Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Physalacriaceae
Genus: Armillaria
Species: A. novae-zelandiae
Binomial name: Armillaria novae-zelandiae
Synonyms: Armillariella novae-zelandiae, Agaricus melleus. Armillaria mellea, Armillariella mellea,
Common name: Honey Mushroom
Armillaria novae-zelandiae is one of three pathogen Armillaria species identified in New Zealand (the others are A. limonea and A. hinnulea). It is also found in Eastern Australia and New Guinea.
It is one of the most common fungi found in the coastal forests usually in wet damp shady areas. It grows in dense groups round standing dead broad-leaved trees or on their fallen timber.
The cap (>50mm wide >150mm high) is a brownish-yellow or reddish-brown colour and is wet and slimy when young. The cap has faint radial striations. The gills are white to pink in colour. The spore colour is white. The stalk has a skirt and darkens towards the wider base. It usually appears in autumn.
It causes particular damage to the introduced tree Pinus radiata.
For more information on the damage the Armillaria species cause visit: http://www.nzffa.org.nz/farm-forestry-model/the-essentials/forest-health-pests-and-diseases/diseases/Armillaria/ArmillariaPath4
[2] Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
