11008-12709 Field bird's nest fungus (Cyathus olla) usually found clustered on woody debris such as wood mulch. The cup margins are frequently wavy with the inner surface a smooth pale grey. The 'eggs' or peridioles are silvery grey. This group of fungi have a specialised method of spore dispersal. A droplet of water falls into the cup and splashes the the peridioles out onto the surrounding vegetation. Tauranga *
DSC_2567 (Laccaria glabripes) sometimes in large colonies on forest floor, under silver beech (Lophozonia menziesii). Caps are rounded at first, becoming flat-topped, and with age caps curl up around the edges. Catlins River *
DSC_2526 Swiss brown, or Portobello mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) a commercial species, probably derived from a wild European mushroom, (Agaricus campestris) but it has evolved further and now has its own scientific name, and a more delicate flavour than wild kinds. It typically matures with a brownish cap, but in 1926, a Pennsylvania mushroom farmer found a clump with white caps and this mutation has become widespread. Dunedin *
