Myxomycetes associated with the aerial litter microhabitat in a temperate deciduous forest

The myxomycetes associated with the aerial litter microhabitat were investigated in a temperate deciduous forest in southwestern Virginia, USA. Samples of aerial litter were collected from herbaceous and woody plants and used to prepare a series of 48 moist chamber cultures. Sixty-five percent of these yielded evidence (plasmodia and/or fruiting bodies) of myxomycetes. Eleven species in nine genera were recorded, but Diderma effusum, Physarum cinereum, and Arcyria cinerea made up 66% of all specimens. Samples from herbaceous plants were relatively more productive (78% positive cultures, eight species) than those from woody plants (60% cultures, six species)