Growing in soil in coachwood forest. Claustula fischeri was discovered in this site a few years ago and is the only site in mainland Australia where this fungus has been found. It comes up in the same spot every year. These twins have been partially eaten by invertebrates revealing the brown spores inside.

Uploaded on behalf of the collector, Kym Brennan

Small, fragile, 10cm tall. In leaf mould in heavy shade, lowland spring-fed monsoon forest, on drier part towards margin.

This is a normal gilled mushroom that has a very thin cap flesh, which splits radially (between the gills). Further drying lifts and twists the gill-segments into the flower shape in the image. The type specimen from Vanauatu had the same form on all fruitbodies, but the author was unsure whether this was an oddity, or the normal condition. The find of this Australian specimen shows that it is the norm, but it would be great to find young fruitbodies to understand exactly of the final form develops – at what point in development does it depart from a mushroom shape?

The species is Hausknechtia floriformis, a monotypic genus only described in 2020, with a single species described (by Anton Hausknecht) in 2003, previously only known from Vanuatu. I have been on the lookout for it, great to know it occurs in Australia too.

A link to the genus description: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11557-020-01606-3

A link to the original species description: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjwh767wJD0AhWQXisKHV56AnkQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zobodat.at%2Fpdf%2FOestZPilz_12_0031-0040.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2rG4jlSDVwwBUmwAkpRYGM

this is a wacky one…

found by Kentaro Hosaka

[admin – Sat Aug 14 02:03:58 +0000 2010]: Changed location name from ‘NZ Fungus Foray, Waikanea, New Zealand’ to ‘Waikanea, New Zealand’

NOTE: the picture shows an undescribed squamanita growing out of a mycocecidium that consists of the host (Amanita canescens) and the parasite (Squamanita). This iNaturalist record is for the host. There is a separate record for the parasite (iNat195068841). The raw ITS sequence for the host extracted from the mycocecidium is attached

Bajo Pinus pinaster con presencia de Cistus salvifolius. Suelo granítico, silíceo, arenoso. Esporas de 12-15,5 x 5,2-6,4 µm. Q= 2,1-2,4 no amiloides, de cilíndricas a subelipsoides. Velo general con esferocistos de 20-60 µm e hifas con presencia de fíbulas.

Unfortunately stunted and pre-dehydrated.. too hot and dry outside.. Growing from deformed masses of Kuehneromyces lignicola. Very fruity smelling.

Some specimens were left attached and log was moved into a damp creekbed to revisit in case of further development