride (1926: 125) although the material is from New Zealand, “… a fine box of mounted material, chiefly myxomycetal, collected and prepared by Dr. G. H. Cunningham of New Zealand, and sent to the University of Iowa by the hand of Professor R. B. Wylie, in September, 1922, with a second packet arriving a few months later.”, the date on the label PDD 3616 “1924” is after that mentioned by Macbride. This makes us doubt it is part of the original material. Unfortunately, in the description of the species there are no data on locality, date or substrate, so its authenticity cannot be confirmed.

As an additional piece of information in PDD herbarium collection PDD 3616 has a note by D.W. Mitchell saying it is part of the type collection (see https://www.mycoportal.org/portal/collections/list.php), but we are still unsure. This species, as Mitchell (1992) noted, is considered to be a synonym of Physarum cinereum (Batsch) Pers.

Figures

FIGURE 2. A–I, K–N. Photographs of type material from Arcyria bulbosa to Craterium aureonucleatum. J. Notebook pages.