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Project Noah Nature School
Armillaria limonea
Native fungus to New Zealand. Cap size ranging from 10-130mm in this clump. Reasonably young bodies here with caps still rolled but will flatten out with age. Cap is yellowish off white although a highly variable species going from bright canary yellow to off white. Cap covered in black scales. Stem is 50-100mm high, also off white with some scaling, with age stem thickens at the base.
Found on dead wood in native mixed forest in Pirongia Forest Park in NZ North Island. Although can be found singly this species is often found in clumps arising from a common base.
Quite common in NZ and associated with root rot issues in pine tree plantations. One interesting thing with Armillaria spp as a group is that the hyphae (white thread-like strands radiating from the base out over the dead wood) are bioluminescent and when dark, decaying logs look to be faintly glowing. Ref: T.E.R.R.A.I.N - this is an excellent resource for anyone interested in NZ natural history.
Spotted on Jun 2, 2017
Submitted on Aug 5, 2017
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