Five Fantastical Fungi to Spot in New Zealand
Fungi are cool. Did you know? And autumn is the time to get a flight of fungi fancy. They are everywhere. Poking out from the undergrowth, sprouting from rotting logs, and growing in distinctive fairy rings on people’s lawns. They are everywhere - you just have to put your fungi vision on.
And the neat thing is, New Zealand has some pretty unusual fungi to gawk at.
Here are five fantastical fungi that you may spot during your next Autumn walk.
Werewere Kōkako
A gorgeous werewere Kōkako found in Pureora Forest
You may recognise this one from our $50 note, the werewere kōkako - or Entoloma Hochstetteri is quite the showstopper. They are distinctive because of their bright blue colour - making them stand out in our green bush. Their colour is where their Maori name originates from, as the blue is akin to the hue seen on the wattles of the kōkako. While the majority of this mushroom is blue, the spores have a slight red tinge to them. These guys are endemic to New Zealand, meaning you can only find them here in Aotearoa.
The werewere kōkako can be found in our lowland forests, such as Pureora Forest, Rotorua Redwoods and the Tararua Ranges. Interestingly enough, in the forests around Mount Holdsworth, the werewere kōkako is a paler blue hue.
Purple Pouch
My first purple pouch mushroom - spotted in Nelson
Another of our brightly coloured mushrooms is the purple pouch - or Cortinarius porphyroideus. These guys are a gorgeous bright purple colour. They are also quite unique to have their spores enclosed inside their cap. What this means is they disperse their spores in one of two ways. One, their spores spread when their cap rots. Two, via insects and other animals feeding on the mushroom and disperse spores that way.
They gained the name pouch mushroom, as for some they resembled a tobacco pouch. The purple pouch mushroom is found in beech forests in New Zealand. For example, they are often spotted in the forests in Nelson Lakes National Park and Mt Holdsworth.
Geastrum velutinum
Earthstar - looks kind of alien, right?
Geastrum velutinum is a type of Earthstar fungi. These mushrooms when they first burst forth above ground resemble a little egg on the forest floor. Their outer layer then splits and folds back, resembling a star, hence the name. In the middle is a sphere, which contains the Earthstar’s spores. When raindrops land on this, the spores release through the hole on top. Earthstars can be found in the cooler months of Autumn among the leaf litter of the forest floor.
Fly Agaric
Fly Agaric always seem like they should have faires underneath
A mushroom that looks straight from Alice in Wonderland, the Fly Agaric - or Amanita muscaria is quite a striking mushroom to stumble across. Amanita muscaria stands out with its bright red cap splashed with white dots. Fly Agaric was thus colloquially named because of the fact that it was crumbled into saucers of milk to attract flies. They would be both attracted to and killed by this concoction. Reference to this practice dated back as far as the 13th century when the German priest Albertus Magnus made mention of it in his De Vegetabilis
They are toxic and they contain muscimol, which is a hallucinogenic and can make people ill and can even be fatal if eaten. They are quite widespread in New Zealand and are commonly seen in pine forests in autumn.
Auricularia
Wood ear growing from a tree near my home
This mushroom goes by a few names, including wood ear, as it loosely resembles a floppy ear, and hakeke in Maori. Auricularia grows on dead trees in lowland forests in New Zealand, commonly on Tawa and Māhoe. They have no gills or stalks and grow directly off the tree. Their spores grow on the lower surface of the mushroom, while their top parts are hairy. It has a soft feel to it and is brown to dark grey in colour. Depending on rainfall, the mushroom may either shrink or swell.
This mushroom can be eaten - though it is rather flavourless. People often mix them with other vegetables and food to imbue flavour. In the past, it was collected commercially - being a source of income for some in the 19th century. Tonnes were harvested and exported overseas. Nowadays, most wood ear fungus is imported into New Zealand in its dried form. But people also forage recreationally.