Puffballs and Earthstars

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Found on the Manawatu Gorge Track in Palmerston North. End of July, 2000.

Grows on dead wood.

This puffball is covered with black scales when young,  but these are lost as it matures and takes the appearance shown in the photos.

The spore mass is gray in colour. When touched or disturbed a cloud of spores shoots out of the aperture seen on the top. Rain drops have the same effect.

Edibility: Edible when young, while it is still firm and before the spore mass turns gray. 

Found at Te Mata Trust Park on September 3rd, 2000. Numerous mushrooms growing in a single burn site.

These mushrooms are minute in size about 5mm in diameter or less. Some were single but most were joined in groups of 2-3 mushrooms fused together. Each clump was no more than 1cm in diameter. Surrounding each ball is a cottony growth of mycelium but not on the tops just the sides downwards. The top surface is covered in tiny brown hairs.

 The spore opening at the apex is tiny and barely visible by the naked eye.