Podoserpula miranda

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Podoserpula miranda, also known as the Barbie pagoda, is a rare fungus in the Amylocorticiaceae family. It was described in 2012 and is found only in New Caledonia, on Grande Terre. The name miranda means admirable, a nod to its bright pink color.

Description
- It has a distinctive multi-tiered shape with 3–6 pink caps stacked like a pagoda, with about 1 cm of stem between each cap, and it can reach up to 10 cm tall.
- The hyphae show clamped structures, a feature of its order.
- Spores are globose and about 3.5–5.5 μm in diameter.

Distribution and habitat
- Endemic to New Caledonia, known from 5 sites in the southern half of Grande Terre, about 80 km apart.
- It grows in forest soils and is associated with the Oak gum tree (Arillastrum gummiferum); it may be parasitic, obtaining nutrients from this tree.

Conservation status and threats
- IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
- Likely only 80–240 individuals remain.
- Very limited range and threats include climate-related fires, deforestation, and habitat loss, plus disturbance from feral pigs and, to a lesser extent, wild horses and wild cattle.

Conservation actions
- No specific management is currently in place. recommended actions include raising awareness of fungi’s role in ecosystems, incorporating fungi into conservation planning, and controlling feral pig populations.

Related species
- Podoserpula pusio (Tasmania/Australia) resembles P. miranda but is cream or yellowish and lacks the pink color.
- Podoserpula aliweni (Chile) is white or yellow and can have up to 18 caps, unlike miranda’s up to 6, with a broader distribution in Chile.