Summary: Heterogastridium pycnidioideum is minute and unlikely to be encountered, but of intrinsic interest in its own order, with basidiospores that have 4 arms released from the interior of a flask-shaped apparatus, described in 1990.
Microscopic: spores tetraradiate or rarely pentaradiate, (with 4 or 5 arms), the whole spore measuring 15-25 microns in outline and the arms 2-3(4) microns in diameter, conidia are also mixed with the basidiospores; basidia long-cylindric, 60-80 x 5-8 microns, transversely 3-septate when mature, each basidium developing 1 basidiospore; hyphae 2-3(5) microns wide, colorless; the single layer of hyphae forming the base and neck of the flask-shaped fruiting body (pycnidium) consists of hyphae 8-15(20) microns in diameter and 100-500(800) microns long
Notes: It is found in its anamorph form (Hyalopycnis blepharistoma) from North America (at least BC, NY, LA), Austria, United Kingdom, and Japan.
Habitat and Range
Habitat
collected on various types of decaying plant material (tomato plant in the case of the BC specimen) and mushrooms and induced to sporulate in the laboratory