20th New Zealand Fungal Foray, Westport

Held at the Westport Field Station from 7th to 13th of May 2006.

A detailed foray report by Petra White is also available as a PDF.

Funding from the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System Program (TFBIS) allowed us to capture information on collections more systematically than had previously been attempted and the society is grateful to TFBIS for its support. More information on the TFBIS project may be found here.

During the foray we captured information on 682 collections representing 253 taxa. 335 collections were added to PDD. None had a Nationally Critical status although 57 records had a current Data Deficient status. However, 14 collections had only one previous collection, of which 4 new to NZ and 4 were the second collection after the original Type specimen (see below). In addition, the use of the FUNNZ tracking system allowed us to capture and collate 425 images of 165 taxa. Images of macrofungi in their fresh state are critical to identification because gross morphology is lost on drying. Many of the taxa had no previous captured image.

The complete species list, prepared using the protocols and databases funded by TFBIS, is now available. Only a subset of the information is currently publicly available (collector & determiner details are witheld). The list provides linkages to captured images and corresponding PDD collections.

Significant Collections:

• Agaricus genadii – New record for New Zealand
• Campanella olivaceonigra – Type collection only
• Clavulina hispidulosa
• Cortinarius ignellus – Type collection only
• Cortinarius singularis – Type collection only
• Dacrymyces tortus
• Galerina austrocalyptrata – New record for New Zealand
• Lepiota purpurata
• Mycena carmeliana – New record for New Zealand
• Nivatogastrium sp. – All species rarely collected in New Zealand
• Pythium insidiosum – On a horse!
• Resupinatus merulioides – New record for New Zealand
• Selenosporella curvispora – New record for New Zealand
• Thaxterogaster viola – Type collection only
• Trichia crateriforms – Record requires confirmation

One News TV story

There was also a press release about the foray.

Some images:

Dacrymyces tortus

scale = 2cm. Differs from D. capitatus in having no clamps and thick walled spores. (= D. punctiformis auct. UK)

Galerina austrocalyptrata

Scale = 5mm. Calyptrate spores and cheilocystidia.

Lepiota pupurata

An unlikely looking Lepiota

Mycena carmeliana

Scale = 5mm. With yellow/orange basal disk.

Nivatogastrium sp.

Resupinatus merulioides

Collected by Pam & David Catcheside. This was originally described from Japan (from hotel grounds during an International Mycological Congress). A lookalike is Campanella vinosolivida but that has cylindrical spores, rather than the globose spores of a Resupinatus.

Cortinarius peraurantiacus (= Thaxterogaster aurantiacus)

As featured on TV One news - along with David Orlovich

Phylloporus novaezelandiae

Aeruginospora c.f. furfuracea

'Trichocomaceae sp.' 

This, as yet unnamed, taxon has recently been discovered in at least 4 sites across the country on empty Powelliphanta shells. It isn't known if the fungus is detrimental to the snail.

Participants:

Ken and Val Allen
Toni and Pamela Atkinson
Peter Austwick
Stewart Bell
Peter Buchanan
Brian Butterworth
Cressida Bywater
Pam and David Catcheside
Jerry Cooper
Nic Cummings
Ian Dickie
Suzy Draffin
Toshimitsu Fukiharu
Genevieve Gates
Tegan Garland
Helen Greenep
Malcolm Greenway
Don and Gwen Horne
Abe Gray
Egon and Almut Horak
Karen Hughes
Peter Johnston
Shirley Kerr
Hilary Kitchen
Phil Knightbridge
Komei Kadowaki
Daniel List
Gabrielle Lockett
David Lyttle
Baxter Massey
Geoff Monk
Greg Mueller
Pauline and Ross Muir
Machiel Noordeloos
David Orlovich
Naoya Osawa
Barbara Paulus
Shaun Pennycook
Ron Petersen
Michael and Shelley Pilkington
Biddy Pollard
David Ratkowsky
Geoff Ridley
Innes Ritchie
Andrea Roberts
Jenny and David Shorten
Karl Soop
Betty Strack
Chihiro Tanake
Nobuko Tuno
Silas Villas-Boas
Katrin Walbert
Petra White
Paula Wilkie
Bill and Diana Wilson