Diderma, Persoon, 1794

Zhao, Hui-Nan, Rao, Gu, Yang, Xin-Ya, Li, Xiao, Yu, Hai-Long, Zhang, Bo & Li, Yu, 2022, Two new species of Diderma (Physarales, Didymiaceae) from northern China, Phytotaxa 572 (1), pp. 61-73 : 70

Key to 19 species of Diderma in China

1. The outer peridium calcareous ...........................................................................................................................................................2

The outer peridium cartilaginous......................................................................................................................................................17

2. Peridium single layer ............................................................................................................................................... D. chondriderma

Peridium double-layered ...................................................................................................................................................................3

3. Sporocarps or plasmodiocarps, white, cream, light ochre, light purple, pink, pink-browns..............................................................4

Sporocarps pearl grey....................................................................................................................................................... D. cinereum

4. Sporocarps stalked............................................................................................................................................................................16

Sporocarps or plasmodiocarps, sessile ...............................................................................................................................................5

5. Columella flat-pulvinate or spherical, hemispherical.......................................................................................................................10

Columella either lacking or thickened orange-brown base ..............................................................................................................6

6. Columella lacking...............................................................................................................................................................................7

Columella thickened orange-brown base ...........................................................................................................................................9

7. Capillitium with warty spines.............................................................................................................................................................8

Capillitium without warty spines...................................................................................................................................... D. saudersii

8. Capillitium with membrane expanders................................................................................................................. D. verrucocapillitia

Capillitium without membrane expanders .................................................................................................................... D. deplanatum

9. Spores with warts ............................................................................................................................................................... D. effusum

Spores smooth ................................................................................................................................................................. D. testaceum

10. Columella flat-pulvinate..................................................................................................................................................... D. alpinum

Columella spherical, hemispherical..................................................................................................................................................11

11. Columella ochre to dark orange .......................................................................................................................................... D. niveum

Columella white................................................................................................................................................................................12

12. Light coloured spores, spores <10μm ...................................................................................................................... D. spumarioides

Dark spores, spores> 10μm .............................................................................................................................................................13

13. Spores spherical ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Spores subglobose, slightly polygonal .......................................................................................................................... D. cingulatum

14. Outer peridium without cracked.......................................................................................................................................................15

Outer peridium with cracked .................................................................................................................................... D. liaoningensis

15. Spores with large spines ............................................................................................................................................... D. crustaceum

Spores without large spines ............................................................................................................................................. D. globosum

16. Sporangium spherical or subspherical.................................................................................................................. D. hemisphaericum

Sporangium disciform .................................................................................................................................................. D. cor-rubrum

17. Peridium double-layered ..................................................................................................................................................................18

Peridium triple-layered................................................................................................................................................... D. asteroides

18. Columella white, capillitium without expansions ............................................................................................................ D. radiatum

Columella brownish, capillitium with expansions .......................................................................................................... D. floriforme